Design Lead (Madrid only, contract)

Selecto

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Design Lead is the strategic and creative anchor for a sport-broadcasting project, responsible for the vision and quality of a flexible, scalable, multi-platform digital experience spanning responsive web, native iOS and Android apps, and potentially connected TV. The project serves a global, multilingual audience and must support both high-intensity, real-time event periods and editorial content discovery, perform reliably during traffic spikes, and meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards. The experience will be delivered through a comprehensive design system. The role sets design direction, governs the design system, guides the team's craft, and leads the day-to-day client relationship in Madrid. It bridges strategic intent and hands-on delivery, working with multidisciplinary designers, project management, design leadership, content, development, research partners, vendors, and engineering teams. The role is based in Madrid, Spain, with client-office attendance ideally once a week. The project is full-time for six months, with the possibility of extension. This is a project-specific contract, not a full-time in-house position; Selecto does not cover the social package, including sick leave, days off, vacation, or equipment provision. Travel costs are partially covered.

Requirements

Typically 10 or more years of experience as a senior design leader.
Experience in complex, large organisations with many stakeholders, vendors, and governance.
Proven track record building and governing enterprise-scale, multi-platform design systems across web, native mobile, and TV.
Expertise in Figma and design-token tooling.
Experience with coded prototyping and AI-assisted design tools.
Knowledge of connected TV/OTT design constraints.
WCAG 2.1 AA expertise; this is a hard requirement.
Experience with real-time data and live-event design.
Fluent English.
Based in Madrid, Spain, and able to attend on site ideally weekly.
Comfort with code, design tokens, and AI-assisted workflows.
Strategic, tasteful, calm under pressure, and decisive, with the ability to serve as the most senior design voice in the room.
Confident presenting to senior stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Background in major events, sports, broadcast, or streaming.
Experience with live, real-time data.
Fluent Spanish.

Responsibilities

Translate product objectives, priorities, and brand evolution into a clear design direction and deliverable plan.
Anticipate client needs and frame decisions proactively; work with the Project Director on scope, estimates, and growth opportunities.
Lead day-to-day client communication, build relationships with Product Managers, manage expectations, respond to feedback, and present to senior stakeholders in a multi-vendor environment.
Attend client reviews, workshops, and working sessions on site in Madrid, ideally weekly.
Set and uphold the design quality bar, run critiques, review significant work before client presentation, and provide direct feedback.
Manage and coach remote Senior Product Designers and Product Designers across European time zones, including developing senior designers into leads.
Set briefs, manage sprint workloads, protect team focus, and coordinate with vendors and engineering partners.
Define scalable quality gates, review workflows, and design operations frameworks.
Remain hands-on with explorations, key screens, and defining moments.
Architect and govern an atomic design system of tokens, components, and patterns across responsive web, native mobile, and connected TV.
Design for real-time data such as live results, schedules, and medals; editorial storytelling and content discovery; and TV-specific remote navigation, 10-foot UI, and lean-back viewing.
Build accessibility, multilingual support, and right-to-left (RTL) support into the experience from the start.
Define contribution models, handoff protocols, documentation, and versioning so client teams and vendors can extend the design system safely.
Work across design and code using tokens, coded prototypes, and a component library as living sources of truth.
Use AI for prototyping, asset generation, automated QA, and routine production; encourage adoption with the team and client while applying judgment about where human craft is needed.
Shape and support user testing with the client and research partners, translating findings into design decisions.
Build evidence for recommendations using testing, analytics, and benchmarks.