VP, Product Design

VP, Product Design

Application Deadline: 26 March 2026

Department: Product

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: London, UK

Reporting To: Brendon McLean

Compensation: £100,000 - £120,000 / year

Description

Zappi is the original disruptor of Market Research, transforming it from a slow, consulting driven service industry to a rapid turnaround, tech enabled insights platform. The advent of AI presents another opportunity for us to re imagine the industry and we're committed to leading that change.

We're looking for a VP of Product Design to be a key partner in taking our product forward into an AI enabled era. We want to create new products and reimagine existing ones by delivering genuine customer value, not paper thin hyped up prompt wrappers.

We're also looking for someone who believes that Product Design should not be stuck in Figma, designing UX to order like a fast food kitchen. We want someone in a role that deeply understands the customer, their Jobs to be Done, and their pain points, and uses that knowledge to ultimately help steer the product, the customers' interactions with Zappi as a whole, and their journeys.

While this is a senior leadership role, it is still hands on - we're looking for someone who can lead from the front, working in key areas of design and evolving how we use AI.

What you'll actually be doing

Reporting directly to the CTO, you will join a leadership triad alongside our VPs of Product and Directors of Engineering. Your primary mandate is to elevate Design from a reactive production function into a core strategic driver of Zappi's commercial future.

• Define and own the 2-year vision: You will articulate what world class Product Design looks like for a data heavy SaaS platform. This isn't a theoretical exercise; you will define how your team operates across the entire product lifecycle, from deep discovery to post launch iteration, ensuring our work is anchored in commercial impact and genuine customer Jobs to be Done.
• Lead the organizational transformation: You will be responsible for evolving the team from a service agency mode (executing tickets) to a strategic partner mode (shaping initiatives). You will mentor the team to move beyond Figma first workflows and focus on problem definition, systems thinking, and business viability.
• Architect the AI enabled experience: You will be a key partner in determining how AI fundamentally reimagines the market research industry. You will lead the design of experiences that move beyond "prompt wrappers" to solve complex researcher pain points by leveraging our proprietary data asset.
• Lead by doing: You will lead directly in key areas, bringing design expertise and skills to reimagine how to meet evolving customer jobs to be done.
• Drive commercial and strategic outcomes: You will participate in leadership sessions, helping steer product strategy. You will be expected to understand our P&L and work closely with Sales and Customer Success to ensure our product journey directly influences LTV, CAC, and retention.
• Cultivate cross functional maturity: You will build deep relationships with customer facing teams to ensure the Zappi experience is coherent from the first sales demo to daily platform usage. You will advocate for the "work behind the work," ensuring that discovery and validation are seen as essential business functions, not just design rituals.

What we're looking for

• A track record of strategic design leadership: You have experience operating at a senior level within a complex B2B SaaS environment. You can point to moments where your leadership influenced the product trajectory and business outcomes.
• A strong track record of excellent product design skills: You can demonstrate a portfolio of high impact Product Design work along with the discovery and strategic thinking that informs it.
• Commercial fluency and pragmatism: You are comfortable with the "business" of software. You know when to push for perfection and when to prioritize speed to market.
• A commitment to discovery and evidence: You are an advocate for the "work behind the work." You believe in deep customer discovery and rigorous validation, and you have the ability to articulate the business value of this approach to non design stakeholders.
• Technical literacy in an AI context: While you aren't an engineer, you have a deep enough understanding of LLMs and data architectures to lead a design team in building meaningful AI experiences.

Benefits

• Three company paid mental health day of rest every year (these are pre scheduled, so the entire company can take the same days off regularly to reset)
• Generous PTO - Minimum of 20 days of paid time off per year, plus national holidays. Leave over 30 days requires manager and People team approval
• Private medical healthcare cover
• Group risk, life & disability contributions
• Thoughtfully designed offices to support both individual work and collaboration without interrupting others
• Support setting up your home office, if appropriate (chair + desk, etc)
• Wellbeing benefits such as free yoga and access to trained therapists / counsellors
• Enhanced parental leave policies
• Pension contributions via salary sacrifice scheme
• Tailored personal development through training allowances, coaching, mentorship and career frameworks

Why join us?

We've been recognized as one of the hottest martech companies in 2022 by Business Insider and named Best Place to Work by Quirk's Media for our engaging and inclusive workplace culture. We're committed to both people and the planet.

Our belief in inclusion means we're building an organisation of diverse individuals and helping brands eliminate cultural presumptions in their research. Read our Diversity Manifesto here.

We are a values and behaviours driven business and believe that Trust, Truth, Ownership, Ambitionand Humility describe Zappi employees on our best day. This is how we strive to show up for our customers, for each other and for our communities.

Earning B Corp certification assures us we're on the right track and have structures in place to become the business we want to be.

Our commitment to minimise our impact on the environment means being honest with ourselves and transparent with you-about everything from carbon emissions to tree planting initiatives. We achieved our goal of becoming Net Zero in 2021!

Zappi Company Culture Highlights

• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Women 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Work Life Balance 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Compensation 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO for Women 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Diversity 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Culture 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Happiness 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Leadership Teams 2023
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEOs for Diversity 2023
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Engineering Teams 2023
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Outlook 2023
• Winner of Newsweek's Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in the UK 2022 & 2023
• Recognised by Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators 2023
• Winner of Best Marketing Insights Platform in the MarTech Breakthrough Awards 2023 & 2024

Equal Opportunity

Zappi is an equal opportunity employer; our diversity is a major strength. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.

We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce fosters innovation, creativity, and success. Our hiring decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, and abilities, ensuring fairness and equity throughout our recruitment process. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. Join our team and contribute to an inclusive environment where everyone's unique perspectives and talents are valued and respected.