Principal Designer (UI Design, Branding, Digital Product Design)

Principal Product Designer (UI Design & Digital Product Design) £650 per day | Inside IR35 6-month contract London – Hybrid (2 days per week onsite) Overview We're looking for an exceptional Principal Product Designer to play a key role in building a large-scale digital platform from the ground up. This is a rare greenfield opportunity to define the visual identity, interaction patterns and design standards for a suite of modern digital products. Working closely with Product, Engineering and senior stakeholders, you'll create outstanding user experiences while establishing a scalable design system that will underpin the platform for years to come. This role is ideal for a highly experienced designer with exceptional UI and interaction design skills, a strong portfolio of shipped products, and a passion for creating elegant, intuitive experiences at scale. Role & Responsibilities • Own and evolve the visual design language across multiple digital products. • Create high-fidelity UI designs, interactive prototypes and detailed design specifications. • Lead the development and governance of a scalable design system, including reusable components, design tokens and documentation. • Define interaction patterns that deliver intuitive, accessible and consistent user experiences. • Work closely with engineers to ensure pixel-perfect implementation and design quality. • Translate complex business and technical requirements into simple, engaging interfaces. • Champion accessibility, usability and responsive design best practices. • Help shape design standards and establish UI governance across the wider organisation. Skills & Experience • Significant experience as a Principal Product Designer, Product Designer, UI Designer, Interaction Designer or Design Systems Designer. • Outstanding portfolio demonstrating exceptional UI, visual and interaction design across complex digital products. • Proven experience building and scaling design systems, component libraries and reusable design patterns. • Expert-level proficiency with Figma and modern prototyping tools. • Strong understanding of accessibility (WCAG), responsive design and front-end implementation considerations. • Experience working closely with engineering teams throughout the full product lifecycle. • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence both technical and non-technical audiences. Desirable Experience • Experience defining design system strategy within greenfield environments. • Working knowledge of HTML, CSS and modern front-end frameworks. • Experience designing enterprise-scale platforms and complex user journeys. • Background delivering products within regulated, public sector or highly governed environments. • Experience contributing to product strategy while remaining hands-on with design delivery. Contract: 6 months Rate: £650 per day (Inside IR35) Location: London (Hybrid – 2 days per week onsite)