Senior Retail Product Designer in Bracknell

Senior Retail Product Designer in Bracknell

Bracknell Full-Time Home office (partial)
John Lewis

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead innovative product design for retail, shaping the future of customer experiences.
  • Company: Join the largest employee-owned business in the UK, known for John Lewis and Waitrose.
  • Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, flexible working, and a supportive work-life balance.
  • Other info: Dynamic workplace with opportunities for personal growth and career development.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact in retail while collaborating with diverse teams and cutting-edge technology.
  • Qualifications: Experience in product design, agile environments, and a passion for user experience.

As a Partner in Retail, you’re accountable for retail excellence with a relentless connection to customers and shops alike, dedicated support for today's demands, and visionary strides to shape, optimise, and revolutionise the future of retail. Rooted in adaptability, driven by a continuous improvement mindset, and fueled by a commitment to getting it right the first time, our Retail Support Teams are the dynamic force steering a thriving and innovative retail ecosystem of John Lewis Partnership.

As a Senior Retail Product Designer you’ll be part of a cross-functional Strategy and design team, leading the design that services both our strategy and product teams. You will be responsible for the entire Product Design lifecycle from initial discovery & vision setting, through to the execution of final UI designs.

In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £5.25 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

Salary - £52,000- £80,000

Contract type - This position is a Permanent role

Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. Alongside this we have also signalled a clear intent for Central teams to work ‘more in person than not’ hybrid way of working. For the Waitrose Innovation and change team, this means 2-3 days a week of in-person time but it is not a hard and fast rule requiring everyone to be in the office 3 days a week. Supplier visits, time in our shops and time in the office all contribute to this requirement.

Location - Bracknell

Key responsibilities
  • Lead design for retail’s product areas. This includes driving the future vision of this area, making sure it complements a cohesive overall Waitrose experience, and delivering on incremental steps to help the team head in this direction.
  • Work in a cross-functional team. You'll be responsible for all design artefacts produced; from initial discovery and user journey mapping through to the execution of final UI design details.
  • Deeply understand the customers you're designing for. Whether it's joining user research sessions, learning from previous insights, reading data reports or running your own lightweight research and analysis, you'll strive to understand the what, why and how of the problems you're solving for to ensure we don't just build the thing right, but we build the right thing.
  • Collaborate regularly using strong communication, documentation and facilitation skills. You'll work closely with Product Owners, Engineers, Data Scientists, and User researchers to make sure your team isn't just shipping great designs, but they are deeply involved throughout the design process.
  • Execute (and advocate for) polished, intuitive and accessible user experiences. You're pragmatic and able to balance the ideal experience with knowing where and when to make scoping trade-offs based on technical constraints, experimentation strategy or business risk.
Essential skills/experience you’ll need
  • Experience working as part of a Product Team in an agile environment
  • Experience working through the Product Design lifecycle from discovery/research through to the final UI design with a portfolio to showcase this work
  • Agile scrum experience: working in sprints with backlogs and feature sets
  • Ability to think at a high level about product strategy and clearly articulate design decisions
  • Understanding of the technical implications of design decisions
  • Passion for problem solving and UX Design
  • Excellent communication skills and people-focused design mentality to help set up frameworks and brainstorm initial design concepts
Desirable skills/experience you may have
  • Retail ecommerce experience within a large organisation
  • Experience working with modern design tools like Figma
  • Experience in front-end programming and the ability to code simple prototypes
  • Experience in designing and maintaining cross-platform design systems
  • Experience conducting research

To learn more about this role, please copy and paste this link into a new browser window: https://embed.wirewax.com/8114190

Closing Date: July 28, 2026

Pay: £52,000.00 - £80,000.00 Annual

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours of Work: Various full-time hours required

Job Level: Partnership Level 7

Where You'll Be Working: Bracknell Campus, Doncastle Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YA

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us. We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose. As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note: It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants. We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.

Senior Retail Product Designer in Bracknell employer: John Lewis

As a Retail Sales Assistant at John Lewis in Horsham, you will be part of a renowned company that values its employees and fosters a supportive work culture. With competitive pay and the opportunity for uncapped commission, you can grow your skills in a dynamic retail environment while enjoying flexible working hours. John Lewis is committed to employee development, ensuring that you have access to training and growth opportunities that make your role both meaningful and rewarding.

John Lewis

Contact Details:

John Lewis Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Senior Retail Product Designer in Bracknell

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 John Lewis for a Senior Retail 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 John Lewis before they go live!

We think you need these skills to ace Senior Retail Product Designer in Bracknell

Product Design Lifecycle
User Journey Mapping
User Research
Agile Methodologies
UI Design
Communication Skills
Collaboration Skills

Some tips for your application 🫡

Showcase Your Design Process:When you're applying for a UX/UI Design role like Senior Retail Product Designer at John Lewis, 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 John Lewis 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 John Lewis. 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 John Lewis.

How to prepare for a job interview at John Lewis

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 John Lewis, 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. John Lewis 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 John Lewis!

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 John Lewis is looking for.