Principal UX & Product Design Lead

You understand UX deeply—research, data, beautiful design that converts. But your current setup has you drowning in processes, reporting layers, design committee approvals, and the creeping realisation that your best ideas are being watered down by consensus.

You’re in a corporate environment where moving fast means fighting bureaucracy. Where you can spend weeks getting sign-off on a project that should’ve shipped in days. Where the CEO has never heard your name.

Our client is a portfolio of high-growth DTC pet food brands going through an exciting digital transformation. They’re migrating their entire tech stack to their own platform, and they’re replacing an expensive external agency with someone permanent—someone who understands not just design, but business.

What’s In It For You

Here’s what they’re facing:

• Multiple brand migrations happening right now
• New product opportunities launching that require user research, testing, iteration
• A development team with serious technical chops that’s been underutilised because there’s no senior designer in-house to unlock what’s possible
• Founders and CEOs who want to work with UX expertise but currently have no one to call

For the right person, this is a rare moment. Within your first 12 months, you’ll replace an external UX budget that currently runs into six figures. You’ll be the person brands come to. You’ll launch multiple projects, not sit in roadmap hell.

Real Impact, Real Quickly

You’re not designing in a vacuum. Your work goes live. You sit with founders. You run research, propose changes, execute them, measure the result. By month 9‑12, you’ll have shipped 2‑3 major brand redesigns and seen measurable uplift in conversion and subscription performance.

Multi‑Brand Exposure Without the Corporate Madness

You get the variety of working across multiple brands without the bloat of a 200‑person design team. Each brand has a unique identity, audience, and challenge. You’re solving different problems for different founders—but you get to work independently. No design review committee. No “let’s workshop this for three weeks.”

The Rare Combination: Creative Freedom + Budget

You want to test an idea? You scope it, propose it, and (once you’ve built trust) you get approval and budget. You need a freelance designer to handle production work? Raise the cost, get sign‑off, move on. You’re not doing everything alone—but you’re in control of what gets done and how.

Work With Founders Who Actually Listen

Our client’s founders care about UX. They’ve experienced the cost of not having it (expensive freelance agencies that don’t understand their brand). They want someone who can say “I know how this should work” and “let me sit with your customers to validate that.” You’ll have a real seat at the table, not be treated as an execution layer.

A Chance to Build Something Scalable

Right now, our client is learning how to structure UX across a portfolio. By year two, you might report into a new Head of Product—a peer‑level hire who handles strategy and commercials while you focus on design excellence. You’re building the playbook for how UX works across multiple brands. That’s portfolio‑building work.

What We’re Looking For

Must‑Have Experience

• 7+ years in UX, Product Design, or Experience Design (with strong DTC or e‑commerce background)
• Hands‑on research: User interviews, usability testing, analytics tools (Hotjar, GA4, FullStory)
• Proven track record designing for high‑performing e‑commerce or subscription products
• Comfortable switching between projects and managing your own time

You should apply if:

• You’ve felt frustrated in slow corporate systems and crave autonomy
• You can balance beautiful, differentiated design with conversion data
• You’re collaborative—you want to sit with teams and solve problems together, not work in isolation
• You’re curious about why users behave the way they do, not just what looks good
• You can scope a project, identify what freelance support you need, and manage that without hand‑holding
• You’re willing to travel once a month to visit brands and sit with teams (2‑3 trips per quarter max)

You probably shouldn’t apply if:

• You’ve spent years in a big corporate UX function reporting to lots of layers
• You want a “Head of Design” title with a team reporting to you
• You need detailed briefs and clear direction on everything
• You view portfolio work as beneath you or see freelancers as a threat
• You’re not willing to get hands‑on and actually design

Salary: £70-75k (based on skills and fit, not title)

Location: UK Remote, with monthly travel to visit brands

Interested? Apply now!