Acko
Website:
acko.com
Job details:
About ACKO
ACKO is the protection destination for over 200 million tech-savvy families across India, protecting their families, assets and money. Launched in 2016, ACKO started by reimagining insurance, making it simple, hassle-free and customer-first. Today, our mission goes beyond that: we aim to touch the lives of 1 million users, building products that solve real-world problems with technology at the core.
We are not just another insurance company, our DNA is product-tech, and our approach is bold, innovative, and digital-first. From zero commission, zero paperwork, and instant renewals to same-day claims settlements and app-based tracking, ACKO is a Welcome Change from traditional insurers.
But what truly sets us apart? Our people. At ACKO, every Acker’s voice and ideas matter. We’re a vibrant, inclusive team of creators, thinkers, and doers, building products that redefine protection while ensuring each Acker grows, thrives and does meaningful work.
Join us at ACKO, where bold ideas, real impact and tech-driven innovation redefine protection and peace of mind - and where YOU can make a real difference in people's lives. ACKO is a product-tech company, launched in 2016, solving real-world problems for customers, starting with insurance. And as a customer-first organization serving the digitally-savvy, ACKO’s value proposition of ‘Welcome Change’ focuses on offerings that make insurance simple and hassle-free! With features such as zero commission, zero paperwork, instant renewal, same-day claim settlements, and app-based updates on claims, ACKO is a 'Welcome Change' from traditional insurers.
Having said that, we are not just another conventional insurance firm, or the people consulted solely for "claims”! Anchored in a tech-centric philosophy, ACKO’s approach fuels innovation, empowering us to develop comprehensive products that cater to every aspect of our customers' insurance requirements. And while we are at it, we put our Ackers at the heart of everything we do. We're not your typical 9-to-5 workplace; we're a vibrant and inclusive bunch of innovators and creators making sure every Acker’s idea matters, their voice is heard, and their growth is part of our mission.
About The Role
We're looking for a Director of Product Design to lead a design charter in ACKO's D2C business.
The design function here is mature, and the team is strong. You'll be working with product designers who already bring strategic thinking and craft to their work. What this role is about is taking that to the next level, bringing a sharper point of view on the problem space, raising the ceiling on how the team frames and solves problems, and building the kind of design culture where original thinking compounds over time.
You'll operate as a co-owner of product decisions alongside Product and Business, with genuine influence over what we build and why.
What You’ll Do
Define the design strategy for D2C
- Develop a clear, well-reasoned design vision for how ACKO customers experience insurance, from their first encounter with the brand to multi-year relationship management.
- Build and maintain a strong POV on the unique constraints of the Indian insurance market: trust dynamics, financial literacy, purchase psychology, and the legacy of agent-intermediated distribution.
- Translate strategy into a prioritised design agenda that the team can execute against with clarity.
Lead design thinking, not just design output
- Set the standard for how problems are framed before solutions are proposed, establishing rigour around hypothesis formation, assumption mapping, and contextual research.
- Review and elevate design work at the strategic level: are we solving the right problem, for the right user, with the right constraints in mind?
- Build a team culture where original thinking is the norm, where the first idea is the beginning of the process, not the end.
Coach and develop a senior design team
- Work closely with product designers not to manage their output, but to sharpen how they think.
- Coach designers through problem framing, not just design reviews, helping them develop the skill of questioning briefs and building hypotheses before reaching for solutions.
- Create the conditions for great thinking: strong briefs, structured critique sessions, and a design review culture that asks hard questions.
Drive measurable business outcomes
- Own design's contribution to key D2C metrics - conversion, activation, retention, and claims satisfaction.
- Work with Product and Data to build a feedback loop between design decisions and business outcomes.
- Make the case for design investments in the language of business impact.
What We’re Looking For
Original thinker with deep domain curiosity
- You don't start from a competitor audit. You start from first principles - understanding the user, the market context, and the constraints before forming a hypothesis.
- You have genuine curiosity about how people in India relate to financial products: the trust gaps, the decision-making dynamics, the role of family and social context.
- You've worked on problems where the UX model wasn't established - where you had to figure out the right frame, not just apply an existing one.
Strong strategic POV, not just strong opinions
- You can form a clear, defensible point of view on complex problems and communicate it persuasively to product, business, and leadership stakeholders.
- You distinguish clearly between what you know, what you're assuming, and what you need to find out - and you're honest about each.
- You think at the level of "what should we believe about this problem" before moving to "what should we build."
Speed through clarity, not by skipping steps
- You move fast, but your speed comes from having a clear hypothesis and knowing what you're testing, not from skipping the thinking.
- You've operated in fast-paced environments and know how to make good decisions under uncertainty without becoming reckless.
- You're comfortable being wrong and updating quickly. You don't conflate velocity with correctness.
Leader of thinking, not just of teams
- You've led design teams where your primary leverage was how you shaped the way people think, not how much you personally produced.
- You coach through questions, not corrections. You help designers discover what they're missing rather than telling them what to do.
- You know the difference between craft feedback and strategic thinking feedback, and you give both clearly.
Background We’re Typically Looking For
There's no single profile that fits this role, but some common patterns among people who tend to succeed in environments like ours:
- 10–14 years of product design experience, with at least 3-4 years leading a design function (not just a project or team).
- Experience in a complex, low-familiarity category such as fintech, insurtech, healthtech, or any product where users arrive with anxiety, low literacy, or distrust. Experience in insurance is a plus, not a requirement.
- Has worked at both a high-growth startup and a scaled organisation at some point in their career, so they understand both the discipline of rigorous thinking and the reality of moving fast.
- Evidence of original thinking - talks, writing, case studies, or portfolio work that shows a distinctive point of view, not just polished execution.
- Based in Bangalore or willing to relocate.
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