Head of Design

Rippling Sweden AB

Job Title: Head of Design Reports to: Chief Strategy Officer Direct Reports: Design team (~10 direct reports), including Product Designers, UX Researchers, and Consumer Insights Lead Purpose of the Role The Head of Design is the most senior design leader within the organisation, responsible for setting and executing the design vision, strategy, and standards across all consumer-facing digital products and experiences. This is a strategic leadership role that extends well beyond traditional design management — the role holder operates as a key member of the senior leadership team, working directly with the CEO, Chief Strategy Officer, and other C-suite executives to shape company direction, product strategy, and growth initiatives. The Head of Design is accountable for building and leading a high-performing design organisation, driving innovation through AI-augmented design practices, and ensuring that design functions as a strategic capability that de-risks business decisions through rapid prototyping, consumer research, and evidence-based experimentation. Key Responsibilities Strategic Leadership & Executive Partnership • Define and own the design vision and strategy for the organisation, ensuring design is embedded at the centre of product development, content strategy, and commercial decision-making. • Partner directly with the CEO, Chief Strategy Officer, and senior leadership team on company-direction initiatives, contributing design perspective to business strategy, market positioning, and growth planning. • Lead the transformation of the design function from a production-oriented service into a Research & Development capability, where every strategic bet is validated through design-led prototyping and consumer evidence before full investment. • Represent Design at executive forums, board presentations, and cross-functional leadership meetings, advocating for user-centred decision-making and design-led innovation. Design Organisation & Team Leadership • Build, lead, and develop a multidisciplinary design team of approximately 10 professionals spanning product design, UX research, and consumer insights. • Establish and maintain design hiring standards, career progression frameworks, and professional development programmes to attract and retain top design talent. • Foster a culture of design excellence, creative rigour, and continuous learning within the team and across the broader organisation. • Drive AI adoption and AI-augmented design workflows across the team, achieving high levels of productivity through modern tooling and automated processes. Product & Experience Design • Oversee the end-to-end design of the organisation's digital product portfolio, including financial comparison tools, recommendation engines, editorial content experiences, and emerging AI-powered advisory products. • Own the design system architecture and component library, ensuring consistency, accessibility, scalability, and brand coherence across all platforms and touchpoints. • Lead the design strategy for new product initiatives, including AI chat assistants, personalised financial wellness tools, and machine-learning-optimised content experiences. • Ensure all design output meets the highest standards of usability, accessibility (WCAG compliance), performance, and visual quality. Innovation & AI Integration • Pioneer the integration of AI and machine learning into the design workflow, including AI-first design systems that connect design components directly to AI coding tools to eliminate inconsistencies and accelerate development. • Lead the development of LLM-optimised content templates and information architectures that ensure content is structured for both human consumption and machine-readable citation by large language models. • Drive design innovation through rapid prototyping, consumer testing, and iterative experimentation, enabling the organisation to validate ideas at low cost before committing engineering resources. • Identify and evaluate emerging design technologies, tools, and methodologies that can provide competitive advantage. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Influence • Partner with Product, Engineering, Editorial, Growth, SEO, and Data Science teams to ensure design thinking is integrated across all workstreams and business decisions. • Collaborate with commercial and partnerships teams to design consumer experiences that drive revenue growth, lead generation, and partner engagement. • Establish and lead cross-functional design review processes, ensuring alignment between design direction and business objectives. • Act as the primary advocate for consumer needs within the organisation, embedding consumer insights and user research evidence into strategic planning and prioritisation. Required Skills & Qualifications • Proven track record of building and leading high-performing design teams within technology, media, or financial services organisations. • Demonstrated ability to operate at a strategic level, influencing business direction and product strategy alongside C-suite executives. • Deep expertise in design systems, component architectures, and scalable design practices for multi-product digital platforms. • Strong understanding of AI/ML technologies and their application to design workflows, content strategy, and product innovation. • Expert proficiency in Figma and modern design tooling, with working knowledge of front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, React/TypeScript) and data-informed design practices. • Exceptional communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate design thinking into commercial value. • Experience with consumer financial services, comparison platforms, or content-led digital products is highly desirable.

