UX UI Lead Designer

This role is subject to a flexible hybrid work arrangement requiring a minimum of 1-2 pre-determined days per week in our mid-town office.

About the role

The UX/UI Lead Designer is responsible for leading the strategy, design, and continuous improvement of intuitive, visually compelling, user-centered, and accessible digital experiences across CRF websites, mobile-responsive experiences, web applications, digital products, and email marketing communications (eBlasts). This senior individual-contributor role serves as CRF Digital’s lead UX/UI design subject-matter expert. The position establishes and advances UX/UI standards, accessible design practices, reusable design systems, and digital experience patterns across CRF Digital properties.

The UX/UI Lead Designer partners closely with Digital Leads (Online News & Editorial, Business Development, Digital Development, Digital Marketing), AD of Creative Services & team, and other Marketing stakeholders across different CRF divisions to translate organizational objectives, audience needs, content requirements, and brand standards into high-quality digital solutions. The role leads design discovery, information architecture, interaction design, wireframing, prototyping, visual design, usability evaluation, and design quality assurance. The UX/UI Lead Designer is expected to provide strategic design direction, influence cross-functional decision-making, and ensure that accessibility is embedded throughout the design and delivery lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the lead UX/UI design authority for CRF Digital, setting standards for user experience, interface design, interaction patterns, visual consistency, responsive design, and accessible digital experiences.
• Lead and champion digital accessibility across CRF Digital properties. Ensure that UX/UI designs, reusable components, web experiences, and email communications are designed to meet or exceed WCAG 2.1/2.2 Level AA requirements and applicable ADA-related digital accessibility standards.
• Establish, maintain, and evolve a scalable design system and component library, including design tokens, reusable components, interaction patterns, accessibility requirements, documentation, and governance processes.
• Embed accessibility requirements into design systems, design specifications, prototypes, acceptance criteria, and quality-assurance processes, including requirements for color contrast, typography, keyboard navigation, focus states, semantic structure, headings, form controls, error handling, alternative text, captions, and screen-reader usability.
• Provide strategic design direction and hands-on execution from discovery through launch, ensuring that digital solutions align with CRF brand standards, business objectives, user needs, and technical constraints.
• Lead or coordinate accessibility reviews, document findings and remediation recommendations, and partner with development teams to validate accessible implementation through automated tools, keyboard testing, browser accessibility inspectors, and assistive-technology testing.
• Lead the UX/UI design process for complex and high-priority initiatives, including stakeholder discovery, requirements definition, user flows, journey maps, information architecture, wireframes, interactive prototypes, high-fidelity visual design, and developer handoff.
• Serve as a resource to internal teams on accessibility standards, inclusive-design principles, and practical approaches for creating accessible digital content and experiences.
• Partner with AD of Creative Services to ensure consistent application and evolution of CRF brand standards across websites, digital products, email communications, campaigns, and other digital touchpoints.
• Define and promote effective design workflows, review processes, file-management standards, design documentation, and quality-control practices that improve consistency, scalability, efficiency, and on-time delivery.
• Provide design critique, constructive feedback, and subject-matter guidance to internal colleagues, contractors, agencies, and other project contributors.
• Collaborate with project stakeholders to identify design risks, define success criteria, prioritize work, manage competing project needs, and recommend practical solutions.
• Use qualitative and quantitative inputs—including user feedback, usability findings, web analytics, conversion data, and accessibility audits—to identify opportunities and lead iterative experience improvements.
• Champion inclusive and accessible design practices throughout planning, design, implementation, testing, and quality assurance.
• Attend CRF-sponsored and related conferences or meetings, where applicable.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in UX/UI Design, Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, Digital Media, Web Design, Computer Science, or a related field; an equivalent combination of education, relevant professional experience, and demonstrated portfolio work may be considered.
• 4-6 years of progressive professional experience in UX/UI design, product design, web design, digital experience design, interaction design, or a closely related discipline, including demonstrated ownership of complex, cross-functional digital initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience leading end-to-end UX/UI design work for responsive websites, mobile experiences, landing pages, web applications, digital products, and/or HTML email campaigns.
• A current online portfolio is required with application submission. The portfolio must demonstrate a range of relevant UX/UI design work and clearly communicate the candidate’s individual role and contributions. Portfolio case studies should include examples of problem definition, user flows, information architecture, wireframes, prototypes, visual/interface design, responsive design, accessibility considerations, design-system or component-based work, and delivered or implemented experiences.
• Demonstrated professional expertise in digital accessibility, including the application of WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA standards, ADA-related digital accessibility practices, and inclusive-design principles.
• Experience establishing, contributing to, or governing a design system, component library, or reusable UI pattern library.
• Experience working in a collaborative, cross-functional environment with front-end and back-end developers, marketing and creative teams, editorial/content teams, project managers, business stakeholders, vendors, and/or external agencies.
• Experience in healthcare, medical education, scientific publishing, nonprofit, association, conference/event, or another regulated industry is preferred.

