UX/UI Professional
📍 Job Overview
Job Title: UX/UI Professional
Company: Santander
Location: Mönchengladbach - Santander-Platz, Germany
Job Type: Part time
Category: UX/UI Design & Strategy
Date Posted: 2026-07-24
Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5+ years)
Remote Status: Hybrid
🚀 Role Summary
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Drive the cross-channel digital experience strategy, ensuring a consistent and customer-centric user experience across all digital touchpoints.
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Design and continuously optimize digital customer journeys to enhance usability, customer satisfaction, and conversion rates.
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Lead UX research initiatives, evolve the design system, and uphold stringent UX/UI and quality standards.
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Serve as a strategic advisor to product development teams and support digital transformation efforts by translating business requirements into effective digital solutions.
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Foster innovation by monitoring industry trends and technologies to advance the digital customer experience.
📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a "Professional" within Santander, implying a level of expertise and responsibility beyond junior roles. The emphasis on "strategy," "management," and "sparring partner" suggests a mid-to-senior level individual contributor or a lead role within a specialized team, focused on driving strategic initiatives rather than solely executing tasks. The "Part time" employment type is a key differentiator.
📈 Primary Responsibilities
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Develop and implement the overarching UX/UI strategy for all digital channels, ensuring seamless integration and a unified brand experience.
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Analyze existing customer journeys, identify friction points, and design user-centric solutions to improve engagement and task completion.
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Conduct and manage user research, including usability testing, to gather insights for design improvements and validation.
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Oversee the evolution and governance of the company's design system, ensuring its adoption and consistency across digital products.
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Collaborate closely with product managers, engineers, and business stakeholders to translate complex requirements into intuitive and effective digital interfaces.
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Stay abreast of emerging digital trends, competitive landscapes, and new technologies (including AI) to identify opportunities for innovation and competitive advantage.
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Champion a user-centric mindset throughout the organization, advocating for best practices in UX/UI design and customer experience.
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Manage relationships with external UX/UI agencies, ensuring alignment with internal strategies and quality standards.
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Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to digital experience, such as conversion rates, customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS), and app ratings.
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Contribute to the digital transformation initiatives by providing expert UX/UI guidance and ensuring user needs are central to new product development and feature enhancements.
📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strategic and leadership-oriented function, focusing on both the creation of foundational design elements (strategy, design system) and their application to drive business outcomes (conversion, satisfaction). The mention of "managing external agencies" and "international teams" suggests a need for strong project management and communication skills.
🎓 Skills & Qualifications
Education:
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Bachelor's degree in UX Design, Interaction Design, Media Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a closely related field. Experience:
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Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the conception and continuous development of digital products.
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Preference for experience within FinTech, Banking, Platform, or technology-driven environments.
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Demonstrated success in improving digital customer experiences and achieving measurable KPI improvements (e.g., conversion, app ratings, customer satisfaction, engagement).
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Proven experience in establishing and advancing UX/UI standards and design systems.
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Experience managing external UX/UI agencies and collaborating with international teams and stakeholders. Required Skills:
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UX Strategy Development: Ability to define and articulate a comprehensive UX strategy aligned with business objectives.
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Customer Journey Mapping & Optimization: Expertise in analyzing and redesigning digital customer journeys for enhanced user experience and conversion.
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UX Research & Usability Testing: Proficiency in conducting various research methodologies to gather user insights and validate design decisions.
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Design System Management: Experience in building, maintaining, and governing design systems to ensure consistency and efficiency.
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Digital Product Design: Strong portfolio showcasing end-to-end project experience in designing intuitive digital products.
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Stakeholder Management: Ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
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Data-Driven Optimization: Competence in using data analytics and KPIs to inform design decisions and measure impact.
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Fluent German (C2) and English (C1) language skills. Preferred Skills:
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Interaction Design: Deep understanding of interaction design principles and patterns.
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Frontend Technologies: Familiarity with modern frontend technologies and their implications for UX/UI.
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AI-Powered Product Understanding: Knowledge of how Artificial Intelligence is integrated into digital products and its impact on user experience.
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Agency Management: Experience in selecting, managing, and evaluating external design partners.
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FinTech/Banking Domain Expertise: Specific knowledge of the digital landscape and user expectations in the financial services sector.
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Spanish Language Skills: A valuable asset for collaboration with broader international teams.
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Awards/Publications: Recognition in the UX/UI community through awards or publications.
📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for C2 German and C1 English proficiency is critical and should be a primary filter for applicants. The "5+ years" experience, coupled with the expectation of managing strategy and design systems, firmly places this role in the mid-to-senior level. The portfolio requirement is explicitly linked to "end-to-end projects" and the ability to "establish and sustainably establish UX/UI themes within the organization."
📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements
Portfolio Essentials:
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A comprehensive portfolio showcasing end-to-end UX/UI design projects, demonstrating your ability to take concepts from ideation through to successful implementation and iteration.
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Case studies that clearly illustrate your problem-solving approach, design process, and the impact of your contributions on key business metrics (e.g., conversion rates, user satisfaction, engagement).
