Senior/Staff Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior/Staff Product Designer

Company: Clera

Location: Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / User Experience

Date Posted: 2026-08-30

Experience Level: Senior/Staff (5-10 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is pivotal in shaping the user experience of AI-powered procurement software, focusing on how complex agentic AI capabilities are presented to non-technical procurement professionals.

• You will be instrumental in defining novel interaction patterns that foster trust and transparency, enabling seamless collaboration between AI and human judgment.

• The position requires a blend of strategic product thinking, hands-on design execution, and a deep understanding of B2B SaaS workflows, with a direct impact on customer adoption and cost savings.

• You will contribute to raising the overall product craft and coherence as the engineering team scales and feature output increases.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core of this role is translating sophisticated AI functionalities into intuitive and trustworthy user experiences for a niche B2B market. The emphasis on "agentic AI" and "non-technical procurement professionals" suggests a need for design that demystifies complex technology and prioritizes user confidence and ease of use.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and design the user interface and interaction patterns for agentic AI capabilities, ensuring they are understandable, trustworthy, and useful for non-technical users.

• Develop prototypes and tangible design artifacts for short-horizon (3-6 month) product vision work to guide engineering and product teams.

• Craft seamless integration points where AI performs tasks and human judgment is applied, designing for effective human-AI collaboration.

• Elevate the overall product craft, visual design, and interaction coherence across the platform as feature development accelerates.

• Contribute to the final stages of product development by working directly in code for last-mile polish, including reviewing and tweaking pull requests (PRs) before deployment.

• Collaborate closely with product managers, engineers, and domain experts to deeply understand complex procurement workflows and translate them into intuitive user experiences.

• Conduct user research and usability testing to validate design decisions and iterate on product features based on user feedback and performance data.

• Advocate for user-centered design principles and best practices within a fast-paced, evolving product environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibility to "work directly in code for last-mile polish" indicates a highly integrated design and development process, where designers are expected to have a strong understanding of front-end implementation and potentially contribute directly to the codebase for fine-tuning. This is a significant differentiator for a Senior/Staff Product Designer role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and expertise in product design, interaction design, and visual design is paramount. Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience as a Senior or Staff Product Designer, with a proven track record of shipping impactful products in B2B SaaS environments.

• Demonstrated experience designing for complex workflows, data-heavy applications, or enterprise software solutions. Required Skills:

• B2B SaaS Product Design: Proven ability to design for complex business processes and enterprise user needs within a Software-as-a-Service context.

• Interaction Design: Expertise in crafting intuitive and efficient user flows, defining interaction patterns, and ensuring a high level of usability.

• Visual Design: Strong aesthetic sense and proficiency in creating clean, professional, and coherent visual interfaces that align with brand standards.

• Prototyping: Advanced skills in creating interactive prototypes beyond static mockups, capable of demonstrating complex behaviors and user flows. This includes experience with tools that allow for runnable prototypes.

• Code-based Prototyping: Practical experience working with code (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or specific front-end frameworks) for prototyping and final-mile design polish.

• Product Thinking: Ability to understand business objectives, user needs, and technical constraints to define product strategy and design solutions that drive value.

• AI Integration Principles: Thoughtful and principled approach to integrating AI into products, with a focus on trust, transparency, and appropriate automation.

• Ambiguity & Novelty: Comfort and proficiency in operating within ambiguous environments and inventing new design patterns for uncharted problems.

Preferred Skills:

• Agentic AI Design: Prior experience specifically designing for agentic or autonomous AI features, understanding the nuances of user perception and interaction.

• Procurement Domain Expertise: Familiarity with procurement workflows, terminology, and the challenges faced by procurement professionals.

• User Research & Analysis: Experience conducting qualitative and quantitative user research, analyzing findings, and translating them into actionable design improvements.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with product managers, engineers, domain experts, and other stakeholders.

• Experience with AI Tools: Hands-on familiarity and regular use of AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor in design, research, and prototyping workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "generalist depth rather than a single specialty" and "code-based prototyping" suggests the company values versatile designers who can contribute across the entire design and development lifecycle, from conceptualization to implementation polish. The explicit mention of AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT indicates a desire for candidates who are already integrating these technologies into their workflow.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Shipped B2B SaaS Products: A portfolio that clearly showcases at least one significant B2B SaaS product you have designed and helped ship, demonstrating your end-to-end design process and impact.

