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We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Product Designer - this is a leadership position with individual contributor scope. You oversee the overall Plus experience, realise your own projects throughout problem definition, solution design and execution, and also mentor 2 other designers in the team. You are passionate about designing and delivering customer-centric solutions that delight customers and are aligned with business strategy. You have a keen eye for detail, visual design trends, and an appreciation for how art direction, illustration or motion design can elevate the overall experience. This is a temporary limited contract to cover a parental leave of absence.
Job Responsibility
Define the North Star Vision: Shape the strategic UX and visual direction for Zalando’s loyalty ecosystem
Translate complex business goals and shifting customer behaviours into a high-level design vision that guides product roadmaps
Drive Cross-Functional Alignment: Act as a core strategic partner to Product, Engineering, and Brand leadership
Bridge the gap between business strategy and emotional customer experiences
Master Complex Systems & Gamification: Own the conceptual ambition of our Plus program
Design sophisticated, gamified systems (like missions and levelling tiers) that feel intuitive, elegant, and seamlessly integrated across the entire Zalando journey
Scale the Craft: Champion the evolution of Zalando’s design system
Define new visual principles, motion frameworks, and interaction standards
Facilitate design sprints, frame complex problem spaces, and leverage rapid prototyping to test bold, AI-driven, or 0-to-1 concepts before they scale
Elevate the Community: Act as a pillar of Zalando’s 200+ design organisation
Scale our culture of feedback, mentor senior designers, and inspire the broader team through masterclasses, design critiques, and thought leadership
Requirements
You're a Master of Product Craft: You have a proven track record of architecting visually rich, customer-facing digital products
You don't just follow a style guide - you are entirely comfortable owning and evolving the visual language of a major product from high-level concept to flawless execution
You Have a Refined Aesthetic Lens: Your superpower is visual storytelling
You possess an elite aesthetic sensibility and a deep understanding of hierarchy, typography, colour, and layout
You Bridge Brand and Product: You thrive at the intersection of brand identity and product utility
You know how to translate a brand’s emotional DNA into a living, breathing design system that drives user goals and business outcomes
You're Systemic Yet Creative: You are deeply hands-on with advanced prototyping and design systems
You're an Influential Communicator: You thrive in highly collaborative ecosystems
You communicate your design rationale with clarity and confidence
You're Driven by Experimentation: You bring a rigorous growth mindset
You’re excited to validate bold, innovative ideas through rapid prototyping, user data, and continuous experimentation
You Design for Everyone: You are an unwavering advocate for accessibility and inclusive design
You Elevate the Room: You are a natural mentor
You naturally raise the quality bar for the designers around you by providing constructive, thoughtful feedback and generously sharing your expertise
Nice to have
experience with a/b testing
experience with Product Analytics
experience with design experiments
experience with concept design methods
experience with conducting user research
What we offer
27 days of holiday a year to start for full-time employees (+1 day for every calendar year up to 30 days)
2 paid volunteering days a year
Hybrid working model with up to 60% remote per week
Work from abroad for up to 30 working days a year
Employee shares program
40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Lounge by Zalando, discounts from external partners
Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)
Family services, including counseling and support
Health and wellbeing options (including Wellhub, formerly Gympass)
Mental health support and coaching available
Drive your development through our training platform and biannual peer-to-peer review