[Hiring] User Experience Operations Lead @Workiva Inc.

Role Description

In the role of UX Operations Lead at Workiva, you will serve as the central bridge connecting our UX disciplines, UX Design, Design Systems, Content, and UX Research, with the broader Product organization. Your primary focus will be establishing unified decision routines and shared operating models to ensure the UX organization operates as a cohesive unit. You will drive continuous operational improvements by streamlining workflows, standardizing practices, and leveraging automation and AI for repetitive tasks.

While the Head of UX and UX Directors maintain ultimate responsibility for people leadership, UX strategy, and priorities, you will support them directly and collaborate closely with Product Operations on joint operating models and cross-functional initiatives.

What You'll Do

• Rituals and Routines: Design and run recurring rituals, design critique routines, and decision-making checkpoints across all UX functions.
• Product Partnership: Prepare the Head of UX for Product Strategy & Operations sessions, drive follow-through, and serve as the day-to-day UX counterpart to Product Operations.
• Vendor Management: Own the UX tooling and vendor budget, manage renewals and procurement with IT, Procurement, Finance, and Legal.
• Tooling & Ways of Working: Consolidate communication channels and documentation, audit the tooling ecosystem including Figma and AI tools, pilot new tools with measurable outcomes, and build reusable templates.
• Hiring & Onboarding: Build the onboarding system and reusable job description, interview loop, and evaluation templates that Directors populate with discipline-specific content.
• Research Ops & Leveling: Connect Research Ops to shared rhythms and facilitate a cross-discipline competency and leveling framework.
• Communications & Reporting: Run the executive reporting cadence, communicate UX strategy to the team, and coordinate UX participation in annual cross-functional efforts.
• AI & Automation: Identify repeatable workflows for AI or automation, pilot with guardrails, and use operational health measures to scale what works.
• Team Culture: Create rituals and engagement moments that build connectivity and psychological safety across the distributed team.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in UX operations, design/research program management, or a comparable operations role across multiple director-led teams.
• Experience owning a budget and managing vendor relationships end to end.
• Track record of building an operating model, cadence, or process from a low-maturity starting point.
• Experience preparing an executive for high-stakes cross-org conversations and driving follow-through.

Requirements

• Experience building operating processes, planning cadences, or shared systems where structure was limited or still evolving.
• Ability to influence without formal authority, facilitate decisions, and build strong relationships across disciplines.
• Experience preparing leaders for cross-functional discussions and translating decisions into clear actions and follow-through.
• Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to adapt information for executives, team leaders, and individual contributors.
• Ability to prioritize a broad portfolio and deliver improvements in practical, manageable stages.
• Experience supporting a multidisciplinary UX organization spanning design, research, content, and design systems.
• Experience partnering with Product Operations on shared planning processes, workflows, or organizational standards.
• Experience developing hiring and onboarding systems, supporting competency frameworks, or coordinating research operations.
• Working proficiency with Figma, Jira, collaboration and documentation platforms, and budget-tracking tools.
• Experience applying AI or automation to operational workflows, with clear guardrails and measurable outcomes.
• Experience defining operational metrics and using data to improve processes, understand capacity, and evaluate adoption.

Benefits

• Salary range in the US: $177,000.00 - $290,000.00
• A discretionary bonus typically paid annually
• Restricted Stock Units granted at time of hire
• 401(k) match and comprehensive employee benefits package