Lead User Experience Designer, Contract

Critical Mass; Toronto; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading digital agency in Toronto is seeking a Lead User Experience (UX) Designer to oversee the design of user-friendly digital products. The ideal candidate will have 3-5 years of experience in UX and product design, along with strong leadership and communication skills. Responsibilities include designing interfaces, guiding teams, and collaborating with stakeholders. This role offers a competitive hourly wage and a chance to work on diverse projects.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of related industry experience in UX, product design, or communications.
• 2-4 years of experience as a senior UX designer or equivalent role.
• Thorough understanding of user experience research and usability testing.

Responsibilities

• Design holistic systems and interfaces that are elegant and user-friendly.
• Provide leadership and guidance to other UX designers.
• Lead discussions with stakeholders regarding feature design.
• Balance creative and client business requirements.

Skills

User experience design

Effective communication

Leadership

Interpersonal skills

Detail-oriented

Critical thinking

Collaboration

Flexibility

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Sketch

Omnigraffle

InVision

Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

As a Lead User Experience (UX) Designer, you help determine the experience architecture of our clients’ digital products. Combining stellar UX and analytical skills, you take ideas from conception to execution—collaborating with your team, navigating ambiguity, and balancing priorities as you push toward the goal and deliver on time.

Focusing on one client helps you deliver quality work, but you could be working across multiple accounts, too. You’ve got the grit to lead the execution of UX deliverables—wireframes, interactive prototypes, user flows, site maps, and usability test plans. Owning multiple, small-to-medium features or one major feature from design through completion can be challenging, but your skills, know-how, and attention to detail are equal to the task.

You Will:

• Design holistic systems, flows, and interfaces that are simple, elegant, and beautiful through detailed wireframes, visual compositions, and prototypes that communicate design intent, and client and user feedback.
• Provide guidance, leadership, and support to other UX designers and the project team.
• Lead discussions with stakeholders regarding feature design, using an organized and methodical approach.
• Balance creative requirements with client business requirements.
• Manage time effectively and execute according to commitments.
• Apply a critical lens to your work and the work of others in service of the solution.
• Demonstrate team orientation and build rapport with creative teammates, strategists, content strategists, marketing science, and producers.
• Clearly articulate complex ideas to both the internal team and client.
• Anticipate upcoming client and team needs, identify risks, and mitigate appropriately.
• Lead the design of a large feature or group of small-to-medium features with limited input from the Director of UX.
• Continuously seek to be well-informed regarding new software and design concepts.
• Understand the process of business development, and lead aspects of pitch creation in alignment with the overall sales story.
• Contribute to team culture by acting as a coach and mentor to junior team members, modelling the behaviours and characteristics of a CM leader.
• Be actively engaged with colleagues both within and outside of teams, promoting collaboration and inclusion.

You Have:

• Bachelor's degree preferred, with multidisciplinary background such as psychology, computer science, information sciences, human/computer interface design or commerce/business.
• 3-5 years of related industry experience in UX, product design, new media, information technology, communications, or library/information science.
• 2-4 years of experience in the role of senior UX designer or equivalent role.
• Effective communication skills, both orally and in a variety of written and diagrammatic forms.
• Proven interpersonal skills, client relationship skills, and ability to work in a team environment.
• Experienced, innovative, and forward-thinking mindset with demonstrated leadership of projects from concept to completion.
• Thorough, detail-oriented, and highly organized working style with the ability to multi-task and meet tight deadlines.
• Flexibility and adaptability to fast-paced and changing environments.
• A deep appreciation and understanding of user experience including research, information architecture, usability testing, and applying it to create compelling digital experiences.
• High proficiency in the use of tools such as Sketch, Omnigraffle, InVision, Principle and Axure as well as Keynote, Powerpoint and Adobe Creative Suite.
• Portfolio of work demonstrating creative thinking, problem solving, process, and quality spanning various digital platforms.
• Demonstrated expertise and experience with process and business analysis, software development and project processes large scale projects, documentation for development teams, application of content management, personalization, targeting and search systems, and modular design systems.
• Familiarity/experience working with WCAG 2.0 A/AA standards.
• Experience with Chatbots.

Please note you are applying to an active job opening. The rate below is hourly.

We continually review ranges to address skills, experience and markets. Base salaries are determined during our interview process, by assessing a number of factors that include, but aren’t limited to, a candidate’s experience and skills relative to the scope and responsibilities of the position. For current CM employees, tenure will also be a consideration.

Salary Range

$70 - $75 CAD

Critical Mass is an equal opportunity employer.

We will only communicate from email addresses that use the URLs criticalmass.com, omc.comandus.greenhouse-mail.io. We will not use apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or Google Hangouts for communicating with you. We will never ask you to send us money, technology, or anything else to work for our company. If you believe you are the victim of a scam, please review your local government consumer protections guidance and reach out to them directly.

As set forth in Critical Mass’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

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