Job Description
At Alphero, we’ve spent the last 15 years creating and delivering some of New Zealand’s most epic digital programmes and services. These days you’ll find us teaming up with wonderful clients in media, finance, health, energy, government and more. Helping them make sense of the noise out there, reimagine digital products and services for this emerging ‘intelligent’ world, and produce outcomes that actually matter to their customers.
Our Auckland crew have a lot on their plates, and we’re looking for a Principal Designer to work closely with our broader team, and help lead the charge. This is a rare gig, our senior design team is super stable and well respected, so it’s not often a role like this comes up.
As such we’re after a bit of a unicorn. Someone who’s both visionary and hands-on: you can orchestrate bold, human-centred experiences and set a course to the “north star”, while also rolling up your sleeves to craft the details that make them real. You’ll bring curiosity and imagination to help clients invent their digital future, and the craft to turn that vision into intuitive, adaptive experiences.
In short: you’ll help shape the promise, then make sure we deliver on it.
Alongside your CV, please include in your application
Your portfolio or a link to your portfolio
A cover letter
What you’ll do
Design Leadership and Client Commitments
You’ll make sure we keep our promises which will often mean owning the end-to-end design yourself (especially the chunky or strategic pieces) and sometimes it means backing our leads so quality and vision is taken care of and they can focus on delivering excellence. You’ll assemble the right mix of Alphero magic (research, UX, UI, design systems, emerging tech etc) and make sure the team is absolutely humming. Clients should feel confident, inspired, and excited about the experiences ahead.
Strategic Design and Outcomes
You’ll help clients see beyond the pixels on the screen and help them realise the ultimate impact of what's being delivered. You’ll reframe problems, shape design strategies, and show how the experiences we’re creating will drive long-term, tangible value. You’ll balance big-picture futures (like AI enhanced experiences and adaptive systems) with delivery detail, keeping our projects grounded but simultaneously inventive.
Relationships, Growth and Foresight
You’ll partner with our Auckland Director to look after a portfolio of clients by being the face of design to senior leaders. You’ll build deep, multi-layered trust, and help clients look beyond today’s project towards their larger goals and aspirations. You’ll bring entrepreneurial energy, an eye for innovation, and a knack for creating spaces where brave design can happen inside real-world constraints.
At Alphero, our brand pillars run through everything we do: Inventive, Emotive and Brave. You’ll embody these in your work and inspire the same in the team around you.
Requirements
About you
You’ve led large digital design programmes, products, or portfolios, and you still love getting your hands dirty and being close to the craft.
You might come from senior design, creative direction, or UX leadership, but either way you’ve got mastery across research, UX/UI, systems, and emerging societal and digital paradigms.
You’ve shaped design on multiple major engagements, coordinating teams and delivering to complex endpoints (you also geek out on the details).
You’re a true digital native: you live and breathe design, love intuitive experiences, design futures, and can translate fast-moving trends into smart, practical moves for clients.
You love people. You know how to mentor designers, facilitate workshops, and get the best out of cross-functional teams.
You’re equally at home sketching speculative concepts or polishing pixel-perfect systems.
You’re outcomes-driven, commercially astute, and comfortable shifting conversations from aesthetics to measurable impact.
You’re not afraid of critique, tools, or ambiguity, and you can step in and elevate the work when things get complex.
You’re naturally curious, composed under pressure, and clients trust you to champion the user and the vision.
You bring energy and calm in equal measure, and your leadership helps teams feel capable, inventive, and empowered.
The fine print
This is a mostly in-office role in Auckland (we’re a small but mighty team).
You’ll need a valid working visa for New Zealand (We can help with this!)
Our Auckland crew have a lot on their plates, and we’re looking for a Principal Designer to work closely with our broader team, and help lead the charge. This is a rare gig, our senior design team is super stable and well respected, so it’s not often a role like this comes up.
As such we’re after a bit of a unicorn. Someone who’s both visionary and hands-on: you can orchestrate bold, human-centred experiences and set a course to the “north star”, while also rolling up your sleeves to craft the details that make them real. You’ll bring curiosity and imagination to help clients invent their digital future, and the craft to turn that vision into intuitive, adaptive experiences.
In short: you’ll help shape the promise, then make sure we deliver on it.
Alongside your CV, please include in your application
Your portfolio or a link to your portfolio
A cover letter
What you’ll do
Design Leadership and Client Commitments
You’ll make sure we keep our promises which will often mean owning the end-to-end design yourself (especially the chunky or strategic pieces) and sometimes it means backing our leads so quality and vision is taken care of and they can focus on delivering excellence. You’ll assemble the right mix of Alphero magic (research, UX, UI, design systems, emerging tech etc) and make sure the team is absolutely humming. Clients should feel confident, inspired, and excited about the experiences ahead.
Strategic Design and Outcomes
You’ll help clients see beyond the pixels on the screen and help them realise the ultimate impact of what's being delivered. You’ll reframe problems, shape design strategies, and show how the experiences we’re creating will drive long-term, tangible value. You’ll balance big-picture futures (like AI enhanced experiences and adaptive systems) with delivery detail, keeping our projects grounded but simultaneously inventive.
Relationships, Growth and Foresight
You’ll partner with our Auckland Director to look after a portfolio of clients by being the face of design to senior leaders. You’ll build deep, multi-layered trust, and help clients look beyond today’s project towards their larger goals and aspirations. You’ll bring entrepreneurial energy, an eye for innovation, and a knack for creating spaces where brave design can happen inside real-world constraints.
At Alphero, our brand pillars run through everything we do: Inventive, Emotive and Brave. You’ll embody these in your work and inspire the same in the team around you.
Requirements
About you
You’ve led large digital design programmes, products, or portfolios, and you still love getting your hands dirty and being close to the craft.
You might come from senior design, creative direction, or UX leadership, but either way you’ve got mastery across research, UX/UI, systems, and emerging societal and digital paradigms.
You’ve shaped design on multiple major engagements, coordinating teams and delivering to complex endpoints (you also geek out on the details).
You’re a true digital native: you live and breathe design, love intuitive experiences, design futures, and can translate fast-moving trends into smart, practical moves for clients.
You love people. You know how to mentor designers, facilitate workshops, and get the best out of cross-functional teams.
You’re equally at home sketching speculative concepts or polishing pixel-perfect systems.
You’re outcomes-driven, commercially astute, and comfortable shifting conversations from aesthetics to measurable impact.
You’re not afraid of critique, tools, or ambiguity, and you can step in and elevate the work when things get complex.
You’re naturally curious, composed under pressure, and clients trust you to champion the user and the vision.
You bring energy and calm in equal measure, and your leadership helps teams feel capable, inventive, and empowered.
The fine print
This is a mostly in-office role in Auckland (we’re a small but mighty team).
You’ll need a valid working visa for New Zealand (We can help with this!)
💡 Quick Summary
Seeking a career-building opportunity? The Principal Designer position is now open for candidates interested in the Customer Care sector. This role in Auckland offers a professional environment and growth potential.
Requirement Snapshot: Candidates should possess basic communication skills, a proactive attitude, and the ability to work in a team. Experience in Customer Care is a plus.
