Director of Product Design, APAC

Job Description

Zendesk is seeking a Director of Product Design to lead design across our Foundational & Core Platform product areas—two of the most critical pillars of our world-class customer experience. This role is central to shaping how millions of people interact with our products every day, setting the design direction for flagship experiences.

Based in Melbourne, VIC, you will also play a broader, unofficial leadership role within our APAC Design organization, acting as a cultural and strategic anchor for the region. This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned design leader who thrives at the intersection of vision, execution and culture, guiding teams to create experiences that are not only elegant and intuitive but also scalable and impactful for our customers' most complex business needs.

What You'll Do

• Define and drive the design vision, strategy, and execution for Foundational and Core Platform product areas, ensuring alignment with Zendesk's overall business goals and customer experience strategy.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and differentiation that strengthen Zendesk's competitive advantage in the market.
• Partner with senior Product, Engineering, and Research leaders to embed design thinking into the product strategy and influence executive decision-making.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and inspire a team of design managers and senior ICs, nurturing a high-performing, inclusive, and collaborative culture.
• Mentor and develop future leaders, ensuring career growth pathways for designers at all levels.
• Drive initiatives that promote equity, inclusion, and belonging across the design organization.

Impact & Innovation

• Champion customer-centric design practices, ensuring every solution solves real problems and delivers measurable value.
• Translate complex workflows and systems into intuitive, human-centered experiences.
• Establish methods for measuring design effectiveness and continuously improving quality, usability, and business impact.

Communication & Collaboration

• Articulate design goals, vision, and strategies clearly to senior stakeholders, cross-functional partners, and the broader design org.
• Build deep partnerships with Product, Engineering, and Research, ensuring design is a proactive force in product development.
• Model open, inclusive, and collaborative communication practices across global teams.

Operational Excellence

• Partner with other design leaders to set 1–3 year strategic plans for the global design organization.
• Ensure operational efficiency across design initiatives—balancing speed, creativity, and scalability.
• Contribute to broader Zendesk initiatives, shaping how design elevates product and company-wide outcomes.

What You'll Bring

• Proven strategic leadership: Demonstrated ability to define, communicate, and execute design strategies that drive tangible business results.
• Influence at scale: Experience collaborating with senior executives and cross-functional leaders to align on shared goals and priorities.
• Team leadership at depth: Success in managing managers and leading organizations of 10–15+ designers, with a track record of growing diverse, high-performing teams.
• Customer-first mindset: Expertise in leveraging user research, journey mapping, service design, and Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) frameworks to uncover needs and shape end-to-end product journeys.
• Enterprise product experience: Extensive background in designing complex, enterprise-grade software, particularly productivity or business operations tools.
• Commitment to inclusive design: A strong belief in building accessible, equitable, and inclusive experiences that scale globally.
• Bonus points: Experience in SaaS solutions, customer service platforms, or other scaled business-critical systems.

At Zendesk, we believe that design is at the heart of delivering exceptional customer experiences. As our Director of Product Design, you will have the chance to:

• Shape the future of products used by thousands of businesses and millions of end users worldwide.
• Lead and grow talented design teams in APAC and beyond, setting cultural standards for excellence and inclusivity.
• Work at a global SaaS leader, collaborating with colleagues across product, technology, and business functions.
• Influence the next chapter of Zendesk's story, where customer experience is the differentiator.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we're proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to with your specific accommodation request.

---