Director of UX/UI

Job Description

As the Director of User Experience Design, Research, and Innovation, you will play a critical role in shaping the digital landscape of our organization. We're on the hunt for a visionary leader with a proven track record in eCommerce and direct-to-consumer expertise and who's passionate about transforming the shopper journey and driving conversion. You will be responsible for overseeing the UX and UI design and research processes, mentoring a talented team of designers/researchers, and collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to create customer-centric and visually appealing digital solutions.

The ideal candidate will be a well-rounded UX/UI Design leader who drives their team to connect the dots between business needs, innovation, and best-in-class design.  Your obsession with human-centered design principles and your passion for product and service design makes you an invaluable resource on our project teams.

This full-time position reports to the VP of Digital Experience and is expected to work in a hybrid model, which currently includes Tuesday and Wednesday in-office.

What you’ll do:

• Oversee the UX design, research, and UI teams, supporting project design for user experience from discovery and ideation through to design execution, user testing, development, and deployment
• Develop, implement, and iterate the company’s UX/UI design strategy, aligning it with business objectives, consumer needs and best practices
• Liaise with business leads, project managers, product managers, and technology to plan projects, including budgets and resourcing as well as develop improved ways-of-working processes
• Lead and inspire a team of UX designers, UX copywriters, UI designers and researchers, providing mentorship and guidance to ensure high quality design output
• Advocate for user-centric design principles and encourage experimentation, conducting research and usability testing to inform design decisions
• Stay current with design trends and technologies (including accessibility) to continually improve design processes
• Directing evolution of design systems and style guides to maintain design consistency across all digital touchpoints

People Management:  

• Conduct regular conversations with direct reports covering performance and assessing career advancement opportunities within the team, engage with the larger team through skip level and monthly functional meetings, coordinate hiring plans, and guide team to adhere to company norms 

People Development:   

• Provide guidance, inspiration, and support aligned with our values, conducting Career Navigation Chats, identifying resource needs, and promoting diversity and inclusion while fostering collaboration and staying informed of industry trends to drive team success and growth 

What you bring to the table:

• 14+ years experience as a hands-on UX/UI designer working with a product team through the product development cycle of successfully launched web experiences and software applications; with 3+ years focused in an eCommerce environment
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in a design-related field (e.g., UX Design, UI Design, Graphic Design) or equivalent work experience
• Experience managing designers and researchers, supporting their work, constructively reviewing deliverables, and providing guidance for positive growth in their work and role
• A proven track record in creating UX/UI solutions that solve complex design problems providing impact to the business
• Deep understanding of research methodologies, user-centered design methods and industry best practices (in retail and ecommerce is desired)
• Experience creatively solving challenging problems, delivering innovative and complex product and service solutions within deadlines while partnering with business, development, testing, program management, and design teams
• Expertise with various interaction design tools, including Figma for the execution of feature visualization and rapid design prototyping to be used in user testing
• Strong knowledge of related disciplines such as information architecture, interaction design, and brand communications
• Previous experience working via agile methodologies
• Collaborative team player with excellent communication skills, conflict resolution, and negotiation skills
• Experience working across various verticals, including retail and eCommerce
• Experience designing experiences for those with accessibility requirements
• Have a defined design process and an ability to tailor recommendations based on constraints
• Comfortable articulating the rationale behind your design decisions to internal and external stakeholders, including senior client stakeholders