Lead UX Designer

About the role

The Lead User Experience Designer will lead experience strategy and design for Search and Guidance on Grainger.com. This role is based in Lake Forest or Chicago 2 days a week.

Responsibilities

• Lead comprehensive UX strategy and design execution for Search and Guidance experiences on Grainger.com, working across teams to design elegant, intuitive customer journeys that improve discoverability, decision-making, and job completion
• Work with cross-functional partners in Product Management, Engineering, ML, Analytics, and Merchandising to align on experience objectives and deliver solutions
• Translate complex customer, business, and technical requirements into elegant, scalable user experiences
• Apply systems thinking to design connected experiences that span search, guidance, and an array of customer touchpoints
• Conduct and incorporate customer research, behavioral analytics, session replay insights, and usability testing into design decisions and iterative improvements where appropriate
• Deliver high-fidelity designs, prototypes, user flows, and detailed design specifications that enable efficient implementation and high-quality execution
• Balance customer needs with technical and business constraints, designing solutions that support continuous delivery while maintaining a high-quality user experience
• Contribute to and evolve Grainger’s design system while ensuring experiences delight user expectations and remain scalable, accessible, and predictable
• Clearly communicate design rationale, influence stakeholders, and facilitate productive design discussions and critiques

Requirements

• Formal education in User Experience Design, Human Centered Design, Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Product Design, or a related discipline
• 5+ years of UX experience working with an agile product team; corporate B2B and search-focused experience preferred
• Experience leading complex, ambiguous product initiatives from discovery through delivery
• A deep understanding of UX design, interaction design, information architecture, usability, and product design best practices
• Advanced proficiency in Figma, including prototyping, components, variables, design systems, and developer handoff
• Experience working in fast-paced, lean product environments with continuous delivery practices
• Experience creating responsive web designs
• Familiarity with accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA) and inclusive design principles
• Passion for learning and adopting emerging AI tools to improve both design workflows and customer experiences
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and storytelling skills with the ability to influence cross-functional partners
• Strong facilitation, collaboration, and relationship-building skills
• A proactive mindset with the ability to independently identify opportunities, prioritize work, and drive initiatives forward

Qualifications

• Portfolio demonstrating exceptional craft, strategic thinking, and the ability to simplify complex customer problems while balancing user, business, and technical needs

Skills

• Systems thinking
• UX design
• UI design
• Visual design
• Responsive web design
• Accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA)
• Inclusive design principles
• Emerging AI tools

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans with coverage starting on day one of employment and 6 free sessions each year with a licensed therapist to support your emotional wellbeing
• 18 paid time off (PTO) days annually for full-time employees (accrual prorated based on employment start date) and 6 company holidays per year
• 6% company contribution to a 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan each pay period, no employee contribution required
• Employee discounts, tuition reimbursement, student loan refinancing and free access to financial counseling, education, and tools
• Maternity support programs, nursing benefits, and up to 14 weeks paid leave for birth parents and up to 4 weeks paid leave for non-birth parents

Pay

The anticipated base pay compensation range for this position is $123,000.00 – $205,100.00. This role is eligible for an incentive target of up to 15 % or $ , based on the achievement of individual and company performance objectives in accordance with the current terms of the incentive program which are subject to change.

Schedule

This role is a hybrid position that is based in Lake Forest or Chicago 2 days a week.