UX Team Lead

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Team Lead

Company: Swedbank

Location: Vilnius, Lithuania; Tallinn, Estonia; Rīga, Latvia

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: User Experience (UX) Design & Leadership

Date Posted: 2026-06-15

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (Implied 5-10 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the User Experience (UX) function, defining and executing a UX vision that aligns with Swedbank's digital distribution and overall business strategy.

• Translate key business objectives, including sales targets, service efficiency, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and digital adoption rates, into actionable experience principles and design guidelines.

• Establish and maintain UX quality standards, implement review mechanisms, and rigorously measure the impact of design initiatives on funnel performance, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

• Ensure a cohesive and consistent user experience across all digital platforms, including the Internet Bank, Mobile App, and other customer-facing digital touchpoints.

• Champion customer-centric decision-making at the leadership level, advocating for user needs and integrating user feedback into strategic planning.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the role is titled "UX Team Lead," the responsibilities strongly suggest a strategic leadership position with significant ownership over the UX vision and its impact on business outcomes. This role requires a blend of strong design leadership, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of how UX drives key business metrics within a financial services context. The "Hybrid" work arrangement implies a need for strong communication and collaboration skills to effectively lead a distributed team.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Strategic Vision & Alignment: Define and own the overarching UX vision, ensuring it is directly aligned with Swedbank’s digital distribution strategy and broader business objectives.

• Business Metric Translation: Convert high-level business goals (e.g., sales targets, service efficiency, NPS, digital adoption) into concrete experience principles, user journeys, and design guidelines.

• Quality Assurance & Impact Measurement: Establish robust UX quality standards and review processes. Develop and implement metrics to measure the impact of design decisions on funnel performance, operational efficiency, and overall customer satisfaction.

• Cross-Platform Consistency: Guarantee a unified and consistent user experience across all Swedbank digital touchpoints, including the Internet Bank, Mobile App, and any other digital interfaces.

• Customer Advocacy: Act as a primary advocate for customer-centricity within leadership discussions, ensuring user needs are central to strategic decision-making.

• Compliance & Accessibility: Ensure all digital experiences adhere to relevant accessibility standards, regulatory requirements, and legal frameworks.

• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and develop a multidisciplinary UX team, fostering a high-performance culture.

• Performance Management: Set clear performance goals, create individual development plans, and conduct regular performance reviews for team members.

• Design Culture Cultivation: Build and nurture a strong design culture grounded in data, experimentation, and measurable impact.

• Resource Management: Oversee and manage resource allocation for UX efforts across various digital initiatives and projects.

• Technical Feasibility & Collaboration: Ensure the feasibility of design solutions within the existing technical architecture and actively participate in product discovery and prioritization processes.

• Agile Team Support: Provide clear design direction, validation criteria, and ongoing support to agile development teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a need for deep expertise in translating business strategy into user-centric design solutions and then measuring their impact. This goes beyond traditional UX design; it requires a strategic mind capable of influencing business outcomes and leading a team effectively within an agile, cross-functional environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a closely related field.

• Relevant professional experience demonstrating equivalent knowledge and skills will be considered in lieu of a formal degree. Experience:

• Proven experience in product design and interaction design, with a strong portfolio showcasing successful projects.

• Demonstrated experience in leading and developing design teams, including performance management and mentorship.

• Experience in defining and governing design systems.

• Familiarity with UX research methodologies and their application in product development.

• Experience working within agile development environments, supporting cross-functional teams.

• Experience in the financial services or banking sector is highly advantageous. Required Skills:

• UX Vision & Strategy: Ability to define and articulate a compelling UX vision aligned with business goals.

• Product & Interaction Design: Deep understanding of user-centered design principles, wireframing, prototyping, and usability best practices.

• UX Research Methodologies: Proficiency in planning, conducting, and synthesizing user research to inform design decisions.

• Design Systems Governance: Experience in establishing, maintaining, and evolving design systems for consistency and scalability.

• Team Leadership & Management: Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop a team of UX professionals, fostering collaboration and individual growth.

• Storytelling & Presentation: Exceptional skills in presenting design concepts, research findings, and strategic recommendations to diverse stakeholders, including senior leadership.