Skills

• Expert proficiency in Figma, including component libraries, variants, auto layout, prototyping, developer handoff, and design-system management; proficiency with Adobe Creative Cloud or similar visual-design tools is preferred.
• Advanced command of user-centered design, interaction design, information architecture, responsive and mobile-first design, visual design, usability evaluation, and iterative product/design development.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex business, technical, editorial, and audience requirements into clear, scalable, user-centered design solutions.
• Advanced knowledge of accessible design and accessibility-by-design practices, including WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA principles, color contrast, non-color indicators, keyboard interaction, focus management, accessible forms and error handling, semantic content structure, alternative text, captions, and screen-reader considerations.
• Practical experience conducting or supporting accessibility audits and remediation, using tools and methods such as axe DevTools, WAVE, Lighthouse, browser accessibility inspectors, keyboard-only testing, and basic screen-reader testing.
• Strong working knowledge of HTML and CSS, including sufficient technical fluency to collaborate effectively with developers, understand implementation constraints, review design fidelity, and identify common accessibility risks.
• Familiarity with JavaScript, front-end frameworks, and CMS platforms is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to create clear developer-ready documentation, including design specifications, annotations, interaction details, responsive behavior, component states, assets, and accessibility acceptance criteria.
• Proven ability to establish design standards, manage multiple concurrent initiatives, facilitate design reviews, articulate design rationale, and influence stakeholders at varying levels of technical and design knowledge.
• Excellent written, verbal, visual, presentation, organization, and project-management skills, with strong attention to quality, consistency, brand stewardship, and detail.

Preferred Qualifications

• Accessibility certification or formal training, such as IAAP CPACC, WAS, CPWA, Trusted Tester, or equivalent coursework/certification.
• Experience contributing to or maintaining a design system in Figma or a comparable design environment.
• Experience working with content-management systems such as WordPress, Drupal, or similar platforms.
• Experience collaborating with front-end development teams using tools such as Jira, Monday.com, Asana, Slack, GitHub, or similar project-management and collaboration platforms.
• Familiarity with SEO, web performance, conversion-rate optimization, and digital analytics best practices.
• Knowledge of medical, scientific, or healthcare content and familiarity with privacy-conscious digital experiences is a plus.
• Experience acting as a design lead or senior individual contributor responsible for UX/UI quality across multiple websites, products, campaigns, or digital properties.
• Experience partnering with creative-services and brand teams to establish and enforce digital brand standards.
• Experience in a CMS-driven environment, including WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, or similar content-management platforms.
• Familiarity with digital analytics, conversion-rate optimization, SEO, email marketing platforms, and cross-client HTML email testing tools.
• Knowledge of healthcare, medical/scientific content, privacy-conscious digital design, or regulated digital environments.

Benefits

• Choice of health plans including medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Company-paid short-term and long-term disability and life insurance
• Health and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• Pre-tax travel expenses through TransitChek program
• 401(k) plan
• Generous paid time off (PTO)
• Fourteen paid holidays each year

Pay

The hiring range for this position is $95,000 - $115,000 per year. The annual salary that will ultimately be offered to the successful candidate will depend on job-related knowledge, education, skills, and experience.