Senior Experience Designer (UX) / Researcher
At Northwestern Mutual, we are strong, innovative and growing. We invest in our people. We care and make a positive difference.
Our experience designers (UX)/researchers are curious and dig deep to discover new and unexpected ways to educate people on personal finance and help them manage it. Our goal is to help people make the most of their money, so they can worry less and live more. An experience designer (UX)/researcher at Northwestern Mutual creates intuitive, engaging, data-informed experiences that people want to visit, use, and visit again. They use a variety of qualitative and quantitative research techniques to inform and validate design decisions, iterate through solutions, and understand how to define an MVP with a longer-term vision in mind. They know how products and experiences should look, feel and work, and understand what users need and want in the digital space and in real life.
Here's what you should know if you want to be a Senior Experience Designer (UX)/Researcher at Northwestern Mutual:
On any given day you might:
- Play a key role in defining and elevating the Northwestern Mutual digital experience
- Drive usability, accessibility, and responsiveness through design execution
- Create and foster a systematic design language across systems and platforms
- Develop UX Design artifacts including wireframes, prototypes, annotations, and sitemaps
- Develop UX Research artifacts including proposals, moderator's guides, and research reports
- Plan and execute qualitative and quantitative user research
- Communicate research findings and insights to internal and external partners, advocating for the end user in both tactical and strategic experience design
- Serve as an expert source of user knowledge for the company
This is our ideal - how well does it describe you?
- Very passionate about user oriented solutions and is a strong advocate for the user's needs
- Have the ability to make the complex feel simple
- Strike the perfect balance of usability and tangible business impact
- Displays thorough knowledge of UX design fundamentals-wireframing, prototyping, flows, sitemaps, annotations, and more
- Well-versed in quantitative and qualitative research methods such as interviews, surveys, contextual inquiry, diary studies, card sorting, usability testing, competitive benchmarking, etc. with the ability to lead research programs independently
- Proficient in relevant design and research tools of the trade, such as Sketch, InVision, Figma, UserZoom, User Testing, Morae, Qualtrics, Optimal Sort, Feedback Loop and is eager to explore new tools as they become available
- Has a thorough understanding of and passion for inclusive design and familiarity with ADA guidelines
- Has the ability to influence collaborators and clearly communicate requirements, requests, and responses
- Detail and solutions oriented with a strong ownership over his/her work
- Willing to travel when needed
- Familiar with data analytics platforms like Adobe Analytics and Optimizely, underlying web technologies, and creating marketing experiences
- Experience working in a regulated industry like financial/banking, insurance or healthcare (nice to have)
You bring:
- 4+ years of previous experience designing complex digital experiences and applications and conducting quantitative and qualitative research
- Your amazing online portfolio with examples of successfully-launched websites, products, and tools (a must) and any success metrics (if available)
- BA/BS degree in Design, Computer Science, Information Architecture, or related area of study
Some cool things to know about working with us:
Fortune 100 perks: You'll have the opportunity to shape the experience of a Fortune 100 company plus the benefits, bonuses, and career growth opportunities are pretty perky, too.
Sweet new office: Think all sit-stand desks, tons of smart break-out work spaces, Zoom-ready conference rooms, game room (video and foos), stocked kitchen with snacks, coffee, and beers galore, and views for days (we're on the 32nd floor overlooking the Statue of Liberty) for those days you are actually in the office.
Normal hours: We're not beholden to the vagaries of clients (we are the clients), so you're not working through Memorial Day, Labor Day, Turkey Day, MLK Day, Saturday and every other day that most people get to take off and enjoy. And for the most part, we're done by 6.
Highest quality work: We set the bar high since we're alumni of some of the best agencies in NYC. We only create work that we are proud of. Not all of the work will go in your book, but plenty of it will. The goal is to create award-winning work that rivals any agency.
Variety of projects: Not only will you have the opportunity to work on all sorts of projects, you'll get to see them through to completion.
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This job is not covered by the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Required Certifications:
Grow your career with a best-in-class company that puts our client's interests at the center of all we do. Get started now!
We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.