• Analytical & Strategic Thinking: Ability to analyze complex situations, identify patterns, and develop strategic, long-term solutions while maintaining attention to detail.

• Problem-Solving: Proficiency in analyzing new and complex situations, identifying resolution patterns, and applying creative approaches to overcome challenges.

• Fluent English: Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Preferred Skills:

• Agile Methodologies: Experience working effectively within agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban).

• Data Analysis & Metrics: Ability to interpret data, define KPIs, and measure the impact of design initiatives on business metrics.

• Financial Services Domain Knowledge: Understanding of banking products, customer needs, and regulatory landscape within the financial sector.

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

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite: Advanced skills in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for reporting and presentations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize a blend of strong design craft, strategic leadership, and business acumen. "Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office software" is a somewhat dated requirement for a UX Lead, suggesting the need for strong documentation and presentation skills using standard corporate tools. The emphasis on "complex processes" and "analytical and creative thinking" points towards a role that requires navigating intricate systems and finding innovative solutions.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Strategic Impact Showcase: Demonstrations of how your UX leadership and design initiatives have directly influenced key business metrics (e.g., increased sales, improved service efficiency, higher NPS, enhanced digital adoption).

• Design System Governance: Examples of established or significantly improved design systems, highlighting governance models, implementation strategies, and their impact on design consistency and efficiency.

• Team Leadership & Development: Case studies or descriptions of how you have led, mentored, and developed UX teams, including examples of performance improvement and team growth.

• Cross-Platform Consistency Projects: Projects that exemplify the successful creation and maintenance of a consistent user experience across multiple digital platforms (e.g., web, mobile app).

• Problem-Solving Case Studies: Detailed examples of complex UX challenges you've tackled, outlining your analytical process, creative solutions, and the measurable outcomes.

Process Documentation:

• UX Vision & Strategy Documentation: Evidence of developing and communicating a clear UX vision that aligns with business objectives.

• Design Quality Standards & Review Mechanisms: Examples of UX quality frameworks, standards, and review processes you have implemented.

• Impact Measurement Frameworks: Documentation of how you have defined, tracked, and reported on the impact of UX initiatives using relevant metrics and analytics.

• Agile Workflow Integration: Examples of how UX processes have been effectively integrated into agile development workflows, including collaboration with development teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a leadership role like this, a portfolio must go beyond showcasing individual design work. It needs to demonstrate strategic thinking, leadership capabilities, and a quantifiable impact on business objectives. The ability to document and articulate processes for quality assurance, team development, and cross-functional collaboration is crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Latvia: 4,150 – 6,250 € gross per month

• Lithuania: 5,250 – 7,850 € gross per month

• Estonia: 4,500 – 6,700 € gross per month

Benefits:

• Share-based reward program (Eken)

• Company pension plan

• Employee offers for banking products

• Health insurance

• Flexible working conditions (where suitable for the role) Working Hours:

• Full-time, with flexible working conditions potentially available. The standard expectation is likely around 40 hours per week, but flexibility may be offered based on role needs and individual arrangements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary ranges provided are specific to each Baltic country and reflect a significant difference, with Lithuania offering the highest potential compensation. The benefits package is competitive for a corporate role, emphasizing long-term rewards and employee well-being. The mention of flexible working conditions is a key draw for many professionals.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Banking and Financial Services

Company Size: Large Enterprise (Swedbank is a major Nordic financial services group with thousands of employees)

Founded: Swedbank has a long history, tracing its origins back to the mid-19th century, with significant mergers and evolution over time. This implies a stable, established organization with a deep understanding of the financial sector.

Team Structure:

• UX Team: This role leads a "multidisciplinary UX team," suggesting it comprises various UX specialists (e.g., interaction designers, researchers, content strategists, potentially UX writers).

• Reporting: The UX Team Lead will likely report to a senior leader within Digital, Product, or IT divisions, such as a Head of Digital, Chief Product Officer, or Head of UX/Design.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: The role is deeply embedded in cross-functional collaboration, working closely with product managers, engineers, business strategists, marketing, and compliance teams across agile squads.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on using data (user analytics, A/B testing results, NPS scores) to inform design decisions and measure impact.

