Midweight Product Designer

Explore Learning is a leading educational organisation committed to making learning enjoyable and effective for children, and supporting families and schools as true partners. With our network of learning centres across the country and our online tutor offering, we help thousands of children develop their skills and reach their full potential. 

After 25 years we are upgrading how we do that digitally. New products, strengthened design systems, AI woven properly through how we work, and a push into markets. We are not looking to tidy up the edges, but to reshape what Explore Learning is, representing our position as leaders in the tuition market. 

We are looking for a Midweight Product Designer to join us for that, on a 6 month contract covering maternity leave (with potential for the role to become permanent). 

You will work across our websites, our member and tutor apps, and our learning platform, designing for children as learners, parents, teachers and school administrators. You will be one of two designers, working directly with the Head of Product Design, on a small team where the work you do ships and you see what it changes. 

Key Responsibilities

• Own product design on your initiatives, from discovery and problem definition through to the production ready assets you build with engineers. 

• Understand the problem properly before designing. Use research, data and customer feedback, and question assumptions constructively. 

• Design coherent end to end journeys rather than isolated screens, including the error, empty and edge case states most people skip. 

• Partner closely with centres, product owners and front end engineers across web and mobile, through to shipped implementation. 

• Champion accessibility and inclusive design, with real care for designing well for children. 

• Connect your design decisions to outcomes such as adoption, engagement and learner results, not just to what you shipped. 

Must haves 

• A strong portfolio of end to end product design. Not just polished screens, but the thinking, the discovery and the shipped outcomes behind them. 

• Strong interaction design and systems thinking, with evidence of handling genuine complexity. 

• Clear communication for, and experience working directly with front end engineers and product owners through to implementation, highlighting your knowledge of compromises and the reality of end to end production. 

• Fluency in Figma, including Auto Layout, components and variables, and experience working within a design system. 

You do not need every answer, and you will not be leading our most strategically complex work alone. What matters is reliable judgement within your own initiatives and honesty about what you are unsure of. 

Nice to haves 

• Experience designing for children, or in EdTech or consumer products used by families. 

• Accessibility expertise (WCAG) and a track record of inclusive design. 

• Experience designing for multiple personas or multi sided platforms. 

You will thrive here if you 

• Care about the user and business goals more than your own opinion. 

• Sweat the details other people miss. 

• Want to own outcomes, not hand off screens. 

• Are genuinely curious about AI and already playing with it. 

Location: Remote (UK based). Travel for user testing and occasional time with the team, all expensed. 

Job Type: Full time, 6 month fixed term contract covering a maternity leave. There is potential for the role to become permanent, subject to business needs at the time. 

Salary: £45,000 pro rata

Please note: Proof of eligibility to work in the UK will be required. Unfortunately we are not able to offer any form of sponsorship. 

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff to share this commitment.

Safeguarding is paramount. Our safer recruitment processes are rigorous and designed to deter, identify and reject anyone who may pose a risk to children. Any offer is strictly conditional upon satisfactory references (taken directly from referees) and an Enhanced DBS check.

You must provide a full employment history with all gaps clearly explained and evidenced where required. Any omission, inconsistency or misleading information may result in your application being rejected, an offer withdrawn, or dismissal.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (and relevant Exceptions Orders). Relevant disclosures will be required in line with DBS and safer recruitment requirements.