About the Role
We are looking for a Product Design Lead to lead design across Zeraki's products. Reporting to the CEO and working day to day with the CPTO, Product Managers and Engineering, you will set the UX/UI direction across products, define and enforce interface quality standards, partner with product and tech leads to shape the product vision, and coordinate UX/UI alignment across every product team — while leading and growing the designers who deliver it.
In Zeraki's Product Design Growth and Performance Management Framework, the Lead Designer is the designer who drives direction: visionary and persuasive, with a strong sense of responsibility for team outcomes. Leads set systems and standards, and coach others to execute with consistency and intent across teams. Moving from Senior to Lead is the step from craft leader to team enabler — your impact will come through cross-team influence, the standards you set and the designers you grow, while you still take on the problems that matter most.
Requirements
What You Will Do
01 Outcome Orientation · 25% of role
Good looks like: every significant piece of design work has a clear user goal, a business outcome and evidence that it worked.
Lead product direction from the user lens: define the purpose of every major feature and how success will be measured.
Shape product OKRs with design influence, working with the CPTO and Product Managers.
Mentor teams in outcome-first thinking, and close the loop after launch with feedback and metrics.
02 Leadership & Strategy · 20% of role
Good looks like: everyone knows the design vision, the standard and their next step.
Shape the design vision across products, and set design standards and strategy company-wide.
Guide the design roadmap and team planning: staffing, priorities and capacity against the product roadmap.
Hire, coach and grow designers through one-on-ones, critiques and fair, evidence-based reviews under the framework.
03 Contextual Relevance · 15% of role
Good looks like: Zeraki works beautifully on a shared phone in a rural school with a weak connection.
Embed contextual principles into product strategy: mobile-first, low-bandwidth, offline-tolerant and low-literacy-friendly.
Scale localization practices across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and new markets.
Set the UX quality bar for African education environments, grounded in time spent in schools with real users.
04 Usability & Interaction Design · 10% of role
Good looks like: users complete key tasks quickly and confidently, without help, in every product.
Set UX patterns across products, and align teams on them for consistency and quality.
Mentor others on UX problem-solving, and make sure major launches are usability-tested before release.
05 Visual Craft & Systems Thinking · 10% of role
Good looks like: one recognisable, polished Zeraki, built from one system.
Define the visual direction for product areas, and ensure consistent visual execution company-wide.
Partner with the design-systems team and front-end engineers to scale the visual language, components and tokens across web and mobile.
06 Collaboration & Delivery · 10% of role
Good looks like: designs ship as designed, on time, with little rework.
Define design delivery processes across product teams — briefing, reviews, handoff and design QA.
Ensure design QA and velocity at scale, and coach the team in reducing design–development friction.
07 Collaboration & Communication · 10% of role
Good looks like: Product, Engineering, Support and Commercial teams understand and trust design decisions.
Set communication standards for design work company-wide.
Drive cross-functional alignment and manage communication across multiple stakeholders, bringing the user's voice into product and company decisions.
Ownership & Execution carries no weight at Lead, because it is assumed: you oversee delivery across the design team, make sure systems and people are accountable, and manage through ambiguity and risk.
What Success Looks Like
First 90 days
Time in schools with teachers, bursars, principals and parents, and with Support and Account Management
An audit of the experience across all five products: usability, visual consistency, contextual fit and accessibility
Design principles and the interface quality bar agreed with the CPTO and Product
Design critique, review and QA rituals running
Every designer assessed against the framework, with a development plan
First six months
Every major feature shipped with a defined success measure, and launches usability-tested
A prioritised plan to unify UX patterns and visual language across products, with visible progress
Design shaping product OKRs in every product team
Measurable reduction in design–development rework
A fair, evidence-based review cycle completed using the framework
First 12 months
Zeraki recognisably one experience across products
Design-led improvements with measurable effect on adoption, task success or support volume
Contextual and localization standards embedded in every product
A stronger team: key hires made, designers progressing up the ladder, at least one Senior ready to step up
Design trusted by the CEO, CPTO and Product as a driver of outcomes, not a service
What You Bring
Experience
5–7 years in product design (UX/UI), including at least 2 years leading designers or a design practice.
A portfolio that shows end-to-end product work — from problem framing and research to shipped, measured outcomes — on complex, multi-user products.
Experience setting design standards, UX patterns and visual direction across more than one product or team.
Experience designing for constrained contexts: mobile-first, low-bandwidth, emerging markets or low-literacy users.
Strong working relationships with Product Managers and engineers, and comfort presenting to executives.
Fluency in Figma (components, variables, auto layout) and modern design tooling; working knowledge of front-end constraints.
A degree in design, HCI, computer science or a related field — or equivalent experience.
What we are looking for
Visionary and persuasive — you set a direction and bring people with you.
Accountable for team outcomes — you care as much about what the team ships as about your own work.
Outcome-driven — you measure design by what users achieve and what the business gains.
Context-aware — you design for the real conditions of African schools, not for the office.
A systems thinker — you see patterns across products and build things that scale.
A coach — designers get better because they work with you.
AI-fluent and values-led — you use AI to move faster, with human judgment on top.
Where you might be coming from
You may be a Lead Product Designer, Design Lead, Design Manager or Senior Product Designer who already leads other designers — in SaaS, fintech, EdTech or a consumer platform, ideally one serving African or emerging markets. Your title matters less than your portfolio and the designers you have grown.
What we offer
● A chance to contribute to a mission-driven company that's making a real difference in education across Africa.
● A collaborative, inclusive, and dynamic work environment where your input is valued.
Our culture
At Zeraki, our culture defines how we work, how we make decisions, and how we succeed together. We are united by eight core values: Integrity, Love of Learning, Highest Standards, Deliver Results, Hire & Develop the Best, Manage Through Trust, Empathy, and Have Backbone; Disagree & Commit.
We act with integrity, doing what is right and taking ownership of our actions. We have a love of learning, staying curious and continuously seeking to improve. We hold ourselves to the highest standards, continually raising the bar in the quality of our work, and we deliver results by taking ownership, acting with urgency, and following through on our commitments.
We hire and develop the best, surrounding ourselves with exceptional people and creating opportunities for them to grow and excel. We manage through trust, giving people the context, freedom, responsibility, and accountability to do their best work.
We lead with empathy, creating an environment where people are respected, supported, and able to thrive. And we have backbone, disagree and commit - we speak up when we disagree, challenge ideas respectfully, and once a decision is made, commit fully to making it successful.
Together, these values create a culture of freedom and responsibility, high performance, continuous learning, and meaningful impact, empowering every Zerakian to Be Extraordinary. Copy Copy
About the Company
Zeraki is a pioneering EdTech startup on a mission to redefine education across Africa. Our innovative technology tools are designed to make learning more accessible, effective, and engaging for parents, teachers, and students alike. At the heart of Zeraki is a deep-rooted passion for harnessing the power of education to unlock the potential of the continent's youth and drive transformative change. Zeraki proudly serves over 2.7 million users in 10 countries, establishing itself as one of Africa's leading EdTech companies.
Our commitment to excellence and innovation has not gone unnoticed. Zeraki was the proud recipient of the African Union Commission Innovating Education in Africa Award in 2022. Zeraki is one of three EdTech companies participating in the 2024 cohort of the EY AI SDG Accelerator and is also part of the 2024 cohort of the Microsoft Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact Program. Through these accolades and partnerships, Zeraki continues to shape the future of learning in Africa, demonstrating the transformative role of technology in education.