Product Designer

Job Description

We are looking for a Product Designer to work in a cross-functional team with our product managers and developers, serving as both a strategic thought partner and an implementation partner. This isn't a 'make it pretty' role, nor is it pure execution work. We rely on our Product Designers to bring both user insight and business context to product decisions, owning the design and experience roadmap while collaborating on product strategy. 

You'll be the voice for UI/UX quality and design thinking in your team, influencing both what gets built and how it gets built. You'll use data to inform and validate your design decisions, and you'll ensure that design improvements are built into feature work rather than competing with it. 

The role falls into three areas of responsibility (your day-to-day). 

1 - Strategic design leadership: 

• Own the design and experience roadmap for your product area(s) 
  
• Collaborate with product managers on product strategy, bringing user insights and business context 
  
• Identify design improvements that should be included as non-functional requirements in feature work 
  
• Drive the evolution of the product's look, feel, and user experience over time 
  
• Think holistically about product experience across multiple areas 
  

2 - End-to-end design execution: 

• UI/UX design from concept through high-fidelity implementation 
  
• Information architecture, user flows, wireframing, and prototyping 
  
• Visual design, interaction design, and micro-interactions designed for adoption and retention 
  
• Design systems and component libraries 
  
• Responsive design across all device types 
  

3 - Data-informed collaboration: 

• Conduct user research and use analytics, behavior data, and A/B testing to inform and validate design decisions that influence roadmap priorities 
  
• Work closely with developers throughout implementation, holding the UI/UX quality bar in trade-off discussions 
  
• Facilitate design critiques and workshops with the team 
  
• Evaluate and recommend design tools and workflows; stay current with industry trends 
  

Outcomes (what success in this role looks like) 

1 - Strategic design leadership: 

• Design recommendations are consistently influencing product roadmap decisions, with clear rationale connecting user needs to business outcomes
  
• UX improvements are being embedded into feature work as non-functional requirements rather than treated as separate "design debt"
  
• The product's design quality and user experience are visibly evolving and improving over time
  
• Cross-functional partners (PM, Engineering) actively seek your input on product decisions before they're finalized
  

2 - End-to-end design execution: 

• Features ship with high UI/UX quality that meets user needs and drives measurable improvements in adoption, engagement, or task completion
  
• Design work moves efficiently from concept to implementation with minimal rework
  
• Components and patterns you create are being reused, accelerating team velocity
  
• The product feels cohesive across the areas you own
  

3 - Data-informed collaboration: 

• Design decisions are regularly informed and validated by user research, analytics, or testing data
  
• You're identifying UX issues and opportunities through data before they become obvious problems
  
• Trade-off discussions balance user needs, business constraints, and technical reality thoughtfully
  
• The team's design capability and maturity is growing through your influence (better critiques, clearer rationale, higher quality bar)
  

What else you need (that will help you thrive in this role)

• 5-10 years' experience as a Product Designer, UX/UI Designer, or similar role with demonstrated growth from executing designs to influencing product strategy 
  
• Strong portfolio showcasing your strategic design thinking—from understanding business context and user needs, through exploration and iteration, to delivered solutions with measurable impact 
  
• Proven experience conducting user research programs and using analytics to inform and validate strategic design decisions 
  
• Demonstrated ability to bring business context to design decisions and make sophisticated trade-offs 
  
• Expert proficiency in design and prototyping tools (Figma, Sketch, etc.) 
  
• Experience driving design system strategy and evolution 
  
• Ability to think strategically about product direction while executing detailed interaction design 
  
• Strong communication and influence skills—you can shape product direction, articulate design rationale with data, and collaborate effectively as a thought partner to PM and implementation partner to Engineering 
  
• Comfortable holding the UI/UX quality bar in trade-off discussions, knowing when to hold the line and when to compromise pragmatically 
  
• Experience working in Agile environments with autonomous cross-functional teams 
  
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and make decisions in complex situations 
  
• Track record of mentoring designers and elevating team design capabilities 
  
• A collaborative mindset with the ability to give and receive constructive feedback 
  
  

Nice to have

• Experience designing for B2B or SaaS products at scale 
  
• Track record of influencing product strategy and roadmap priorities 
  
• Experience with A/B testing and experimentation frameworks 
  
• Background working with design systems across multiple teams 
  
• Understanding of technical constraints and front-end development 
  

Why Join Skynamo?

• Competitive salary and benefits package 
  
• Being part of a team that has a measurable and direct impact on Skynamo's success across the globe 
  
• A challenging and fun working environment that prioritises learning and development as well as action 
  
• Real influence on what gets built, working as a thought partner with Product and implementation partner with Engineering 
  
• Ownership of the design roadmap and how the product evolves over time 
  
• Working in cross-functional teams with collective responsibility for delivering value to customers 
  
• Opportunity to shape design practices and mentor other designers 
  
• A comfortable WFH policy and equally comfortable office in Stellenbosch that offers in-house barista, daily lunches, and Team Fortress gaming with colleagues 
  

More about Skynamo 
 

Established in Stellenbosch, South Africa 2012, Skynamo is a fast-growing SaaS company specializing in Sales and Field Sales Management solutions. We help manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors with sales teams to improve productivity, customer engagement, and increase revenue. 

Skynamo is utilized by close to 10,000 users at approximately 1,000 companies across a wide range of industries in Southern Africa, Australasia, the UK, Europe, and the US. 

We're proud to be a certified partner of Acumatica, Sage, and Xero, and one of the few global tech companies to hold ISO 27001:2023 certification. 

To get to more about our culture and our people please check out: https:// and  

Skynamo is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, or disabled status.