Senior Product Designer

🌴 SENIOR PRODUCT DESIGNER

Don't know Dock & Bay? You're missing out, because we're great (and humble). Quick intro: Our founders, Andy (Head Poncho) and Ben (Towel Wizard of Oz), started Dock & Bay back in 2015, after sharing the same struggle of standard towels being too bulky for their backpacks while travelling. It's a hard knock life, eh?

Fast forward 8 years and we're a certified B Corp, with 100+ products across 8 categories, selling in the UK, Australia, the US, Canada and Europe. Our mission is to make the world brighter and we need your help (if you fit the job description, obviously).

We're on the list of UK's Best Places to Work in Retail, Best Places to Work for Development, Best Places to Work for Women, AND officially a Sunday Times Best Place to Work. So you KNOW we'll look after you.

🎯 THE ROLE IN A NUTSHELL We're looking for a Senior Product Designer to lead the design and development of our growing range of bags, accessories and outdoor lifestyle products. Reporting to our Head of Product Design & Creative, you'll own the product journey from spotting the next big opportunity and shaping seasonal direction through to technical development, production and launch.

You’ll play a key role in shaping the future of Dock & Bay’s product offering, combining brilliant design, innovation and commercial thinking to define where we go next. You’ll identify new categories and opportunities that play to our USPs, creating products that genuinely stand out in the market while shaping a clear roadmap for what we deliver now and where we want to be in the next 3–5 years.

This is a hands-on role, so you’ll be just as comfortable getting into the detail of a Tech Pack, factory sample or QC issue as you are stepping back to think strategically about what we should make next and why, working closely with our factories and Compliance Manager throughout.

✅ KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (NOW WE ARE GETTING SERIOUS)

• Own and shape Dock & Bay’s product roadmap, defining where we innovate next and translating our 3–5 year vision into clear product, category and development priorities.
• Use customer insights, market trends, competitor analysis and commercial opportunities to identify new categories and products that play to our USPs and have the potential to outperform what’s already in the market.
• Lead the end-to-end design and development of new products and categories, taking ideas from initial concept through to production and launch.
• Create detailed CADs, Tech Packs, BOMs and production specifications, ensuring our manufacturing partners have everything they need to deliver products to the right quality, cost and specification.
• Own the development process through sampling, testing, approvals and bulk production, building strong relationships with our manufacturing partners.
• Help manage our factory quality control process, working with manufacturing partners and our Compliance Manager to ensure products meet Dock & Bay’s quality, safety and compliance standards from development through to bulk production.
• Identify, assess and onboard new manufacturing partners to unlock new product innovations, materials and capabilities, continuously improving product quality, construction and production.
• Develop packaging alongside products and collaborate with Print Design, Compliance, Operations, Marketing and Sales to deliver a seamless product experience and successful launch.
• Balance innovation, functionality, quality and commercial performance, with the ambition to create products that genuinely stand out in the market while always feeling unmistakably Dock & Bay.
• Continuously improve how we develop products, embracing new technologies (yep, including AI 👀), processes and smarter ways of working as we grow.

🙋 DESIRED EXPERIENCE

• 6+ years' experience in product design and development, with hands-on experience designing bags, accessories and/or outdoor lifestyle/travel products.
• Experience contributing to product or category strategy, using customer, market and commercial insights to identify opportunities and shape future product roadmaps.
• A strong track record of taking physical products from initial concept through technical development, sampling and into mass production.
• Expert knowledge of CADs, Tech Packs, BOMs and factory-ready production documentation.
• Direct experience working with China-based factories and confidently managing sampling, feedback, approvals and production.
• Strong technical knowledge of materials, construction methods, trims, hardware and packaging development.
• Excellent Adobe Illustrator skills; Miro/Figma experience is a bonus.
• Strong commercial judgement, with evidence of balancing creativity, customer needs, cost and business performance when making product decisions.
• A good understanding of factory QC, product testing and compliance, and comfortable working alongside factories and our Compliance Manager to ensure products meet the right quality and safety standards.
• Comfortable working in a small, fast-growing business, owning multiple projects autonomously while collaborating across creative, commercial and operational teams in a fast-paced environment.

🎁 THE PERKS - Private Medical Care - dental, optical, mental health support & GP access - Enhanced Parental Leave - Juno Membership – monthly wellbeing allowance - £1,500 Learning & Development budget every year - Cycle to Work & Tech Scheme - 25 days holiday + bank holidays, plus an extra day for every year you're with us - Breakfast mornings, team socials & Dock & Bay goodies - Work from anywhere: up to 4 weeks depending on your years of service - Certified Great Place to Work, Sunday Times Best Places & London Living Wage employer

Sound good? We'll trade you a CV for a chance to join the best brand ever* ​ *totally unbiased opinion

🌈 Diversity Commitment Dock & Bay is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to creating a diverse & inclusive environment free from any kind of discrimination. We strive to provide all employees with a safe space to thrive, where they can share ideas & opinions regardless of their backgrounds or perspectives. Although we are not perfect, we continue to learn and our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion is a priority. Ultimately, our goal is to be diverse and inclusive at every level of our workforce. We are a welcoming team and encourage you to be yourself so that we can work together to make an impact.