52 Limited is a digital staffing agency with an industry-leading focus on the creative + technology space. We exclusively place tech and creative talent in direct-hire, contract-to-hire, and contract roles with our clients in Portland, Seattle, Austin, and San Francisco.

We are looking for a User Experience (UX) Director for a full-time direct hire remote position for an agency client.

The UX Director exhibits mastery of their discipline and seeks to elevate the outcomes of projects and the performance of others they work with. The ideal candidate is experienced both as a discipline lead and people manager. In addition to excellent UX Design skills, the UX Director seeks experiences in adjacent disciplines such as the visual arts, content design, engineering, psychology, marketing, or anthropology.

Responsibilities

• Relationships: Builds long-term, engaging, and highly productive working relationships across disciplines of our client and with their clients.
• Delivery: Consistently and proactively participates in shaping work to meet their client and our client's expectations, including functioning (as needed) as a direct project contributor and lead. Able to compellingly explain the connection between UX work to business goals. Provide expert-level guidance on project deliverables and workflow to the project team, and, as necessary, support project teams directly as a contributor.
• Design: Expert in all stages of the User Experience Design process: from initial understanding, to problem articulation, through design and design communication.
• Curiosity: Always curious and learning. Consistently seeks new opportunities and new knowledge while being excited to share that knowledge with others, within and external to our cleint.
• Management: The UX Director collaborates actively with the UX Program Manager and co-manages the UX and Content Designers. This requires an experienced and empathetic manager, able to review performance, collect and deliver feedback effectively, and work with other managers effectively.
• Discipline Development: Always looking at ways to elevate and expand the UX team’s capabilities and serve clients well. Proactively suggests new programs and initiatives to meet and exceed client expectations and expand our client’s service offerings.
• Sales Collaboration: Seasoned at preparing and delivering effective design pitches in partnership with the accounts and new business teams. Excellent communicator with effective persuasion skills.
• Thought Leadership: Able to represent our client UX Design externally (e.g. conferences or publications).
• Mentorship: Proactively coach and mentor other team members.
• Strategy: Collaborate with other design leaders on process or growth initiatives.
• Education: Teach UX skills and WordPress-specific best practices to UX Designers and other team members.

Requirements

• Deep experience in digital design (understanding of design systems, responsive, front-end technologies, accessibility standards, etc.)
• 5-8 years of agency experience
• Experience working and managing others remotely
• Experience with content management systems and marketing platforms
• A detailed understanding of WordPress and its block editor
• Strong writing and communication skills, both with internal and external stakeholders
• Experience and proven success pitching design to client prospects
• Excellent problem-solving skills, both with clients and technology/design
• Experience navigating corporate structures and approvals (e.g. addressing feedback from complex stakeholder groups, capturing and working with detailed design requirements, etc.)

Nice to have

• Specific experience with editorial design (authoring/editorial experience) in platforms like WordPress
• Experience with Figma and/or Sketch
• Formal education in User Experience, Interaction Design, or similar field
• Experience working with global clients and teams
• Demonstrated experience with external thought leadership