Head of Design and User Research

Jimdo was founded by 3 school friends in 2007 in a farmhouse in Northern Germany. Today, we’re a growing profitable business with a team of 250+ people from 50 nationalities based in over 15 countries. Jimdo’s mission is to unleash the power of self-employed small business owners, the backbone of the global economy, and help them thrive. We offer products and services to help founders start, grow, and manage their businesses.

Jimdo started as a website builder and has helped businesses create over 32 million websites. Over the years, our portfolio evolved to specifically serve the unique needs of micro businesses. In addition to our GDPR-compliant website builder powered by AI, we offer an online store, logo creator, legal text generator, business listings, social media integration, SEO, and more. We are constantly developing new products and services that make the lives of micro business owners easier and help fuel their businesses.

We have a physical location in Hamburg, Germany, where teams come together for in-person collaboration. If you’re inspired by our mission and like the idea of working for a dynamic remote-first company where you can create impact from day 1, we’d love to meet you

As the Head of Design and User Research, you will play a pivotal role in defining and executing our design strategy while leading a multidisciplinary team of designers and researchers. Your primary focus will be on building and enhancing our design systems to ensure consistency, efficiency, and scalability across all our digital products. You will work closely with a cross-functional Technology Leadership Team to guide user experience, product and technology decisions and execution.You will be a critical component of helping evolve solutions uniquely designed for the needs of Micro-businesses, and you will also help take the lead as we expand our AI offerings, in particular, maximizing our use of the interface and experience opportunities provided by AI.

**Responsibilities**:
**Design Strategy**:
Develop and articulate a clear design vision and strategy that aligns with the company's overall objectives. Drive the evolution of our design principles, guidelines, and best practices to create a cohesive and user-centric experience across all touchpoints.

**Design Systems**:
Establish and maintain a robust design system that empowers our designers to create exceptional and cohesive user interfaces. Continuously evolve the design system to incorporate industry best practices, accessibility standards, and emerging trends, while ensuring its scalability and efficiency.

**User Research**:
Lead the user research team to gain deep insights into our target audience's needs, behaviors, and preferences. Collaborate with researchers to conduct usability testing, interviews, and surveys, leveraging data to help us understand the market and our customer and inform design decisions and optimize user experiences.

**Team Leadership**:
Build and mentor a high-performing design team, fostering a collaborative and innovative culture. Provide guidance, feedback, and professional development opportunities to drive individual growth and improve overall team capabilities.

**Cross-Functional Collaboration**:
Collaborate closely with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to drive design-led innovation. Influence decision-making processes by effectively communicating design rationale, user insights, and the business value of design-driven initiatives.

**Industry Awareness**:
Stay up to date with the latest design trends, technologies, and best practices, and ensure that our design team remains at the forefront of innovation. Represent the company at industry events, conferences, and design forums to promote thought leadership.
- Proven experience (8+ years) in a design leadership role at a leading technology, entertainment, or digital media company.
- Demonstrated success in building and scaling design systems, establishing design guidelines, and driving design consistency across complex product portfolios.
- Strong background in user-centered design methodologies, usability testing, and user research techniques.
- Exceptional strategic thinking and the ability to align design objectives with broader business goals.
- Excellent leadership and people management skills, with a track record of building and developing high-performing design teams.
- Proficiency in design tools such as Sketch, Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and prototyping tools.
- A portfolio showcasing your design leadership, highlighting your ability to create innovative, user-centric experiences and demonstrating your expertise in building design systems.

**What we offer**:

- Meaningful mission:_
- By helping solopreneurs and small businesses succeed we’re making communities around us more sustainable, resilient, and vibrant.
- Flexibility and Trust:_
- Fully remote work with elements of in-person collaboration.
- Flexible working hours. We value ou