[Hiring] Sr. UX Designer @BTI

Role Description

The Product Designer is a member of the Innovation Forward Labs Product Team in Higher Ed, responsible for leading end-to-end design across the institution’s student-, faculty-, and staff-facing digital experience ecosystem. The Product Designer works daily with product managers, application developers, QA testers, and institutional stakeholders to deliver user-centered design solutions that improve student outcomes, faculty experience, and administrative efficiency. The role encompasses the full product design lifecycle — from discovery and user research through interaction design, prototyping, and post-launch iteration — with deep integration into Agile development cycles. The ideal candidate brings significant experience designing within higher education technology environments, including direct familiarity with enterprise academic systems such as Learning Management Systems (LMS), Student Information Systems (SIS), and Constituent (or Customer) Relationship Management (CRM) platforms.

Responsibilities

• Product Vision & Strategy
  • Lead the design of digital products end-to-end — from problem definition and discovery through delivery and post-launch iteration — maintaining ownership of design outcomes across the full product lifecycle.
  • Partner with product managers and engineering teams to define product direction, establish success metrics, and ensure design decisions align with both user needs and the institution’s strategic goals.
  • Translate ambiguous or evolving requirements into clear, well-scoped design directions, proactively identifying gaps and aligning cross-functional teams throughout the process.
  • Contribute to product roadmap planning and sprint ceremonies, representing the user perspective in prioritization decisions.
• Higher Education Systems & Platform Integration
  • Design and optimize user-facing experiences that integrate with or surface data from core university enterprise systems, including LMS, SIS, and CRM platforms.
  • Understand the technical and institutional constraints of these systems and translate them into student- and staff-centered interface solutions.
  • Collaborate with academic technology, IT, enrollment management, and student affairs teams to ensure designed experiences are feasible within existing system architectures and data structures.
  • Design seamless integrations and handoffs between academic platforms and student-facing portals.
  • Apply working knowledge of higher education workflows to design experiences that reflect real institutional processes.
• AI-Augmented Design Workflow
  • Incorporate AI tools actively throughout the design process.
  • Use AI-assisted prototyping tools to generate and iterate on interactive flows rapidly.
  • Apply tools to explore design variations and visual directions efficiently.
  • Document and share AI-assisted workflows and prompts with the broader design team.
• Stakeholder Engagement & User Research
  • Plan and facilitate UX discovery sessions, Design Thinking workshops, and user interviews.
  • Serve as the design voice in cross-functional product discussions.
  • Conduct usability testing at appropriate design stages.
  • Perform competitive audits and benchmarking against peer institutions.
• Delivery & Execution
  • Produce wireframes, interaction flows, high-fidelity mockups, and functional prototypes.
  • Build and maintain scalable, component-based design systems and shared libraries.
  • Collaborate closely with front-end and back-end engineers from handoff through implementation.
  • Support Agile ceremonies ensuring development teams have design clarity.
• Analytics & Continuous Improvement
  • Define and monitor UX KPIs and product metrics.
  • Design and interpret A/B tests and other quantitative studies.
  • Monitor product performance and user feedback post-launch.
  • Stay current on UX, AI, and EdTech trends.
• Accessibility & Compliance
  • Ensure all designs meet WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards.
  • Design with awareness of higher education compliance requirements.

Qualifications

• Prior UMGC or USM Experience preferred
• Bachelor’s degree in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, or a related field preferred; equivalent professional experience in product design or UX will be considered in lieu of a formal degree.
• 8+ years of experience in product design or senior UX design, with a portfolio demonstrating end-to-end ownership of complex digital products from discovery through launch.
• 3+ years of experience designing within EdTech or higher education technology environments preferred.
• Experience working within higher education institutions or vendors serving the higher education market strongly preferred.
• Proven track record of delivering user-centered design solutions within Agile development environments.

Requirements

• Proficiency in Figma, including advanced prototyping, component-based design, and design system architecture.
• Working knowledge of LMS platforms and their student and faculty interfaces.
• Familiarity with SIS platforms and how their data structures inform student-facing product design.
• Familiarity with CRM platforms used in higher education contexts.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted design tools and a willingness to integrate them into the design workflow.
• Working knowledge of front-end development concepts relevant to design handoff and implementation review.
• Familiarity with usability testing and analytics tools.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong product design skills: end-to-end process ownership, interaction design, information architecture, and visual design.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to align design initiatives to institutional goals.
• Experience facilitating Design Thinking workshops and cross-functional alignment meetings.
• Skilled in Agile/Scrum methodologies and collaboration tools.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to design for large, diverse user populations.

Preferred Certifications

• Google UX Design Certificate or equivalent formal UX/design certification.
• Nielsen Norman Group UX Certification or similar professional UX credential.
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or equivalent Agile certification is a plus.
• Accessibility certification (e.g., CPACC) is a plus.