UX Lead (Product & Growth)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Lead (Product & Growth)

Company: Ruby Labs

Location: Remote (EU & select countries)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product & Growth Operations (UX Focus)

Date Posted: 2026-05-15

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive product and business performance by owning UX strategy, design quality, and the research practice as a core growth lever.

• Leverage deep technical and data fluency to analyze product analytics, identify friction points, and connect UX decisions directly to business metrics like activation, retention, and conversion.

• Establish and evolve a scalable design system implemented directly in the frontend, setting the visual and interaction quality bar across the product.

• Build and lead a structured UX research practice, translating qualitative and quantitative insights into prioritized, actionable product decisions.

• Collaborate closely with Product and Growth teams to design and optimize critical user journeys, including onboarding, paywalls, and retention loops.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a strategic leadership position within the Product and Growth functions, with a primary focus on leveraging User Experience (UX) as a key driver for business outcomes. The emphasis on "data-fluent," "deeply technical," and "design-strong" indicates a highly analytical and hands-on approach to UX, directly tying design efforts to measurable growth metrics. The "not a 9-5 role" and "high-ownership, high-impact" statements suggest a demanding yet rewarding environment for individuals seeking significant influence and responsibility.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and execute comprehensive UX strategy: Define the overarching UX vision and roadmap, ensuring alignment with product and business objectives to drive measurable improvements in activation, retention, and conversion rates.

• Own the end-to-end user journey: Conduct thorough audits of user flows from acquisition through long-term retention, identifying and implementing optimizations to enhance user experience and engagement.

• Drive data-informed design decisions: Independently analyze product analytics (Mixpanel, GA4, Amplitude), session recordings, and behavioral data to identify user pain points, validate hypotheses, and inform design iterations.

• Lead A/B testing initiatives: Define hypotheses, design experiments, implement tests using platforms like GrowthBook, and rigorously analyze results to validate UX changes and their impact on key growth metrics.

• Establish and evolve the design system: Define, enforce, and scale a clear, consistent, and high-quality design system, ensuring its direct implementation in the frontend for efficient and cohesive user interface development.

• Lead and mentor design and engineering talent: Direct the work of designers and frontend engineers involved in UI/UX, setting clear expectations for quality, defining the "definition of done," and fostering a culture of design excellence.

• Build and structure the UX research practice: Establish a systematic approach to UX research, including defining priorities, conducting user interviews, surveys, and usability tests, and translating findings into actionable product recommendations.

• Collaborate cross-functionally: Partner closely with Product Management, Engineering, and Growth teams to integrate UX insights and design solutions into the product development lifecycle.

• Define analytics instrumentation needs: Proactively collaborate with the data team to define and implement new analytics tracking and reporting requirements to better measure UX impact and user behavior.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a hands-on role where the UX Lead is expected to not only strategize but also execute, particularly in data analysis and A/B testing. The emphasis on "implemented directly in frontend, not Figma-first" suggests a need for collaboration with engineers and potentially a deeper understanding of frontend development realities than a traditional design-centric role. The leadership aspect is clear, with expectations to "lead and direct designers and frontend engineers."

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong educational foundation in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, Psychology, or a related field is highly beneficial.

Experience: 5-8+ years of progressive experience in UX, Product Design, or design leadership roles, with a significant portion within fast-paced, growth-oriented environments.

Required Skills:

• Data Analysis & Interpretation: Proficient in independently analyzing product analytics using tools like Mixpanel, GA4, Amplitude, or similar platforms. Ability to conduct cohort analysis, retention curve analysis, and identify patterns from raw data to form actionable hypotheses.

• A/B Testing Expertise: Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and analyzing A/B tests using platforms such as GrowthBook, Optimizely, or similar experimentation tools.

• Growth & Conversion Optimization: Proven track record of driving measurable improvements in key growth metrics including activation rates, retention, LTV, and conversion rates. Strong understanding of conversion funnels and retention loops.

• Design Leadership & Systems: Experience leading or managing designers, setting design direction, reviewing work, and elevating team quality. Ability to define, enforce, and evolve a scalable design system.

• UX Research Methodologies: Proven ability to conduct qualitative and quantitative user research, including user interviews, surveys, and usability testing. Skill in translating research findings into clear, actionable product decisions.

• Frontend Collaboration: Comfort working in environments where design is implemented directly in the frontend. Ability to collaborate effectively with frontend engineers and understand implementation constraints.

