Senior UX/UI Designer & Design System Lead

Job Title
Senior UX/UI Designer & Design System Lead

Work Location
Remote / Hybrid ,Rochester, Michigan

Work Mode
Remote with periodic stakeholder meetings, design workshops, and project reviews as required.

Duration
One (1) Year

Estimated Effort
Full-Time During Project Duration

Job Summary

We are seeking a Senior UX/UI Designer & Design System Lead. The selected individual will lead user experience strategy, information architecture, responsive design, design system development, and user-centered digital transformation activities that support the University's goals for recruitment, engagement, communication, and conversion.

The Senior UX/UI Designer will collaborate with University stakeholders, developers, content managers, and project leadership to create a modern, scalable, accessible, and mobile-first website experience. This role will be responsible for designing intuitive user journeys, developing reusable design standards, improving navigation, and supporting content governance initiatives that enable long-term sustainability across University's digital ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct stakeholder workshops, discovery sessions, and user experience assessments.

• Analyze audience needs and user behaviors to develop intuitive and audience-centered digital experiences.

• Create wireframes, prototypes, mockups, and visual design concepts for website templates and page layouts.

• Design responsive website experiences that function effectively across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.

• Develop information architecture and navigation structures that improve usability and reduce cognitive load.

• Design and document a reusable design system including standard UI components, flexible layout modules, and usage guidelines.

• Improve visual hierarchy, typography, branding consistency, and overall user experience.

• Design page templates that support engagement, conversion-focused content, calls-to-action, and dynamic storytelling.

• Collaborate with development teams to ensure design specifications are accurately implemented.

• Support content governance initiatives by establishing design standards and user-friendly editing experiences.

• Ensure all design recommendations and deliverables support WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility requirements.

• Participate in project reviews, stakeholder presentations, demonstrations, and design validation activities.

• Contribute to design system documentation, component usage guidelines, and governance recommendations.

• Support implementation, testing, launch, and post-launch optimization activities.

Technical Requirements

• Experience designing responsive websites and digital user experiences.

• Experience developing wireframes, prototypes, visual design concepts, and user interface specifications.

• Experience creating reusable design systems, style guides, or component libraries.

• Knowledge of information architecture, user-centered design principles, and usability best practices.

• Experience designing mobile-first user experiences.

• Experience collaborating with web development teams and content stakeholders.

• Understanding of accessibility principles and WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

• Familiarity with design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Adobe Creative Cloud, Sketch, or similar platforms.

• Ability to translate business and user requirements into effective digital experiences.

Preferred Technical Experience

• Higher education website environments.

• Content Management Systems (CMS).

• TerminalFour CMS or comparable enterprise CMS platforms.

• Slate CRM integrations.

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

• Google Tag Manager (GTM).

• Accessibility-focused website modernization initiatives.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in User Experience Design, Graphic Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Digital Media, Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Architecture, or a related discipline. Equivalent professional experience may be considered.

• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing responsive websites, digital user experiences, and enterprise web solutions.

• Experience supporting website redesign, modernization, or digital transformation initiatives.

• Experience developing design systems, reusable templates, or component libraries.

• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams including developers, content owners, marketing teams, and business stakeholders.

• Experience designing solutions that support accessibility, usability, content governance, and user engagement objectives.

• Higher education, public sector, or large enterprise website experience preferred.

Deliverables & Performance Expectations

• User-centered website designs that support audience engagement and conversion goals.

• Responsive page templates and layout recommendations.

• Website navigation and information architecture improvements.

• Reusable design system and component library.

• Accessible user interface designs aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

• Design specifications, wireframes, prototypes, and visual assets.

• Design system documentation and component usage guidelines.

• Governance recommendations supporting long-term consistency and maintainability.

• Timely completion of assigned project deliverables and milestone activities.

• Effective collaboration with project stakeholders and technical teams.

Reporting Structure

Reports To:
Project Manager / University Liaison

Works Closely With:

• Lead CMS Developer & Integration Architect

• Accessibility & Content Governance Lead

• Content Strategist

• Oakland University Marketing & Communications

• University Technology Services (UTS)

Security Requirements

No security clearance required.

Travel Requirements

Occasional travel may be required for project workshops, stakeholder meetings, and implementation support activities.

Other Requirements

• Ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary project teams.

• Ability to support a fast-paced project environment with multiple stakeholder groups.

• Commitment to quality, accessibility, usability, and customer-focused design practices.