Lead Product Designer

Overview

We are seeking a seasoned Lead Product Designer to spearhead the creation of engaging, secure, and customer-focused digital experiences within our digital banking division. This role demands a comprehensive 10–15 years of expertise in product design, particularly within digital banking, financial services, fintech, or similarly regulated industries. The incumbent will oversee the entire product design lifecycle across web and mobile platforms, collaborating with multiple departments including Product, Technology, Business, Risk, Compliance, and Operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the comprehensive product design process encompassing discovery, research, ideation, prototyping, validation, and delivery phases.
• Create intuitive interfaces for mobile and internet banking products such as payments, loans, deposits, and investments.
• Convert intricate financial products and regulatory demands into straightforward, user-friendly customer journeys.
• Develop user flows, wireframes, high-fidelity designs, interactive prototypes, and detailed design documentation.
• Identify and resolve user pain points to enhance ease of use, engagement, and conversion rates.
• Ensure responsive and optimized designs across varied digital platforms including mobile, web, and tablets.
• Lead and mentor a team of designers including Product, UX, and UI specialists.
• Promote and enforce best practices in product design, UX research, and visual design standards.
• Conduct design reviews and provide constructive feedback to elevate quality and maintain consistency.
• Influence digital product vision and establish design strategy while championing customer-first principles throughout the organization.
• Address specific needs related to security, privacy, accessibility, compliance, and financial literacy in banking experiences.
• Design complex workflows such as onboarding, KYC, payments, loans, card management, and dispute resolution with a focus on clarity and simplification.
• Own and maintain a scalable, enterprise design system ensuring consistency across all digital touchpoints.
• Collaborate with Product Managers, Engineers, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Marketing, and other stakeholders to align on design objectives.
• Lead workshops, design thinking sessions, and stakeholder presentations to effectively communicate design decisions and rationale.
• Partner with UX Researchers to gather user insights through interviews, usability tests, and surveys, driving data-informed design improvements.
• Support development teams during implementation to guarantee fidelity to design intent and meet quality benchmarks.
• Participate actively in Agile processes including planning, sprint ceremonies, and QA/UAT from a UX perspective.
• Manage multiple projects efficiently, prioritizing based on business value and customer impact while ensuring compliance with industry standards.

Skills & Experience Required

• 10 to 15 years of professional experience in product design, UX/UI design, or interaction design roles.
• Demonstrated leadership in product design within banking, financial services, fintech, or complex enterprise environments.
• Robust portfolio showcasing end-to-end design work and impactful business and customer outcomes.
• In-depth experience designing for mobile and web platforms.
• Solid grasp of UX best practices, interaction design, information architecture, and usability principles.
• Hands-on experience contributing to enterprise design systems.
• Proficiency in customer journey mapping, service design, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing.
• Expertise in responsive and mobile-first design methodologies.
• Familiarity with Agile product development workflows.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication, and presentation skills.
• Proven mentoring abilities for guiding design teams.
• Strong analytical capability to distill complex problems into simple solutions.

Technical Proficiencies

• Expertise in Figma and FigJam or Miro for design and collaboration.
• Competency with Adobe Creative Suite.
• Familiarity with prototyping tools such as InVision or equivalents.
• Experience using Jira and Confluence for project tracking and documentation.
• Utilization of user research, usability testing platforms, and analytics tools to validate and optimize designs.

Banking Domain Knowledge

• Strong understanding of retail and corporate banking products and services.
• Experience with mobile and internet banking solutions, digital account opening, KYC, and onboarding.
• Knowledge of payments, money transfers, credit/debit card systems, loans, deposits, and wealth management.
• Familiarity with digital wallets, authentication, fraud prevention, dispute management, open banking, and regulatory compliance.

Leadership & Behavioral Traits

• A strategic mindset focused on delivering outstanding customer experiences.
• Strong ability to lead design teams and mentor junior designers.
• Exceptional communication and storytelling talents to influence senior stakeholders.
• Strong business insight and alignment with product strategy.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and resolving complex design challenges.
• Attentive to detail while maintaining vision of the broader product goals.
• Collaborative and proactive approach with an emphasis on outcomes and excellence.
• Effective multitasking and prioritization in a dynamic banking environment.

Educational Background

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, Visual Design, Computer Science, or related fields. Equivalent professional experience with a solid portfolio may be accepted.

Success Metrics

• Enhancements in the digital customer experience and usability standards.
• Growth in user adoption and engagement across digital banking services.
• Reduced user drop-off rates and smoother critical user journeys.
• Consistent and scalable design system implementation.
• High quality and timely delivery of product design initiatives.
• Strong collaboration between design, product, technology, and business teams.
• Effective mentoring and development of the design team members.
• Delivery of secure, accessible, compliant, and user-friendly digital banking experiences.