• Communication & Storytelling: Ability to clearly articulate the "why" behind design decisions, backed by data and user insights, to stakeholders at all levels.

• Systems Thinking: Capacity to design scalable patterns and solutions rather than isolated screens, considering the broader product ecosystem.

• Ownership Mindset: A strong sense of accountability for outcomes, not just output.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in LegalTech, document management tools, or utility-focused products.

• Familiarity with frontend technologies such as TailwindCSS, React, or Next.js, with the ability to review frontend code.

• Experience working within engineering-led teams that may not have a dedicated, separate design organization.

• Exposure to UX flows involving PDF manipulation or complex form-heavy interactions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "hands-on ability to analyze product data independently" and "you pull your own funnels, you don't wait for reports" strongly suggests that candidates must be self-sufficient in data analysis. The preference for experience where design is "implemented directly in frontend" and familiarity with specific technologies like TailwindCSS and React/Next.js indicates a practical, engineering-adjacent approach to design execution.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Data-Validated Design Case Studies: Showcase 2-3 in-depth case studies detailing your process from problem identification through to solution implementation and measured impact. Each case study must clearly articulate the business problem, your role, the design process followed, the data and research used to inform decisions, and the quantifiable business outcomes achieved (e.g., % increase in activation, % improvement in retention, reduction in funnel drop-off).

• Growth & Optimization Focus: Highlight projects where you directly influenced key growth metrics (activation, retention, conversion, LTV). Demonstrate your understanding of conversion funnels, onboarding flows, and retention loops.

• Design System Examples: Include examples of your involvement in defining, implementing, or evolving design systems, showcasing your ability to ensure consistency and scalability in design.

• Cross-functional Collaboration Evidence: Provide examples demonstrating your ability to work effectively with product managers, engineers, and data analysts, illustrating how you integrated their input and communicated your design rationale.

Process Documentation:

• Problem Definition & Hypothesis Generation: Clearly outline how you identify user problems and business opportunities, and how you formulate data-driven hypotheses for design interventions.

• Design & Research Methodology: Detail the specific UX research methods (qualitative and quantitative) and design processes you employ to explore solutions and gather user feedback.

• Experimentation & Measurement Framework: Explain your approach to designing, running, and analyzing A/B tests, including how you define success metrics and connect UX changes to business impact.

• Scalable Design Implementation: Demonstrate your understanding of how to create design solutions that can be effectively implemented and scaled within a frontend development context.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily weighted towards demonstrating quantifiable impact and a data-driven approach. Candidates must be prepared to show how their UX work directly contributed to business growth metrics, not just aesthetic or functional improvements. The emphasis on "data-validated work" and "quantifiable business outcomes" suggests that theoretical design processes are insufficient; demonstrated results are paramount.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: While not explicitly stated, for a UX Lead with 5-8+ years of experience in a remote, EU-based (or eligible countries) role, a competitive salary range would typically fall between €60,000 and €90,000 annually, depending on the specific country of residence within the eligible region and the candidate's precise experience and demonstrated impact. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for senior UX leadership roles in tech companies operating in the European market, considering the remote nature and the company's focus on growth and impact.

Benefits:

• Remote Work Environment: Full flexibility to work from any location, fostering a strong work-life balance.

• Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO): Encourages employees to take time off as needed to recharge and maintain well-being, without strict day limits.

• Paid National Holidays: Observance of national holidays with compensated time off.

• Company-Provided MacBook: Access to high-performance Apple hardware to ensure productivity.

• Flexible Independent Contractor Agreement: Offers autonomy, potential tax advantages, networking opportunities, and reduced employment obligations, allowing for a more entrepreneurial work style.

Working Hours: The role operates within the Central European Time (CET) zone, and while not a strict 9-5 role, it requires significant overlap with CET working hours for optimal collaboration. A standard full-time commitment is expected, likely around 40 hours per week, with flexibility in scheduling as long as core collaboration times are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimation is based on typical compensation for senior UX Lead roles in the European tech market, considering the remote aspect and the company's growth-oriented nature. The benefits package, particularly the "Flexible Independent Contractor Agreement," is a key differentiator and implies a specific employment model that candidates should thoroughly understand, including local tax implications. The working hours emphasize collaboration within a specific time zone.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Consumer Products (Tech), with a focus on Health, Education, and Entertainment sectors. Ruby Labs operates as a tech company developing and managing innovative consumer products.

