Principal User Experience Designer

We are seeking a skilled and experienced Principal User Experience Designer to join our dynamic consulting team. This individual will play a crucial role in client discovery sessions, uncovering user insights, and delivering exceptional UX and UI solutions. The ideal candidate has a strong portfolio showcasing expertise in both user research and interface/experience design and thrives on engaging directly with clients. This role involves travel within USA for periodic onsite discovery meetings & presentations, emphasizing collaboration and strong communication skills.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Discovery and Collaboration:
• Actively participate in week-long discovery workshops with clients to understand business goals, user needs, and project requirements.
• Conduct stakeholder interviews, user research, and contextual inquiries during discovery phases.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product managers, developers, and stakeholders.
2. User Research:
• Plan and execute comprehensive user research strategies, including surveys, interviews, usability testing, and ethnographic studies.
• Create personas, journey maps, and other research artifacts to communicate user needs effectively.
• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative research findings into actionable insights.
3. UX/UI Design:
• Design visually compelling and user-friendly interfaces that align with research insights and client goals.
• Develop wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs that balance aesthetics and usability.
• Ensure designs adhere to accessibility standards and reflect a seamless user experience across devices.
• Present design concepts and research findings to stakeholders and iterate based on feedback.
4. Thought Leadership:
• Advocate for user-centered design principles within the organization and with clients.
• Mentor junior designers and researchers, fostering growth and knowledge-sharing.
5. Project Delivery:
• Collaborate with delivery managers to define timelines, deliverables, and milestones for client engagements.
• Oversee the execution of design solutions, ensuring alignment with client expectations and business goals.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in UX/UI design.
• Proven portfolio showcasing exceptional UI designs, and impactful UX solutions.
• Proficiency in UI/UX design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or equivalent.
• Experience creating wireframes, prototypes, user flows, and high-fidelity UI designs.
• Strong presentation and communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with clients and stakeholders.
• Experience having user research methodologies including user research techniques, interviews, usability testing, and surveys is nice to have.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with design systems and accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).
• Experience working in a consulting or agency environment.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to balance user needs with business goals.
• Degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design, or a related field.

Personal Competence:

• Demonstrates strong ownership and accountability, delivering projects on time, within budget, and to the highest standard.
• Thrives in collaborative environments, effectively working with geographically dispersed teams.
• Flexible and adaptable, quickly adjusting to evolving client needs and dynamic project requirements.
• Embraces a practical, hands-on approach with a startup mindset, focusing on execution over theory.
• Resourceful and proactive, with a proven ability to swiftly acquire knowledge to overcome challenges and remove blockers.
• An innovative thinker who simplifies complex problems through creative and effective solutions.