Proton

JOIN PROTON AND BUILD A BETTER INTERNET WHERE PRIVACY IS THE DEFAULT Proton was founded in 2014 by scientists from CERN on a simple truth: privacy is a fundamental human right. Since then, we've built the world's largest encrypted email service (Proton Mail) and expanded into Proton VPN, Proton Drive, Proton Pass, and Proton Calendar — tools used by millions globally to protect their freedom, fight censorship, and keep their data safe. In some situations, Proton has literally helped save lives. We are profitable, independent (no VC control), and selectively hire from the top ~1% of applicants. Our 700+ team members across 50+ countries come from leading organizations and elite academic backgrounds. We move fast, keep hierarchy light, and prioritize impact over optics. If you want to do meaningful work with exceptionally high-caliber people, this is it. Check our open-source projects here.     The Role As VP Design, you will own and lead the design function across both Product Design (user experience, interface, service design) and Brand / Marketing Design (visual identity, campaign creative, brand experience). You’ll partner closely with the CEO, VP Marketing and Heads of Product, helping shape strategy, drive design excellence, and ensure that design becomes a core differentiator for Proton. You will build, mentor and scale a high-performing, multi-disciplinary design organisation, embedding design thinking across the company. What you will do • Define and execute the strategic vision for design at Proton, bridging product and brand to deliver a unified and differentiated experience globally. • Lead, develop and grow a world-class design organisation: recruiting designers and researchers structuring teams across product and brand, setting performance metrics, fostering a culture of creativity, craft and user-centricity. • Partner with the CEO, VP Marketing and Heads of Product to ensure design is embedded into strategic roadmaps, product launches, marketing campaigns and brand initiatives. • Oversee the end-to-end design process for all major product lines and brand campaigns: user research, UX/UI, service design, prototyping, testing, visual design, motion, interactive experiences. • Ensure that the Proton brand identity is strong, consistent, scalable and flexible across all touchpoints: digital, mobile, web, marketing, physical, events. • Drive design systems, tools and processes across product & brand to deliver efficiency, quality, consistency and scale. • Advocate for users and privacy-first design principles in everything we build and brand. • Monitor and measure design impact: user experience metrics, brand perception, conversion, retention, campaign effectiveness; iterate and optimise accordingly. • Represent design externally: speak on design at conferences, build Proton’s design reputation, collaborate with creative agencies and partners worldwide.   What We’re Looking For • A minimum of 15 + years of experience in design leadership roles (product, brand and/or marketing) at a global technology company or agency. • Proven track record of building, scaling and operating design organisations with cross-functional reach. • Strong experience overseeing both product (UX/UI, service design) and brand/marketing design (visual identity, campaign creative) — not one or the other only. • Demonstrated ability to define and execute design strategy that drives business impact (growth, engagement, retention, brand equity). • Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work at executive level and influence across product, marketing, engineering and operations. • Deep user-centred design mindset; strong portfolio showing end-to-end work (research → strategy → UX → UI → brand visuals). • Skilled in designing for global audiences, with sensitivity to cultural differences and brand consistency across markets. • Expertise in building and scaling design systems, establishing best practices and operational processes in fast-growing environments. • Excellent leadership and people development skills: mentoring senior designers, creating high-performing teams, promoting a culture of craftsmanship and innovation. • Comfortable working in a dynamic, high-growth company with a mission-driven ethos and a global, diverse team. • Strong communicator with polished presentation and storytelling skills; fluent in English (other languages a plus).   WHAT WE OFFER * Work that Matters: Millions of people trust Proton with their privacy. We answer only to our users — not advertisers, not investors with conflicting agendas, not governments. * A Great Team: Diverse, collaborative, and tight-knit, with people from MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, Cambridge, ETH, and more. * Technology: The right hardware and software to do your best work. * Learning & Development: We invest in your growth. Proton is one of the fastest ways to accelerate your career — real challenges, real ownership, from day one. * Employee Benefits: Strong health coverage, solid retirement options, generous leave, and wellness support. * Stock Options: From day one, you have a real stake in what we're building. When Proton wins, you win. * In-Person Collaboration: Offices across Geneva, Zürich, Barcelona, London, and more. You'll spend most of your time collaborating face-to-face. * Food: Lunch and snacks on us every day in the office. * Transport: We cover public transport, bike allowances, or parking — whichever works for you. * Flexible Working: You own your schedule. Outcomes matter more than clock-in times. OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION At Proton, we believe diversity drives innovation and strengthens our mission to provide privacy as a default for all. