Senior User Experience Designer-Software

About the role

The Senior User Experience Designer-Software plays a key role in shaping the next generation of WGU's student experience. They lead UX design for high-impact, multi-phase initiatives, collaborating with product managers, engineers, UX researchers, and business stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead UX design for high-impact, multi-phase initiatives.
• Think strategically about ambiguous problems, framing them in terms of student and business outcomes, and proposing clear short- and long-term UX solutions.
• Collaborate with product managers, engineers, UX researchers, and business stakeholders to define problems, run workshops, explore concepts, and drive alignment on user-centered solutions.
• Create and evolve holistic design artifacts for product lines (not just single features), including flows, wireframes, prototypes, and annotations that help teams implement with clarity and confidence.
• Use qualitative and quantitative data, including design performance metrics and tools such as Pendo, to evaluate experiences, guide design decisions, and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Proactively surface risks and dependencies, manage expectations with partners, and take ownership of end goals across organizational boundaries.
• Mentor and influence other designers and non-design partners by explaining the "why" behind UX decisions, modeling best practices, and contributing to shared standards and patterns.

Requirements

• In-depth understanding of modern User Experience (UX) design principles and how to apply them to complex, multi-system experiences.
• Proven ability to think strategically: you can zoom out to a three-year vision, understand industry and UX trends, and then translate that vision into practical, phased design work.
• Strong communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to explain design decisions and technical concepts clearly to non-design audiences, large groups, and senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to balance student and business needs, representing both perspectives in discussions and outcomes.
• Mastery of core UX deliverables (user flows, wireframes, prototypes, design specs, etc.), including when to use each, their dependencies, and their tradeoffs.
• Experience working in cross-functional teams (product, engineering, research, and business stakeholders) and building strong relationships to move work forward.
• Data-informed mindset: you are comfortable interpreting product data and research insights to understand what is working, what is not, and where to experiment next.
• High attention to detail, with a strong sense of ownership over the quality, accessibility, and consistency of the experiences you ship.
• Expertise with industry tools such as Figma and Adobe Creative Suite, and proficiency with Microsoft 365.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Visual Communications, Graphic Design, or a related field.
• 6 years of experience as a UX designer, interaction designer, information architect, UX researcher, or other relevant role.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in an Agile development process.
• Experience using user research throughout the product life cycle, incorporating data from multiple sources into decision-making.
• Higher Education experience.
• Agency experience.