Product Design Manager - Partner Tech (all genders) parental leave cover

THE ROLE & THE TEAM We are seeking a highly skilled Design Manager who excels at the front end of innovation: product discovery, research strategy, and complex problem framing. Within Partner Tech in Berlin, you will navigate ambiguity, lead strategic product discoveries, and apply systemic design thinking to inspire and align cross-functional teams. In this role, your title is Product Designer, but your superpower is an advanced mastery of qualitative and quantitative user research. You will sit squarely in the Discovery phase of our product lifecycle, operating as a vital bridge between User Research, Product Management, and Design Strategy. Crucially, you don’t just deliver research reports, you translate insights into structural user experience concepts, interaction models, and tangible product experiences. Partner with senior Product Management to co-create strategic prioritization frameworks, ensuring qualitative user benchmarks directly influence the long-term product roadmap. Together with our cross-functional team, you will discover, build, and synthesize insights to unlock commercial growth and operational efficiency for Zalando’s partners. This is a temporary limited contract of 6 months to cover a parental leave of absence. INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN If you think you have what it takes, we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every single requirement. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles! At Zalando, our vision is to be the leading pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-commerce – one that thrives on diversity and is truly inclusive by design. We believe that diverse teams fuel innovation and creativity, and we actively seek out talent from all backgrounds. We actively seek to reduce bias in our hiring and employment processes, focusing on your qualifications, skills, and contributions. To support this, we kindly ask that you refrain from including personal details such as your photo, age, or marital status in your CV, ensuring a fair and equitable evaluation based solely on your abilities and potential. We are committed to providing an exceptional and accessible candidate experience for everyone. If you require any accommodations to support you throughout the hiring process, please let us know – we are here to assist you. Discover more about our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/our-culture/diversity-and-inclusion WHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING) You are responsible for delivering a delightful Zalando Partner experience from partner onboarding to assortment steering to ensuring business compliance. You manage and grow a team of 6+ product designers working well together to get better outcomes across a suite of products which enables our partners to efficiently manage their assortment digitally. Work with Product Management, Engineering and Operations leadership on design planning You work with Head of Product Design Partner Tech and the one other design managers to define team needs (process, tools, best practices, etc.), recommend improvements, implement changes, and communicate solutions to the team to work smoothly and efficiently You help product designers craft their career progression and support them on reaching their goals You work with the interdisciplinary leadership at Partner Tech and the community across Zalando to drive the future of design for enterprise software WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF You bring a proven experience directly managing, mentoring, and growing a team of product designers within an international, collaborative product design environment. You are a seasoned design professional with experience building and growing inclusive team environments that enables the designers to get better outcomes You enjoy enabling others, defining framework and demonstrating a collaborative track record of working alongside Engineering and Product Management leadership on design planning to build advanced, automated enterprise software experiences. You bring the agility and confidence to step into a 6-month temporary cover, navigating ambiguity effortlessly to maintain team momentum, improve processes, and build immediate trust. And you have affinity with Zalando's values. OUR OFFER Zalando provides a range of benefits, here’s an overview of what you can expect. Ask your Talent Acquisition Partner to learn more about what we offer. 27 days of holiday a year to start for full-time employees (+1 day for every calendar year up to 30 days) 2 paid volunteering days a year Employee shares program 40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Lounge by Zalando, discounts from external partners Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement) Family services, including counseling and support Health and wellbeing options (including Wellhub, formerly Gympass) Mental health support and coaching available Drive your development through our training platform and biannual peer-to-peer review