Design Lead- Digital Channels

You are as unique as your background, experience and point of view. Here, you’ll be encouraged, empowered and challenged to be your best self. You'll work with dynamic colleagues - experts in their fields - who are eager to share their knowledge with you. Your leaders will inspire and help you reach your potential and soar to new heights. Every day, you'll have new and exciting opportunities to make life brighter for our Clients - who are at the heart of everything we do.

At Sun Life, we're driven by our Purpose: helping our Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. Our values shape how we work: caring, authentic, bold, inspiring, and impactful.

When you join Sun Life, you'll work with passionate colleagues and empowering leaders who support your growth and celebrate your contributions, so you can make a meaningful difference in our Clients' lives.

Discover how you can make a difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities around the world.

Job Description:

As the Design Lead, Digital Channels, you will lead a team of UX Designers responsible for creating intuitive, accessible, and engaging experiences across Sun Life's digital channels, including public web, secure web, and mobile app. You will establish the design vision for digital experiences, coach and develop designers, and ensure the team consistently delivers high-quality solutions that meet client needs while supporting business objectives.

Reporting to the Director, Experience Design, you will partner closely with Product, Technology, Marketing, and Business stakeholders to shape digital experiences that are customer-centric, scalable, and aligned with enterprise design standards. You will foster a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and design excellence while balancing strategic initiatives with day-to-day delivery.

What you will need to do?

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of UX Designers responsible for delivering exceptional experiences across web and mobile channels.

• Set the design direction and quality standards for digital experiences, ensuring consistency across public web, secure web, and mobile products.

• Partner with Product Managers, Engineering, Marketing, Content Strategy, and Business stakeholders to define digital experience strategies that align customer needs with business goals.

• Guide designers through discovery, journey mapping, information architecture, interaction design, prototyping, usability testing, and implementation.

• Conduct regular design critiques and provide coaching that elevates design quality, craft, and strategic thinking across the team.

• Ensure digital experiences are accessible, responsive, and aligned with WCAG 2.2 AA standards and inclusive design principles.

• Champion the adoption and evolution of the enterprise Design System to drive consistency and efficiency across digital products.

• Manage team capacity, priorities, and resource allocation to balance delivery commitments with strategic initiatives.

• Leverage customer research, analytics, experimentation, and usability testing to inform design decisions and continuously improve digital experiences.

• Partner closely with Engineering throughout delivery to ensure high-quality implementation and adherence to design intent.

• Facilitate cross-functional workshops and design thinking sessions to align stakeholders, solve complex problems, and identify opportunities for innovation.

• Communicate design rationale, recommendations, and outcomes effectively to senior leaders and cross-functional partners.

• Stay current with emerging design trends, AI-enabled design tools, and digital best practices, applying new approaches to improve team effectiveness and customer experiences.

What do you need to succeed? 

• 7+ years of experience in UX, Product Design, or Digital Experience Design, with at least 2 years leading or managing designers.

• Proven experience leading UX teams delivering web and mobile experiences in complex, cross-functional environments.

• Strong understanding of responsive design, mobile-first design, interaction design, information architecture, and user-centered design methodologies.

• Experience partnering with Product Management and Engineering in Agile delivery environments.

• Demonstrated ability to coach designers, foster collaboration, and build high-performing teams.

• Experience establishing and maintaining design quality through critiques, design reviews, and mentoring.

• Deep understanding of accessibility standards (WCAG 2.2 AA, AODA) and inclusive design practices.

• Experience working with enterprise Design Systems, component libraries, and modern design tools (e.g., Figma).

• Strong analytical mindset with experience leveraging customer insights, analytics, usability testing, and experimentation to inform design decisions.

• Excellent communication, facilitation, stakeholder management, and storytelling skills.

• Ability to influence without direct authority and navigate competing priorities in a fast-paced organization.

• Demonstrated curiosity and experience applying emerging technologies, including AI-assisted design tools, to improve design processes and outcomes.

• Post-secondary education in Human-Centered Design, Interaction Design, Computer Science, Graphic Design, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

What's in it for you?  

• We’re proud to be recognized as a company with a 2026 Most Trusted Executive team by Great Place to  Work® Canada

• Access to short-term assignments or ‘Gigs’ across the organization, to help you develop new skills and connections.

• A collaborative and interactive team environment

• Charitable giving through our You Give, We Give program lets you give back to your community – and in many  cases, we’ll match your contributions.

• Care Days available for self-care or care of others (i.e., family or others you may support) and Sick Days to  support your well-being.

The Base Pay range is for the primary location for which the job is posted. It may vary depending on the work location of the successful candidate or other factors. In addition to Base Pay, eligible Sun Life employees participate in various incentive plans, payment under which is discretionary and subject to individual and company performance. Certain sales focused roles have sales incentive plans based on individual or group sales results.

Diversity and inclusion have always been at the core of our values at Sun Life. A diverse workforce with wide perspectives and creative ideas benefits our Clients, the communities where we operate and all of us as colleagues. We welcome applications from qualified individuals from all backgrounds.

Persons with disabilities who need accommodation in the application process, or those needing job postings in an alternative format, may e-mail a request to [email protected].

We are proud to be a hybrid organization that offers our employees the choice and flexibility to work from both the office and virtually based on the needs of the business, our Clients and you.

We may use artificial intelligence to support candidate sourcing, screening, interview scheduling.

We thank all applicants for showing an interest in this position. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

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