Principal UX Designer

Job Description

Position Summary:

The Principal UX Designer owns the university's web design system and is accountable for the design work that shapes how audiences experience the university online, directing a small team of two freelance designers to deliver it.

Reporting to the Web Engineering and Ops Lead, the Principal UX Designer maintains and evolves the design system currently built in Figma, advancing it toward a tokenized, scalable foundation that the web development team can build against efficiently. This role partners closely with web development to resolve existing usability issues and to keep the design system and the live product in sync as both continue to mature.

Beyond the design system, the Principal UX Designer plans usability testing, contributes to journey mapping and conversion rate optimization, and brings AI-assisted design tools into the team's workflow to expand capacity and speed. Design work runs in agile sprints alongside the web development team, and the Principal UX Designer directs freelance designers, setting priorities, delegating production, and reviewing output to ensure consistency and quality. The role calls for steady, iterative delivery: making sound design decisions with incomplete information, working within the established design system, brand, and technical constraints, and moving work through short sprint cycles.

About the Work Unit:

The Communications and Marketing team at Vanderbilt University is a dynamic and deeply collaborative group. The division serves as the institution-wide center of excellence for communications and marketing, developing and executing strategies that inform, engage, and inspire others to take part in the University's global academic and research mission. The division is a strategic adviser and partner to other divisions, providing comprehensive plans and thoughtful analysis on messaging opportunities and constraints, and it continuously seeks innovative solutions to emerging challenges in order to deliver results at scale.

Key Duties and Responsibities:

Design System Ownership and Evolution

• Own the university's web design system in Figma, including components, patterns, usage

guidelines, and documentation.

• Lead the tokenization of the design system to create a scalable, consistent foundation across products and platforms.
• Partner with the web development team to continuously evolve the design system and keep design and production in sync.
• Identify and resolve existing usability issues across the university's web properties.
• Ensure the design system and all web experiences meet accessibility standards, including WCAG 2.1 AA and ADA/Section 508 requirements.

Usability Testing and Research

• Plan, run, and synthesize usability testing using tools such as Userlytics.
• Translate research findings into clear, prioritized design recommendations.
• Establish lightweight, repeatable testing practices that inform ongoing design decisions.

Journey Mapping and Conversion Optimization

• Contribute to audience journey mapping in partnership with marketing teams.
• Support conversion rate optimization efforts through design, testing, and iteration.
• Help translate audience needs and behavior into improved digital experiences.

Tooling, AI Enablement, and Efficiency

• Evaluate and introduce AI-assisted design tools and other technologies that increase the

team's capacity and speed.

• Build efficient, repeatable design workflows that expand the team's capacity and speed.
• Champion practical adoption of new tools and approaches across the web team.

Freelance Team Leadership and Collaboration

• Direct and remain accountable for the work of freelance designers, including delegation, prioritization, and quality review.
• Plan and manage design work in agile sprints in coordination with the web development team.
• Collaborate closely with web development, marketing, and content partners to deliver cohesive experiences.
• Maintain design consistency and quality across all contributors and channels

Supervisory Relationships:

Reporting to the Web Engineering and Ops Lead, this position directs the work of freelance designers and is accountable for their output. The role works in close, cross-functional partnership with the web development team through a shared agile process.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in UX design, human-computer interaction, interaction design, or a related field, or commensurate experience, is necessary.

• A minimum of 7 years of experience in UX or product design, including hands-on ownership of a design system.
• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining design systems in Figma, including component libraries and tokenization.
• Experience planning and running usability testing using tools such as Userlytics.
• Working knowledge of journey mapping and conversion rate optimization.
• Strong understanding of web accessibility standards, including WCAG 2.1 AA and ADA/Section 508.
• Experience adopting AI-assisted design tools and other technologies to improve efficiency and output.
• Experience collaborating closely with web development teams to move designs into production.
• Experience directing and delegating to freelance or contract designers, with accountability for team output.
• Experience working in agile sprints in close partnership with development teams.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills across design, development, and marketing partners.
• Comfortable making sound design decisions with incomplete information and shipping iteratively.
• Thrives working within an established design system, brand, and technical constraints, and moving work forward at a steady, dependable pace.
• Ability to balance hands-on design execution with system-level thinking and prioritization.

About Us

At Vanderbilt University , our work - regardless of title or role - is in service to an important and noble mission in which every member of our community serves in advancing knowledge and transforming lives on a daily basis. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, on a 330+ acre campus and arboretum dating back to 1873, Vanderbilt is proud to have been named as one of "America's Best Large Employers" as well as a top employer in Tennessee and the Nashville metropolitan area by Forbes for several years running. We welcome those who are interested in learning and growing professionally with an employer that strives to create, foster and sustain opportunities as an employer of choice.

We understand you have a choice when choosing where to work and pursue a career. We understand you are unique and have a story. We want to hear it. We encourage you to apply today so that you might become a part of our story.

Vanderbilt University is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.