Staff Product Designer

Staff Product Designer

Full-Time 63000 - 77000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
cleo

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead the design of Cleo’s AI-driven financial platform and shape user experiences.
  • Company: Join a fast-growing fintech unicorn on a mission to transform money management.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, equity options, remote work flexibility, and generous leave policies.
  • Other info: Inclusive culture that values diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact in fintech by redefining how people interact with their finances.
  • Qualifications: Proven experience in fintech design and strong leadership skills.

The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.

About Cleo

At Cleo, we’re not just building another fintech app.

We’re on a mission to fundamentally change humanity’s relationship with money, aiming to give everyone—regardless of background or income—a hyper‑intelligent financial advisor in their pocket.

Cleo is a profitable, fast‑growing unicorn with over $300 million in ARR and more than 2x year‑over‑year growth.

We seek talent at the top of their field who embraces our culture of collaboration and positive impact.

About the Role

Principal Product Designer – a company‑level IC who will define the future of Cleo’s product experience.

The role sits within Core Experience, where we build platform UX, information architecture, and the design system.

You’ll shape structural foundations, champion coherence across credit, subscriptions, cash‑flow intelligence, and behavioural coaching, and set the standard for design quality and systems thinking across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities

  • Define the long‑term interaction vision for Cleo’s AI‑driven financial platform
  • Architect multi‑year product frameworks that unify credit, subscriptions, savings, and an AI agentic layer tying it together
  • Shape how AI works across the product in ways that feel clear, responsible, and empowering
  • Design scalable mental models that reduce financial complexity at scale
  • Align navigation, IA, and behavioural flows across the full lifecycle
  • Anticipate future product expansion and ensure foundational decisions scale
  • Partner with executive leadership to shape product direction and roadmap priorities
  • Translate ambiguous strategic bets into compelling product concepts and prototypes
  • Establish experience principles that guide teams across the company
  • Set the highest standard for visual, interaction, and systems craft
  • Raise the ambition of what fintech can feel like
  • Mentor designers and elevate thinking across the Experience org
  • Provide strategic direction for the evolution of Cleo’s Design System as a platform asset
  • Ensure the system enables both speed and expressive excellence
  • Define governance and architectural direction in partnership with Core Experience leaders
  • What We’re Looking For
  • A company‑level design leader operating through influence rather than authority
  • A systems thinker who designs frameworks, not just features
  • Deeply experienced in fintech or other complex, high‑trust domains
  • Proven in shaping 0–1 products and scaling them into durable platforms
  • Comfortable influencing VP and C‑level stakeholders
  • Exceptional in craft, with the judgment to balance beauty, clarity, and scale
  • Forward‑looking, with strong perspectives on AI‑native interaction models
  • Motivated by reshaping how people understand and emotionally experience money
  • What You Get
  • A competitive compensation package (base + equity) with bi‑annual reviews, aligned to quarterly OKR planning cycles
  • Work at one of the fastest‑growing tech startups backed by top VC firms (Balderton & EQT Ventures)
  • A clear progression plan to grow, lead, and own impact
  • Flexibility: remote work and occasional office time, with travel costs covered
  • Global distribution with support for work‑life balance
  • Other Benefits
  • Company‑wide performance reviews every 6 months
  • Generous pay increases for high performers
  • Equity top‑ups for promoted team members
  • 25 days annual leave + public holidays (+ 1 extra day per year of service, up to 30 days)
  • 6% employer‑matched pension in the UK
  • Private medical insurance via Vitality, dental cover, and life assurance
  • Enhanced parental leave
  • 1 month paid sabbatical after 4 years at Cleo
  • Regular socials and activities, online and in‑person
  • Open AI subscription covered
  • Online mental health support via Spill
  • Workplace nursery scheme
  • And many more
  • Welcoming Everyone

We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio‑economic backgrounds.

If there’s anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.

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Staff Product Designer employer: cleo

Cleo is an exceptional employer that prioritises the financial health of its users while fostering a collaborative and innovative work culture. With flexible hybrid working options and a competitive salary, employees are encouraged to grow through mentorship and cross-functional teamwork, making it a rewarding place for those passionate about machine learning and impactful solutions.

cleo

Contact Details:

cleo Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Staff Product Designer

Show Off Your Portfolio

In the world of UX/UI design, your portfolio speaks volumes! Make sure it's packed with your best work and showcases your process, not just the final product. We want to see how you tackle design challenges, so consider adding case studies that reflect your thought process and user-centric approach.

Get Involved in Design Communities

Jump into local or online design meetups and workshops! Places like UXPA or local design events can be goldmines for networking and learning. Plus, mingling with fellow designers can introduce you to potential job openings that might not be listed elsewhere.

Tailor Your Applications

When you find a role that excites you, like the one at cleo for a Staff Product Designer, make your application count! Highlight specific projects and skills that directly relate to the job description. Hiring managers are looking for candidates who fit into their specific team, so show them you’re the one!

Leverage Social Media

Don't underestimate the power of social media in finding a UX/UI design job! Follow design leaders on platforms like Twitter or Instagram, share your work, and engage in conversations. It’s a great way to get noticed by recruiters and even catch wind of openings at companies like cleo before they go live!

We think you need these skills to ace Staff Product Designer

Product Design
User Experience (UX) Design
Information Architecture
Design Systems
Systems Thinking
AI Interaction Models
Prototyping

Some tips for your application 🫡

Showcase Your Design Process:When you're applying for a UX/UI Design role like Staff Product Designer at cleo, make sure to include examples that clearly highlight your design process. We want to see not just the final product but also the journey that led you there—wireframes, user personas, and iterations demonstrate your thought process and user-centric approach!

Tailor Your Portfolio:A tailor-made portfolio is crucial for a full-time design role! Curate your best projects that align with the kind of work cleo does. We suggest including 3-5 case studies that showcase a variety of skills such as wireframing, prototyping, and user testing to really make your application pop.

Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Your cover letter should not just be a summary of your CV. Use it to express why you’re excited about UX/UI Design and what draws you specifically to cleo. Mention any relevant experience, tools you’re proficient in (like Sketch or Figma), and how you can contribute to their projects.

Highlight Collaboration Skills:In the world of UX/UI Design, teamwork is crucial. Make sure to highlight any past experiences where you worked in cross-functional teams. Illustrate how you communicated design decisions and listened to feedback, as this will resonate well with the culture at cleo.

How to prepare for a job interview at cleo

Show Off Your Portfolio

When you're gunning for a full-time UX/UI design role, your portfolio is your best friend! Make sure you've got a solid selection of your work, showcasing not just the final designs, but the process behind them—think wireframes, user flows, and any user research you've conducted. During the interview with cleo, be prepared to discuss your design decisions and how they solve specific user problems.

Prepare for Design Challenges

Expect to face some practical design tasks during your interview. cleo might ask you to tackle a quick design challenge or critique an existing interface. Brush up on your problem-solving skills and try to articulate your thought process as you work through these scenarios. Showing how you approach a design problem is just as important as the final output!

Know the Tools of the Trade

Familiarise yourself with the tools commonly used in the industry—figma, Adobe XD, or Sketch should be second nature to you. Be ready to discuss your preferred tools during the interview and how they've shaped your design process at previous positions. This knowledge could give you an edge at cleo!

Show Passion for User Experience

In a full-time UX/UI design role, having a genuine passion for improving user interactions can set you apart. Be prepared to share instances when you went above and beyond to ensure a great user experience in your previous projects. This will demonstrate that you’re not just a designer, but a user advocate, which is exactly what cleo is looking for.