• Complex Workflow Design Case Studies: Detailed case studies illustrating your approach to designing for complex business processes, highlighting problem definition, user research, iterative design, and final solution.

• AI Integration Showcase: Examples or case studies demonstrating your thinking and execution around integrating AI capabilities into user interfaces, emphasizing trust, transparency, and user adoption.

• Prototyping Proficiency: Demonstrations of your prototyping skills, including examples of runnable prototypes that effectively communicate interaction design and user flow beyond static visuals.

• Code Contribution Evidence: If possible, include examples or explanations of your involvement in the code-based aspects of design, such as front-end code contributions or detailed explanations of how you've used code for design polish.

Process Documentation:

• Problem Framing & Solution Definition: Clearly articulate the initial problem statement, the target users, and the business objectives for each project presented.

• User-Centered Design Process: Document your methodology for user research, persona development, journey mapping, and usability testing, explaining how user insights informed your design decisions.

• Iterative Design & Feedback Loops: Showcase your iterative design process, including wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and how you incorporated feedback to refine the design.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Describe how you collaborated with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders throughout the design lifecycle, demonstrating effective communication and alignment.

• Design System & Coherence: Provide examples of how you ensured design consistency and coherence across a product, potentially referencing a design system or style guide.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the emphasis on code-based prototyping and last-mile polish, candidates should be prepared to showcase projects where they have directly influenced the final implementation through code. The portfolio should highlight not just the "what" but the "how" and "why" of design decisions, with a strong focus on measurable outcomes and user adoption.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Based on industry benchmarks for Senior/Staff Product Designers in Munich, Germany, with 5-10 years of experience, particularly in B2B SaaS and AI-focused roles, the estimated annual salary range is €80,000 - €110,000. This range accounts for the high demand for specialized design skills, the on-site nature of the role, and the cost of living in Munich. Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Insurance: Full coverage for medical, dental, and vision care, aligned with German statutory requirements and potentially enhanced private options.

• Retirement Savings Plan: Contributions to a company-sponsored pension scheme to support long-term financial security.

• Generous Paid Time Off: Ample vacation days, public holidays, and sick leave to ensure work-life balance and well-being.

• Professional Development Budget: An annual allowance for training, conferences, workshops, and other learning opportunities to foster continuous skill development.

• Performance Bonuses: Potential for performance-based bonuses tied to individual and company success.

• Relocation Assistance: Support for candidates relocating to Munich, potentially including moving expenses and initial accommodation assistance.

• Modern Office Environment: Access to a well-equipped, collaborative workspace in a prime Munich location.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time working hours are typically around 40 hours per week. While the role is on-site, the company likely offers some flexibility in daily start and end times to accommodate individual needs and workflow, provided core collaboration hours are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on data from reputable sources for tech and design roles in Germany, specifically Munich, considering the specified experience level and the specialized nature of AI and B2B SaaS design. Benefits are standard for established tech companies in Germany but are tailored to highlight aspects relevant to a designer focused on continuous learning and professional growth.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software / Artificial Intelligence / Procurement Technology

Clera operates within the rapidly evolving AI and B2B SaaS sectors, specifically targeting the procurement software market. This industry is characterized by a drive for efficiency, automation, and data-driven decision-making. Companies in this space often foster cultures of innovation, continuous learning, and strong cross-functional collaboration. The focus on AI-powered solutions suggests an environment that values technical expertise, forward-thinking strategies, and a commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to solve complex business problems.

Company Size: Small, tight-knit team.

Being part of a small team means each member has a significant impact and is likely to wear multiple hats. This environment often fosters close collaboration, direct communication, and a shared sense of ownership over product success. For a designer, this translates to greater visibility, more opportunities to influence product direction, and a direct line to leadership and engineering.

Founded: The company was founded with a mission to build AI-powered procurement software. While the exact founding date isn't provided, the focus on "agentic AI" suggests a relatively modern company that is at the forefront of applying advanced AI technologies to enterprise solutions.

Team Structure:

• Design Team: A small, integrated design team that works closely with product management and engineering.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: The role emphasizes close collaboration with Product Managers, Engineers, and Domain Experts, indicating a highly integrated GTM (Go-to-Market) and product development process.

