Senior Experience Design Lead - Surety

Travelers Companies, Inc.; Hartford (CT); On-site; USD 120,000 - 199,000; Full time

Job summary

Travelers' Experience Design (XD) team is seeking a Senior Experience Design Lead to guide the One Surety Value Stream, including Commercial Surety & Construction Services. You will lead a small team of designers, drive research, and integrate AI-enabled capabilities into cross-cutting experiences.

You will set experience vision, translate insights into action, and define product and service solutions while mentoring the XD team and ensuring alignment with brand standards.

Qualifications

• Experience leading design teams for large-scale initiatives.
• Plan and execute qualitative user research and usability testing.
• Strong knowledge of WCAG accessibility standards.

Responsibilities

• Provide domain expertise and design leadership across initiatives, guiding product vision and strategy.
• Lead research and design of solutions by defining concepts, journeys, IA, personas, interactions, and visuals.
• Plan and conduct qualitative user research and usability testing; synthesize insights for stakeholders.
• Collaborate with end users, business and tech partners, and outside stakeholders with a human-centered focus.

Skills

Design leadership

Research leadership

Human-centered design

Accessibility knowledge

Tools

Travelers Design System

Axe accessibility tool

Screen readers

Job description

Who Are We?

Taking care of our customers, our communities and each other. That's the Travelers Promise. By honoring this commitment, we have maintained our reputation as one of the best property casualty insurers in the industry for over 170 years. Join us to discover a culture that is rooted in innovation and thrives on collaboration. Imagine loving what you do and where you do it.

Job Category

Customer Experience

Compensation Overview

The annual base salary range provided for this position is a nationwide market range and represents a broad range of salaries for this role across the country. The actual salary for this position will be determined by a number of factors, including the scope, complexity and location of the role; the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; and other conditions of employment. As part of our comprehensive compensation and benefits program, employees are also eligible for performance-based cash incentive awards.

Salary Range

$120,400.00 - $198,700.00

Target Openings

1

What Is the Opportunity?

Travelers' Experience Design (XD) team creates best-in-class experiences for our customers, agents, employees, and partners. We're looking for a Senior Experience Design Lead to join our Bond & Specialty Insurance (BSI) Experience Design team, supporting the One Surety Value Stream which includes Commercial Surety & Construction Services business area as we grow and transform.

In this role, you'll lead a small team of designers while personally driving research and design for high-impact initiatives - including a major business transformation and the integration of AI-enabled capabilities into cross-cutting experiences. You'll set experience vision and strategy, turn insights into action, and define, test, and implement product and service solutions. Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the US. The company does not sponsor/support H-1B petitions, TN, or Forms I-983/STEM OPT, this this role.

What Will You Do?

• Provide domain expertise and design leadership across initiatives, supporting product and journey vision and strategy, mitigating risks, and informing organizational decision-making.
• Lead the research and design of solutions for products and services by defining, creating, and improving models, concepts, and design elements (e.g., experience goals, journey maps, information architecture, scenarios, personas, interactions, content, visuals, etc.) guided by established design objectives, principles, and standards.
• Plan and execute qualitative user research and usability testing; lead strategic synthesis and insights generation; analyze and communicate results and recommendations to stakeholders.
• Guide collaborative activities with end users, business and technology partners, and outside partners, integrating a human-centered focus informed by research-based insights and design exploration.
• Communicate design direction and rationale clearly; solicit and synthesize feedback; lead prioritization.
• Drive the application of accessibility standards including WCAG and Travelers Digital Accessibility Policy, integrating inclusive design principles and demonstrating familiarity with accessibility testing tools such as Axe, and screen readers.
• Apply the Travelers Design System and Agile methodology, demonstrating and leading design phases using the Human-Centered Design Double Diamond approach.
• Leverage experience strategy and design to enhance business outcomes; identify missed opportunities and areas where experiences no longer align with goals, influencing strategic direction and improvements.
• Identify and advocate for the adoption of improved tools, methods, and processes within the XD practice.
• Provide day-to-day guidance and leadership to a small team of designers across the One Surety Value Stream, without formal HR or performance management responsibility.
• Mentor and coach XD team members to support their advancement; contribute to team and practice development, grow leadership capacity, and help attract top design talent.
• Ensure all design work is aligned with brand guidelines and standards, maintaining a high bar for quality and consistency across projects.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously, and prioritizing tasks to meet deadlines.
• Stay current on industry trends and best practices in experience design and apply them to advance the practice.
• Actively participate in and contribute to Experience Design Community events, sharing knowledge across value streams and the broader enterprise to advance design practices.
• Continuously learn and mentor others in adopting emerging tools, methods, and processe