Senior Product Designer

At Proton, we believe that privacy is a fundamental human right and the cornerstone of democracy. Since our inception in 2014, founded by a team of scientists from CERN, we have dedicated ourselves to providing free and open-source technology to millions worldwide, ensuring access to privacy, security, and freedom online.

Our journey began with Proton Mail, the largest secure email service globally, and has since expanded to include Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, and Proton Pass. These tools empower individuals and organizations to take control of their personal data, break away from Big Tech’s invasive practices, and defeat censorship. Our work impacts hundreds of millions of lives, from activists on the front lines defending freedom to leaders in governments protecting sensitive information. In some cases, Proton’s services have even been instrumental in saving lives by enabling secure and private communications in high-risk situations.

Proton is a profitable company that does not rely upon VC funding, supporting over 100 million user accounts with a growing team of over 500 people from over 50 different countries, from the world's top companies and universities. We value intelligence, learning potential, and ambition in our hiring process. Adaptability is key as we navigate uncharted territories and redefine how business is conducted online.

Hiring at Proton is highly selective, with less than 1% of candidates hired. We believe smaller teams of exceptional talent will always prevail over larger teams with lower talent density. You will have the opportunity work with many of the world's top minds in their fields, ranging from former international math and science olympiad winners to chess champions.

We have a global mindset and big ambitions but remain a start-up at heart. We value empowerment and flexibility and keep our structure flat to keep moving fast and avoid unnecessary politics. Tired of blending into the crowd? Join us and do work you can truly be proud of. Check our open-source projects here!

Proton's Design team shapes the experience for tens of millions of users across Mail, Drive, VPN, Pass, and Calendar. Designers sit embedded within engineering teams, involved in every stage — ceremonies, scoping, implementation, and testing — not parachuted in at the mockup phase. The team is structured as a guild: high autonomy, significant ownership, and real influence over how the design function itself evolves. We work cross-functionally across product, engineering, and marketing, and we care deeply about visual craft. We're not looking for designers who've drifted toward pure strategy or metrics — this role demands someone who still loves getting their hands dirty and takes personal pride in what ships. If that's where you do your best work, you'll fit here.

• Own design end-to-end across one or more product areas — from scoping and ideation through final specs and QA with engineers
• Translate complex privacy and security constraints into experiences that feel simple and trustworthy to non-technical users
• Identify UX debt and product gaps with clear recommendations, not just problem statements
• Contribute to and enforce the Proton Design System — icons, components, interaction patterns, and visual standards
• Work directly with engineers to pressure-test designs against technical constraints before and during build
• Define micro-interactions and transitions that serve clarity and feel premium without adding complexity

• 5+ years designing and shipping digital products at scale in a SaaS or tech company — a portfolio demonstrating this is required
• Proven ability to deliver end-to-end: concept, flow, visual execution, and handoff — not just high-fidelity mockups
• Deep command of visual craft: typography, layout, spacing, color, and hierarchy at a level that raises the bar for everyone around you
• Fluent working within technical constraints — you've shipped work that required real trade-offs with engineering, and you pushed for the right outcomes anyway
• Experience contributing to a living design system, not just consuming one
• Comfortable articulating design rationale to engineers, PMs, and leadership without relying on consensus-seeking

• Experience with Rand or comparable large-scale UX research methods
• Background designing privacy-respecting alternatives to mainstream social or community platforms

At Proton, we believe diversity drives innovation and strengthens our mission to provide privacy as a default for all. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, or socio-economic background, feel valued and empowered. We strive to create equal opportunities, promote open dialogue, and support continuous learning to ensure every voice is heard and respected.

If you need any extra support or reasonable adjustments during the hiring process, please let your talent partner know.

When you apply for a position, refer a candidate, or are considered for a role at Proton Technologies AG (Proton, we, us, or our), your information is stored in Greenhouse, in accordance with their Service Privacy Policy. This information is used to evaluate your suitability for the posted position. We also retain this information for consideration for future roles that you may apply for or that we believe may align with your background and skills.

If we no longer have a legitimate business need to process your information, we will either delete or anonymize it. Should you have any inquiries about how we use or manage your information, or if you wish to access, correct, or delete your data, please contact our privacy team at careers@proton.ch.

Proton does not accept unsolicited resumes from any sources other than directly from candidates. We will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from an unsolicited offer, even if the candidate is subsequently hired by Proton.

To learn more about our privacy policy, please visit our privacy policy page.

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