• Reporting Structure: Likely reports to a Head of Design or Product Lead, with direct access to senior leadership given the small team size.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Decisions are informed by user data, performance metrics, and research findings, with a focus on measurable impact on customer adoption and cost savings.

• Agile Development: A likely methodology given the emphasis on engineering velocity and iterative development, requiring designers to adapt quickly and contribute throughout sprints.

• AI-Centric Innovation: A core approach of leveraging AI to create novel solutions and automate complex processes within procurement.

Company Website: https://www.getclera.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on AI in procurement implies a culture that values innovation, technical depth, and practical application of advanced technologies. The "small, tight-knit" team structure suggests a collaborative and impactful environment where individual contributions are highly visible and valued.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior/Staff Product Designer

This level signifies a seasoned professional expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, tackle complex and ambiguous design challenges, and mentor junior team members. As a Senior/Staff designer at Clera, you are not just executing tasks but are expected to shape product strategy, define new interaction paradigms, and contribute significantly to the product's success through your design expertise. The role involves a blend of strategic thinking and hands-on execution, including code-based contributions.

Reporting Structure:

The Senior/Staff Product Designer will likely report to the Head of Design or a similar senior design leadership role. Given the small team size, there will be direct interaction with Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and potentially the CEO/CTO, fostering a flat organizational structure and enabling rapid decision-making and feedback loops.

Operations Impact:

The impact of this role is directly tied to customer adoption of powerful AI features and the realization of significant cost savings for industrial companies. By making complex AI systems intuitive and trustworthy, the designer directly influences the perceived value and utility of Clera's software. This has a ripple effect on customer retention, revenue growth, and the company's market position as an innovator in AI-powered procurement.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing for AI, specifically agentic AI, and in code-based prototyping and front-end implementation.

• Product Strategy Influence: Contribute more significantly to product vision and roadmap development as the company scales and product complexity grows.

• Leadership Development: Potential to grow into a Design Lead or Manager role as the design team expands, taking on more responsibility for team mentorship and strategic direction.

• Industry Expertise: Become a recognized expert in applying UX design principles to complex B2B domains like procurement and AI automation.

• Cross-functional Leadership: Develop stronger leadership skills through extensive collaboration with engineering and product management, potentially leading cross-functional initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Staff" designation implies an expectation of thought leadership and the ability to influence product direction beyond individual feature design. Growth opportunities are geared towards deepening expertise in AI design and potentially moving into leadership positions within a growing product and design organization.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: On-site in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

The role is strictly on-site, requiring the designer to be present in the Munich office. This suggests a preference for in-person collaboration, team cohesion, and a hands-on approach to design and development. The office environment is likely modern, equipped with the necessary tools and technology to support collaborative design and engineering work.

Office Location(s):

Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Specific details about the office address or amenities are not provided but can be assumed to be a professional business setting conducive to tech company operations.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The office will likely feature various collaboration zones, meeting rooms, and open areas designed to facilitate brainstorming, design critiques, and cross-functional teamwork.

• Technology & Tools: Access to high-performance workstations, design software, and potentially specialized hardware or software for prototyping and development. This includes tools for code-based prototyping and access to AI models.

• Team Interaction: The on-site nature encourages spontaneous interactions, quick problem-solving sessions, and a strong sense of team camaraderie, which is crucial for a small, tight-knit team.

Work Schedule:

The standard working hours are full-time (approximately 40 hours per week). While on-site, there is likely some degree of flexibility in daily start/end times, provided core collaboration hours are respected. This flexibility can be beneficial for designers who need focused blocks of uninterrupted time for deep work or coding.

📝 Enhancement Note: The strict on-site requirement emphasizes the company's value for in-person collaboration and team synergy. For a designer, this means being part of a dynamic, hands-on environment where immediate feedback and direct interaction with colleagues are prioritized.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter or hiring manager to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

2. Portfolio Presentation & Design Deep Dive: A dedicated session where you present your portfolio, focusing on 2-3 key projects that demonstrate your skills in B2B SaaS, complex workflows, and AI integration. Expect in-depth questions about your design process, decision-making, and problem-solving approach.