Company Size: Likely a growing mid-sized tech company, indicated by the need for a UX Lead to formalize strategies and practices, but not yet a large enterprise with established, rigid structures. The focus on scaling a "high-growth D2C product" suggests a dynamic environment.

Founded: The company was founded with a vision to create and operate innovative consumer products, indicating a forward-thinking and product-centric approach from its inception. The "About Us" page would provide more historical context.

Team Structure:

• Cross-functional Collaboration: The role necessitates close collaboration with Product Management, Growth, and Engineering teams. The UX Lead will work alongside these departments to integrate UX into the product development lifecycle.

• Engineering-Led Environment: The description notes that "design is mostly engineered directly in the frontend" and the company is "not a separate design org." This implies a lean, integrated team structure where UX professionals work closely with engineers, potentially reporting within a product or engineering hierarchy.

• Growth-Oriented Focus: The team is driven by growth metrics, with UX identified as a "core growth lever." This suggests a performance-driven culture where impact on key business metrics is highly valued.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: User insights are derived from product analytics (Mixpanel, GA4, Amplitude), session recordings, heatmaps, and A/B testing. Design decisions are expected to be validated by this data.

• Agile & Iterative Development: The mention of "daily or near-daily releases" points to an agile development process where rapid iteration and continuous improvement are key.

• Systems Thinking & Scalability: Emphasis on designing scalable patterns and a consistent design system that can be efficiently implemented and maintained.

Company Website: https://rubylabs.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is described as "high pace, high ownership, high standards," with a strong emphasis on "impact on business metrics" rather than just design output. The "engineering-led teams without a separate design org" aspect is crucial for understanding how this UX Lead role integrates and operates within the existing structure.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a leadership role (Lead) within the UX and Product Design domain, positioned as a strategic driver of business growth. It is a senior individual contributor role with significant influence and responsibility, rather than a people management role initially, though it involves directing designers and engineers.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, the UX Lead will likely report into a Head of Product, Director of Product, or potentially a VP of Engineering, given the description of working closely with product and growth teams and the engineering-led environment. The role involves directing the work of the existing UX researcher.

Operations Impact: The UX Lead is positioned to have a direct and measurable impact on core business objectives, including customer activation, retention, monetization, and overall product performance. Their work is framed not as a support function but as a "core driver of product and business performance."

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Influence: Opportunity to define and shape the UX strategy for multiple high-growth D2C products, establishing the design and research foundation for their future development.

• Leadership Development: Potential to grow into a formal people management role as the design function expands, or to deepen expertise in growth-driven UX and product strategy.

• Skill Specialization: Opportunity to become an expert in leveraging data analytics, A/B testing, and conversion rate optimization to drive product success, becoming a highly sought-after professional in the growth-focused UX domain.

• Impactful Contribution: Direct involvement in key business decisions and the ability to see tangible results from design initiatives, leading to significant professional satisfaction and career advancement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Growth & Growth Impact" section of the responsibilities and the "Why This Role Matters" section strongly suggest that career growth here is tied to demonstrated business impact and the ability to scale UX operations and strategy within the company. The role offers a pathway for a UX professional to become a strategic leader deeply embedded in business outcomes.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. The company operates without a central physical office, offering a distributed work environment.

Office Location(s): The role is remote, but candidates must be located within approximately ± 4 hours of CET (Central European Time). This includes a wide range of countries, primarily within Europe, but also extending to parts of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.

Workspace Context:

• Distributed Collaboration: The work environment emphasizes asynchronous communication and digital collaboration tools to connect a globally distributed team.

• Technology-Centric: Employees are provided with company-issued MacBooks, indicating a commitment to providing the necessary tools for a productive remote work experience.

• High-Pace & Autonomy: The environment is characterized by "high pace, high ownership," suggesting a culture where individuals are empowered to take initiative and drive their work forward with minimal micro-management.

Work Schedule: While not a strict 9-5, the role requires collaboration within the CET timezone, implying a need for availability during core European business hours. The emphasis is on achieving outcomes and impacting metrics, providing flexibility in how daily tasks are managed, as long as collaboration needs are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Location" section specifies a requirement to be within approximately ± 4 hours of CET. This is a critical constraint for remote work, ensuring effective team syncs and collaboration during business hours. The "Flexible Independent Contractor Agreement" also shapes the work environment, offering autonomy but potentially different employment structures than traditional full-time roles.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Application Review (3-5 days): Initial screening of applications for potential fit.

