Director of Design

Islacare

Director of Design tasked with elevating a small design team during business growth phase. Collaborate with product leadership and maintain hands-on involvement in the design process.

Posted 5/8/2026full-timeRemote • 🇬🇧 United KingdomLeadWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Define and lead our design practice - build the processes, rituals, and standards that set the team up for success as we scale.
Be the voice of the user - ensure user needs are represented in every significant product and business decision, from early discovery through to delivery
Make research stick - establish how we learn from users, and make sure those insights are visible, accessible, and shaping what we build. You'll help us build a more active, methodologically rigorous research practice
Own the design system - keep it healthy, consistent, and evolving alongside the product, with an eye on AI-readiness and long-term scalability. You'll establish the governance that keeps it consistent as we grow
Shape our approach to AI - lead the way in integrating AI tools into the design workflow, and help the team build confidence and good habits around them
Bring data into the design process - champion the use of quantitative and qualitative data together, helping the team make evidence-led decisions
Stay in the craft - contribute directly to designing complex clinical and patient-facing features, staying close to the work and leading by example
Own the vision: Lay out to the business and our users how the platform will evolve as we execute on our product roadmap

Requirements

What you’ll need

A track record of designing in high-stakes, regulated, or clinical environments where consistency, clarity, and safety are non-negotiable
Technically fluent - able to hold a credible conversation with engineers, understand constraints, and design pragmatically in an environment where the cost of rework is high
Sharp UX instincts backed by evidence - you use data, research, and clinical context to identify opportunities and make a compelling case for the right decisions
You stay close to where AI is heading - experimenting with new tools, understanding what they make possible, and bringing that knowledge into how we design and build
A confident communicator who can articulate design rationale to clinical, product, and engineering stakeholders alike - and influence decisions without always having the loudest voice in the room
Strong instincts for process, quality, and what makes design teams function well at pace

Benefits

Comp & perks

🏡 Work from home or at our office in 131 Finsbury Pavement - Industrious 🏢
📈 Equity options available and pension contributions
🕜 Flexible working times
🌍 Work abroad for up to 90 days per year
🎉 Enhanced parental leave
🏖️ 25 days annual leave (on top of bank holidays)
🎂 Take your birthday off and another significant day off of your choice.
🍜 Treat your friends or family to a meal each quarter (up to £75)
🧘‍♀️ A monthly wellbeing bonus (£50 per month for gym membership/wellbeing activities) or private medical insurance.
🎳 Quarterly team socials
📚 An annual learning budget to support your growth
💗 Delivering social impact through improved patient healthcare
💡 Working at a well-funded and rapidly growing start-up, solving a global problem in a new way

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

UX designdesign systemsAI integrationdata analysisuser researchevidence-led decision makingclinical designprototypinguser-centered designdesign governance

Soft Skills

communicationleadershipinfluencingcollaborationcritical thinkingproblem-solvingadaptabilityprocess managementattention to detailstakeholder engagement