Lead/Principal Experience Designer - AI Prototyping [AQ-23807]

Aquent; Beaverton (OR); On-site; USD 100,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent seeks an Experience Designer to drive innovative product experiences at the intersection of AI and technology in Beaverton, OR. You will transform ambiguous opportunities into validated prototypes, guiding cross-functional teams from opportunity framing through implementation.

Expect leadership in user journeys, design systems, and studio standards while advancing reusable prototyping patterns. With 7+ years in experience or product design, you will translate research into actionable

Qualifications

• Strong foundation in human-centered and interaction design, with digital product thinking.
• Experience leading ambiguous, cross-functional initiatives toward validated outcomes.
• Fluency with AI-assisted design workflows enabling rapid prototyping.
• Technical fluency to engage with engineering and understand system constraints.
• Excellent judgment applying AI responsibly with quality, accessibility, and security.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex experience-design projects from framing through validation and implementation.
• Define the experience vision, journeys, interaction models, and success criteria.
• Translate insights from research and behavior into hypotheses and experiments.
• Leverage AI-enabled workflows to explore concepts and prototype using Figma/Cursor.
• Develop prototypes at appropriate fidelity to test risks and questions.
• Collaborate with engineering to understand constraints and trade-offs.
• Uncover latent user needs and validate value propositions for future states.
• Communicate decisions with compelling narratives and tangible prototypes.
• Contribute to reusable prototyping patterns, AI workflows, and studio standards.

Skills

Human-centered design

Interaction design

Digital product thinking

AI-assisted design

Rapid prototyping

Cross-functional leadership

Engineering collaboration

Storytelling

Tools

Figma

Figma MCP

Cursor

Job description

Partner with Aquent to join a globally recognized leader at the forefront of innovation, dedicated to shaping the future of how products are created. This pioneering company is constantly pushing boundaries, integrating cutting-edge technology and human-centered design to deliver exceptional experiences across diverse markets. Here, your work directly impacts the evolution of renowned products and platforms, driving advancements that inspire and engage millions worldwide.

Are you a visionary Experience Designer passionate about the intersection of AI and groundbreaking product development? We are seeking a highly skilled and proactive individual to drive the next wave of innovation in how physical products are imagined, designed, and brought to life. This is an extraordinary opportunity to be a pivotal force, shaping new methodologies and leveraging emerging technologies to craft future-forward experiences. You will lead the charge in transforming ambiguous opportunities into tangible, validated prototypes, making a profound impact on the future of product creation and user interaction.

What You’ll Do

• Lead complex experience-design projects independently, creating clarity, momentum, and alignment from opportunity framing through validation and successful implementation.
• Define the experience vision, guiding principles, user journeys, interaction models, and success criteria to ensure teams remain focused on solving the right problems.
• Translate insights from research, user behavior, stakeholder input, and emerging technological possibilities into clear hypotheses, informed design decisions, and focused experiments.
• Leverage AI-enabled workflows to rapidly explore diverse concepts and construct interactive or coded prototypes using tools like Figma, Figma MCP, Cursor, or comparable platforms.
• Develop prototypes at the optimal fidelity required to answer critical questions, test assumptions, and mitigate risks before significant team commitment.
• Collaborate closely with engineering partners to understand technical constraints, co-create solution approaches, and make informed trade-offs that prioritize exceptional user experience over mere technical feasibility or speed.
• Proactively uncover latent user needs and validate potential value propositions, recognizing that users may articulate current pain points but not always the future-state solutions.
• Communicate strategic decisions through compelling narratives, evidence-backed insights, and tangible prototypes that align working teams and senior leadership with the opportunity.
• Contribute to the advancement of reusable prototyping patterns, AI workflows, design-system practices, and studio standards to continuously elevate quality and accelerate learning.
  
  

Must-Have Qualifications

• A strong design thinker and maker with deep foundational knowledge in human-centered design, interaction design, and digital product thinking.
• Demonstrated experience autonomously leading ambiguous, cross-functional initiatives toward valuable and validated outcomes.
• Fluency with AI-assisted design and development workflows, enabling rapid progression from concept to experiential and evaluable prototypes.
• Sufficient technical fluency to engage credibly with engineering teams, navigate design and code-adjacent environments, and comprehend system constraints.
• Excellent judgment in discerning when and how to apply AI, coupled with the ability to rigorously evaluate generated work for quality, accuracy, accessibility, security, and responsible use.
• Clear communication, facilitation, and storytelling skills, adept at connecting user evidence, experience intent, business value, and technical implications.
• 7+ years of experience in experience design, product design, interaction design, service design, or a closely related field.
• A compelling portfolio showcasing end-to-end leadership of complex digital products or innovation concepts, including framing, interaction design, prototyping, testing, and demonstrated, shipped, or validated outcomes.
• Proven experience partnering effectively with engineering teams within an agile or iterative product-development environment.
  
  

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Demonstrated use of AI-assisted tools to accelerate exploration, prototyping, or delivery, with specific experience in Figma, Figma MCP, Cursor, GitHub-based workflows, or comparable tools.
• Experience working with complex systems, internal tool design, emerging technologies, or product-creation workflows.