As Chicago’s tech community has grown, so too has the demand for UX and UI designers. This demand is driven by companies both large and small which gives UX and UI designers a wide variety of potential landing places to pick from. If you’re interested in seeing what roles are open, or if you’re ready to make the switch now, check out these five designer roles.
The gig: Senior UX Developer
What they do: bswift builds cloud-based software for HR pros and brokers. From payroll to healthcare, its platform is designed to streamline and simplify the complex world of benefits.
What you’d do: The senior UX developer will work with UX designers and product managers to ensure that bswift provides all users a positive and accessible experience. You’ll work in a collaborative environment and craft user experiences for those on computers, smartphones and tablets.
What you’ll need: As this is a senior position, you’ll need at least five to seven years of UX design experience. You should also have a firm grasp of HTML5, CSS3, CSS frameworks, Javascript, responsive design and web animation. This role also features some leadership responsibilities, so be prepared to flex your communication and organizational skills.
The gig: UX/UI Designer
What they do: Adage Technologies is a web development firm that specializes in e-commerce sites. The company leverages responsive design and cutting-edge content management systems to help keep clients ahead of the pack.
What you’d do: The responsibilities of this client-facing role skew more toward UX then UI. Your duties will include working with a diverse group of clients to understand their business goals. You’ll conduct user research and interviews and also develop wireframes, sitemaps and prototypes.
What you’ll need: Your resume should show at least one to two years of full-time UX/UI work experience. You’ll also need to have full command of Adobe Creative Suite and prototyping tools such as Axure and Atomic. Since this is a hybrid role of sorts, you should know a bit about front-end development and be able to build prototypes using HTML, CSS or JavaScript.
The gig: Senior UX Designer
What they do: PEAK6 has been using technology to drive trades and make markets since 1997. The company is headquartered in one of Chicago’s most iconic and historic skyscrapers, the Board of Trade Building.
What you’d do: PEAK6 is working on a new product that’ll infuse analytical capabilities into a performance management platform. Your job will be to lead the UX strategy and vision for this enterprise product. You’ll work alongside the PEAK6 full-stack development team, as well as the CTO and VP of business development, to define and optimize the early user experience.
What you’ll need: A strong understanding of information architecture and user-focused design methodologies are essential to this role. You should also have advanced skills in both designing and applying technical approaches to responsive and adaptive websites. Your previous work experience should involve either complex consumer software or enterprise software products.
The gig: UI/UX Designer
What they do: Snapsheet's technology is designed to make auto insurance less frustrating for both insurance companies and drivers by streamlining the claims process. In addition to a shorter turnaround time, drivers also benefit from a mobile-focused approach that allows them to make and track claims from their smartphones.
What you’d do: You’ll be taking complex business requirements and translating them into intuitive workflows for Snapsheet’s web-based and mobile products. Your duties will include the direction and execution of user interfaces, user experiences and visual design across everything from software to mobile apps. Additional responsibilities include creating documentation relating to design guidelines and standards.
What you’ll need: Given the mobile nature of the product you’ll be working with, you should have solid experience in mobile app design. Strong web design skills are also a must-have, as is a mastery of design tools like Photoshop. Snapsheet is a data-driven company, which means you should know how to work with large data sets and have the ability to distill those data sets into approachable visualizations.
The gig: UX Lead
What they do: Peapod is the original online grocery shopping company. The company was founded in Chicago back in 1989 and serves 24 markets in the Midwest and East Coast.
What you’d do: In this role you’ll take complete ownership of the company’s UX efforts. This means you’ll be responsible for the planning, delivery and the ultimate success of projects. You’ll be conducting user research and usability studies to ensure that the Peadpod experience is intuitive and customer-focused no matter the site or device.
What you’ll need: You should have experience working in e-commerce as well as with turning customer insights into interaction designs. Making strong recommendations driven by industry trends, consumer research, business leads and technical limitations is something you should feel comfortable doing.
An ability to clearly communicate with a diverse audience is essential as you’ll be working with everyone from executives to software developers.
Images via listed companies and social media.
Is your company hiring? Let us know with a tip or a tweet @BuiltInChicago