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals — regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, or socio-economic background — feel valued and empowered. If you need any extra support or reasonable adjustments during the hiring process, please let your talent partner know. CANDIDATE PRIVACY NOTICE When you apply for a position at Proton Technologies AG, your information is stored in Greenhouse in accordance with its Service Privacy Policy. This information is used to evaluate your suitability for the posted position and may be retained for future roles. If we no longer have a legitimate business need to process your information, we will either delete or anonymise it. For questions about your data, contact: careers@proton.ch Proton does not accept unsolicited CVs from any sources other than directly from candidates. #LI-ONSITE

Joko

At Joko, we help consumers shop smarter. Our mission is to revolutionize shopping, empowering people to find what they need, make informed decisions, and save money. Founded in Paris, Joko is a tech company and certified B Corp with over 105 talents across Paris, Barcelona, and New York (and beyond). More than 6 million users already save money every day at 10,000+ merchants with Joko. From cashback and automatic coupons to price alerts and carbon tracking, we keep expanding our products to make shopping smarter. We’re now building an AI-powered shopping assistant to help users find the best products by price, quality, and environmental impact. Having reached profitability in our core market, we’re now scaling globally, with a strong focus on the US. It’s still day 1, come build the future of shopping with us! This position is remote-friendly. 📱 OUR PRODUCT TEAM Led by Fabien, our VP Product, Joko's Product team groups the passionate individuals behind our users' delight! From brainstorming to development to launch, the Product team's main mission is to turn ideas into reality by working hand-in-hand with the Engineering, Design and Business teams. ✨ WHY THIS ROLE IS SPECIAL Design at Joko has been a founding obsession. From day one, we've believed that a B2C product lives or dies on the quality of its experience, and we've held an unusually high bar on craft, motion, and detail across every surface of the app. Three things make this seat rare: * You inherit a real design culture, not a blank page. Joko already has a strong design DNA, a mature design system, and a product team where craft is non-negotiable across the board. You're not starting from zero, you're inheriting a high baseline and pushing it further. * You get to define what design at Joko becomes in the AI era. The way digital products are designed is changing fast. We are actively rethinking interaction models for our AI shopping assistant, and we want a design leader who has strong opinions on what world-class B2C design looks like when the interface itself is becoming conversational, generative, and adaptive. You will shape that, not just react to it. * You will live a genuinely unique scale moment. Going from a small design team to 7 Product Designers and a User Researcher, while expanding from France to Spain and the US, is a rare kind of stretch for a design leader. You get to do it here, with a product that already has the user base, the revenue, and the ambition to justify the investment. 🎯 WHAT YOU WILL DO As Head of Product Design, you will own the vision and execution of Product Design at Joko. Reporting to Fabien (VP Product), you will be hands-on early, then build and scale a high-performing Design and Research team as we grow. Your mission is to raise the bar on craft, coherence, and user-centricity across every Joko product. * Own the design vision and quality bar: You will define what great design means at Joko, the principles behind it, and the standards every shipped surface is held to. You will be the person the team looks to when there is a hard call to make on craft. * Stay hands-on where it matters: Especially early on, you will be deep in discovery, flows, UI, and interaction design on the highest-stakes problems. You know that a Head of Product Design who has lost touch with the work has lost the plot. * Shape the design vision for Joko AI: You will partner with Product Management and Engineering on what a shopping assistant powered by AI should feel like, including new interaction models that don't yet exist as best practices. You will have a strong point of view on this and the willingness to prototype your way to the answer. * Own and evolve the design system: You will treat the design system as a living product, not a documentation site. You will decide what scales, what gets refactored, and how it stays a force multiplier as the team grows. * Build a real research practice: Today, research is opportunistic. You will build a structured User Research function, hire