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Evidence of your experience in developing and utilizing design systems, including examples of components, style guides, and their application in real-world projects.
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Documentation of your UX research methodologies, including examples of user interviews, usability tests, and how insights were translated into design improvements.
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Demonstrations of your ability to optimize digital customer journeys, with before-and-after scenarios or clear explanations of the improvements made. Process Documentation:
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Showcase your understanding of and experience with agile development methodologies and how UX/UI integrates into iterative design and development cycles.
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Provide examples of how you have documented user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and final designs for handoff to development teams.
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Detail your approach to creating and maintaining UX/UI standards and guidelines to ensure consistency and quality across multiple digital products and platforms.
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Illustrate your process for managing and collaborating with external UX/UI agencies, including briefing, feedback loops, and quality assurance.
📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "establishing and sustainably establishing UX/UI themes within the organization" strongly suggests that the portfolio should not only showcase past work but also demonstrate the candidate's strategic thinking and ability to build and champion design processes within a corporate environment. The "end-to-end projects" requirement implies a need for detailed project narratives.
💵 Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range:
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Estimated Range: €60,000 - €85,000 per annum (gross), commensurate with experience and qualifications.
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Methodology: This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for experienced UX/UI professionals in Germany, particularly within the financial services sector in regions like North Rhine-Westphalia. Factors considered include the "5+ years" experience requirement, the strategic nature of the role, and the "Part time" employment type, which might adjust the annual figure but reflects a solid hourly or pro-rata rate. The inclusion of "remuneration system of the corporate headquarters" suggests a structured pay scale based on performance and role complexity.
Benefits:
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Secure employment: Long-term prospects in a growing, international company.
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Professional Development: Access to diverse training and development opportunities.
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Comprehensive Onboarding: Structured support to integrate into the role and company.
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Flexible Work: Flexible working hours and options for daily mobile work (hybrid).
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Generous Leave: More than 6 weeks of annual leave, plus 2 bank holidays, a birthday half-day, and the possibility of an additional 25 days of unpaid leave annually.
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Financial Perks: Annual special payment, company pension scheme (via salary conversion), special conditions for banking products, and capital-forming benefits (Vermögenswirksame Leistungen) up to €40 per month.
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Allowances & Subsidies: Contributions towards kindergarten, meals, Gympass, and public transport (Jobticket).
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Health & Wellness: Annual health voucher and access to Corporate Benefits.
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Part-time Option: Flexibility to work part-time.
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Inclusive Environment: Equal consideration for candidates with severe disabilities.
Working Hours:
- The role is listed as "Part time," with an implied standard of 40 hours per week if it were full-time, suggesting a pro-rata arrangement for this position. The mention of "Flexible Arbeitszeit" (flexible working hours) and "tageweise Mobile Work" (daily mobile work) indicates a high degree of autonomy and flexibility within the agreed part-time schedule.
📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate for a full-time equivalent and would need to be pro-rated for the part-time arrangement. The extensive benefits package, particularly the generous leave and financial perks, is a significant draw for candidates in Germany. The emphasis on "part-time" employment is unusual for this level of responsibility and warrants clarification from potential applicants.
🎯 Team & Company Context
🏢 Company Culture
Industry: Financial Services (Banking & FinTech)
Company Size: Large Enterprise (Santander is a global financial institution with tens of thousands of employees worldwide). This implies established processes, a structured environment, and opportunities for broad impact.
Founded: 1857 (Santander has a long and rich history, suggesting stability and a deep understanding of the financial market).
Team Structure:
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The role likely sits within a dedicated digital product, innovation, or customer experience team.
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Reporting lines are expected to be to a Head of Digital Experience, Head of Product, or a senior UX/Product Lead.
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This role will involve significant cross-functional collaboration with product management, engineering, marketing, data analytics, and potentially legal/compliance departments.
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The mention of "international teams" suggests collaboration with colleagues in other Santander entities globally. Methodology:
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Data Analysis & Insights: Emphasis on using data analytics, KPIs, and user research to drive design decisions and measure success.
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Agile & Iterative Processes: Likely adoption of agile methodologies for product development, requiring UX/UI professionals to work iteratively and adapt to changing requirements.
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Design Thinking & User-Centricity: A core philosophy focused on deeply understanding user needs and designing solutions from that perspective.
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Collaboration & Communication: Strong emphasis on teamwork, clear communication, and building consensus across diverse stakeholder groups.
Company Website: https://www.santander.de/ (For Germany)
📝 Enhancement Note: As a global financial institution, Santander likely has a culture that balances innovation with a strong emphasis on security, compliance, and customer trust. The "Professional" title suggests an environment where expertise is valued and individuals are expected to contribute strategically. The "part-time" nature of this role might indicate a specific project need or a focus on specialized
Application Requirements
Requires a degree in UX/Interaction Design or similar, with ideally 5+ years of experience in digital product development, preferably in FinTech or Banking. Must have a strong portfolio, fluency in German (C2) and English (C1), and experience managing external agencies.