Head of Design

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Direct Blackboard’s global User Experience and Design organization.

• Take ownership of and advance the design vision and strategy for Blackboard products, such as Blackboard LMS, Blackboard Illuminate, Ally, and institutional effectiveness solutions.

• Lead, develop, and motivate a diverse UXD team across various countries and time zones.

• Collaborate with Product Management and Product Development leadership during product planning, prioritization, and execution.

• Advocate for users through research, customer feedback sessions, and usability testing.

• Guide the responsible integration of generative AI within the design practice.

• Oversee design operations, including design systems, tools, workflows, and quality standards.

• Ensure that accessibility and inclusive design principles are upheld across delivered experiences.

• Foster an agile culture centered on rapid iteration, data analytics, user insights, and collaboration.

• Define roles, responsibilities, and workflows among design, product management, and development teams.

• Present design strategies, research findings, and solutions to executives, customers, and industry audiences.

• Manage budgets, resources, and priorities effectively.

• Adjust working hours to support distributed teams.

• Travel up to 20% to assist teams, customers, and company events.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.

• A minimum of 10 years in user experience, product design, or a related area.

• Extensive experience in leading design teams and individual contributors.

• Proven track record in building and scaling design organizations with more than 10 professionals across Product Design, research, documentation, and accessibility.

• Experience managing diverse teams distributed across various countries, regions, and time zones.

• Executive-level experience in design strategy linked to measurable user and business outcomes.

• Practical, everyday knowledge of generative AI design technologies, including Figma Make, Claude Design, Claude Code, and other LLM-based tools.

• Profound expertise in Figma, prototyping, and design systems.

• Proficient understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, usability, and accessibility.

• Proficiency in design research, testing methodologies, and iterative feedback cycles.

• History of delivering simple and elegant solutions to complex challenges in rapidly changing environments.

• Strong leadership capabilities and the ability to cultivate a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture.

• Willingness to work outside regular hours when necessary.

• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.

• Familiarity with WCAG accessibility standards.

• Proficiency in both written and spoken English.

• Candidates must possess legal authorization to work in the country where the position is based and must maintain that authorization.

• Visa sponsorship or immigration support is not offered.

🏝️ Benefits

• Company bonus.

• Comprehensive benefits package.

• Flexible working hours as required to support distributed teams.

• Travel opportunities available to assist teams, customers, and company events (up to 20%).