Senior Product Designer (Innovate NJ)

New Jersey Innovation Authority•Trenton, NJ

About The Position

The New Jersey State Office of Innovation is seeking a nimble product designer who is ready to both lead and dive into all parts of product design. This role operates in a startup environment where independent thinking and a high degree of autonomy are expected. The ideal candidate is a self-starter skilled at driving projects forward while maintaining close communication and collaboration with the team. This position will report to the Product Design Director and collaborate with relevant Initiative Directors to align their team’s work with the broader initiative strategy. The Office of Innovation deploys world-class innovative and digital services to solve pressing public interest challenges for the people of New Jersey, impacting areas such as unemployment insurance applications, business development, and connecting residents to government programs and services.

Requirements

A minimum of 5 years of experience in product design, UI/UX design (or related role), with prior experience in civic technology strongly preferred.
Portfolio demonstrating product design; please be sure to include process and outputs.
Expert proficiency with Figma including advanced prototyping, design systems, and collaboration features
Experience iteratively developing digital products or services as part of a cross-functional team.
Experience planning and conducting user research in the form of user interviews, usability testing, surveys, behavioral metrics.
Experience defining user needs and experience goals using such frameworks as personas, storyboards, scenarios, and flowcharts.
Experience prototyping designs at varying levels of fidelity using wireframes, click-through prototypes, high fidelity designs, drafting plain english copy or collaborating with content designers, and working with engineers to create live prototypes in code.
Deep understanding of accessibility standards and inclusive design practices; ability to coach others
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact with a diverse range of individuals; including NJ residents, state partners and government officials.
Dedicated to advancing the mission of the New Jersey Innovation Authority and public service, with a strong commitment to accessibility and fostering a more inclusive society.
Must be authorized to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

Experience with mobile first design preferred.

Responsibilities

Create design concepts, prototypes and mockups for mobile and web interfaces; Developing designs for our products with NJ resident needs in mind.
Create visual frameworks - like design sketches, wireframes, journey maps, and other guides that inform the development of products and can be shared with team members and stakeholders.
Lead end-to-end user research using modern practices and tools to arrive at key insights and solutions.
Solve complex problems through the use of human-centered design, agile development, and data-driven decision making.
Partner closely with engineers, product managers, and other team members to translate UX/UI design into iteratively developed products.
Consider content needed for designs and/or collaborate with content designers to ensure simple and user-centric copy.
Collaborate with diverse stakeholders and subject matter experts to define new features and iterate existing capabilities.
Run collaborative workshops to communicate users needs and collaborate with internal teams and external stakeholders.
Serve as a coach and catalyst for leveraging modern design practices across the team and the State in the areas of visual design and user experience, user interface, and resident research.
Drive user adoption and engagement, and deliver solutions that meet the needs of diverse users across New Jersey.
Take part in office-wide initiatives and stand-ups to enable collaboration and support across projects.
Do what’s needed for the team by executing additional duties and responsibilities to advance the New Jersey Innovation Authority’s mission and work.