Lead Product Designer

Lead Product Designer – Brisbane or Perth, Australia

Rio Tinto is building a world-class software engineering capability.

At Rio Tinto, we are finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs. For nearly 150 years we’ve been looking for new and better ways of doing things. Today you will find our teams around the world doing just that: seeking opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, partnering to develop new technologies to decarbonise steel and aluminium production and create new products from waste. As part of the commitment to our purpose, Rio Tinto continues to build a world-class software product development team. Sitting within our company wide Information Systems & Technology function, our Products & Software Development (P&SD) team is focused on delivering high value and strategic products for the digital transformation of Rio Tinto. We are excited by the challenging problems we have to solve, supported by a culture that is value driven, diverse and inclusive, innovative, and fun. We think you might be surprised about what we are creating here at Rio Tinto.

About the design team you’ll be joining

We are committed to making a meaningful difference to the 49,000 people across Rio Tinto as they do their day-to-day jobs through our software. To do that well, and to deliver on our promises as a business, we know that user-centered design matters. Across the landscape of software products needed to support a business of our size, we need to grow our Product Design team to several times its current size. Make no mistake, this is a unique opportunity to grow personally along with helping to scale a team that is driving new product development.

What you will do

As the Product Design Lead, you will be responsible for leading our UX design efforts, crafting exceptional user experiences, and providing strategic direction for our digital products. You will play a pivotal role in shaping our design culture and ensuring that user needs are at the core of our innovation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design Leadership: Lead and inspire a team of talented designers (ux, product, ui, content), fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and innovation.
• User-Centered Design: Drive the creation of user-centered design solutions by conducting user research, creating user personas, and defining user journeys.
• Product Strategy: Collaborate closely with product owners and product delivery leads and stakeholders to align design strategies with business goals and product roadmaps.
• Design Ideation: Generate and iterate on design concepts, wireframes, prototypes, and mockups that align with project objectives and user needs.
• Design Systems: Develop and maintain design systems, style guides, and UI components to ensure consistency and scalability across all digital products.
• User Testing: Plan and conduct user testing sessions, gather feedback, and iteratively improve designs based on user insights.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with developers, engineers, and other cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration of designs into development processes.
• Quality Assurance: Oversee the quality assurance process, ensuring that design solutions meet high standards and are free from usability issues.
• Project Management: Manage design project timelines, allocate resources effectively, and prioritize tasks to meet project milestones.

What we are looking for

A Day in the Life:

• Collaborate with product managers to understand project requirements and strategic goals.
• Lead design brainstorming sessions and design reviews with the UX design team.
• Create and iterate on wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs using industry-standard design tools.
• Conduct user research activities, such as interviews, surveys, and usability testing.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to team members, helping them grow in their roles.
• Review and provide feedback on design deliverables and ensure alignment with design principles and project goals.
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in UX design.
• Champion user-centric design principles within the organization and advocate for the importance of UX in product development.
• Proven experience developing UX Maturity and Advocacy in a enterprise environment

Soft skills

• You can ask questions to align with value and take an autonomous approach to your job.
• You exhibit alignment with the values of Care, Courage, and Curiosity at Rio Tinto.
• Proactive with a self-motivated mindset.
• You have the capacity to contribute diverse viewpoints.

And it’s essential that you have:

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Human Computer Interaction, Human Factors, Computer Science, Visual Design, Communication Design or other related discipline, or equivalent experience or training.
• Strong portfolio that shows insights into your UX process and demonstrates creative problem-solving skills and conceptual thinking.
• 5 plus years of experience as a UX practitioner with a background in user experience design, interaction design or similar.
• Worked with a cross-functional team using agile methodology from inception to implementation to deliver impactful user experiences.
• Strong skills in modern design and prototyping tools (Figma, Axure, Sketch, Zeplin, Adobe CC).

Working at Rio Tinto

Join Us:

If you are a passionate and creative designer with leadership experience and a desire to shape the future of mining through exceptional user experiences, we encourage you to apply. Join Rio Tinto and be a driving force behind our mission to revolutionize the mining industry through innovation and finding better ways.

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress. Our benefits for permanent Rio Tinto employees include:

• Your base salary reflects your skills, experience, and impact in the role you are performing in. Our salary ranges are reviewed annually to ensure they remain fair internally and externally.
• Health & Wellbeing. We care about your health. We offer flexible, comprehensive medical benefits to look after your total health and wellbeing to suit your needs and life stages. This includes subsidised private health insurance for employees and immediate family.
• Flexible Work Arrangements. We have a hybrid work model (in-office & from home), with our office always open to balancing flexibility and connection.
• Supportive Leave Policies. We enable leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation, sick, paid parental). Our inclusive parental leave policy supports all parents and carers throughout their parenting and caring journey.
• Growth & Development. We will support you to pursue growth and development opportunities aligned with your career aspirations.
• Employee Discount & Offers. We have established partnerships with several providers who offer access to exclusive employee discounts (banking, accommodation, car, retail and more).
• Superannuation & Shares. Extensive salary sacrifice and salary packing options. Plus, we offer an award winning employee share plan – myShare.

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.