Today, 67% of students and 82% of low-income students can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade. That’s when students are supposed to go from learning to read to reading to learn. It’s America’s number one education crisis and we know how to fix it.
Ignite Reading delivers one-to-one virtual tutoring that teaches every student the foundational skills they need to become a confident, fluent reader. We pair students who need extra support with expert reading tutors who provide daily, 15-minute, Science of Reading-based instruction that rapidly closes their decoding gaps. We focus on the foundational reading skills—phonics, phonemic awareness, and sight words—kids need to master so they can decode a sentence. Students in Ignite Reading’s program achieve over 2 weeks of reading skills growth per week of instruction, and notably all students achieve the same outstanding results including students with IEPs, multilingual learners, students of color and those receiving free or reduced-price lunch.
Ignite Reading is a mission-driven public benefit corporation. We believe we can do well for our team members and shareholders while we solve one of the nation’s biggest challenges. We believe we will be more successful with a diverse team and are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Your Role
Reporting to the Senior Product Manager, the User Experience Designer for Ignite Reading will be responsible for designing and delivering user-centered solutions that meet customer needs and business objectives. You will work closely with cross-functional teams, including product management, engineering, operations, academics, and marketing, to understand user needs and translate them into design solutions.
Ignite uses technology to enable the delivery of our virtual tutoring services, maximize the learning of our students, and accelerate our ability to scale. To this end, the core user experiences will be focused on four key technology needs:
- A tutoring logistics platform, which enables us to schedule, conduct and report on our tutoring sessions.
- A tutor workflow platform, which lets tutors know exactly what to teach each student every day.
- An extended learning application, which enables students to practice what they learn in their tutoring sessions after they return to the classroom or go home at night.
- An AI/ML implementation, which will enable us to ensure lesson fidelity as we scale.
Key Responsibilities
- Contribute to establishing design processes.
- Conduct user research and analysis to understand user needs and behaviors.
- Develop user personas, user journeys, and other user-centered design artifacts to guide design decisions.
- Create wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs that incorporate intuitive interaction patterns and communicate design solutions effectively.
- Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to ensure that design solutions are aligned with product goals and user needs.
- Advocate for user needs throughout the design process and ensure that design solutions are accessible and inclusive.
- Conduct usability testing and gather user feedback to iterate on design solutions.
- Stay up to date with industry trends and best practices in user experience design.
Qualifications
- 3+ years of experience in user experience design, preferably with an education technology company.
- Strong understanding of user-centered design principles and methodologies.
- Strong knowledge of user interaction patterns.
- Proficiency in design and prototyping tools such as Sketch or Figma.
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams in a fast-paced environment.
- Experience at early-stage startups is a plus
At Ignite Reading, we’ve decided to embrace a transparent compensation structure for a few reasons:
To promote fairness and equity: This approach supports fairness within our structure. When everyone knows how compensation decisions are made, it reduces the likelihood of pay discrimination based on factors like gender, race, relationships, or negotiation skills.
To provide accountability for our approach: The same role receives the same compensation, with no negotiation.
To build trust within the organization: When employees understand how their compensation is determined, they are more likely to trust organizational structures and decisions, which can lead to an overall better culture.
To support legal considerations: Many states are moving to requiring compensation listed on job descriptions and we want to follow these rules.
Salary: $130,000 - $150,000
We also ensure you have the tools you need to thrive both in and out of work.
- Employee Stock Options
- Medical, Dental, and Vision (80% employee coverage, 50% dependent coverage)
- Short-term Disability (100% employer paid)
- Technology Stipend
- Unlimited PTO + 12 paid holidays
- Professional Development Stipend
- Wellness Reimbursement
- Internet Stipend
- 12 Weeks of Parental Leave
- Yearly Staff Retreat
- Voluntary Life Insurance
We believe in building and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where all applicants are considered for employment without attention to color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. Research shows that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often don't apply for roles if they don't meet all the criteria – unlike majority candidates meeting significantly fewer requirements. We strongly encourage you to apply if you’re interested!
We are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are a virtual organization with headquarters in the California Bay Area.
What We Do
When kids learn to read on time their opportunities in school and life improve profoundly. If a child cannot read by the time they are in third grade, they are four times less likely to graduate high school.* In 2022, only 33% of U.S. fourth graders and 31% of eighth graders were reading at grade level (National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment scores). Ignite Reading is on a mission to fix this.
Ignite Reading delivers one-to-one virtual tutoring that teaches K-8th graders the foundational skills they need to become confident, independent readers. We pair developing readers with expert reading tutors who provide daily, 15-minute, Science of Reading-based instruction that rapidly closes decoding gaps. Students across all demographics achieve the same outstanding results–an average of 2.4 weeks of reading skills growth per week of instruction–including students with IEPs, multilingual learners, students of color and those receiving free or reduced-price lunch. By ensuring all students master the foundational skills to fluently read any word, Ignite Reading empowers them to move forward and unlock everything school and life have to offer.
"Ignite Reading is one of the most, if not the most, successful interventions we have implemented in our district. The student results and program design are indisputable."
- Claudia Salvestrin, Assistant Superintendent, Red Bluff Union Elementary School District, CA