• Agile Development: Support for agile teams with clear design direction and validation, indicating integration into iterative development cycles.

• Customer-Centricity: A core principle guiding all strategic and design decisions, focusing on delivering value and positive experiences for customers.

• Experimentation: A culture that encourages testing new ideas and approaches to optimize user experiences and business outcomes.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Operating within a large, established financial institution like Swedbank means navigating a complex regulatory environment and a large customer base. The UX team's work is critical for maintaining competitiveness and customer loyalty in a digital-first banking landscape. The "multidisciplinary" nature of the team suggests a need for strong people management skills to harmonize diverse talents.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a senior leadership role, positioned as a Team Lead. It signifies a transition from individual contributor or senior individual contributor to people management and strategic oversight within the UX domain. The role requires influencing product strategy and championing UX best practices across the organization.

Reporting Structure: The UX Team Lead will manage a team of UX professionals and report to a higher-level manager within the digital or product organization. This provides exposure to senior leadership and strategic decision-making processes.

Operations Impact: The UX Team Lead has a direct impact on Swedbank's revenue and business decisions by:

• Ensuring digital products are intuitive, efficient, and drive customer acquisition and retention.

• Improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, leading to higher lifetime value and reduced churn.

• Optimizing operational efficiency through user-friendly interfaces that reduce support costs and streamline customer interactions.

• Translating business goals into user experiences that drive key performance indicators (KPIs) like sales, digital adoption, and NPS. Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Advancement: Potential to grow into roles like Head of UX, Director of Product Design, or broader leadership positions within digital product development.

• Strategic Influence: Opportunities to shape the digital strategy of a major financial institution, influencing product roadmaps and business direction.

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in areas like design system governance, UX research strategy, or specific financial product design.

• Cross-Functional Exposure: Gain broader business understanding by working across various departments (e.g., marketing, compliance, risk, retail banking).

• Mentorship & Coaching: Develop strong people management and coaching skills through leading and developing the UX team.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a significant step for a UX professional looking to move into leadership. The emphasis on business impact and strategic alignment suggests that growth opportunities will be tied to demonstrating leadership effectiveness and contributions to key business outcomes, not just design execution.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role specifies locations in Vilnius, Tallinn, and Rīga, and is designated as "Hybrid." This indicates a modern work environment that blends in-office collaboration with remote flexibility.

Office Location(s):

• Vilnius, Lithuania: Konstitucijos pr. 20a, 09319

• Tallinn, Estonia: Liivalaia 8, 10118

• Rīga, Latvia: Balasta dambis 15, 1048

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hubs: Office spaces are likely designed to facilitate collaboration, with meeting rooms, breakout areas, and potentially open-plan workspaces for team interactions.

• Technology Enabled: Access to necessary design tools, software, and IT infrastructure to support both in-office and remote work.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for regular face-to-face interaction with team members and stakeholders when in the office, fostering team cohesion and spontaneous problem-solving.

Work Schedule:

• Full-time, with a hybrid arrangement suggesting a mix of office and remote work. Specific days in the office may be determined by team needs and manager guidance. Flexibility is a key aspect, allowing professionals to balance work with personal life where the role permits.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature of the role in multiple Baltic capitals suggests a modern, flexible approach to work. The emphasis on collaboration in the office and flexibility for remote work is a significant aspect of the employee value proposition, particularly for attracting talent in competitive markets.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a recruiter or HR screening to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and understanding of the role's scope.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A detailed discussion with Igoris Ryklys (future leader) to assess leadership style, strategic thinking, team management philosophy, and deep UX expertise.

• Team/Peer Interviews: Meetings with potential team members or cross-functional peers (e.g., Product Managers, senior engineers) to evaluate collaboration skills, technical understanding, and cultural fit.

• Portfolio Presentation: A dedicated session where candidates present their portfolio, focusing on case studies that demonstrate strategic impact, leadership, and problem-solving.

• Final Interview: Potentially a discussion with a senior leader (e.g., Head of Digital, CPO) to finalize the decision and discuss long-term vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: Prioritize case studies that clearly articulate the business problem, your strategic approach, the solutions implemented, and quantifiable business results. Use metrics like conversion rates, NPS improvements, efficiency gains, and user satisfaction scores.

• Show Leadership in Action: Include examples of how you've mentored designers, influenced product strategy, managed resources, and fostered a positive team culture.

• Demonstrate Strategic Thinking: Explain your thought process behind defining UX visions, translating business goals, and establishing design standards.

• Highlight Process & Methodology: Clearly articulate your approach to UX research, design, and collaboration within agile frameworks.

• Tailor to Swedbank: Research Swedbank's digital offerings, customer base, and stated values. Frame your examples to show how your experience aligns with their specific challenges and strategic priorities in the financial sector.

Challenge Preparation:

• Case Study Analysis: Be prepared to walk through a complex UX challenge from your portfolio in detail, explaining your rationale at each step.

• Strategic Scenarios: Anticipate questions about how you would approach specific strategic challenges, such as improving digital adoption for a particular banking product or enhancing customer service efficiency through UX.

• Leadership Scenarios: Be ready to discuss how you handle team conflicts, motivate underperforming team members, and advocate for UX within a large organization.

• Cultural Fit: Prepare to discuss your leadership philosophy, your approach to fostering a data-driven and customer-centric culture, and how you embrace collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to assess not just design skills but also leadership capabilities, strategic thinking, and business acumen. A strong portfolio presentation that highlights measurable impact and leadership experience will be critical for success.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop), InVision, Axure RP (or similar advanced prototyping tools).

• UX Research Tools: UserTesting.com, Maze, Hotjar, SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, or similar platforms for usability testing, surveys, and behavioral analytics.

• Design Systems Management: Tools for component libraries, style guides, and documentation (e.g., Zeroheight, Storybook, or internal systems).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, or similar platforms to track website and app usage, funnel performance.

• Business Intelligence Tools: Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or internal BI dashboards for reporting on business and UX metrics.

• Customer Feedback Platforms: Tools for collecting and analyzing customer feedback (e.g., NPS surveys, in-app feedback tools).

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not primary UX tools, understanding how CRM data (e.g., Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics) informs customer segmentation and personalization is beneficial.

• Project Management & Collaboration: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Trello for managing agile workflows, documentation, and team collaboration.

• Communication Platforms: Microsoft Teams, Slack for daily team communication and collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools are not listed, a UX Team Lead in a financial institution would be expected to be proficient in industry-standard design, research, and analytics tools. The ability to work with data and translate it into actionable insights for both design and business stakeholders is paramount. Familiarity with enterprise-level collaboration and project management tools is also key.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving customer needs, making them the priority in all design and strategic decisions. This is fundamental in financial services.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Relying on analytics, user research, and experimentation to validate hypotheses and measure the impact of design initiatives, ensuring objectivity.

• Collaboration & Teamwork: Fostering an environment where diverse skills and perspectives are valued, encouraging cross-functional partnerships to achieve shared goals.

• Continuous Improvement & Learning: An ethos of always seeking to enhance processes, skills, and outcomes, embracing new technologies and methodologies.

• Integrity & Responsibility: Upholding high ethical standards, especially critical in a regulated industry like banking, ensuring trust and security in all digital interactions.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Actively partnering with product management, engineering, marketing, legal, and compliance to ensure holistic product development and alignment.

• Open Feedback Loops: Encouraging constructive feedback within the UX team and with stakeholders to drive iterative improvements and maintain high-quality standards.

• Knowledge Sharing: Promoting an environment where best practices, learnings, and insights are shared freely to elevate the collective expertise of the team and organization.

• Empowerment & Autonomy: Empowering team members to take ownership of their work while providing guidance and support, fostering a sense of accountability and innovation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Swedbank, as a large financial institution, likely emphasizes values like integrity, responsibility, and a customer-first approach. The UX team's culture would need to reflect these core values while also embracing modern design practices like data-driven decision-making and agile collaboration.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Complex Regulations: The financial services industry is heavily regulated. Ensuring UX designs comply with all legal, security, and accessibility requirements can be complex and time-consuming.

