UI Product Designer

Designing enterprise software for an AI-native world

Proton is looking for a UI Product Designer to help redefine what software for wholesale distribution can look and feel like.

The company is building an AI-powered platform that brings CRM, product information, e-commerce, order and quote workflows, and AI together within a shared system. Its customers range from family-run distributors to large enterprises, with sales teams relying on these tools throughout their working day.

That creates an interesting design challenge: taking workflows traditionally associated with dense, outdated enterprise software and turning them into something fast, modern and genuinely enjoyable to use.

This isn't simply a role for producing polished screens. Proton wants a designer who can shape its visual identity, build systems that scale across multiple products, work directly with customers and use AI tools to move from an idea to a working prototype quickly.

More than designing in Figma

Proton's product development process is heavily AI-assisted.

Designers are expected to use tools such as Claude Code and Cursor as part of their everyday workflow, including prototyping interactions in code before investing time in final polish.

That doesn't mean handing creative decisions over to AI. Proton is specifically looking for someone with strong visual judgment — someone who understands typography, hierarchy, layout, colour, iconography and motion well enough to decide where AI can accelerate the process and where human design judgment matters most.

You'll also have the opportunity to explore a newer category of interaction design: defining how people work with AI agents, when they trust them, how they correct them and what happens when a user wants to override an automated decision.

Build the AI skills this role is looking for

Proton isn't simply looking for a designer who uses AI occasionally. This role calls for hands-on experience with AI-assisted prototyping, AI-powered product experiences, and tools such as Claude Code or Cursor.

Designlab's AI Product Design Certification is built for working UX and Product Designers developing exactly this broader AI capability — from integrating AI into their design workflow and rapidly prototyping ideas to designing AI-powered products.

The Design + Build track also includes Vibe Coding Camp, extending those skills into building functional software with AI-native tools such as Claude Code.

Explore the AI Product Design Certification (Affiliate link)

What you'll be working on

You'll report to Proton's VP of Product and work closely with product managers and engineers, taking substantial ownership over both individual experiences and the broader design language of the platform.

Your work will include:

• Creating working prototypes with Claude Code, Cursor or similar AI-assisted tools to evaluate interactions before committing to final designs.
• Establishing and evolving the visual language across Proton's products.
• Owning the design system, including components, interaction patterns, documentation and adoption across product teams.
• Rethinking complex workflows inherited from traditional distribution and enterprise software.
• Designing interactions between users and AI agents, including trust, correction, approval and handoff patterns.
• Collaborating directly with engineering throughout implementation rather than handing designs over at the end of the process.
• Working within Proton's AI-assisted product development model and helping determine how design fits into that faster cadence.
• Spending time with customers, including onsite visits, to understand how sales representatives actually use the product in warehouses and sales environments.

The designer Proton is looking for

Strong visual craft is fundamental to this position. Proton wants someone capable of creating distinctive product experiences rather than simply assembling familiar UI patterns.

You should be comfortable making decisions around typography, composition, colour, hierarchy and iconography, while using motion when it genuinely improves the experience.

You'll also need experience taking digital products or significant features from concept through launch, working alongside product and engineering and seeing how your decisions perform with real users.

Proton is particularly interested in designers who can think at both levels: creating an excellent individual experience while defining the principles and reusable systems that allow dozens of other screens to remain consistent.

AI should already be part of your workflow

This is one of the more unusual requirements of the position.

Proton isn't simply looking for someone curious about generative AI. The company expects candidates to already have hands-on experience using Claude Code, Cursor or comparable tools in real design and product work.

You should be able to explain how you provide context to AI systems, how you evaluate what they produce and how these tools help you build and test ideas faster.

At the same time, Proton doesn't want AI-generated design thinking or portfolios. AI is viewed as a way to amplify a designer's capabilities, not a substitute for taste, judgment or ownership.

What your portfolio should demonstrate

Your portfolio should contain products or features where your contribution extends beyond the final interface.

Proton wants to understand the decisions behind the work: what problem existed originally, what you changed, what you deliberately kept, how the visual direction developed and how the product eventually reached users.

A particularly relevant case study would involve taking a complicated or outdated workflow and reimagining it for a modern product experience.

Evidence that you've established a visual language or contributed substantially to a design system will also be valuable.

Experience that could make you stand out

A background in complex B2B products, enterprise software or ERP-adjacent systems would translate particularly well to Proton's environment.

Experience designing agentic products is another strong advantage, especially if you've already worked on questions around human/AI trust, correction, approval or handoffs.

Early-stage SaaS experience could also be useful, given the level of ownership and speed expected from the role.

You should additionally have genuine experience working in agile product teams. Proton has moved beyond traditional two-week scrum cycles toward a more agentic development process, but values designers who understand why those established product rituals existed in the first place.

Location and compensation

The position is available remotely within the EU. Proton also offers a hybrid option from its Cambridge, Massachusetts location, with three days per week in Harvard Square.

The role can be hired at Product Designer through Senior Product Designer level, with responsibility and autonomy adjusted according to experience.

Base compensation is $80,000–$100,000, with bonus and equity on top. Compensation for EU-based hires is benchmarked according to the local market.

Benefits

Proton offers:

• Company stock options.
• Flexible working hours and significant autonomy.
• Unlimited PTO.
• 10 company-paid holidays.
• 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave for primary and secondary caregivers, including adoption and fostering.
• Company-paid annual offsites.

For a product designer interested in AI-native interfaces, hands-on prototyping and complex B2B design, this is an opportunity to influence not just individual features, but the visual and interaction foundations of an entire product platform.