Principal Product Designer

Pearson

63d • $160,000 - $190,000

About The Position

We are looking for a Principal Product Designer with a portfolio demonstrating high expertise in both desktop and native mobile projects, complex platforms, and processes which can be articulated through presentation and storytelling. We see Principal Product Designers as experts in their field, who can raise the bar as well as produce high quality design. While they are individual contributors, they lead by example and mentor more junior designers. This position reports directly to the Manager of Product Design within the Higher Ed UX Team, focusing on the design and development of higher education courseware for students and instructors. The role centers on enhancing the user experience for a comprehensive suite of digital academic tools used in university and K-12 settings, including eTextbooks, interactive study materials, AI-supported learning modules, practice assessments, and personalized learning journeys. The Higher Ed UX Team supports both desktop and mobile experiences, ensuring courseware meets the evolving needs of global higher education audiences.

Requirements

• 5+ years of relevant, demonstrable experience in Product Design as an individual contributor, producing seamless experiences and visually pleasing designs.
• A good level of business acumen, achieved through your experience in the tech/product industry.
• Ability to find solutions that take into account reusability, feasibility, and both customer and business needs.
• Experience working with Design Systems.
• Experience working in Agile as part of a product and technology team.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Product colleagues to define experience strategies and shape the roadmap for digital academic tools, ensuring seamless end-to-end user journeys across platforms.
• Lead design execution for higher education courseware, from initial wireframes to polished high-fidelity prototypes, while setting the creative direction and overseeing the quality of outputs from your UX team.
• Work in partnership with engineering to support the implementation of your team’s designs, making certain that solutions are both user-centric and technically feasible.
• Present and communicate UX strategies to a wide audience, including senior leadership, using engaging prototypes, presentations, and storytelling methods.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships across product, engineering, content, and marketing teams as well as with fellow designers and researchers.
• Champion the use of user testing for new features and learning journeys, collaborating with product and research teams to design and run effective evaluations.
• Facilitate cross-functional workshops and design thinking activities to unlock creative ideas and solve complex challenges in higher education digital products.
• Lead by influence, fostering the skills, approaches, and mindsets needed to drive innovation and meet the evolving goals of the Higher Ed UX Team.
• Take a long-term view of key design and technology decisions, ensuring the academic tools remain adaptable, scalable, and relevant for global education audiences.
• Proactively identify when to engage specialists in UX research, accessibility, illustration, or other areas, and help build a business case for additional resources to support courseware development.

Benefits

• Eligible to participate in an annual incentive program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees