Lead Software Product Designer
Focusrite, High Wycombe, England, United Kingdom – Permanent, Full time. Hybrid / London / High Wycombe. Salary dependent on experience + excellent benefits.
The Role
Focusrite / Novation is seeking an exceptional Lead Software Product Designer to join our Design team. In this role you will take the lead in shaping end‑to‑end software design, guiding projects from discovery through delivery, to create experiences that balance user needs and business goals. You will collaborate closely with product managers, engineers, researchers, and fellow designers to deliver compelling solutions that land in the sweet spot between desirability, feasibility, and viability.
Who you are
* You care about why and how people create their content, and you understand that all people are at a different point in their journey.
* You are passionate about music and audio and have a good understanding of audio production and music creation workflows.
* You are empathetic, deeply customer‑focused, and seek to learn from our customers through research and testing, keeping them at the forefront of every decision.
* You are curious about product design, understand a designer’s intent, and know how well a solution meets user needs.
* You bring strong visual design skills and an appreciation for balancing consistency with creativity – hierarchy, colour, and typography matter to you, and you stay up to date on the latest design practices.
* You think differently and practice divergent and convergent thinking at the appropriate points in the design process.
* You discern when to explore new ideas versus when existing solutions or established paradigms already meet user needs.
* You collaborate with multi‑disciplined teams and clearly communicate your ideas through sketches, wireframes, and interactive prototypes.
* You can objectively assess your own designs, give and receive constructive critiques, and facilitate and resolve differing perspectives on design directions.
* You have a strong ability to see the full user journey and how software interactions connect seamlessly with hardware experiences.
* You are always looking to improve your skills and working practices to help drive the capabilities of the Product Design Team.
What you’ll do
* Collaborate with Product Design, Product Management, Engineering & Marketing teams to help conceptualise and deliver outstanding software products and services.
* Create and execute user‑research strategies (primary and secondary) that yield critical insight and help shape project direction.
* Advocate for the end user, ensuring your team's work is influenced by a deep understanding of users’ goals, needs, pain points, behaviours and contexts.
* Develop user stories and use cases, translating user needs into product requirements.
* Design and ideate both collaboratively and individually.
* Lead and participate in design critiques, ideation sessions, and design workshops.
* Develop wireframes and interactive prototypes.
* Regularly perform UX testing and use both qualitative and quantitative insights to refine the design.
* Present your work to the team and project stakeholders.
* Work with the team to measure the impact of designs on customers and business goals.
* Maintain and evolve our software design systems.
* Act as a mentor and design partner to other designers, offering guidance and elevating the craft, process, and design thinking across the team.
Skills and experience required
* 7+ years’ experience in UX/Product Design working on software (desktop, mobile or web).
* Degree or relevant qualification in Product Design, User Experience, User Research, Human‑Computer Interaction, Visual Design or a related field.
* Strong portfolio that clearly demonstrates your skills and process.
* Excellent visual design skills and attention to detail.
* Typography, iconography and component‑based design systems.
* Understanding of front‑end principles (HTML, CSS, React components) is a plus.
* Knowledge of accessibility (WCAG) and platform guidelines (Web, iOS, Android).
* Experience using multiple data sources and research methods (usability tests, analytics, A/B testing) to help measure KPIs and support design decisions.
* Setting and measuring performance metrics/KPIs for the User Experience.
* Balancing design with Scrum/Agile methodologies.
* Highly proficient in Figma for interface design, prototyping and collaboration.
* Familiarity with Adobe Creative Cloud tools (Illustrator, Photoshop), Axure or Framer is a plus.
* Growth mindset, self‑motivated, adventurous and naturally collaborative.
About Us
Focusrite plc is a global music and audio group that develops and markets music technology products. Our products are used by audio professionals and amateur musicians alike, facilitating high‑quality production of recorded and live sound. We enrich lives through music by removing barriers to creativity – ‘we make music easy to make’.
Benefits
Flexible/hybrid working, company pension, life insurance, private healthcare, Health Cash Plan, enhanced maternity and paternity pay, employee purchase scheme, group bonus scheme, company music events, off‑site company parties and free lunch in the canteen. We arrange company training sessions and encourage personal development.
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