Senior User Experience Designer - Software

Western Governors University•Salt Lake, UT

14h•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Senior User Experience Designer at Western Governors University (WGU), you will help shape the next generation of our student experience. You will play a key role on the team behind our New Student Platform portal, designing intuitive, data‑informed experiences that make online learning smoother, clearer, and more empowering for working adult learners. You will think strategically about complex problems across the student journey, then translate those insights into practical short‑ and long‑term UX solutions. In this role, you will collaborate closely with product, engineering, research, and stakeholders across the university to set UX “guardrails” and patterns that other teams rely on, while still rolling up your sleeves to design and iterate on high‑impact experiences in our own product space.

Requirements

In‑depth understanding of modern User Experience (UX) design principles and how to apply them to complex, multi‑system experiences.
Proven ability to think strategically: you can zoom out to a three‑year vision, understand industry and UX trends, and then translate that vision into practical, phased design work.
Strong communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to explain design decisions and technical concepts clearly to non‑design audiences, large groups, and senior stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to balance student and business needs, representing both perspectives in discussions and outcomes.
Mastery of core UX deliverables (user flows, wireframes, prototypes, design specs, etc.), including when to use each, their dependencies, and their tradeoffs.
Experience working in cross‑functional teams (product, engineering, research, and business stakeholders) and building strong relationships to move work forward.
A data‑informed mindset: you are comfortable interpreting product data and research insights to understand what is working, what is not, and where to experiment next.
High attention to detail, with a strong sense of ownership over the quality, accessibility, and consistency of the experiences you ship.
Expertise with industry tools such as Figma and Adobe Creative Suite, and proficiency with Microsoft 365.
Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications, Graphic Design, or a related field.
6 years of experience as a UX designer, interaction designer, information architect, UX researcher, or another closely related UX role.
Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for the education requirement on a year‑for‑year basis, at the hiring manager’s discretion.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in an Agile development environment.
Experience using product analytics and research throughout the product lifecycle, incorporating data from multiple sources into UX decision‑making.
Experience with tools such as Pendo for behavioral analytics.
Comfort experimenting with AI‑enabled design features (for example, in Figma) and thinking critically about how to use AI responsibly in the design process.
Background in higher education or highly regulated domains such as finance.
Agency or consultancy experience working across multiple products or clients.

Responsibilities

Lead UX design for high‑impact, multi‑phase initiatives like WGU’s New Student Platform portal, designing experiences that connect multiple platforms into a cohesive student journey.
Think strategically about ambiguous problems, framing them in terms of student and business outcomes, and proposing clear short‑ and long‑term UX solutions.
Collaborate with product managers, engineers, UX researchers, and business stakeholders to define problems, run workshops, explore concepts, and drive alignment on user‑centered solutions.
Create and evolve holistic design artifacts for product lines (not just single features), including flows, wireframes, prototypes, and annotations that help teams implement with clarity and confidence.
Use qualitative and quantitative data, including design performance metrics and tools such as Pendo, to evaluate experiences, guide design decisions, and identify opportunities for improvement.
Proactively surface risks and dependencies, manage expectations with partners, and take ownership of end goals across organizational boundaries.
Mentor and influence other designers and non‑design partners by explaining the “why” behind UX decisions, modeling best practices, and contributing to shared standards and patterns.

Benefits

medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare
health savings account and flexible spending account
basic and voluntary life insurance
disability coverage
accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages
legal and identity theft coverage
retirement savings plan
wellbeing program
discounted WGU tuition
flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave