At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead design for web and mobile, creating intuitive and beautiful user experiences.
- Company: Join Tembo, a dynamic scale-up focused on simplifying financial products.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, equity options, and the chance to shape design at Tembo.
- Other info: Collaborative team environment with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on customer experiences and influence product design direction.
- Qualifications: Strong portfolio in digital product design and experience with design systems.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
Tembo is looking for an exceptional Lead Product Designer to take ownership of design across our web and mobile products.
This is a senior individual contributor role and one of the most important hires in our product team.
You’ll be our only dedicated Product Designer, working directly with our Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, alongside three Product Managers and a small, highly collaborative product and engineering team.
We’re looking for someone who is as strong at execution as they are at creative leadership.
Someone who can take a product requirement, quickly understand the problem and turn it into a simple, intuitive and visually beautiful experience.
- What you’ll be responsible for
- Owning product design across Tembo’s web and mobile experiences
- Translating product requirements and early concepts into high-quality user flows, interactions and polished visual designs
- Taking work from initial exploration through to final, build-ready designs
- Making complex financial products feel simple, clear and approachable
- Developing our existing design library into a mature design system across our React-based products
- Ensuring our UI remains consistent and easy to use as our product range and feature set grows
- Exploring how AI can improve both our customer experiences and the way we design and deliver products
- Working closely with Product Managers and Engineers throughout the development process
- Reviewing builds and UATing your own user flows to ensure the finished experience matches the original intent
- Using analytics and session-recording tools to understand how newly launched experiences are performing
- Working with our Product Marketing lead to turn customer research and testing insights into improved designs
- Raising the creative bar across Tembo and influencing the people around you through the quality of your thinking and work
- What we’re looking for
- Significant experience designing high-quality digital products across both web and mobile
- A strong portfolio demonstrating exceptional visual design, interaction design and product thinking
- The ability to turn loosely defined requirements into simple, effective and beautiful experiences
- A hands-on designer who enjoys producing the work, not just directing it
- Experience creating, developing or managing a design system
- A strong understanding of how designs translate into React-based products
- Comfortable working directly with engineers and making pragmatic decisions during delivery
- Able to move quickly, manage competing priorities and context-switch in a fast-growing company
- Commercially minded, with an interest in whether the experiences you design are delivering the intended customer and business outcomes
- Confident influencing senior stakeholders and providing creative leadership without needing formal management responsibility
- Collaborative, low ego and comfortable working in a small but mighty team
- Nice to have
- Experience working in fintech or another regulated digital product environment
- Experience designing products involving complex customer decisions or journeys
- Mortgage or homebuying experience would be a huge advantage, but it is absolutely not expected
- Experience using AI within product experiences or to improve the design and delivery process
- What this role is not
This is not a people-management role, and you will not be expected to run a large design team.
It is a senior, highly influential individual contributor position for someone who wants genuine ownership and the opportunity to shape how design works at Tembo.
We may build out the design team in future but its not a requirement in the short-term.
Why Tembo?
You’ll join a well-funded scale-up at an exciting stage of growth, with the freedom to have a significant impact on both our products and the future of our design function.
You’ll work closely with Tembo’s founders and product leadership, own some of our most important customer experiences and help us make homeownership and financial products radically simpler.
We offer a competitive package, including share options, reflecting the importance and impact of this role.
As a guide the base salary is £80,000-£100,000 + equity options, dependant on experience.
Lead Product Designer employer: Tembo
Tembo is an exceptional employer that prioritises employee well-being and professional growth, offering a supportive remote work environment for its Mortgage Experts. With generous benefits such as 25 days of holiday plus birthdays off, private healthcare, and a strong emphasis on work-life balance, Tembo fosters a culture of collaboration and innovation, making it an ideal place for those looking to make a meaningful impact in the mortgage industry.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead 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 Tembo for a Lead 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 Tembo before they go live!
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Product Designer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Design Process:When you're applying for a UX/UI Design role like Lead Product Designer at Tembo, 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 Tembo 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 Tembo. 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 Tembo.
How to prepare for a job interview at Tembo
✨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 Tembo, 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. Tembo 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 Tembo!
✨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 Tembo is looking for.
