Senior UX Designer, Product Designer

📋 Description

• Spearhead the end-to-end design of digital products — from defining problems and discovering solutions to delivery and post-launch refinement — while retaining accountability for design outcomes throughout the entire product lifecycle.

• Collaborate with product managers and engineering teams to outline product direction, set success metrics, and ensure design choices align with user needs and the institution’s strategic objectives.

• Convert unclear or changing requirements into precise, well-defined design directions, proactively identifying gaps and coordinating cross-functional teams throughout the project.

• Contribute to product roadmap planning and sprint activities, representing the user perspective in prioritization discussions.

• Design and enhance user-facing experiences that integrate with or present data from key university enterprise systems, including Learning Management Systems (LMS) like D2L Brightspace, Blackboard, or Canvas; Student Information Systems (SIS) such as Ellucian Banner, Ellucian Colleague, or Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions; and CRM platforms like Salesforce Education Cloud, Slate, or EAB Navigate.

• Grasp the technical and institutional limitations of these systems and translate them into user-centered interface solutions that minimize friction and administrative burden.

• Work with academic technology, IT, enrollment management, and student affairs teams to ensure designed experiences are viable within existing system architectures and data structures.

• Design smooth integrations and transitions between academic platforms and student-facing portals, ensuring consistent and coherent experiences across the institution's technology ecosystem.

• Apply knowledge of higher education workflows — including course registration, degree planning, enrollment, advising, financial aid, and academic progress tracking — to create experiences that reflect genuine institutional processes.

• Actively incorporate AI tools throughout the design process, including leveraging LLMs like Claude and ChatGPT to clarify project scope, draft user flows and personas, write design specifications, and identify edge cases early on.

• Utilize AI-assisted prototyping tools such as Figma Make, Lovable, Replit, and Magic Patterns to generate and iterate on interactive flows quickly, facilitating faster stakeholder alignment and minimizing development rework.

• Document and share AI-assisted workflows and prompts with the broader design team to enhance collective design efficiency.

• Plan and lead UX discovery sessions, Design Thinking workshops, and user interviews with students, faculty, administrators, and institutional stakeholders to foster a shared understanding of user needs and challenges.

• Act as the design advocate in cross-functional product discussions, ensuring user needs are represented in all product decisions.

• Conduct usability testing at appropriate design stages, using insights to validate and refine design choices prior to development.

• Perform competitive audits and benchmarking against peer institutions and industry platforms to uncover opportunities for enhancement.

• Create wireframes, interaction flows, high-fidelity mockups, and functional prototypes for web and mobile platforms.

• Develop and maintain scalable, component-based design systems and shared libraries that promote design consistency across multiple product teams.

• Collaborate closely with front-end and back-end engineers from handoff through implementation to ensure design intent is accurately represented in the final product.

• Participate in Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, standups, reviews, and retrospectives, ensuring development teams possess design clarity at every stage.

• Establish and track UX KPIs and product metrics to assess the effectiveness of released features and experiences.

• Design and analyze A/B tests and other quantitative studies to validate enhancements and inform ongoing iterations.

• Monitor product performance and user feedback after launch, recommending and prioritizing design improvements based on evolving student and institutional needs.

• Stay up-to-date on UX, AI, and EdTech trends and propose design innovations pertinent to the institution’s digital experience strategy.

• Ensure all designs comply with WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards and are inclusive of users with varying abilities and levels of digital literacy.

• Design with an understanding of higher education compliance requirements, including FERPA and ADA, as they pertain to student-facing digital platforms.

⛳️ Requirements

• Preferred Bachelor’s degree in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, or a related field; equivalent professional experience in product design or UX will be considered in lieu of a formal degree.

• More than 8 years of experience in product design or senior UX design, with a portfolio showcasing end-to-end ownership of complex digital products from discovery to launch.

• Over 3 years of experience designing within EdTech or higher education technology environments preferred; equivalent experience in similar regulated or enterprise SaaS environments will be considered, with exposure to LMS, SIS, or CRM platforms utilized in academic institutions.

• Experience working within higher education institutions or vendors serving the higher education market is strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to deliver user-centered design solutions within Agile development environments.

• Proficiency in Figma, including advanced prototyping, component-based design, and design system architecture.

• Working knowledge of LMS platforms (e.g., D2L Brightspace, Blackboard, Canvas) and their interfaces for students and faculty.

• Familiarity with SIS platforms (e.g., Ellucian Banner, Ellucian Colleague, Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions) and how their data structures influence student-facing product design.

• Familiarity with CRM platforms used in higher education contexts (e.g., Salesforce Education Cloud, Slate, EAB Navigate) and their roles in enrollment and student success workflows.

• Familiarity with AI-assisted design tools (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, Figma Make, Lovable, Replit, Magic Patterns, Variant UI, or equivalent) and a willingness to incorporate them into the design workflow; demonstrated use is preferred.

• Working knowledge of front-end development concepts (HTML, CSS, component states) relevant to design handoff and implementation review.

• Familiarity with usability testing and analytics tools (e.g., Maze, UserTesting, Hotjar, Heap, or equivalent).

🏝️ Benefits

• Health insurance

• Flexible work arrangements

• Professional development opportunities

• Paid time off