Senior Manager, Design (f/m/d)

As a Senior Manager, Design (f/m/d) at Contentful, you'll lead a team of product designers, develop and communicate the design vision, and ensure alignment across product management, engineering, and research teams. Your responsibilities also include guiding user research efforts, facilitating workshops, and directly contributing to design processes, all while fostering a culture of adaptability within your team.

Candidates interested in the Senior Manager, Design (f/m/d) role at Contentful should have at least 8 years of experience in product design, including management of design teams. A strong background in designing for enterprise customers and familiarity with B2B SaaS products, particularly in areas like CMS or e-commerce design, is essential. Excellent communication and strategic UX thinking skills are also crucial.

Contentful fosters an inclusive and collaborative work culture for the Senior Manager, Design (f/m/d) role. With a strong emphasis on adaptability and resilience, the team thrives in dynamic environments. The company values work-life balance, offering generous paid time off, education benefits, and opportunities for professional growth, ensuring a supportive atmosphere for all employees.

Yes, the Senior Manager, Design (f/m/d) position at Contentful offers flexibility as you can work from our Berlin office or remotely from Germany, the UK, or Ireland. This flexibility is part of Contentful's commitment to fostering a healthy work-life balance while allowing you to contribute effectively from wherever you choose to work.

A Senior Manager, Design (f/m/d) at Contentful will work on diverse projects focused on enhancing user experiences across B2B Enterprise SaaS products. This includes managing the design for two key product lines covering Content Platform and Enterprise admin experiences. You'll lead innovative design processes that aim for measurable outcomes in customer satisfaction.

When answering this question, highlight your previous leadership experiences, particularly focusing on how you managed teams, guided design projects, and drove strategic initiatives. Use specific examples of your leadership style and the outcomes achieved to illustrate your impact.

To effectively respond, discuss methods you utilize to align design processes with customer needs, such as conducting user research and analyzing feedback. Emphasize your ability to use metrics for measuring success and iterate on designs based on those insights.

In your answer, focus on the importance of communication and workshops in fostering teamwork. Share experiences where you successfully facilitated collaboration between product management, engineering, and design teams to drive projects forward.

When answering, share how you follow design publications, engage in communities, and attend workshops or conferences to stay ahead of trends in B2B SaaS design. Highlight specific examples of trends you've successfully integrated into your work.

Prepare to discuss a specific design challenge you've faced in the past, outlining the problem, your approach to finding a solution, and the final outcome. Emphasize what you learned and how it has shaped your design philosophy.

Explain the significance of user research in your design approach. Share how you work with user research teams to gather insights and how these insights inform your design decisions, ensuring a user-centric process.

In your response, illustrate how you manage your time and priorities to ensure that you can provide strategic direction while also getting involved in the hands-on work necessary for the projects. Discuss specific scenarios where you've successfully balanced both roles.

Talk about the importance of accessibility in your design work and how you include considerations for diverse user needs in your design processes. Provide examples of how you've implemented best practices for accessibility in past projects.

Discuss your familiarity with design systems, including any specific systems you've worked with. Highlight how you’ve contributed to their development and the impact these systems had on your organizations' overall design consistency.

Share specific tactics you employ to inspire your team, such as fostering a culture of collaboration and creativity. Discuss how you encourage professional development and celebrate team successes to keep morale high.