Product Design Manager (Hybrid)

Position Overview
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Baxter Planning is a dynamic and rapidly growing company setting the standard for SaaS in the service supply chain planning space. We are developing many new products and solutions to build on our success in the market with our Prophet, LynX and Snapshot applications, as well as our AI capabilities.
We are looking for a Software Product Design Manager to lead a small team of UX designers focused on shaping the user experience of our platform. You will oversee the design and research process, ensuring that the platform's UX is intuitive, user-centered, and aligned with business goals. Your responsibilities will span across UX research, fast prototyping, customer design validation, and cross-functional collaboration. These responsibilities also include inspiring change, delivering oral and written presentations, evaluating qualitative and quantitative data, and helping the UX team better understand user journeys and UX improvement opportunities. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology and wants to be part of an energetic, diverse and inclusive team to apply. 
Why You Should Join Us:
At Baxter Planning, we combine the flexibility of a start-up with the stability of an established company, leveraging 30 years of industry expertise to support a rapidly growing customer base. We offer a dynamic and inclusive work environment, excellent benefits, opportunities for professional growth, and a supportive culture that prioritizes work-life balance.
Purpose, Scope and Responsibilities
Lead UX Design & Strategy

• Guide the UX design team, ensuring the development of cohesive and high-quality user experiences.
• Develop and drive a UX vision and strategy, including UX roadmaps, design principles, and frameworks that align with both business and customer needs.
• Own and maintain platform design systems to ensure consistency and scalability across projects.

UX Research & Validation

• Plan and execute user research, including user interviews, surveys, and usability tests to gather insights and validate design solutions.
• Conduct competitor analysis and use findings to inform differentiation through UX design.
• Synthesize findings into actionable insights, informing design decisions and platform improvements.
• Advocate for the voice of the customer/user throughout the design and product lifecycle.

Fast Prototyping & Iteration

• Lead and execute fast prototyping efforts using tools like Figma, allowing for rapid exploration of ideas and solutions.
• Collaborate with UX designers to deliver wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs, ensuring user experience is tested and validated early in the design process.
• Support the design of solutions that address requirements from a user-, business-, and technology perspective.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to align user experience with business requirements and technical feasibility.
• Communicate design concepts and decisions clearly to both technical and non-technical teams.
• Facilitate design workshops and collaborative sessions with stakeholders to refine and prioritize ideas and maintain a consistent user experience throughout the products/solutions of the platform

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Lead and mentor a small team of UX designers, fostering an environment of creativity, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Encourage and support team members in their career development and mastery of UX principles.
• Provide clear direction and feedback to ensure high-quality and timely delivery of design solutions.

About you

• 5+ years of experience in UX design, including UX research, interaction design, and usability testing.
• 2+ years in a leadership or managerial role in UX, with experience leading and mentoring a team of designers.
• Expertise in UX research methodologies such as interviews, surveys, usability testing, and A/B testing.
• Experience conducting and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative research.
• Proven experience in rapid prototyping and iterative design using Figma or similar design tools.
• Strong understanding of interaction design, user-centered design principles, and designing for accessibility.
• Experience working on platform UX and designing for complex user interfaces.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Fluency in English.
• Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Information Design, Computer Science, or equivalent work experience required.

Preferred:

• Strong commercial awareness.
• Ability to make data-driven decisions.
• Knowledge of data visualization principles.
• Knowledge of JIRA, Confluence, and familiarity with Agile methodologies.