Principal Product Designer

Job Description

Were looking for a Principal Product Designer in Lisbon Portugal to drive product innovation and excellence for Zendesk Copilot one of our AI focused this role you will shape the direction of complex high-impact design initiatives and influence product development at the organizational level. Youll partner closely with cross-functional leadership to align design strategy with business goals all while championing human-centered inclusive design practices.

This is an opportunity for a systems thinker and craftsperson who thrives on solving complex problems mentoring other designers and driving strategic outcomes. Youll be part of a collaborative design organization that values curiosity clarity and courageand where your work will have a measurable impact on the lives of customers and the business alike.

What Youll Do

Strategic Design Leadership

• Drive the design vision and strategy across a product area aligning with company goals and long-term roadmaps.

• Shape end-to-end product experiences that solve real user problems deliver business value and differentiate us in the market.

• Partner with senior leaders across Product Engineering and Research to drive customer-centric decision-making at scale.

• Conduct competitive analysis and identify emerging trends to keep the organization ahead of market shifts.

Impact & Influence

• Lead large complex initiatives that impact multiple teams navigating ambiguity to drive clarity and alignment.

• Actively contribute to key product planning and prioritization conversations connecting design insights to product outcomes.

• Translate complex design concepts into language that resonates with senior stakeholders and influences company direction.

Design Excellence

• Set the bar for quality craft and inclusive design practices across the product design organization.

• Apply deep expertise in interaction and systems design to deliver thoughtful scalable solutions.

• Leverage research and data to inform validate and evolve design decisions throughout the product development cycle.
  

Mentorship & Community

• Mentor and coach designers across teams helping them grow in craft confidence and impact.

• Serve as a thought leader within the design organization and broader company sharing knowledge and elevating our design practice.

• Model inclusive leadership and actively integrate equity-centered design principles into everyday work.
  

Who You Are

• A seasoned product designer with deep experience in enterprise customer-facing or related software and a proven track record of shipping complex products at scale.

• A strategic thinker who can zoom in and outfrom high-level vision to precise interaction detailsbased on whats needed.

• A skilled communicator with the ability to influence align and build trust with cross-functional stakeholders at all levels.

• A systems-level designer who thrives in complexity designs for scale and understands how to connect product systems to human needs.

• An advocate for inclusive accessible design who actively works to embed equity into process product and team culture.

• Proficient in user-centered design methods such as journey mapping JTBD prototyping and design critiques.

• Passionate about growing otherswhether through mentorship coaching or community-building within the design org.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive product design experience with a portfolio that showcases your ability to make emerging technologies usable trusted and human-centered.

• Experience designing for complex workflows enterprise-scale products or systems thinking at scale.

• Familiarity with design systems component architecture and designing for accessibility standards.

• Bonus: Experience designing customer service platforms or productivity tools for customer support agents

Hybrid: In this role our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection collaboration learning and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working enables us to purposefully come together in person at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world to connect collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer and were proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity equity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race color religion national origin age sex gender gender identity gender expression sexual orientation marital status medical condition ancestry disability military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application complete any pre-employment testing or otherwise participate in the employee selection process please send an e-mail to with your specific accommodation request.