UI/UX Lead

UI/UX Lead – Customer Communications Management

Minneapolis, MN onsite - Local fine and relocate candidate also fine.

6+ months contract (ongoing)

Pay Rate: $Best/hr on W2

All EAD's ok and H1b transfer also fine, if interested.

Role Description

1) Engagement Overview

Optum Advisory is supporting the modernization of a Customer Communications Management platform to deliver a future-ready solution with emphasis on customer-led control, self-service, visibility/analytics, and governance. A key workstream is the design and delivery of two portals:

• Customer-facing portal: onboarding/configuration, status visibility, self-service interactions

• Internal operations portal: operational monitoring, issue management, workflow support

This role will lead UX strategy and execution across both portals and partner closely with product, engineering, and program leadership in an agile delivery environment.

2) Objectives (What Success Looks Like)

The UI/UX Lead will:

• Establish a cohesive UX strategy across customer and ops experiences

• Translate platform goals into intuitive journeys that improve self-service and operational efficiency (IA, workflows, patterns, interaction standards)

• Produce engineering-ready Figma deliverables to accelerate build and reduce rework

• Ensure designs align to “must-have” themes (self-service, visibility, governance, omnichannel support, compliance considerations)

3) Scope of Work (Core Responsibilities)

A. UX Strategy & Experience Architecture

• Define end-to-end portal experience strategy aligned to customer priorities (self-service, transparency, role-based access, tracking, dashboards)

• Develop/validate information architecture, navigation, and cross-portal consistency standards

• Establish reusable patterns and interaction models to support scalable delivery across releases

B. Discovery & Requirements Collaboration

• Collaborate with product, engineering, analytics, and stakeholders in discovery/requirements sessions

• Support user research (planning, prototypes, usability testing) to validate workflows and reduce delivery risk

• Translate service blueprint and requirements into prioritized portal journeys and user flows

C. Design Execution & Engineering Handoff

• Create detailed UX/UI deliverables in Figma:

o User flows

o Wireframes

o Prototypes

o UI specs

o Annotated handoffs

• Provide multiple design options, document tradeoffs, and iterate based on feedback and technical constraints

• Participate in design reviews and clearly articulate rationale to stakeholders and engineers

• Define final UI rules (layout, typography, spacing, components) aligned to Optum/client brand standards as needed

D. Delivery Partnership & Advisory Representation

• Operate effectively in agile delivery (sprint planning, refinement, backlog readiness)

• Manage design work to milestones and support predictable delivery timelines

• Represent Optum Advisory and the Payer Technology / Digital & Design culture with strong communication, curiosity, and professionalism

4) Expected Deliverables

• UX strategy and experience principles for customer + ops portals (experience guardrails)

• Portal information architecture + navigation model

• End-to-end user flows / key journey maps for priority use cases

• Figma prototypes for critical workflows

• Engineering-ready UI specifications (components, states, behaviors, accessibility notes)

• Design review outputs (decisions, rationale, revisions)

Required Skills

• 7+ years designing digital experiences (web/responsive; enterprise workflows preferred) with portfolio demonstrating end-to-end UX and UI execution

• 5+ years working in agile delivery with cross-functional teams

• Expert user-centered design, usability, information architecture, and design documentation practices

• High proficiency in Figma for prototyping and handoff specifications

• Strong communication skills and comfort presenting to senior stakeholders; able to explain design tradeoffs clearly

• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment with multiple stakeholders and high attention to detail

Desired Skills

• Experience designing CCM tools supporting healthcare payers/regulatory environments and/or omnichannel communications (e.g., Quadient, SmartCOMM, Messagepoint)

• Experience with role-based access, auditability, and accessibility (WCAG familiarity)

• Experience designing dual portal ecosystems (external customer portal + internal ops tooling)

• Exposure to service blueprinting or operational workflow design (process-to-experience translation)

Additional Notes

Vendor Candidate Submissions (Please Include)

• Portfolio link (self-service and/or ops tooling examples preferred)

• Summary of Figma-based handoff and design system experience

• Example of agile delivery partnership (how they collaborate with engineers/POs)

• Availability and location/time-zone coverage

• Accessibility and regulated domain experience (if applicable)