Lead Product Designer, Spendesk

• This role requires strong product thinking, systems thinking, and design leadership
• Significant experience designing complex digital products in cross-functional teams, typically gained over seven or more years
• Demonstrated experience leading design across multiple squads, interconnected workflows, or a substantial product domain
• Strong product and strategic thinking, with the ability to connect user needs, business priorities, and technical constraints
• Excellent systems thinking, interaction design, and information architecture skills, particularly across complex or data-heavy experiences
• A strong track record of using research and evidence to frame problems and influence product direction
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and storytelling skills, with the ability to align teams and influence senior stakeholders
• The ability to remain hands-on while creating the direction, context, and standards that enable others to work autonomously
• Experience coaching designers and raising the quality and effectiveness of design across a wider team
• We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences, even if they do not meet every requirement listed

Desirable

• We’re looking for a Lead Product Designer to help shape the future of Spendesk’s product experience, with a particular focus on AI-powered and automation-driven workflows
• You’ll work across several connected squads or a significant product area, partnering with Product Managers, Engineers, and designers to create a coherent experience and help teams focus on the most valuable customer and business problems
• You’ll connect insights and opportunities across teams, influence product direction, and bring clarity to complex problems that cannot be solved within the boundaries of a single squad
• You’ll remain hands-on, leading critical discovery and design initiatives while establishing the principles, standards, and shared understanding that enable others to make strong decisions independently
• As a senior individual contributor, you’ll lead through your craft, judgment, communication, and influence rather than formal people management
• You’ll also help other designers grow through coaching, feedback, and sponsorship
• The Product Design team plays a strategic role in shaping Spendesk’s platform and user experience
• We simplify complex financial and operational workflows, helping finance teams, managers, employees, and administrators make informed decisions with greater efficiency, visibility, and confidence
• Designers operate as strategic partners within cross-functional teams. We collaborate with Product, Engineering, Data, and other stakeholders throughout discovery, problem framing, experimentation, delivery, and iteration
• We conduct research directly with users and use qualitative and quantitative evidence to influence product decisions
• We care deeply about systems thinking, information architecture, and consistency across the platform
• As AI and automation become central to financial operations, we’re exploring how intelligent systems can help users move faster while maintaining transparency, trust, and control
• Shape product and experience direction across several connected squads or a significant product area
• Connect customer insight, product strategy, business objectives, and technical context to identify and prioritise high-impact opportunities
• Align cross-functional teams around shared problems, experience principles, intended outcomes, and success measures
• Lead complex design initiatives across discovery, exploration, delivery, measurement, and iteration while remaining hands-on where your expertise has the greatest impact
• Create coherent end-to-end experiences and resolve systemic UX issues spanning workflows, features, and squad boundaries
• Establish and uphold strong standards for interaction design, information architecture, accessibility, content, and visual quality
• Improve cross-squad collaboration by surfacing dependencies, facilitating decisions, and helping teams navigate ambiguity and trade-offs
• Coach and support designers, helping them grow in autonomy, craft, product thinking, and organisational influence
• Shape the future of AI-powered financial operations
• Influence product direction across a complex and interconnected platform
• Take on a high-impact individual contributor role with significant strategic scope
• Work on challenges at the intersection of finance, operations, AI, and user experience
• Join a collaborative and international product organisation with a flexible hybrid model

• Introductory conversation with Talent Acquisition
• Portfolio presentation and discussion with the Hiring Manager
• Collaborative live workshop focused on product thinking, systems thinking, design leadership, and cross-functional collaboration
• Final conversations with Product and Design leadership