Freelance Senior UX Designer and Strategist

The Mx Group•Burr Ridge, IL

20h

About The Position

This is a senior-level freelance role embedded within the digital practice on a project or retainer basis. The person in this role leads design execution across active client engagements while contributing meaningfully to experience strategy, competitive research, and content thinking. They bring craft, speed, and enough strategic range to participate in shaping the work, not just producing it. They operate with strong independence and integrate smoothly with other members of the UX team, brand strategists, delivery leads, and the development team. This person should be able to pick up context quickly, execute with minimal ramp time, and contribute strategic perspective when the engagement calls for it. Their primary value is excellent, accountable design execution. Alongside that, they bring working knowledge of competitive landscape analysis, search-informed content strategy, and the experience signals that surface through SEO, AEO, and GEO research. They know when to apply that lens and how to translate it into better design and content decisions.

Requirements

8-10 years of UX and interaction design experience, with meaningful agency or multi-client exposure.
Strong portfolio demonstrating wireframing, interaction design, and high-fidelity UI across web and digital products.
Fluency in Figma, including component-based design, auto layout, and developer handoff workflows.
Familiarity with competitive analysis frameworks and the ability to produce structured UX and experience audits.
Working knowledge of SEO, AEO, and GEO principles as they relate to content structure, discoverability, and user intent; ability to read research reports and translate findings into design and content recommendations.
Comfort participating in web content strategy conversations, including content hierarchy, page architecture, and messaging flow.
Ability to work independently within established strategy and design frameworks.
Clear, professional communication style with clients and cross-functional teammates.
Reliable availability and consistent responsiveness within agreed project cadences.

Nice To Haves

Design and prototyping: Figma, and ai (Relume, Claude Design, etc…)
CMS context: WordPress, Contentful, Hubspot, etc…
SEO and search research: Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Search Console
Collaboration and delivery: Jira, Monday.com, etc…
AI: Claude, Gemini, Firefly, etc…

Responsibilities

Produce wireframes, user flows, interaction patterns, and high-fidelity design deliverables
Translate briefs, research outputs, and strategy frameworks into clear, usable design solutions
Contribute to competitive analysis efforts, including UX audits, feature comparisons, and experience benchmarking across peer and aspirational brands
Review and interpret SEO, AEO, and GEO reports, identifying implications for information architecture, page structure, content hierarchy, and user intent alignment
Participate in web content strategy conversations, contributing a UX perspective on content organization, page flow, messaging hierarchy, and calls to action
Collaborate with developers to ensure designs are feasible, well-documented, and handed off cleanly
Apply and extend existing design systems, component libraries, and brand standards with consistency and precision.
Identify experience gaps or usability concerns during execution and surface them to the UX Strategist or delivery lead.
Participate in design reviews, client presentations, and feedback sessions as needed.
Manage your own time and deliverables within project schedules, flagging risks or scope questions early.
Maintain design file hygiene and documentation standards expected of senior-level contributors.