Lead Designer

Job Description

• At Qantas, our teams come together to create new and unique experiences for our customers 
• A fantastic opportunity to lead and coach a Squad to deliver world class products 
• Full-time fixed-term opportunity for 6-months, based at our new Product and Innovation Centre in Adelaide   

Join Qantas in our brand-new Product and Innovation Centre located in Adelaide to help meet evolving consumer needs by enabling agile teams to deliver faster, more adaptive solutions that prioritise customer value, continuous feedback, and innovation at every stage of the product lifecycle.

At Qantas, we’re reimagining how millions of customers experience travel — from planning and booking, to the airport and onboard. Our apps sits at the heart of that journey.

We’re looking for a Lead Designer to help shape the future of the Qantas App and the rest of our mobile ecosystem, set a high bar for craft and thinking, and lead designers to deliver meaningful, real world outcomes for our customers and the business.

As a Lead Designer in the app team, you’ll sit at the intersection of strategy, delivery and people leadership.

You’ll lead experience direction across key areas of the app, partner closely with Product and Engineering, and coach designers to do their best work. You’ll still be hands‑on where it matters, but your impact comes from setting direction, making strong calls, and lifting the quality of what the team delivers.

This is a role for a designer who’s comfortable with complexity, ambiguity and influence — and who cares deeply about craft, outcomes and how design shows up in the real world.

What you’ll do:

• Lead experience strategy and design direction for key app journeys and capabilities
• Own the quality bar for design — ensuring work is customer‑centred, usable, accessible and aligned to brand
• Coach and mentor Product Designers and Senior Product Designers, supporting growth in craft, confidence and impact
• Partner with Product Managers and Engineers to shape roadmaps, define problems and make trade‑offs
• Translate customer, business and operational needs into clear experience intent and scalable solutions
• Guide discovery and research, ensuring insights meaningfully inform decisions
• Oversee design delivery from concept through to build and optimisation
• Contribute to and evolve our Design System, patterns and ways of working
• Champion responsible and effective use of AI in the design workflow to improve efficiency, exploration and focus on higher‑value thinking

What you’ll bring:

• Extensive experience leading digital product design in complex environments (App or large‑scale digital products preferred)
• Proven ability to lead and influence other designers — formally or informally — and raise the quality of work around you
• Strong experience shaping end‑to‑end experiences across discovery, delivery and iteration
• A clear point of view on design quality, with the ability to articulate and defend design decisions
• Deep understanding of human‑centred design, usability and accessibility best practice
• Confidence working with senior stakeholders and navigating competing priorities
• A strong portfolio demonstrating strategic thinking, design craft and real-world impact
• Experience using AI‑enabled tools as part of your design process, while maintaining sound judgement and quality

Why Qantas?

You’ll join a team where creativity and passion are encouraged. Our people come together to allow us to dream big and deliver successfully.

There are many different opportunities across our team, which means you’ll be able to grow both personally and professionally at Qantas. Your development is a priority for us – so that you can maintain the high standards our customers have come to expect and can continue to develop over time. You’ll be supported from day 1 with on the job training and coaching as well as our formal training opportunities. While you may start in this role, we’ve got a great track record of supporting our people to take their career in so many different directions, the destinations are endless.

The Qantas employee benefits program offers amazing benefits that extend well beyond travel.

• We love to travel: Enjoy heavily discounted air travel within Australia and across the globe, both for you and your family and friends, as well as exclusive deals on accommodation and holidays.
• We have flexible leave options: Make use of leave and flexible working opportunities including 18 weeks paid parental leave and the option to purchase additional paid leave for eligible employees.
• We’ll give you access to thousands of rewards: Through our partnerships we can offer you discounts across shopping, food and wine, insurance, health and wellbeing, leisure and entertainment. You can also take advantage of our salary packaging program including motor vehicles, eligible portable electronic devices and professional memberships.
• We’ll support your wellbeing: Whether it’s learning to better support your own and others’ mental health, our interactive wellbeing app or your very own tailored nutrition plan.

Qantas is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion.  We encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and people of all backgrounds to apply.  If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at time of application.  Your personal information will be kept confidential in compliance with relevant privacy legislation.

Be a part of something special and play your part in the Qantas story – get in touch today.

Applications closeon the 9th of April

Please note: Applications will only be considered for candidates who have the right to work in Australia / New Zealand without restriction or sponsorship.