Lead User Experience Designer

The Role

The Project Veda Design Lead is responsible for shaping the end-to-end user experience of Vanguard's AI-led advice platform. This role sits at the intersection of customer experience, behavioural finance, artificial intelligence, product strategy, and technology delivery, ensuring that every interaction is intuitive, trustworthy, accessible, and aligned to Vanguard's mission of giving investors the best chance for investment success.

The Design Lead works as a core member of the multidisciplinary Veda team, partnering closely with engineers, product managers, data scientists, compliance specialists, researchers, and external partners to define and deliver the customer experience vision. They are accountable for translating complex financial concepts, regulatory requirements, and AI capabilities into simple and engaging experiences that help clients make better financial decisions.

In this role you will

·         Define and evolve the end-to-end user experience strategy for Project Veda.

·         Lead UX, service design, interaction design, and conversational design across web, mobile, and AI-driven experiences.

·         Shape how AI guidance, recommendations, insights, and educational content are presented to clients in ways that are transparent, understandable, and trustworthy.

·         Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure design intent is translated effectively into delivered solutions.

·         Develop user journeys, prototypes, wireframes, design systems, and customer experience standards.

·         Drive customer-centred design practices, including research, usability testing, experimentation, and iterative improvement.

·         Partner with product and business stakeholders to prioritise customer needs alongside commercial, operational, and regulatory requirements.

·         Establish and maintain a coherent visual and interaction language across the Veda ecosystem.

·         Champion accessibility, inclusivity, and ethical design principles.

·         Bring external best practices, innovation, and design excellence into the programme

What it takes

·         Strong background in product design, UX, service design, or digital customer experience.

·         Experience leading design within highly regulated industries, ideally financial services.

·         Demonstrated ability to design AI-powered, data-driven, or conversational experiences.

·         Deep understanding of user research and human-centred design methodologies.

·         Exceptional stakeholder management and cross-functional leadership skills.

·         Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on design execution.

·         Passion for improving financial wellbeing through thoughtful technology and design.

Special Factors 

·         Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position

• This is a hybrid position and would require you to work in the office 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday)
• Please note that we review applications on a rolling basis and may close this role early if there is a high level of interest. To avoid missing out, we recommend applying as soon as possible

Why Vanguard? 

Vanguard is a different kind of investment company. It was founded in the United States in 1975 on a simple but revolutionary idea: that an investment company should manage its funds solely in the interests of its clients. 

This is a philosophy that has helped millions of people around the world to achieve their goals with low-cost, uncomplicated investments. 

It's what we stand for: value to investors. 

Inclusion Statement  

Vanguard’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion is firmly rooted in our culture. Every decision we make to best serve our clients, crew (internally employees are referred to as crew), and communities is guided by one simple statement: “Do the right thing.”  

We believe that a critical aspect of doing the right thing requires building diverse, inclusive, and highly effective teams of individuals who are as unique as the clients they serve. We empower our crew to contribute their distinct strengths to achieving Vanguard’s core purpose through our values. 

When all crew members feel valued and included, our ability to collaborate and innovate is amplified, and we are united in delivering on Vanguard's core purpose: to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.