tails.com : Senior Product Designer (12-month FTC)

Product Designer is needed in London, United Kingdom.

Client: tails.com

Location: Richmond, UK

Contract: Full Time

We’re looking for an experienced Senior Product Designer to create outstanding experiences for our dog-loving customers in the UK and beyond.

We’re tails.com, a dog food subscription company with a big difference. We create truly tailored food for each and every dog we serve. We start by asking people a few simple questions about their dog. Then we use that information to create their dog’s unique tails.com recipe – so their dog gets exactly the nutrition they need, in the taste they love, delivered to their door every month. It’s clever stuff.

We’ve got ambitious plans. Having created an entirely new category in pet food, we’re now scaling fast in the UK and Europe – backed by Purina, one of the world’s largest pet food companies. You’ll join a bunch of smart people working towards the same goals – and a bunch of smart-ish dogs, all working on their own thing.

Together, we’ll change the world of pet food for good.

Designed to delight our customers

Join Product Design at tails.com, and you’ll be right in the midst of the action – designing product experiences that delight our customers. No one does what we do in the direct-to-consumer space, so it’s your chance to really make your mark.

We work in highly collaborative cross-functional squads, bringing together engineers, designers, researchers, data analysts, and whoever else we need to get the work done. It’s a good mix of swift, tactical work – and taking time to tackle big, hairy problems.

We’re a proper team of designers. (If you’ve ever worked as the sole designer in a company, you’ll know what a difference that makes.)

Sounds like a team you’d like to join? Here’s how you’ll make a difference:

The role

We are seeking an experienced product designer with management experience. You will bring a passion for finding solutions that deliver usable and joyful experiences to our dog-loving customers in the UK and beyond. The ideal candidate will be skilled at each stage of the design process, and always focused on the needs of the customer.

You will work with other designers and cross-functional team members and will rely heavily on both qualitative and quantitative data to make informed decisions.

You will be responsible for:

• Forming partnerships with product designers, product managers, user researchers, engineers, and key members of our cross-functional teams;
• Developing your insights into delightful products that are valuable and usable to our customers;
• Working with ease in a fast-paced environment where change is always on the menu and we as a team make each day count;
• Utilising design as a tool to drive rapid learning to ensure we’re solving our customers most important problems;
• Staying up to date on current industry trends and market conditions;
• Coordinating with other design team members to ensure consistent and accurate communication;
• Presenting product design ideas to cross-functional teams and senior leadership;
• Leading and mentor the Product Design team on good visual and interaction design;
• Line managing Designers and supporting their career development;
• Supporting, coaching, and mentoring product designers in areas of their personal development;
• Living the tails.com values and management competencies daily to set a good example for the team.

The skills you’ll bring:

• Proven experience in all phases of the design process including user research, wireframing, prototyping, visual design, interaction design, and usability testing;
• An intuitive eye for customer needs beyond the obvious;
• Experience building user-centered products and services (with a portfolio to demonstrate your previous work);
• Ability to collect and interpret both qualitative and quantitative feedback;
• Highly proficient at using Sketch and Invision (or an ability to clearly articulate why a different set of tools works better for you);
• Passion for design and creative problem-solving skills (i.e., you’re not satisfied with the status quo and always thinking of ways to improve);
• Proven experience in managing a high-performing team;
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced and rapidly-growing agile environment.

Our commitment

We’re proud to be an active equal opportunity employer. We want to give everyone a fair chance to join us in changing the world of pet food for good. We do this by conducting a structured recruitment process for all candidates, as well as actively promoting our roles to communities that are under-represented at tails.com.

During your interview process you’ll meet some of our team with varying levels of responsibility and experience. We want to give every candidate a fair interview process and if you need any reasonable adjustments made, please let us know.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary, reviewed annually.
• Flexible core hours, giving you true work life balance.
• Hybrid role to ensure this role works for you.
• 25 days of holiday (excluding bank holidays) which increases over time to a max of 27 days.
• 9/10 day working week, meaning every other Friday off to enhance your wellbeing without a reduction in pay and leave allowance.
• Optional 5 days unpaid leave and 1 paid volunteer day each year.
• When you need a change of scenery, you can work from abroad 2 weeks every 6 months.
• Health insurance for you, paid by tails.com and discounted gym membership.
• Extended maternity, shared parental and adoption pay. Up to 6 months at 70% pay, linked to statutory parental pay.
• Flexible paid care leave to support immediate dependents, people close to you and pets.
• Electric car lease, through a salary sacrifice scheme.
• An external financial coach to support a range of topics - debt management, savings and investments.
• Vet service - to support with all pet related questions.
• In house L&D team, with access to year round courses to help drive your development.
• 50% discount on all tails.com and 40% on Republic of Cats products.