Product Design Lead (Cape Town) at IQbusiness

Job Description

• We are seeking an experienced Product Design Lead based in Cape Town. The ideal candidate will sit at the intersection of art, psychology, and engineering, bringing deep expertise in user experience and interface design while leading a talented team of designers. This hybrid role requires in-office presence three days per week.
• If you’re obsessed with frictionless flows, love dissecting audience behaviour, and want to build a design culture that values output over ego, this position is for you.
• You’ll tackle complex strategic challenges, foster innovation, and ensure our products deliver world-class user experiences.

Key Responsibilities and Output Areas Include:

• Drive the end-to-end UX/UI strategy for our products, translating high-level business goals into intuitive design solutions.
• Build prototypes to ensure alignment across design, engineering, and product partners.
• Create and manage a user testing programme, including a panel for multiple brands.
• Move beyond aesthetics: leverage data, A/B testing, user research, and behavioural psychology to justify design decisions.
• Oversee the evolution of our design system, ensuring consistency while allowing creativity and innovation.
• Run design critiques that inspire, remove roadblocks, and foster an environment of “safe failure” leading to rapid innovation.
• Deeply understand the needs and motivations of design, engineering, and product management teams.
• Ensure technical feasibility without compromising user experience.
• Be the voice of the user in the boardroom, presenting work to executives with clarity, confidence, and storytelling.
• Push boundaries by incorporating modern UX/UI principles into every aspect of our products.
• Experiment with AI tools and services to keep pace with evolving user needs.

Key Requirements

• A relevant tertiary degree such as BA Hons in Visual Communication/Interaction Design, BA Hons Information Design, BCom Hons in Information Systems, BSc Hons in Computer Science, BSocSc Hons, BA Hons in Psychology, Sociology or Anthropology, plus a UX/UI-focused qualification.
• 7+ years in UX/UI design, with at least 2+ years leading or mentoring a team.
• A portfolio that demonstrates not only final screens but also the design journey – sketches, failed iterations, user testing data, and successful outcomes. Please attach your portfolio or a link to your application.
• Expert proficiency in Figma (variables, auto-layout, advanced prototyping).
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite and tools like Maze.
• Strong understanding of HTML/CSS/JS constraints to enable productive discussions with developers (coding not required).
• Proven experience in planning and conducting user research (interviews, usability testing, A/B testing) and synthesising insights into actionable design improvements.