Overview
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Who are we? UpGuard’s mission is to make life easier for security teams. We meticulously create robust solutions that enable our customers to identify, assess, and remediate cybersecurity risk across their attack surface, vendor ecosystem, workforce, and trust relationships. Our integrated cyber risk posture management platform combines comprehensive security ratings, instant risk assessments, templated security questionnaires, threat intelligence capabilities, and agentic AI to give organizations a holistic view of their risk surface.
Where does this role fit in? We are entering a new phase of growth, expanding our product suite and user base and product design is a key strategic differentiator in this evolution. As VP of Product Design, you\'ll sit at the heart of this transformation, reporting to the Chief Product Officer and leading a growing team of designers and a UX writer. You\'ll scale our design system, drive the adoption of AI tools to improve efficiency, and help shape a unified, world class experience across every touchpoint in close partnership with Product, Engineering, and Brand. Reporting to the Chief Product Officer, you\'ll lead a team of five Product Designers (with plans to grow) and a UX Writer. You\'ll be responsible for scaling our design system into a robust foundation that enables consistency and speed, while championing AI-assisted design tooling to reduce repetitive work and maximise time spent on solving user problems. You\'ll also partner closely with the VP of Product, VP of Engineering, and Brand & Marketing Design to ensure a unified, world class experience across all touchpoints.
What is the role title? VP of Product Design (Executive) – Full-time, Australia-based with remote/work-from-home options.
Responsibilities
- Drive Design Vision & Strategy : Craft and socialise a compelling design vision that aligns with UpGuard’s product strategy and brand; establish a design‑system roadmap that scales across multiple products and future use cases; define success metrics (adoption of the design system, usability/NPS increases, reduction in design‑to‑dev cycle time) and report progress to executives.
- Build & Scale a Modern Design System : Lead and accelerate the evolution of our token‑driven Figma design system, formalising governance, documentation, and contributor workflows; formalise design‑ops processes (versioning, governance, documentation) so patterns remain consistent as the suite grows; ensure collaboration with Brand & Marketing Design to keep visual language unified.
- Lead & Empower the Design Team : Hire, mentor, and grow a high‑performing team of Product Designers; provide coaching, clear career paths, and effective feedback loops; foster a culture of rapid prototyping, user testing, and measurable learning.
- Integrate AI Into the Design Workflow : Identify and deploy generative‑AI tools (e.g. for ideation, content, asset generation) that streamline designer workflows; partner with Engineering and Product teams to experiment with AI‑driven UX patterns inside the product itself.
- Cross‑Functional Leadership & Execution : Collaborate daily with Product, Engineering, Customer Success, and Support to ship features that delight users; translate complex cybersecurity concepts into simple, intuitive experiences; balance strategic initiatives with hands‑on design reviews and execution oversight.
- What do we need from you? : Proven leadership with multiple years leading product‑design teams (Director/Head/VP level) ideally in a high‑growth B2B software workplace; track record of impact; design‑system expertise; AI mindset; collaboration skills; user‑centred craft; domain exposure (B2B SaaS valued; cybersecurity familiarity a bonus); location on Australia’s east coast (AEST/AEDT) and ability to work remotely or from offices.
- What would give you an edge? : Demonstrated success introducing AI‑assisted processes that measurably improved design velocity or quality; experience scaling design orgs; contributions to open‑source or public design systems; accessibility and inclusive‑design familiarity.
- What’s in it for you? : Monthly Lifestyle subsidy; WFH setup allowance; $1500 USD annual Learning & Development allowance; Generous Annual Leave/PTO; 18 weeks paid Parental Leave; Personal Leave; Fully remote working environment; Top‑spec hardware.
UpGuard is a Certified Great Place to Work and Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status.
For applications to positions in the United States, we can hire in CA, MD, MA, IL, OR, WA, CO, TX, FL, PA, LA, MO, or DC. Before starting work, you will undertake a national police history check and reference checks. We cannot support visa sponsorship or relocation at this time.
Seniority level
- Executive
Employment type
- Full-time
Job function
- Product Management and Marketing
Industries
- IT Services and IT Consulting
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📌 VP of Product Design
🏢 Upguard
📍 Cairns