• Balancing Stakeholder Needs: Managing diverse stakeholder expectations (e.g., business, IT, legal, compliance, customers) to achieve consensus on UX strategies and designs.

• Driving Cultural Change: Shifting towards a more customer-centric, data-driven design culture within a large, established organization can be challenging.

• Resource Constraints: Effectively managing and allocating UX resources across multiple projects and priorities within a large enterprise.

• Keeping Pace with Technology: Evolving digital landscapes and technologies require continuous learning and adaptation to ensure Swedbank's digital offerings remain competitive.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Leadership Training: Opportunities for professional development in people management, strategic leadership, and financial management.

• Industry Conferences & Certifications: Participation in leading UX, design, and digital transformation conferences, along with potential for relevant certifications.

• Mentorship Programs: Access to mentorship from senior leaders within Swedbank or industry experts to guide career growth.

• Exposure to New Technologies: Working with cutting-edge design and development technologies within the fintech and banking sectors.

• Cross-Departmental Projects: Opportunities to lead or contribute to initiatives that span multiple business units, broadening understanding of the financial services value chain.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant growth potential by tackling complex challenges within a major financial institution. The opportunities for learning are tied to leadership development, strategic impact, and staying at the forefront of digital innovation in finance.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you define and evangelize a UX vision for Swedbank's digital banking platforms that aligns with our business goals of increasing sales and service efficiency?" (Focus on strategic alignment, stakeholder buy-in, and translating business objectives into UX principles.)

• "Describe your approach to establishing and measuring UX quality standards. What key metrics would you prioritize to demonstrate the impact of design on funnel performance and customer satisfaction in a banking context?" (Highlight data-driven approach, specific metrics, and impact measurement techniques.)

• "How do you foster a data-driven and experimentation-focused design culture within a multidisciplinary UX team and across cross-functional departments?" (Discuss strategies for promoting data literacy, encouraging A/B testing, and integrating research findings into decision-making.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your research, what do you see as Swedbank's biggest UX challenges or opportunities in the current digital banking landscape?" (Demonstrate thorough research into Swedbank's digital presence, market position, and potential user pain points.)

• "How do you approach building strong, collaborative relationships with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to ensure successful product delivery?" (Provide examples of your collaboration style and conflict resolution strategies.)

• "Describe a time you had to advocate for a user-centric decision that was met with resistance. How did you navigate that situation and what was the outcome?" (Showcase your advocacy skills, negotiation tactics, and ability to influence decision-makers.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role and responsibilities, the process you followed, your key decisions and rationale, the solution, and the measurable outcomes.

• Quantify Impact: Use specific numbers and data to demonstrate the success of your work. For example, "Increased conversion rate by X%," "Reduced customer support inquiries by Y%," "Improved NPS by Z points."

• Showcase Leadership: Highlight instances where you led a team, mentored junior designers, managed project timelines, or influenced strategic direction.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your design choices, research methodologies, and team management approach. Be ready to elaborate on any aspect of your presented work.

• Connect to Swedbank: Whenever possible, draw parallels between your experience and Swedbank's context, demonstrating how your skills and approach can address their specific needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic leadership, a data-driven mindset, and a deep understanding of UX's impact on business objectives, particularly within the financial services sector. Strong communication and presentation skills are essential.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Team Lead position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Swedbank careers portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your resume and portfolio are tailored to highlight leadership experience, strategic UX vision, and quantifiable business impact relevant to the financial services industry. Prepare 2-3 detailed case studies that showcase your ability to lead teams, drive measurable results, and navigate complex challenges.

• Resume Optimization: Clearly articulate your experience in team leadership, UX strategy, product design, and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords such as "UX Vision," "Design Systems Governance," "Team Leadership," "Customer-Centricity," "Agile," and "Data-Driven Design."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your leadership philosophy, your approach to building and developing teams, and how you measure UX success. Be ready to discuss your portfolio case studies in detail, focusing on strategic rationale and impact. Research Swedbank's digital offerings and recent news.

• Company Research: Thoroughly investigate Swedbank's digital products, its position in the Baltic market, its stated values, and its strategic priorities. Understand the competitive landscape of digital banking in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

⚠️ 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.