Principal UX Designer

Role Overview

At ID.me, we are shaping the future of digital identity, facilitating efficient, transparent interactions between people and organizations. We are a design-led company that embeds UX at the heart of our product creation process to enable over 110 million individuals to securely control their credentials and data. By joining our team, you will be integral to the crafting of intuitive, secure digital experiences for a diverse user base. With our trailblazing "No Identity Left Behind" initiative, we emphasize inclusivity and access. You will also contribute to enhancing ID.me Shop, where our members enjoy exclusive discounts and cashback offers, making their online shopping experience more rewarding.

At ID.me, we are seeking an innovative and dynamic Principal UX Designer to help shape the future of digital identity. This is an opportunity to be at the forefront of our product development process, directly partnering with product managers, engineers, data scientists, UX designers & researchers, and executive leaders to set visions and bring them to life. Our Principal UX Designer will possess a holistic mindset that leads our team in navigating and resolving the complex problems we strive to solve. You will be integral in not just enhancing our existing portfolio of web products, but also in driving the creation of world-class solutions that balance our members' needs with business goals.

Your role as Principal UX Designer will extend beyond conventional design responsibilities. You will drive UX experimentation, product innovation, and mentorship, having a profound impact on the customer experience. Your passion for user-centered design, understanding of real users—their goals, aptitudes, experiences, needs, and motivations—will be key in transforming divergent ideas into a cohesive, groundbreaking user experience. You will actively engage in discovery sessions and translate complex UX strategies to key stakeholders. Beyond ideation and execution, you will also be responsible for managing your work queue and ensuring high-quality outputs, including developing and validating new ideas. At ID.me, you will have the platform to push boundaries, raise the bar, and truly make a difference.

Responsibilities

• Architecting user-centered, multi-faceted user experiences by synthesizing insights, business requirements, and technical limitations.
• Steering the strategic and planning stages of a project, championing innovative ideas underpinned by comprehensive research and a well-argued rationale.
• Expeditiously and iteratively developing user flows, wireframes, and prototypes, from low to high fidelity, along with detailed visual design specifications for interfaces.
• Independently solving problems of significant scope, complexity, and vagueness.
• Advocating for user-centric design by proactively validating your designs with user research and testing.
• Showcasing design work to UX, product, and engineering teams, as well as stakeholders and executive leadership.
• Contributing to the UX design guidelines and development of best practices at ID.me.
• Actively mentoring and leading other designers in the team.
• Collaborating strategically with cross-functional teams to deliver cutting-edge, customer-focused experiences.
• Creating design artifacts such as wireframes, process flows, high-fidelity comps, prototypes, and videos to articulate and implement your concepts.
• Actively and responsibly championing for customers, using direct feedback, user research, industry knowledge, and quantitative metrics to enhance and optimize user experiences.
• Utilizing your strong user-centered design skills and business acumen to turn abstract ideas into exceptional design solutions at scale.
• Nurturing a design-centric culture by sharing best practices, advocating design principles, and influencing product strategy.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree in UX design, interaction design, human-computer interaction, or related field.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in UX design or a related field, preferably in a senior role.
• A robust portfolio that includes projects that have been shipped, demonstrating impactful design work and leadership at the principal level.
• Work demonstrating a strong foundation in user-centered design processes and design thinking.
• Experience in a variety of design tools and methods, such as wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and interaction modeling.
• Proven track record of incorporating UX research into design principles and overall customer experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing UX design processes and fostering innovation in rapid prototyping.
• Extensive experience in collaborative work with engineering and product management teams, and effectively incorporating their input and feedback.
• Proficient in applying best practices for user interface design, information architecture, and interaction design.
• Substantial experience in managing full life cycle design projects, from strategizing to execution.
• A relentless passion for design, innovation, and constant self-improvement.
• Up-to-date with the latest UI/UX standards, design trends, best practices, and technologies.
• Demonstrable experience in creating UI specifications and wireframes with the ability to move swiftly from concept to execution.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in a startup environment
• Demonstrated ability to strategically analyze and translate data into effective design recommendations.
• Hands-on experience with designing and prototyping in tools like Figma.
• Deep-seated dedication to creating high-quality products.
• The ability to adapt and thrive amid changing priorities and demands.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with a proven ability to work effectively within a team and independently.

At ID.me, we believe that an in-office culture fosters professional growth and development, mentorship, collaboration, and accelerated innovation. This position will be in-office based at one of our locations in either McLean, VA or Sunnyvale, CA. Working in an office together allows our culture to thrive and our team members to establish real connections with their coworkers and the opportunity for lifelong friendships. Our work is critical to protecting online identity and we’re confident that working together is how we’ll change the world.