3. Technical/Coding Challenge: A practical exercise, potentially involving a small coding task related to front-end polish or a design challenge that requires you to prototype a solution, possibly involving AI concepts, and explain your approach.

4. Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers and Engineers to assess your collaboration style, ability to communicate technical concepts, and understanding of the procurement domain.

5. Final Interview: A conversation with senior leadership (e.g., Head of Product, CTO) to discuss strategic thinking, long-term vision, and overall fit with the company culture and mission.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 projects that best showcase your experience with B2B SaaS, complex workflows, and ideally, AI or data-heavy applications. Highlight projects where you had significant ownership and impact.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process, key decisions, trade-offs, and the measurable outcomes (user adoption, efficiency gains, cost savings).

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Include visual artifacts (wireframes, mockups, prototypes) and, crucially, demonstrations of your code-based prototyping or front-end contributions. Explain how you used code to refine the design.

• Emphasize AI Nuances: If you have AI-related projects, specifically address how you approached trust, transparency, and user understanding. Discuss your philosophy on AI integration.

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design rationale, how you handle ambiguity, your collaboration style, and your thoughts on the future of AI in design.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Problem: For any design challenge, ensure you fully grasp the requirements and constraints before diving into solutions. Ask clarifying questions.

• Focus on Process: Demonstrate a structured approach, whether it's user research, ideation, prototyping, or coding. Explain your methodology.

• Showcase AI Thinking: If the challenge involves AI, articulate how you would approach designing for it, considering trust and transparency.

• Code Proficiency: For coding-related tasks, be ready to write clean, efficient code and explain your choices. If it's a prototyping task, use tools that allow for interactive and functional outputs.

• Articulate Trade-offs: Be prepared to discuss the trade-offs you made in your design or code decisions and why.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process heavily emphasizes practical skills, including code-based contributions and the ability to design for AI. Candidates should prepare a portfolio that explicitly demonstrates these capabilities and be ready to articulate their design philosophy, especially concerning AI integration in enterprise software.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (or similar industry-standard tools like Sketch, Adobe XD) for UI design and wireframing. Advanced prototyping tools (e.g., Protopie, Framer) for creating interactive and functional prototypes.

• Code-based Prototyping: Familiarity with tools like Framer, Webflow, or direct coding (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) for creating high-fidelity, runnable prototypes and last-mile polish.

• AI Tools: Regular hands-on use of AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor for design assistance, research synthesis, content generation, and potentially code generation/debugging.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Google Analytics to track user behavior, feature adoption, and measure the impact of design changes.

• Data Visualization: Experience with tools or libraries for creating dashboards and reports (e.g., Tableau, Looker, or custom solutions) to communicate insights to stakeholders.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a design tool, understanding how designs integrate with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and automation platforms can be beneficial for context in B2B SaaS.

• Version Control: Proficiency with Git and platforms like GitHub or GitLab for managing code contributions and collaborating with engineers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of "code for last-mile polish" and "hands-on use of AI tools" highlights that proficiency in these areas is not just preferred but expected. Designers should be ready to discuss their experience with specific prototyping tools that bridge design and code, and how they leverage AI assistants in their daily workflow.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A strong focus on delivering tangible business value, such as cost savings and increased customer adoption, through design.

• Innovation & Curiosity: Encouragement to explore new technologies, particularly AI, and to invent novel solutions for complex problems.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Open communication and close teamwork across disciplines (design, product, engineering) are essential.

• User-Centricity: A commitment to understanding and serving the needs of non-technical procurement professionals, making complex technology accessible.

• Craftsmanship & Quality: A dedication to high product craft, visual coherence, and interaction excellence, extending to last-mile code polish.

Collaboration Style:

• Integrated Teams: Designers work hand-in-hand with product managers and engineers, participating actively in sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives.

• Iterative & Agile: A continuous feedback loop is encouraged, with designs and prototypes regularly shared and reviewed to facilitate rapid iteration.

• Knowledge Sharing: A culture that values sharing insights, best practices, and learnings, especially concerning AI and complex B2B design challenges.

