Freelance Senior UX Designer

AKQA • New York, NY

1d • $3,800 - $4,200 • Hybrid

About The Position

At AKQA (part of WPP), we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and applications that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients. Creatives at AKQA apply artistry and craftsmanship to strategic insight to create and bring to life beautiful ideas that move the world. Skilled storytellers and conceptors, they work in a multidisciplinary environment to develop labors of love that delight customers and deliver results for clients. Senior UX Designers play essential roles in the execution of beautiful ideas, products and services. They bring exceptional creative thought and craft output, developing and delivering from brief to end user, and are inspired by technology and driven to use it in service of genuinely better human experiences.
We are seeking an experienced Freelance Senior UX Designer to support one of the most recognized and trusted names in financial services, a brand with deep roots in helping people plan, protect, and secure their futures. We are doing transformative digital product work with this client, shaping the ways that millions of people engage with their financial lives. This is a meaningful, high-visibility engagement where strong UX thinking, systems fluency, and thoughtful interaction design have a direct impact on real people at pivotal moments. This is a freelance role running from June 15 through August 31, 2026.

Requirements

• A solid understanding and demonstration of user-centered design principles across complex digital product ecosystems
• Extensive experience in the creation, maintenance, and application of design systems
• Expert-level Figma skills and strong proficiency with leading industry-standard UX design and prototyping tools
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with the ability to present and advocate for design decisions to technical and non-technical audiences
• Expertise in cross-functional collaboration across design, product, strategy, and engineering

Nice To Haves

• A compelling portfolio of distinctive work showing both product and service design, with clear evidence of strong UX craft and systems thinking across complex digital platforms
• Able to develop simple and elegant design solutions to complex design problems
• Assists and guides other designers in their professional development, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement
• Fosters progressive and limitless thinking

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of large and complex systems of interactions, bringing clarity and coherence to multi-step, multi-lane experiences
• Contribute meaningfully to the UX and UI dimensions of a design system
• Develop and deliver high-fidelity wireframes, flows, and interactive prototypes primarily utilizing Figma, with expert-level command of components, variants, auto layout, libraries, and prototyping capabilities
• Leverage AI tools to drive innovation and efficiency across all stages of the UX lifecycle
• Work with team members to develop and refine streamlined UX processes, setting new standards for quality and delivery
• Proactively pursue opportunities to improve strategy and approach in order to better address client and user objectives
• Define consumers, processes, and ideas from an objective point of view grounded in research and insight, and effectively communicate that point of view to senior stakeholders on both the agency and client sides
• Lead and support designers across multiple projects, taking responsibility for the quality and consistency of all team documentation and deliverables
• Contribute to thought leadership activities within the UX and product design discipline

Benefits

• We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.
• AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed