Summary

The Lead UX Architect works closely with SMS business leadership, product owners, engineers, and our users to craft experiences across multiple channels and platforms. This role will draw on their thorough knowledge of the UX lifecycle (research, concepting, iterative design, testing) to help lead the definition and creation of user-centered design solutions that address user needs and SMS’ business goals. The Lead UX Architect has experience in managing projects through the entire product lifecycle, mentoring junior members of the team,  and will proactively manage expectations. They engage in effective dialog with the engineering team to ensure design intent is delivered consistently.

The Lead UX Architect participates in these areas of UX discipline:

• User Research
• Usability Testing
• Information Architecture
• Wireframes/Prototypes
• Content Strategy
• Facilitating Ideation/Brainstorming

Responsibilities

• Create elegant, smart, and usable designs for web, desktop, and mobile applications
• Work with our UX team to deliver easy-to-use experiences that empower our users and meet stakeholder expectations
• Lead, train & mentor junior members of the team.
• Communicate design strategy to product owners, clients, developers and other team members and be able to articulate design rationale
• Educate on design innovation and best practices while building consensus and buy-in from stakeholders
• Develop presentations, storyboards, and client feedback mechanisms to communicate design process
• Collaborate across functional groups and across design teams early and often
• Work closely and often with stakeholders, clients and IT
• Use design thinking methodologies to empathize, learn, ideate, challenge stakeholders and UX peers, ideate and iterate
• Take a user-centered design approach and rapidly test and iterate concepts
• Research and share knowledge of the industry’s latest UX trends and tools
• Contribute to UX vision and strategy
• Drive the design review cycle and gather on design requirements independently
• Oversee relevant research to motivate design decisions and inform product roadmap
• Manage design deliverables with Agile project management techniques 
• Provide quality assurance of UX deliverables
• Lead internal brainstorms, ideation, and design thinking workshops 
• Foster a positive team environment
• Ensure confidentiality of internal and external data
• Perform ad-hoc projects and other duties as assigned
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• Professional Skills

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• Verbal Communication  - Proficient
• Written Communication - Proficient
• Teamwork - Advanced
• Relationships - Proficient
• Negotiation - Proficient
• Organizational Awareness - Proficient
• Learning Agility - Advanced
• Analysis - Advanced
• Problem Solving - Advanced
• Process Orientation - Proficient
• Prioritization - Advanced

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  Role Specific Skills

• Speed and proficiency with UX applications to produce wireframes, prototypes and workflows
• Ability to create lightweight prototypes to test concepts
• Familiar working with design system UI libraries
• Ability to present UX research to build empathy for users, UX deliverables to convey workflows, and UI comps to ensure design fidelity
• Ability to convey user experience through stories and frame problems for a diverse audience of stakeholders, helping them envision potential design opportunities
• Ability to craft presentations to facilitate communicating UX deliverables
• Working knowledge of usability principles, conventions, and techniques
• Able to proactively manage stakeholder expectations and communicate accurate timelines
• Passionate and vocal advocate about all things UX and other areas of design and innovation

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  People Management Skills

   

• Not applicable to this role
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• Qualifications

    Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience
• 5+ years of experience creating iterative design, working closely with users, peers and developers from inception through implementation
• Experience designing and shipping software design experiences
• Experience designing enterprise UX
• Working knowledge of usability principles and techniques
• Experience collaborating with Product Management and Engineering counterparts

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and effectively deliver in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

    Other Relevant Qualifications

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Please note, this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities, and schedule may change at any time with or without notice.

SMS Assist is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) that welcomes and encourages all applicants to apply regardless of age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify and/or expression, national origin, disability, veteran status, marital or parental status, ancestry, citizenship status, pregnancy or other reasons prohibited by law.