Lead Product Designer (Checkout) – 9 Month FTC

London (Hybrid – 2/3 days per week)

Up to £90,000 (pro rata)

Start Date: May 2026

I’m currently partnering with a well-known, consumer-focused digital business to hire a Lead Product Designer on a 9-month fixed-term contract to cover a key period of growth within their product team.

This is a high-impact role, owning the end-to-end checkout and post-purchase experience across web and mobile platforms. You’ll play a critical part in shaping how customers convert, interact with payment flows, and gain confidence through to order completion.

You’ll operate in a true player-coach capacity, leading a small team of designers while remaining hands-on in delivery—working closely with Product, Engineering, Data, and Commercial teams to influence both strategy and execution.

The Role

You’ll take ownership of a critical customer journey, driving design excellence and measurable impact across checkout.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading and mentoring Product Designers, setting direction for checkout and post-purchase experiences
• Owning the end-to-end design process from discovery through to delivery
• Remaining hands-on in tools such as Figma, contributing directly to design output
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams to shape roadmap, prioritisation, and experimentation
• Using data and insights to optimise conversion, payment UX, and customer reassurance
• Championing design thinking across the organisation and influencing senior stakeholders
• Driving a culture of continuous improvement, testing, and innovation

About You

You’ll be a seasoned Product Designer with strong leadership capability and a commercial mindset.

• 8+ years’ experience in Product Design, ideally within e-commerce or high-traffic digital products
• Experience managing and developing designers (player-coach style)
• Strong expertise in checkout flows, conversion optimisation, and payment UX
• Proven ability to balance user needs with business goals
• Comfortable working hands-on while also shaping strategy
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
• Experience across web and native app design
• Proficient in Figma, prototyping, and user research tools
• Data-driven approach to design and decision-making

Why This Role?

This is an opportunity to step into a high-visibility, high-impact role within a mature product organisation, where design plays a central role in business success. You’ll have the autonomy to shape a critical journey, influence senior stakeholders, and leave a lasting impact within a short timeframe.