Product Designer

Note: Partly is headquartered in the UK, with a Product and Engineering base in Christchurch, and an early presence in San Francisco. This position must be based at our Christchurch HQ. If you are relocating to Christchurch from NZ or from overseas, we can also assist with relocation costs.

Partly's mission is to connect the world's parts and we're doing that by building the first global platform for replacement parts, starting with auto parts. Our big vision is to accelerate the world towards a sustainable future where waste is eliminated and all replacement parts are universally searchable, accessible and available to all.

Founded by ex-Rocket Lab engineers, we utilise cutting-edge technology to solve challenging but exciting problems that make a huge impact in a $1.9 trillion industry. We've more than tripled our team over the last 12 months and expect to double in size again over the coming 12 months. We're a global team spanning both Europe and Australasia.

We provide a scalable digital infrastructure solution to some of the world's largest businesses and the most exciting startups. Partly's solutions are integrated across hundreds of companies globally, providing the backbone for cataloguing and managing parts online.

Our investors in Blackbird Ventures (Canva, CultureAmp etc.), Square Peg, Octopus Ventures, Icehouse, Peter Beck (Rocket Lab), Akshay Kothari (Notion Co-Founder) and Dylan Field (Figma Co-Founder).

We're continuing to build a world-class team and ensuring Partly is a place where people can do the best work of their lives. We're proud of the culture we've built at Partly, and our values are lived throughout every experience.

At Partly, you won’t just be another designer! You’ll help shape the future of an entire industry. You’ll work with a highly talented, mission-driven team that’s obsessed with creating world-class experiences. If you’re looking for a place to grow fast, work on real impact projects, and be part of something big, we’d love to hear from you.

We’re looking for a graduate Product Designer who will play a critical role in shaping Partly’s product experience and brand identity. You’ll report directly to our Senior Product Designer and work alongside a talented team of engineers, product leads, and stakeholders. In this position, you will have the opportunity to drive the evolution of our user interfaces, champion user-centric design, and strengthen the visual consistency of our platforms.

Partly is a fast-growing company with an ambitious vision to transform the parts industry. As a Graduate Product Designer, you’ll be on the front lines, helping us build and deliver user experiences that our customers love—and that push the boundaries of what’s possible in our field.

1. Be the Voice of the Customer - Engage with real users, customer sucess teams, engineers, and other decision-makers to understand customer pain points and opportunities. Advocate for user needs throughout the product development process, ensuring that our design decisions are truly user-centric.

2. Collaborate on User Experience - Translate project requirements and technical specs into intuitive, user-friendly interfaces. Conduct usability studies, create wireframes, and iterate on designs based on data and feedback from user testing.

3. Design for Multiple Platforms - Craft engaging, high-quality designs for desktop, web, and mobile applications. Ensure design elements adapt seamlessly across devices, platforms, and screen sizes.

4. Maintain and Evolve the Design System Develop and refine a scalable design system that drives visual consistency across products. Document patterns, components, and guidelines to enable efficient collaboration among teams.

5. Wear Multiple Hats - Conduct customer interviews and brainstorming sessions to capture user insights. Facilitate UX testing, define user stories, and manage diverse design responsibilities in a dynamic startup environment.

6. Balance Multiple Projects - Work on various design initiatives simultaneously. Prioritize effectively, pivot quickly, and embrace calculated risks to deliver outcomes on time.

7. Utilize Modern Prototyping Tools - Leverage tools like Figma, (and other prototyping platforms) to create interactive mockups and flows. Continuously iterate on designs, leveraging user feedback with Sentry to evolve and refine solutions.

8. Build, Manage, and Maintain Design Libraries - Establish and optimize design libraries that serve both the core product and client-specific storefronts. Uphold a consistent design language across multiple projects, ensuring visual and functional cohesiveness.

9. Opportunity for real impact - In a fast-growing startup, designers get to do more than just push pixels—you’ll be deeply involved in problem-solving, collaborating directly with product, marketing, and engineering to bring bold ideas to life.

Want to learn more about the problems we’re solving and the culture we’re building at Partly?