• Constructive Feedback: Openness to giving and receiving feedback in a constructive manner to collectively improve the product.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture appears to be a blend of cutting-edge innovation (AI focus) and practical execution (B2B SaaS, measurable impact, code polish). Designers who thrive in environments that value both strategic thinking and hands-on contribution, and who are comfortable with rapid iteration and cross-functional collaboration, will be a good fit.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Demystifying Complex AI: The primary challenge is translating sophisticated "agentic AI" capabilities into experiences that are intuitive, trustworthy, and genuinely useful for non-technical users in a complex domain like procurement.

• Balancing AI Automation and Human Judgment: Designing effective interaction patterns where AI and human decision-making complement each other, rather than conflict or create confusion.

• Raising Product Craft: As engineering velocity increases, maintaining and elevating the overall design quality, coherence, and user experience requires constant vigilance and strategic design leadership.

• Operating in Ambiguity: Tackling novel problems for which established design patterns may not exist, requiring creative problem-solving and the invention of new interaction paradigms.

• Code Integration: Effectively contributing to "last-mile polish" through code requires a high level of technical proficiency and seamless collaboration with engineering.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Design Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing user experiences for advanced AI, specifically agentic AI, becoming a leader in this niche.

• Front-end Development Skills: Enhance coding skills through hands-on work, potentially leading to a more hybrid design engineering role.

• Procurement Domain Expertise: Gain in-depth knowledge of procurement processes, challenges, and industry best practices, becoming a domain expert.

• Product Strategy Involvement: Grow influence in product strategy and roadmap planning as you demonstrate consistent impact and strategic thinking.

• Mentorship: Opportunities to mentor junior designers or contribute to building out the design function as the company scales.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are directly linked to the innovative nature of the product and the company's focus on AI. Growth opportunities are geared towards developing specialized skills in AI design and front-end implementation, along with increasing strategic influence within a growing tech company.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design for a complex, data-heavy B2B workflow. What were the key challenges and how did you address them?" (Focus on process, user research, and measurable outcomes.)

• "How would you approach designing the user experience for an 'agentic AI' feature that automates a critical procurement task? What are your core principles for ensuring trust and transparency?" (Emphasize your AI design philosophy and user-centric approach.)

• "Imagine our AI identifies a potential cost-saving opportunity. How would you design the interface to present this insight, explain the AI's reasoning, and prompt for user action?" (Demonstrate your ability to translate complex AI outputs into actionable user experiences.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in Clera and our mission to build AI-powered procurement software?" (Research Clera's specific product, target market, and recent developments.)

• "How do you approach collaborating with engineers and product managers, especially when working with code for design implementation?" (Highlight your cross-functional experience and comfort with technical collaboration.)

• "What are your thoughts on the balance between AI automation and human oversight in enterprise software?" (Share your informed opinions on AI ethics and practical implementation.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Highlight Impact: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your specific contributions, the design solutions, and most importantly, the measurable outcomes (e.g., increased adoption rates, efficiency gains, cost savings).

• Showcase Process: Walk through your design process, from discovery and research to iteration and final implementation. Emphasize how you used user feedback and data.

• Demonstrate Code Skills: If possible, show a live demo or a video of a coded prototype. Explain your role in its creation and how it polished the final experience.

• AI Philosophy: Be ready to discuss your approach to designing for AI, focusing on trust, transparency, and user understanding.

• Conciseness: Be mindful of time. Focus on the most impactful aspects of your projects and be prepared to answer follow-up questions.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should strongly focus on demonstrating practical design skills, experience with complex B2B SaaS, and a thoughtful approach to AI integration, including the ability to contribute through code. Be ready to articulate your design philosophy and showcase quantifiable results.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior/Staff Product Designer position at Clera:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 key projects that best exemplify your experience in B2B SaaS, complex workflows, and AI integration. Ensure these showcase your end-to-end design process, including any code-based contributions or advanced prototyping.

• Optimize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight your 5+ years of experience as a Senior/Staff Product Designer, emphasizing achievements related to product shipping, complex problem-solving, AI design, and code-based prototyping. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio projects, focusing on storytelling, demonstrating your design process, articulating your rationale, and presenting quantifiable outcomes. Be ready to discuss your philosophy on AI in design.

• Research Clera: Understand Clera's mission, product, target market (industrial companies, procurement), and recent news. Prepare thoughtful questions about their product roadmap, design challenges, and company culture.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.