• Recruiter Screening (40 minutes): An initial conversation to assess general fit, motivation, and high-level qualifications. Be prepared to discuss your career trajectory and interest in this specific role and company.

• Technical Interview (90 minutes): A deep dive into your UX strategy, data analysis skills, A/B testing experience, and ability to drive growth metrics. Expect scenario-based questions and discussions about your portfolio case studies.

• Final Interview (60 minutes): Likely a discussion with senior leadership (e.g., Head of Product, CEO) to assess strategic thinking, leadership potential, cultural fit, and overall alignment with the company's vision and expectations.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Quantify Your Impact: For each case study, clearly state the problem, your approach, and the specific, measurable results you achieved. Use percentages, numbers, and revenue impact where possible.

• Showcase Data Fluency: Explicitly detail how you used product analytics, A/B testing data, and user research to inform your design decisions and validate your solutions. Walk through your data analysis process.

• Highlight Growth Focus: Emphasize projects where you directly contributed to activation, retention, conversion, or LTV improvements. Explain your understanding of growth loops and funnel optimization.

• Demonstrate Leadership: Be ready to discuss how you've led design initiatives, influenced cross-functional teams, and set quality standards, even if not in a formal management role.

• Explain the "Why": For every design choice, be prepared to articulate the rationale, supported by data or user insights.

Challenge Preparation:

• Growth Strategy Scenarios: Prepare to discuss how you would approach improving specific growth metrics (e.g., increasing activation rate by X%, improving 30-day retention by Y%) for a hypothetical D2C product.

• Data Analysis Walkthrough: Be ready to walk through a past project where you used data to diagnose a problem and inform a UX solution.

• Design System Philosophy: Discuss your approach to building and maintaining design systems, especially in a frontend-implemented context.

• Collaboration & Influence: Prepare examples of how you've successfully collaborated with engineers and product managers, and how you've influenced decisions with data and design rationale.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is structured to rigorously assess both technical UX skills and business impact. The portfolio is paramount and must clearly demonstrate quantifiable results and a data-driven approach. Candidates should anticipate detailed questions about their analytical capabilities and growth-driving experience.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Product Analytics: Mixpanel, Google Analytics (GA4), Amplitude, or similar. Deep hands-on experience is required.

• Session Replay & Heatmaps: Clarity, FullStory, Hotjar, or similar. Used for identifying user friction points.

• A/B Testing Platforms: GrowthBook, Optimizely, or similar. Essential for validating UX changes and driving optimization.

• Design & Prototyping: While not explicitly Figma-first, proficiency in design tools is assumed for ideation and communication. The emphasis is on implementation in code.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Interpretation Tools: Proficiency in extracting and interpreting data from analytics platforms to inform design strategy.

• Data Instrumentation: Ability to define requirements for new analytics tracking and reporting needs to be implemented by the data team.

CRM & Automation:

Frontend Implementation Context:

• Component Libraries: Familiarity with how design systems are implemented in code, potentially with experience reviewing or understanding code written in TailwindCSS, React, or Next.js. The role requires bridging the gap between design and frontend implementation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack heavily favors tools used for product analytics, user behavior analysis, and experimentation. The emphasis on "implemented directly in frontend" and the mention of specific frontend technologies indicate that this is not a purely conceptual design role but one that requires an understanding of or proximity to the development process.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A core value is achieving tangible business results and demonstrating measurable impact on key metrics like activation, retention, and conversion.

• Data-Centric: Decisions are expected to be driven by data and user insights, with a strong emphasis on analytical rigor.

• High Ownership & Initiative: Team members are expected to take full responsibility for their work, proactively identify opportunities, and drive initiatives forward with minimal oversight.

• Fast-Paced & Iterative: The culture embraces rapid development cycles, continuous improvement, and a willingness to experiment and learn quickly.

• Systems Thinking: A value placed on designing scalable solutions and building robust systems (like design systems) that support long-term growth.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Collaboration is tight-knit between UX, Product, Growth, and Engineering. UX is seen as an integral part of the product development team, not an isolated function.

• Data-Informed Discussion: Discussions and decision-making are heavily informed by data analysis and user research findings.

• Direct Communication: Given the remote and fast-paced nature, clear, concise, and direct communication is essential.

• Engineering Partnership: A strong partnership with frontend engineers is critical, given the focus on direct implementation of design in code.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture is described as demanding, performance-oriented, and focused on tangible business outcomes. The "not a role for a 'design-only' mindset" statement is a key indicator that this company values professionals who can translate design into business growth, demonstrating a strong understanding of product strategy and data.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Bridging Design & Engineering Implementation: Ensuring high-quality design implementation when design is built directly into the frontend, requiring close collaboration and potentially some technical understanding.

