Senior UX / UI Designer

Overview

In this client-facing position, you will work on website projects for nonprofit clients working to make the world a better place by solving difficult challenges. You’ll conduct research, and handle the information architecture and wire framing processes. You’ll provide direction and feedback for the visual design to help improve the user experience. And you’ll work closely with the content strategist to develop a highly effective and compelling user experience. You’ll create and manage design systems, and project deliverables may include various types of user research, user workflows, sitemaps, lo- and hi-fi wireframes, component libraries, clickable prototypes, desktop and mobile comps, icons and typography choices.

They should be well versed in design systems and designing on a grid system, know when to break the grid, understand the value of whitespace, and be able to create hierarchy and visual flow in the design. We seek someone with a strong, creative design aesthetic and the flexibility to create high quality work within more or less any set of brand guidelines so that our clients receive designs that match their brand. Your alignment with our client promises and core values (both listed here) and the quality of your design portfolio are key.

We are actively working to build and maintain a diverse and inclusive roster of team members. If you believe you would add value to our team but don’t meet all the criteria listed here, we would still love to hear from you. Please explain the value you would bring in your application.

Specifics

Hourly rate: $55-85/hour for employee status (contractor is possible but employee is preferred).

Employee benefits (FT): Education budget, flexible scheduling, health and dental plans, retirement account with company matching.

Generous paid time off for full time employees (pro-rated for part-time): 15 days PTO, 3 additional days of sick leave, 12 Federal holidays (flexible, may swap dates), 5 bonus days PTO between Christmas and New Year’s.

A job with meaning. Work for clients who are making the world a better place by championing climate justice, providing support and resources for immigrants, or providing leadership skills and training (for example).

Location: 100% virtual office (since 2012, so we know how to do it well). U.S. time zones required.

Flexible work schedule: we work with you if you need to move your schedule around for family, emergencies, or just want to take a special 4-day weekend trip.

The opportunity to shape your role to your interests, and to take on significant responsibility that you likely won’t get at a larger firm.

Training and education opportunities, as we believe strongly in the importance of continued learning.

Core Responsibilities

Performing user research tasks and analyzing results. Creating wireframes and original visual designs for custom websites large to small. Preparing presentations and presenting work to clients. Communicating with developers to ensure feasibility of design plans.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

1. Be a problem-solver and offer your experienced opinions about the best approach to design challenges
2. Communicate regularly and as scheduled with the project team
3. Conduct and analyze user research of various types (e.g. surveys, interviews, tree testing …)
4. Create full custom wireframes and designs using a design system, with a basic understanding of the underlying frontend code (you don’t need to be an HTML/CSS expert)
5. Create breakpoints and comps for desktop, mobile, and in-between
6. Ensure designs meet accessibility standards for readability, color contrast, and more
7. Conduct internal and client-facing presentations and attend internal and client-facing critiques/reviews
8. Train/educate clients as needed
9. Provide final design comps and specifications for coding
10. Create templates for production of assets like team headshots, blog post images, etc
11. Review your work once coded (by the dev team) to check for errors
12. Conduct research to source photos, icons etc.
13. Very strong attention to detail
14. Maintain order in your design files and set them up to be easy for the developer to work with

Qualifications & Skills

You should have at least five solid years experience in creating design systems for medium-to-large websites for a range of client types (nonprofits, universities, and small businesses ideal but not mandatory). You should be well versed in using Sketch (we are open to switching to Figma), Illustrator, and Photoshop. You need to know how to design for different breakpoints for mobile responsive designs.

You should have a decent understanding of HTML and CSS that informs your design decisions. The goal is to be able to create designs that are not overly difficult to code.

You should have a decent knowledge and understanding of typography and some knowledge about font licensing.

Must have knowledge of WCAG website accessibility as it pertains to design. Accessibility is core to our UX practice.

You should be familiar with WordPress. Knowledge of other CMSes is ok instead … the goal is for you to have a general understanding of how CMSes work and some of the issues that can come up in designing for a site running on a CMS.

Nice-to-Have

(if you have all of the above experience, and 1-2 or these, that will take you to the top of the list)

1. Ability to create wireframes based on provided content strategy and plan (UX design experience) ← BIG BIG PLUS
2. Advanced knowledge writing HTML/CSS/Javascript
3. Ability to design customized icons
4. Ability to design decks in Google Slides
5. Print design experience
6. Ability to design infographics and data visualizations
7. Ability to design motion graphics, animations, or videos (simple ones, nothing crazy)

Working with Wire Media

We value our team members highly. We aim to have people doing work they love, learning and growing in their role, and taking on increasing levels of responsibility. We have very high expectations when it comes to quality of work, thoughtfulness and forward-thinking, and learning from mistakes.

We do not expect you to work nights, weekends, or holidays (unless there’s a real emergency, which is 99% never). We’re serious about flex time. We are open and straightforward with each other regarding feedback. We have fun and make nerdy  jokes. We work together as a team. We delight in delivering real solutions to our clients that are effective, and that look fantastic.

Come join us.

How to Apply

Please send your resume with a statement about why you want to work for us, and how you think your employment with Wire Media could make us a better company. Feel free to reveal your particular sense of humor!