Product Lead (Design and Strategy)

Company Overview

ExTrac is a young, dynamic, and high-growth scaleup. We help people and companies make better decisions around the risks and opportunities of geopolitical events. We do this by building products that combine expertise across the humanities and sciences, bringing together data, AI, and domain expertise.

Position Overview

We’re looking for a Product Lead (Design and Strategy) to join our Design and Product team. This is a dual role, with a primary focus on product management – leading discovery, defining roadmaps, and driving delivery – while also offering the opportunity to contribute to design, particularly during the ideation and concept development stages. A background in UX or product design is highly desirable, as you’ll be shaping user journeys and translating complex requirements into clear, user-focused solutions.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in one of the following (or equivalent experience): Product Design / UX Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science / Software Engineering, Industrial Design / Graphic Design, Business, Psychology, or related fields with a strong UX or product focus
• A Master’s degree (e.g. in HCI, Design Strategy, Product Management, or Business) is a plus but not required.
• 7+ years of experience in product design, product management, or a hybrid role
• Proven track record of shipping complex digital products, from concept through execution
• Experience in highly regulated or security-sensitive environments (e.g., government, defence, healthcare) is a strong plus
• Demonstrated success in both product strategy and hands-on UX/UI design

Who You Are

• Proven experience in designing for complex, data-rich applications, ideally with some exposure to AI-powered platforms.
• Excellent understanding of user-centered design principles, UX/UI best practices, and responsive design.
• Ability to work closely with engineering teams, understanding technical constraints and balancing them with design requirements.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with experience presenting designs and gathering feedback from stakeholders.
• Experience conducting and applying findings from user research and usability testing.

Desirable

• Experience working in a fast-paced start-up environment.
• Familiarity with AI/ML technologies and how they impact user experience design.
• Experience working on enterprise-level SaaS products or complex B2B platforms.
• Knowledge of front-end development principles (HTML, CSS) and how designs translate to code.
• Passion for AI and emerging technologies, with a strong desire to stay on the cutting edge of design and technology trends.

Responsibilities

1. Product Development

• Work on the development end-to-end for our AI-driven products, from concept, planning to delivery, under the supervision of the Design and Product Director.
• Support both long-term strategic planning and short-term sprint execution.
• Translate visions, feature requests, and ideas into fully developed product briefs.
• Conduct investigations, gather information, assess feasibility, and write clear, actionable product requirements.
• Ensure stakeholder alignment on feature development and communicate plans effectively.
• Help with user flows, wireframes and prototypes that clearly communicate design concepts and interaction flows.
• Present design concepts and strategies to stakeholders, incorporating feedback and balancing user experience with business goals.
• Work closely with the AI team to ensure that AI features are presented in a user-friendly and understandable manner.
• Advocate for design excellence and usability best practices.
• Stay updated on industry trends and competitor products, especially in the AI and B2B SaaS space.

2. Product Performance & Data Analysis

• Establish quantitative data collection processes to track platform usage and feature adoption.
• Develop workflows to efficiently analyse and leverage data insights.
• Share insights with teams and stakeholders to drive data-informed decision-making.

3. User & Market Research

• Lead discovery efforts by gathering insights from user research (jointly with the Senior Product Designer) market analysis, and stakeholder feedback.
• Conduct usability testing, analyse findings, and iterate on product features based on feedback.
• Facilitate cross-team workshops to discuss and synthesise quantitative and qualitative data.

4. Cross-Team Communication & Collaboration

• Improve alignment between Design, Engineering, and Customer Success teams, ensuring effective communication throughout the product lifecycle.
• Enhance pre-sprint and in-sprint communication processes to improve collaboration.
• Create visual maps and process diagrams to document best practices and align teams on ways of working.