Your space-enabled career begins here

Role Overview:
Reporting to: VP of Product

Location: Dubai, UAE

Team size: 50+

The Senior Director (Head of Design) at Careem will lead a diverse and talented team of 50+ designers responsible for creating seamless, user-centered digital and visual experiences across all our platforms. You will play a critical role in shaping the overall design strategy, driving innovation, and ensuring a cohesive design language across our products. As a senior leader, you will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product, engineering, marketing, and data, to deliver world-class design solutions that impact millions of users across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In addition, you will oversee the in-house Design Studio, driving the development of high-quality design collaterals and creative assets that elevate user experience.

What you'll do:

• Leadership & Team Management: Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of 50+ product, visual and motion designers as well as design managers, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and continuous growth.
• Design Strategy: Define and implement a holistic design vision and strategy that aligns with Careem’s business goals, customer needs, and brand identity.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with senior leaders across product, engineering, data, and marketing to align design initiatives with company priorities and create an exceptional user experience.
• Innovation: Champion innovation in design, ensuring that Careem remains at the forefront of design trends and technologies while delivering cutting-edge user experiences.
• Design Systems & Consistency: Oversee the development and scaling of design systems to ensure consistency, efficiency, and scalability across products and platforms.
• User-Centered Design and experience: Advocate for a user-first approach, using research, data, and testing to inform design decisions that enhance usability, elevates user experience and accessibility, and improves overall customer satisfaction.
• Operational Excellence: Establish and refine design processes, tools, and workflows to ensure efficient delivery of projects, balancing creativity with execution.
• Talent Development: Identify and cultivate talent within the design team, supporting professional development and fostering a diverse, inclusive, and high-performing team.
• Stakeholder Management: Present design strategies, concepts, and progress to senior leadership and key stakeholders, ensuring alignment and buy-in across the organization.
• Global Design Impact: Play a key role in scaling Careem's design thinking across all regions and product verticals, creating a unified design language that resonates with diverse audiences.

What you'll need:

• Experience: 15+ years of experience in product design, with at least 5 years in a leadership role overseeing large design teams (30+ designers).
• Track Record: Proven track record of delivering exceptional digital products at scale, with expertise in consumer-facing, multi-platform design (mobile, web, etc.).
• Leadership: Demonstrated experience in building and leading high-performing design teams, with strong managerial skills and a passion for talent development.
• Design Expertise: Deep expertise in UX/UI design, design systems, and user research, with a portfolio showcasing innovative, user-centered solutions.
• Strategic Vision: Ability to align design strategy with broader business goals and drive impactful, data-informed design decisions.
• Collaboration & Communication: Strong communication skills with the ability to articulate design vision and decisions to both design and non-design stakeholders.
• Innovation Focus: Passion for staying up-to-date with design trends, tools, and technologies, and driving innovation within the team.
• AI-First Mindset: Ability to integrate AI into design workflows and product experiences to drive efficiency, personalization, and innovation.
• Tools: Proficiency in design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, and prototyping tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a fast-paced, high-growth tech company or startup environment.
• Prior experience in multi-service platforms (mobility, delivery, payments) is a plus.
• Master’s degree in Design, HCI, or related field.

Why join our journey

When you start your journey at Careem, you’ll be empowered to drive impact across a region of 600 million people, supported by our community of colleagues from over 75 nationalities. Whether you’re creating codes for our Super App or finding new ways to bring our platform to the people in your city, you’ll have the opportunity to learn and grow every day to develop alongside talented and inspiring people from around the world. As a colleague at Careem, you’ll be empowered to take ownership of your work, be of service to our Captains, customers and partners as we build the region’s Super App, all while shooting for the moon to create impact across the region.

What we’ll provide you:

We offer colleagues the opportunity to drive impact in the region while they learn and grow. As a full time Careem colleague, you will be able to:

• Work and learn from great minds by joining a community of inspiring colleagues.
• Put your passion to work in a purposeful organisation dedicated to creating impact in a region with a lot of untapped potential.
• Explore new opportunities to learn and grow every day.
• Work 4 days a week in office & 1 day from home, and remotely from any country in the world for 30 days a year with unlimited vacation days per year.
• Access to healthcare benefits and fitness reimbursements for health activities including gym, health club, and training classes.