At a Glance
- Tasks: Design intuitive experiences for heat pump installers and streamline complex processes.
- Company: Join a fast-growing startup on a mission to revolutionise renewable energy.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, equity options, 33 days holiday, and hybrid working.
- Other info: Collaborative team culture with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the renewables sector while growing your design skills.
- Qualifications: 3+ years of product/UI design experience and a passion for user-centric solutions.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 110000 £ per year.
In just over two years, we’ve gone from 0 to over 750 customers, succeeding where many have tried and failed before. We have a big mission: to make it wildly easier and more profitable to run and grow a renewables installation business – and through that to make a massive dent in the world’s carbon emissions and create a hugely better experience for homeowners.
Almost 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions comes from heating homes – there is simply no way to reach net zero without phasing out gas and oil boilers. The only serious alternative is heat pumps, with their ability to turn 1 kW of electricity into 3-5 kW of heat. The heat pump installation journey is slow, inefficient, and painful. This makes it hard for existing installers to grow their businesses and puts off gas engineers from starting to do heat pumps. Most critically, it means you can’t currently offer a heat pump when someone’s boiler breaks and they urgently need heating.
We’re fixing this. We’ve built a platform for heat pump installers to manage the whole installation journey from initial enquiry through to final compliance paperwork, freeing them to focus on quality installations, customer service, and scaling their business. Since the beginning of 2024, we are having a massive impact, halving the time spent on each job and doubling sales conversion rates.
We raised a Seed round last year from top‑tier investors and are scaling the team to maximise our impact. We are expanding beyond heat pumps and, by year‑end, will be an operating system for the entire home renewables supply chain, targeting a combination of ServiceTitan, Procore, and AutoCAD.
The Role
You’ll be central to our mission as we turn historically slow and painful processes into quick, intuitive, and delightful experiences for installers. We’ve been design‑led since the beginning but the challenge is only growing as our product becomes more complex. Day‑to‑day you’ll be:
- Making complex decisions feel effortless – the platform handles building physics calculations, fluid dynamics modelling, and compliance requirements; you design to make that complexity feel effortless for all customers.
- Designing across multiple touchpoints – desktop design tools, homeowner‑facing outputs, enquiry flows, mobile survey apps (incl LiDAR), and collaborative workflows that work seamlessly across different user types.
- Collaborating closely with developers and shipping code yourself – understanding data structures and technical constraints so your designs can be shipped quickly; you ship PRs when appropriate.
- Building systematic, scalable design systems – creating robust, structured, reusable components that work across platforms and for low‑tech users.
- Researching and validating – interviewing and spending time with installers to understand how they work, identifying core problems, and building quick prototypes to test and validate design decisions.
About You
We’re looking for a designer with 3+ years of product/UI design experience, ideally in a startup or fast‑paced, impact‑focused team. You’ll be:
- A clear, systematic thinker who loves tackling complex flows.
- Comfortable diving into technical detail, even if it’s a new domain.
- User‑obsessed, deeply understanding the user, solving their problems, and making a tangible impact.
- Great with people and confident running research with customers.
- Proactive and self‑organising, able to juggle multiple projects.
- Bonus if you’ve worked on tools for field teams, low‑tech users, or on operational workflows (not required).
Our Offer
- £60–110k salary, depending on experience.
- Meaningful slice of equity (options) in the company.
- 33 days holiday and opportunity to work from abroad for another 30 days each year.
- Hybrid working: 2–3 days in‑person a week (London or Bristol), with full‑team meetups every fortnight.
- Private medical cover.
- Workplace nursery benefit scheme (YellowNest).
- Cycle to Work scheme.
- Brilliant team to learn from and massive opportunity to grow.
Working at Spruce
We’re a close‑knit team of 28, split between London and Bristol. We work 2–3 days per week together in both locations, and meet all together every fortnight.
You will have genuine influence from day one. The best idea wins regardless of seniority, and we expect you to challenge everything, ask “why?” multiple levels deep, and push back when something doesn’t make sense.
We want everyone to spend time with installers on‑site, feel their pain points, then suggest and implement solutions based on real feedback rather than assumptions.
We move fast and ship imperfect things, learning from users rather than trying to perfect in isolation. When things break, we focus on how we fix it, what we can learn, and never blame; you own your outcomes while the team has your back.
Feedback is constant, direct, and kind – we’ll tell you when something isn’t working, expecting honesty and empathy in return.
Compensation Range: £60K – £110K
Product Designer in London employer: Spruce
At Spruce, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters collaboration and innovation. With a focus on meaningful, impactful work in the home renewables sector, our team enjoys generous benefits including 33 days of holiday, hybrid working arrangements, and opportunities for personal growth within a supportive environment. Join us in making a difference while working alongside a passionate team dedicated to solving real customer challenges.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Product Designer in London
✨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 Spruce for a 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 Spruce before they go live!
We think you need these skills to ace Product Designer in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Design Process:When you're applying for a UX/UI Design role like Product Designer at Spruce, 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 Spruce 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 Spruce. 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 Spruce.
How to prepare for a job interview at Spruce
✨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 Spruce, 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. Spruce 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 Spruce!
✨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 Spruce is looking for.