UX/UI Designer III: 26-02834

Akraya, Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 103,000 - 107,000; Full time

Job summary

Akraya, Inc. seeks a senior professional to lead a platform-wide competitive experience intelligence initiative in San Diego. You will evaluate competitor experiences, translate findings into strategic insights, and influence product and design priorities across cross-functional teams.

The role demands executive storytelling, strong visuals, and the ability to connect observations to business outcomes, with a six-month engagement and potential extension.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in Product Design, Experience Design, Design Strategy, or related field.
• Bachelor-level degree in HCI, Interaction Design, Graphic Design, or Product Design; graduate degree a plus.
• Proven ability to influence product and experience direction without direct authority.
• Extensive experience with competitive, comparative, or adjacent-market analysis.
• Ability to synthesize large qualitative/quantitative data into a clear point of view.
• Strong strategic/systems thinking and ability to connect design to business outcomes.
• Experience presenting narratives to senior executives and leadership teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead competitive experience intelligence for a consumer platform.
• Translate findings into actionable product roadmaps and experience improvements.
• Collaborate with Product, Design, BI, Analytics, Research, Engineering, and leadership.
• Develop executive-ready narratives and visual artifacts to influence priorities.

Skills

Competitive Analysis

Experience Strategy

Design Strategy

Executive Storytelling

Visual Storytelling

Roadmap Planning

Cross-functional Collaboration

Senior Stakeholder Influence

Experience Design

Education

Bachelor's degree in HCI/UX/Design

Job description

Skills: Competitive Experience Analysis (Expert), Product/Experience Strategy (Expert), Design Strategy (Advanced), Executive Storytelling (Expert), Visual Storytelling (Advanced). Duration: 6 Months (Possible Extension). Contract Type: W2 Only. Location: San Diego, CA (#LI-Remote). Pay Rate: $75-78/hr on W2 basis #LP.

Job Summary

This role will lead the development of a Consumer Platform-wide competitive experience intelligence capability. The ideal candidate will evaluate competitor experiences and customer journeys, translate complex qualitative and quantitative findings into strategic insights, and develop clear recommendations that influence Product and Design priorities. This position requires strong strategic thinking, competitive analysis, executive storytelling, visual communication, and cross-functional influence.

Key Responsibilities

Work with Product and Design leadership to ensure competitive insights result in clear ownership and follow-through, helping teams translate strategic opportunities into product roadmaps, experience improvements, or future exploration. Partner with the Business Intelligence team to integrate relevant market, customer, product, and business metrics into competitive assessments, connecting experience observations with measurable business performance and opportunity. Maintain a current and accessible body of competitive experience knowledge while ensuring that the primary value of the work comes from analysis, synthesis, strategic framing, and organizational influence—not simply artifact creation.

Must-Have Skills

• 8+ years of experience in Product Design, Experience Design, Design Strategy, Service Design, or a related discipline, ideally within complex digital consumer products or platforms.
• Bachelor's degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction Design, Graphic Design, Product Design, or another relevant field; graduate degree a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to operate at a Senior Staff or equivalent strategic level , influencing product and experience direction across multiple teams without relying on direct authority.
• Deep experience conducting competitive, comparative, or adjacent-market experience analysis and translating observations into differentiated strategic insights.
• Exceptional ability to synthesize large amounts of qualitative and quantitative information into a focused point of view with clear implications and recommendations.
• Strong strategic and systems-thinking capabilities, with the ability to connect individual experience details to broader customer, platform, market, and business opportunities.
• Proven track record of developing and presenting compelling narratives for senior executives and leadership teams , including the ability to simplify complex information without losing critical nuance.
• Strong visual storytelling and communication skills, with the ability to create detailed experience walkthroughs, frameworks, journey comparisons, opportunity maps, executive presentations, and other strategic artifacts.
• Expert knowledge of user experience methods, human-centered design, storytelling, problem framing, journey analysis, concept visualization, and design principles.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to connect design and customer experience observations to business strategy, customer behavior, market dynamics, and measurable outcomes.
• Experience working closely with Product Management, Strategy, Marketing, Analytics or Business Intelligence, Research, Engineering, and senior Design leadership.
• Ability to challenge assumptions constructively and use evidence, design expertise, and strategic framing to influence priorities and decisions.
• Exemplary ability to build collaborative relationships across teams, functions, and organizational boundaries while driving toward clear outcomes.

Industry Experience

Digital Consumer Products, Product Design, Experience Strategy, Competitive Intelligence, AI-enabled Experiences, SaaS/Technology is a plus.