About Piano
Piano’s Digital Revenue Optimization solution helps digital services grow revenue by better understanding and influencing their customers’ behavior. Piano unifies analytics, segmentation, and commercial personalization in one AI-driven application, enabling sites and apps to efficiently maximize the value of every user visit. Headquartered in Amsterdam with offices in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, Piano serves a global client base including the BBC, Deutsche Telekom, Nikkei, AXA and the Wall Street Journal. For more information, visit piano.io.
We are at an inflection point: AI is fundamentally changing how we build our products, how Product and Engineering teams work together, and how we succeed on the market.
We're looking for a Head of Product Design who can lead our design function through this transformation. This means building design leadership and team capabilities, fostering cross-functional collaboration, enabling adoption of new practices, and positioning design as a strategic function that directly impacts business outcomes.
The Role
You'll lead a team of 8 designers across our product portfolio (Piano Analytics, Subscriptions, Audiences, Activation). You'll own team development, design strategy, and design culture. You'll define what design excellence looks like at Piano, set expectations across the organization, and sponsor how design evolves to meet new market demands.
What You'll Own
Design Leadership & Strategy
- Define design vision and direction across our product portfolio
- Build, mentor, and develop a high-performing design team
- Establish design standards, practices, and systems that scale
- Be the strategic design voice in executive conversations (board, leadership, customers)
- Partner closely with product and engineering on product strategy
Hands-On Design & Innovation
- Lead design work on major strategic initiatives and new innovations
- Drive how AI tools and processes reshape our design workflow and quality
- Lead strategic design communications (investor pitches, market positioning, executive storytelling)
- Work on complex B2B SaaS challenges and help the team navigate them
- Be present on key decisions where design shapes business outcomes
Organization & Culture
- Create a coaching culture where designers have clear goals and development support
- Manage performance and resolve team dynamics constructively
- Attract, develop, and retain excellent talent
Why This Matters
Product and Engineering output is accelerating. Design needs to scale with it. You'll:
- Scale design output: Use AI tools to help designers deliver significantly more work without scaling the headcount
- Grow the team's impact: Establish design as essential to product strategy and business outcomes
- Shape culture: Build a design organization that develop talents and fosters excellence
- Lead strategically: Be the design voice on product direction, board-level conversations, and competitive differentiation
What You Bring
Essential
- 5+ years leading design teams in B2B SaaS or similar environments
- Genuine hands-on proficiency with AI design tools (not just theory)
- Proven ability to mentor designers and build high-performing teams
- Experience defining design processes, systems, and standards at organizational scale
- Strong communication and executive presence
- Comfort balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution
Highly Valued
- Background in data-heavy and/or personalization products
- Track record of improving team output and quality within constraints
- Experience working with leadership teams on product strategy and business outcomes
- Experience working in agile development practices (SAFe experience a strong plus)
- European-based or willing to work from Western/Central Europe
Location & Logistics
- Base: Western or Central Europe (Bordeaux or Amsterdam)
- Reports to: Chief Product Officer
- Start: Immediate
Perks at Piano:
- Exciting tasks and space for your ideas
- Collaborative and agile working culture with direct communication
- Vibrant team culture locally and globally
- Hybrid working model from our Amsterdam office
Applicants for this position should have the authorization to work in the Netherlands without sponsorship from the Company.