our first User Researcher, and make sure insights actually shape the roadmap rather than sit in a Notion page. * Build and scale the team: You will grow Product Design to 7 Designers and 1 Researcher, recruit the people you want to bet on, coach them, and build a culture where craft and ownership are the defaults. * Partner closely with Brand Design: Joko's brand and product experience need to feel like one thing. You will work hand in hand with Brand to deliver a coherent 10/10 experience end to end, from the first ad a user sees to the cash back they receive in their account. * Make AI a real design advantage: You will deploy modern AI and design tools across the team's workflow to accelerate discovery, prototyping, and iteration. You have opinions on what works, what doesn't, and where human judgment still matters most. 👀 WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR * Experience: You have 8+ years in Product Design with a strong hands-on background, and previous experience as a Lead or Head of Product Design (or equivalent senior design leadership role). You have built, scaled, and managed a design team before, and you know what good looks like at every stage. * B2C mobile-first DNA: You have shipped consumer mobile products that millions of people use. You instinctively understand the craft, the rhythm, and the stakes of designing for a B2C audience, and you don't need to be convinced that the details matter. * High-bar mindset: You hold the line on craft even when it's expensive. You'd rather ship one screen at a 10/10 than three at a 7/10, and you've built teams that share that instinct. Pixel-level rigor, motion that feels right, copy that earns its place on the screen, none of that is optional to you. * Strong sense of craft: You have a portfolio that shows end-to-end product thinking, sharp interaction design, and genuine attention to detail. You know the difference between a designer who follows patterns and one who shapes them. * Hands-on with AI and modern design tools: You have real, recent experience using AI to speed up discovery, prototyping, and delivery, with strong opinions formed from actual attempts (and actual failures). You are curious and experimental, not dogmatic. * Research instinct: You either have hands-on user research experience or have worked closely with researchers, and you know how to build a research practice that actually changes product decisions. * Design systems at scale: You have meaningful experience evolving a design system in a scaling context, and you have a clear point of view on what belongs in the system and what doesn't. * Cross-functional partnership: You have worked closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and Brand or Marketing Design teams, and you know how to make those collaborations produce a cohesive experience rather than a stitched-together one. * Coaching mindset: You genuinely enjoy growing designers. You know how to develop someone's taste, push their craft, and give the kind of feedback that actually moves the needle on a portfolio. * Languages: You are fluent in English, both written and spoken. French is a plus. * Mindset: You have an entrepreneurial mindset, you like challenges, you welcome feedback and you love constantly learning and getting better. 💎 OUR PERKS (Some of the benefits listed below are available to full-time positions only) At Joko, we believe that flexibility and trust are essential. Our work environment reflects this through: * Flexible remote : If you live in Paris, you can choose to work from our office or from home with no constraints. If you live elsewhere, we can provide access to a coworking space and a coworking budget. * Work from anywhere : Want to spend a month in Italy while working? You can work from most countries in the world for up to 3 months per year. On top of that, we offer plenty of perks: * 💸 Top-market compensation * 📈 Equity for everyone with the chance to own a piece of what you build * 🤖 Half-day each week dedicated to leveling up with AI by exploring new tools, iterating hard, and sharpening your skills * 🌴 Yearly offsite in amazing locations and budget for team-building events & monthly in-person gatherings * 💪 Contribution to your ClassPass subscription * 🍼 8-week leave paid 100% for the second parent * …and much more, check the full list here! 🤝 OUR HIRING PROCESS 1. Intro call: Quick screening with the Hiring Manager or the Talent team. 2. Step 1 – Team interview (45 min): Conversation with two Joko team members (could include the Hiring Manager, people from the team you’d join, or colleagues from other teams). 3. Step 2 – Role-specific assessments * For non-engineering roles: A take-home case study followed by a 45-min interview. We assess both your output and how you think in real time. The exercise will be relevant to your role (e.g. analysis, strategy, or process design). * For engineering roles: A 90-min live technical interview on CoderPad covering code understanding, review, system design, and product thinking (with AI serving as a collaboration tool). 4. Step 3 – Leadership interview (45 min): Conversation with a SteerCo member and a Founder. 5. References: Up to 3 calls with former colleagues or managers. ☕ You may also be invited for coffee with team members to get a feel for our culture.