Senior UX Designer

How You’ll Contribute

At the National Geographic Society, we believe in the power of science, exploration, education and storytelling to change the world. The Senior UX Designer will play an important role in bringing this vision to life leading current and future digital initiatives at the Society. They lead analysis and design of Holistic, Desirable, and Curated experiences with and for our various stakeholder communities, including Explorers, Educators, Youth, and Donors.

The Senior UX Designer provides a model of IA, User Research, and Product Design skills to both enhance the existing Society digital products and storytelling tools, while also innovating towards new, cutting-edge, user centered experiences. Using the principles of Lean, Agile, Design Thinking, and Atomic Design, they will collaborate closely with Product, Technology, Content, and all programs to directly contribute towards the Society’s mission to illuminate the wonder of the world. As a key, cross-functional member of the Society Digital Team, the Senior UX Designer will plan and own design and research projects that range from improving a holistic design system, and designing impactful products, to conducting research studies while tracking and sharing out insights to the organization.

They will be an energetic facilitator working in collaboration with the UX Director to document processes, guidelines, and install best practices that emerge from their work for the rest of the UX design team.

Your Impact

Responsibilities Include

• Plan projects using generative or evaluative research and design techniques that give stakeholders multiple user centered approaches to understanding user contexts, problems and current approaches to outcomes. (15%)

• Provide interaction designs for the constantly evolving and expanding Society product suite with an eye toward driving outcomes for the Society and its key constituencies in alignment with organizational Society goals. (25%)

• Collaborate with Product Designers and Engineers to create world-class prototypes, web apps, and digital products. Facilitate design work with business stakeholders across the National Geographic. (25%)

• Create test scripts and plans for both staff and user facing experiences. Conduct tests and facilitate team analysis. Report on insights gained through testing for current and future product designs. (25%)

• Keep up with current trends and best practices in the marketplace through conferences, readings, and videos building a practice of UX design Excellence at the Society. Document and share new research and design techniques or practices in a way that allows other UX designers to apply your methods. (10%)

What You’ll Bring

Educational Background

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in the humanities with a specialization in, UX, HCI, or product design.

Minimum Years and Type of Experience   

4 + years of experience. 

Necessary Knowledge and Skills

The Society’s UX Design team requires the ability to innovate and think in many systems simultaneously. The Senior UX Designer will balance consistency with customization, reusability with innovation, all while staying true to the mission and identity that is central to the National Geographic brand. They will use data and user feedback to ensure that the UX is always Holistic, Desirable, and Curated as defined by the Society’s UX Design Team Values.

• Solid understanding of Atomic Design, Object Oriented UX, Inclusive or Modular Design principles

• Solid understanding of value for diverse perspectives in design or research work

• Demonstrable understanding of IA methodologies, Interaction Design best practices, Qualitative User Testing, multivariate (A/B) testing, responsive / mobile design and thinking facilitation techniques

• Must be a team-oriented, energetic, result & delivery oriented focused on quality and the ability to meet deadlines 

• Effective communication skills, especially with product managers and developers including presentation skills, prototyping experience using Figma, Invision, Axure, or similar tools in addition to be comfortable discussing JavaScript, HTML, and CSS

• Experience using Miro or similar tool to present user experience flows with mockups or wireframes and solicit feedback from product managers, end users, and business stakeholders

• Ability to understand and visualize multiple scenarios and user states simultaneously

• Expert-level online portfolio that includes site maps, user flows, and lo- and hi-fidelity prototypes

• Experience working in an agile or Lean UX development methodology

Desired Qualifications 

• Experience working with offshore development teams a plus

• Experience working in either media or non profit sectors is a plus

Supervision 

No direct report.

Salary Information

The National Geographic Society offers a competitive and holistic total rewards package. Our compensation structure and transparent pay philosophy are based on industry-specific market data for similar-sized nonprofit organizations.

The salary range for this position accounts for a wide range of factors including but not limited to organizational need; specific skill sets; experience and training; certifications; and more. At the National Geographic Society, individuals are typically hired at or near the starting point of the salary range for their role, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.

The salary range for this position is $108,300.00 - $114,000.00.

In addition, the National Geographic Society offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package that includes, but is not limited to, medical, dental, and vision insurance; engaging and comprehensive wellness program; 401(k) retirement savings plan with matching contributions after 6 months of employment; flexible paid time off benefits with up to 22 days of paid annual leave per calendar year (15 days for new hires in their first year, prorated based on the number of pay periods remaining in the year) and 10 days of sick leave; 12 paid holidays and a paid winter break between December 25 and 31; paid parental leave, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility benefits; learning and development opportunities; Lifestyle Spending Account; pet adoption assistance and insurance; pre-tax transportation benefits with a generous employer subsidy; employer-paid life insurance and disability benefit; and a variety of National Geographic discounts and perks.

Job Designation

Remote - Our Remote designation includes staff who must work in another location in the U.S. or abroad, such as our regional leads for our Education and International teams or regional fundraisers in Advancement. Staff may also be designated as Remote by their supervisors (with approval by the Senior Team lead) because of their job duties, and are afforded this status when it is beneficial to NGS, their respective team, and the employee.

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

We encourage you to apply even if your experience is not a 100% match with the position. We are looking for someone with relevant skills and experience, not a checklist that exactly matches the job description. We want to help you grow and in return, you help us grow into a stronger, more inclusive organization.