Design Lead

The Company

We’re Octopus Legacy: one of the fastest growing tech companies in the country, part of the UK’s most exciting and best-trusted group (you may have heard of some of our sister companies…) and we have a mission.

We’re on a path to scale, aiming to become a household name while transforming a long-established industry and helping our customers prepare for, and find support after, death.

But we can’t do it alone, and that’s why we’re assembling a team of top performers to build with us.

Ready to be part of something big?

The Role

We are hiring a talented and visionary Design Lead to join our team. This role is a hybrid of visual design, product, UX and leadership, with responsibility for shaping the look, feel, and overall design strategy across the company. You will lead by example, be deeply involved in hands-on design work, and ensure consistency across all touch points - from marketing materials to product interfaces. 

This is a key leadership role that balances individual contribution, strategic thinking, and team management, with the opportunity to influence the design culture of a growing company.

Key Responsibilities:

Design Leadership & Strategy

• Define and drive the design roadmap, aligning with company goals and strategy.
• Be the champion for user-centered design, championing design consistency, visual clarity, and excellence across all channels and products, including brand design and product UX and UI design. 
• Lead, mentor, and manage designers, fostering creativity, collaboration, and growth.
• Collaborate with marketing, product, and other teams to ensure cohesive, polished experiences.
• Balance strategic oversight with hands-on execution, stepping in when needed.

Visual Design & Consistency

• Own the look, feel, and visual identity across product, marketing, and internal/external communications.
• Maintain design systems, style guides, and documentation to support scalability and clarity.
• Serve as the final sign-off for all design outputs, ensuring high standards and cohesion.
• Partner with teams to translate strategy into compelling, user-focused visuals.
• Stay ahead of industry trends and best practices to ensure our design approach remains innovative and competitive.

Product & UX

• Collaborate with product teams to guide UX/UI design, ensuring intuitive, accessible, and visually cohesive experiences.
• Contribute to wireframes, prototypes, and user flows as needed.
• Use research, testing, and data to inform design decisions, balancing user needs with business goals.

Who You Are

• 6+ years in visual, graphic, or creative design roles, with 2+ years in product/UX design (preferred).
• Proven track record of leading and mentoring design teams.
• Confident strategic thinker who can also roll up sleeves and deliver hands-on design work.
  Strong visual design sensibility, with a portfolio that demonstrates clarity, creativity, and consistency across multiple channels.
• Skilled at creating and maintaining design systems and ensuring visual coherence across product and communications.
• Collaborative and adaptable - able to work closely with marketing, product, and development teams.
• Sharp eye for detail, user-focused, and always asks the why before diving in.

Our Mission

In 2016 Sam’s mum died suddenly in a car accident. The experience that followed was overwhelming - with mountains of paperwork, sitting on hold and navigating financial stress. All at a time when he needed the space to navigate grief.

Death is difficult enough, without everything else that comes with it. Octopus Legacy was created to make the experience of losing someone easier for those left behind - so that they can focus on what matters.

Since then we have helped over 700,000 people plan for death and find support after a loss and are now the second largest estate planner in the UK.

When people think about planning for death they think about wills, life insurance and funerals. These small but mighty acts make a huge difference to the people we love. But why stop there?

We take these cold processes and turn them into something more human. We help customers share more than just money. Encouraging them to leave voice notes, music, recipes. So they can shape a legacy that connects them with the people they love while they’re here. And after they’re gone.

Benefits:

• Octopus share incentive scheme.
• Hybrid working (London Bridge).
• Flexible holiday + extra day off for your Birthday.
• Work from anywhere in the world for up to 4 weeks per year.
• Vitality Health & Life Insurance. 
• Pension scheme.
• Enhanced parental leave.
• Free Will & LPAs + discounts on other Octopus services.
• Cycle to Work Scheme and access to the Electric Vehicle (EV) Salary Sacrifice Scheme.
• Octopus Giving: we match any charitable fundraising that you do up to £500. 
• Octopus Springboard: where we help our employees become fully-fledged entrepreneurs.
• Dog friendly office.
• Breakfast every day, snacks and wellness activities.

We know that to be truly innovative, we need to have a diverse team around us. That is why Octopus Legacy is committed to creating an inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.