• Formalizing UX Practices: Establishing a structured UX research practice and a scalable design system in an environment that may not have had mature processes previously.

• Driving Growth in a Competitive Landscape: Continuously identifying and implementing UX improvements that lead to sustained growth and differentiation in a consumer product market.

• Balancing Speed and Quality: Maintaining high design standards and thorough research in a fast-paced, near-daily release environment.

• Remote Collaboration: Effectively leading and collaborating with distributed teams across different time zones.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepening Growth Expertise: Becoming a specialist in leveraging UX for measurable business growth, refining skills in CRO, A/B testing, and data analysis for product optimization.

• Strategic Product Leadership: Gaining experience in shaping product strategy and influencing key business decisions at a senior level.

• Building Scalable Systems: Developing expertise in creating and scaling design systems and research frameworks for high-growth products.

• Cross-functional Acumen: Enhancing understanding of engineering, product management, and growth marketing principles through close collaboration.

• Leadership in a Lean Environment: Developing leadership capabilities within a lean, agile, and engineering-centric team structure.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to a growth-stage company formalizing its UX practices. The growth opportunities are significant for professionals looking to make a direct business impact and develop deep expertise in growth-driven product design and strategy.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Growth Hypothesis Formulation: "If we wanted to increase our 7-day retention by 15%, what would be your initial hypotheses, and how would you go about testing them?"

• Data Analysis & UX Impact: "Describe a time you used product analytics (e.g., Mixpanel funnels) to identify a UX problem. What was the problem, how did you diagnose it, and what was the resulting design solution and its impact?"

• Design System Implementation: "How do you approach building or evolving a design system, particularly when it needs to be implemented directly in the frontend? What are the key considerations for ensuring scalability and quality?"

• Prioritization Framework: "Given limited resources and multiple potential UX improvements, how would you prioritize your efforts to maximize impact on business metrics?"

• Research Methodology: "Walk me through how you would set up a structured UX research practice from scratch for a product experiencing rapid growth."

Company & Culture Questions:

• Understanding the “Why”: "Based on our job description and company information, what do you see as the biggest opportunity for UX to drive growth at Ruby Labs?"

• Fit with Pace: "The role is described as 'not a 9-5' and 'high pace, high ownership.' How do you thrive in such environments, and what are your expectations regarding work-life balance?"

• Collaboration Style: "How do you typically collaborate with engineers and product managers? Provide an example of a time you had to influence a technical decision with your UX rationale."

• Measuring Success: "Beyond design quality, how do you measure the success of your work and your overall contribution to the business?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Start with the Business Problem: Clearly articulate the business objective or user problem you were addressing in each case study.

• Quantify Everything Possible: For each success, provide specific metrics and data points (e.g., "Increased conversion by 8%," "Reduced onboarding drop-off by 12% LTV increase of $X").

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (screenshots, flow diagrams, mockups) to illustrate your process and solutions.

• Explain Your Data and Research Process: Detail how you used analytics, user interviews, or A/B tests to inform your decisions and validate your outcomes.

• Conclude with Impact: Summarize the overall business impact of your project and what you learned. Be prepared to discuss any challenges or limitations.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a strong understanding of growth metrics, data analysis, and the ability to translate UX efforts into measurable business outcomes. Candidates should be ready to articulate their strategic thinking and leadership potential in a fast-paced, remote, and engineering-centric environment. The portfolio is the primary tool to showcase these capabilities.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight your experience in driving growth metrics (activation, retention, conversion) through data-informed UX strategies. Ensure your case studies clearly demonstrate quantifiable results and your analytical process.

• Resume Optimization: Integrate keywords from the job description such as "UX Strategy," "Product Analytics," "A/B Testing," "Conversion Rate Optimization," "Design Systems," "Growth Design," and "Data-Driven Design." Quantify achievements on your resume with specific numbers and percentages.

• Prepare for Data Discussions: Be ready to articulate your experience with specific analytics tools (Mixpanel, GA4, Amplitude) and your ability to independently analyze data and form hypotheses. Practice walking through a data analysis scenario.

• Company Research: Understand Ruby Labs' mission, the D2C product focus, and the company's emphasis on "high pace, high ownership, high standards." Prepare to discuss how your values and working style align with their 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.