1. Location: Southampton/hybrid
2. Hours: 37.5 hours a week (1.0 FTE)
3. Salary: £50-60,000 FTE (DOE)
We’re looking for an experienced and visionary Design Lead to shape the future of our digital product delivery. The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who can drive the end-to-end design process, from discovery and strategy to execution and delivery, while mentoring a talented team of product designers. This role requires a strong strategic mind, deep expertise in UX/UI design, and a passion for creating impactful, user-centric experiences.
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Key responsibilities
4. Digital Product Design. Designing beautiful interfaces (UI) and intuitive experiences (UX)
5. Leading Discovery workshops. Helping clients understand their underlying problems and creating viable solutions in the form of wireframes, diagrams and interactive prototypes
6. Collaboration. Liaising with project managers, developers and other team members to deliver complex digital projects.
7. Managing and mentoring the design team. Directly manage, mentor, and coach a team of Product Designers, fostering a culture of continuous learning, growth, and high performance.
8. Process & Methodology. Define, refine, and enforce best practices for the entire design process, including research, wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and final visual design (UX/UI).
9. Quality control. Ensuring visual accuracy and that design intents are followed through into development
10. Marketing and brand assets. Work with the Marketing Manager to provide visual asset support to Rareloop’s own marketing efforts.
About Rareloop
Rareloop is a well established, B Corp certified, award winning Digital Product Studio based in Southampton. We help ambitious businesses and charities to design and build best of breed websites, apps and bespoke web software. We use human-centred design, automation and AI to solve real problems for organisations, helping them to cut costs and accelerate growth.
Person specification
11. Creative problem solver with a passion for using technology to sole problems
12. Strong critical thinking skills
13. High attention to detail
14. Excellent communication skills, capable of translating complex ideas to non-technical stakeholders
15. Ability to multitask
16. Organised and thorough, taking ownership of outcomes
17. Desire for constant improvement
18. Ability to work well independently and as part of a team
19. Confident presenter
20. Someone who thrives in an SME with a flat structure and empowered team members
21. Commuting distance from Southampton for meetings/workshops
22. Must have the right to work in the UK
Required experience
23. 5 years commercial design experience working in similar roles
24. Strong portfolio showcasing product design process and outcomes
25. Agency or consultancy experience
26. Demonstrated ability to lead Discovery workshops
27. Demonstrated experience working on non-trivial projects
28. Expertise in UX principles, interaction design, and accessibility
29. Aligns with our values
Desirable experience
30. Line management experience
31. Deep Figma knowledge
32. Design system experience
33. Broader visual design experience
If you’re excited by this role but don’t feel you meet every requirement then we’d still encourage you to apply. We’re looking for a passionate individual who aligns with our values and can grow with the business.
As a valued part of our team you’ll get
34. A competitive salary
35. 25 days holiday
36. Sick pay package
37. Flexible working hours
38. Flexible working location
39. A great work/life balance
40. Contributory Pension (after 3 months)
41. An opportunity to develop & grow your skills within an expert team
42. Continuing Personal Development (CPD)
43. Yearly training budget
44. Free coffee/tea and soft drinks
45. Regular free lunches to celebrate team wins
46. Group Life Assurance
47. Private Medical Insurance*
48. Dental cover*
49. Optical cover*
50. Central Southampton office location with free parking
*after successful completion of probation