Hear directly from our team here: https://shorturl.at/iAFUX

• Foundational Understanding of Design

  • (Preferred) A degree or equivalent experience in digital or product design.

  • Experience with or willingness to learn the basics of UX, interaction design, and visual design principles.

  • Ability to communicate ideas clearly and receive feedback constructively.

• Proficiency in Design Tools

  • Familiarity with Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or other prototyping tools.

  • Comfort working with design libraries and systems to maintain consistency across products.

  • An eye for detail, ensuring pixel-perfect execution.

• User-Centered Mindset

  • Passion for creating experiences that delight users and solve real-world problems.

  • Desire to engage directly with users, conduct UX tests, and iterate based on feedback.

  • Empathy for user needs, balanced with an understanding of business and technical constraints.

• Collaboration & Communication

  • Ability to work cross-functionally with product leads, engineers, and other designers.

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills to articulate design decisions and rationale.

  • Open-mindedness and enthusiasm for sharing ideas in brainstorming sessions.

• Adaptability in a Fast-Paced Environment

  • Comfortable with shifting priorities and the demands of a startup setting.

  • Willingness to handle multiple tasks, pivot as needed, and learn new tools or approaches.

  • Positive attitude toward testing new ideas and learning from failures.

• Curiosity & Growth Mindset

  • Willingness to learn and continuously refine your skill set, both through self-study and feedback from peers.

  • Eagerness to explore cutting-edge design practices, prototyping methods, and emerging industry trends.

• Passion for Our Mission

  • Genuine excitement for what Partly is building and how design can push the industry forward.

  • Alignment with our values and a desire to contribute to a positive, inclusive team culture.

• Impactful Work: You’ll get to contribute meaningfully to a product that will shape the future of the parts industry.

• Growth Opportunities: As a Graduate Product Designer, you’ll have ample room to develop your skills, grow into a leadership role, and learn from an experienced team.

• Supportive Environment: We believe in collaboration, mentorship, and supporting each other to do our best work.

• Inclusive Culture: We welcome applicants from all walks of life and are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team.

Please note: if you don't have all the skills/experience listed above but believe you could be outstanding in this role, please still consider applying. Many folks, especially those from underrepresented or marginalised groups, often count themselves out. Please allow us to learn more about you and why you're exceptional!

• High trust, low process and no bureaucracy. We hire exceptional people whose judgment we trust. This means we proactively remove any process or rules that slow us down (for example, our expense policy is simply the “red face test”).

• Competitive base salary + equity. We offer competitive salaries and generous equity options for all full-time employees, ensuring everyone shares in the financial upside when we win.

• Flexible working hours. Choose when to work based on what time you’re most effective (no mandatory or set hours). We combine flexibility with an office-first approach (in cities where we have critical mass, i.e. London, Christchurch, Auckland). ****

• Focus Days. Two days per week, with zero meetings, dedicated solely to uninterrupted deep work

• Take time when you need it. We don’t ask questions or care if people have a negative leave balance. We work extremely hard and trust our team to take the time they need to recharge.

• Offices in Christchurch CBD and on Auckland’s Karangahape Road. We invest heavily in our offices (standing desks, healthy snacks, quality coffee, drinks on tap) to ensure they’re places people are excited by, where they build relationships and get their best work done.

• Learn from the best. Whether it’s during a ‘Lunch n Learn’ or hearing from a unicorn CEO at a Fireside chat, you’ll have the opportunity to constantly learn from the world’s best.

• Quarterly season openers & annual global offsite. Connect regularly at the nearest centralised location for a week of collaboration, big-picture planning and team events.

• Team connection. Monthly team lunches, celebrating our wins, happy hours and more!

• Parental leave and flexible return to work. Do what works for you. Primary carers can return with 4-day weeks (on 100% pay for the first 12 weeks). Secondary carers get 10 days full pay.

• Payroll Giving: We encourage generous giving and donate to the high-impact charities you support

If you are relocating from overseas or domestically to Partly HQ, we offer a generous relocation allowance to support your move