Design Lead

We're looking for a user interface expert to grow our team. Background Bone is a Melbourne based independent digital agency that builds better, from the inside out. We deliver from strategy to execution by going in deep to shape, build and adapt digital platforms. By putting real people and living data at the heart of our work, we move users and take businesses further, faster. Being a boutique, high-quality, value-based strategic digital partner is Bone’s reason for being. And we’re looking for a Design Lead to help us deliver on that vision—and push it further. This is a senior, hands-on leadership role for a UX-strong designer who can own the design direction across client engagements, lead and mentor our Senior UI Designer, and contribute to shaping how Bone presents and wins work. You'll bring strategic design thinking alongside the craft to back it up.

Top Level Expectations You'll set the design direction across projects, bringing strategic thinking to every engagement from discovery through to delivery. You'll lead and mentor the Senior UI Designer, creating the conditions for great work and growing capability within the team. You'll be confident leading client conversations in workshops, presentations, and proposals, representing Bone's design thinking with clarity and conviction. You'll bridge UX and UI, ensuring continuity and quality across the full design experience, not just your own output. You'll contribute to how Bone shapes, pitches, and wins work, bringing a design perspective to proposals and helping articulate our value to clients. You'll help build the design practice itself, the tools, processes, rituals, and standards that make the whole team better.

Part of the Team You’ll be asked to fit within our established Shape, Build and Adapt workflow that stretches across our Strategic, Design, Production and Development teams. You will be required to pro-actively be part of the entire process. We want our team members to lean in, support and lift up the other parts of our business wherever possible. You’ll lead from within our cross-functional team, working alongside Development and Production to deliver thoughtful, beautiful, and effective digital experiences. This isn't a removed leadership role — you'll be in the work, setting the standard, and making critical design calls across the project lifecycle, from early exploration through to post-launch iteration. You'll manage, mentor and grow the design team, providing clear direction, constructive feedback, and the kind of leadership that helps people do their best work. You'll be a key voice in client relationships, comfortable presenting strategy, facilitating workshops, and communicating design decisions with confidence. We want someone who is curious, generous with their thinking, and motivated by great outcomes. Someone who can confidently hold their own in critique, advocate for better ways of working, and help elevate our capabilities.