Sr. UI/UX Designer (Contract)

Carlsmed•Carlsbad, CA

About The Position

Carlsmed is seeking a Contract Sr. UI/UX Designer to help design intuitive, efficient, and clinically meaningful user experiences for our surgical planning platform. This role will contribute to how surgeons, clinicians, case designers, and internal teams interact with Carlsmed software across image-based surgical planning, data visualization, workflow automation, and case review. The Sr. UI/UX Designer will collaborate closely with product owners, engineers, and clinical stakeholders to translate complex workflows into intuitive digital experiences that support safe and effective surgical decision-making.

Requirements

Strong UI/UX design capability for complex software applications
Expertise in user-centered design methodologies and usability testing
Ability to translate complex technical or clinical workflows into intuitive user interfaces
Proficiency with design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, Axure)
Strong visual communication and storytelling skills
Ability to collaborate effectively across engineering, product, clinical, and regulatory teams
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction, UX Design, Industrial Design, Computer Science, or a related field.
8+ years of UI/UX design experience for web, desktop, or enterprise software applications.
Strong command of design and prototyping tools (Axor, Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, etc.).
Understanding of user diversity — from technical operators to clinicians and business stakeholders.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills; able to balance user needs, business goals, and regulatory constraints.

Nice To Haves

Experience in healthcare, medical devices, or visualization platforms preferred.
Experience designing workflow-intensive or data-rich interfaces (e.g., planning, visualization, or configuration tools).
Familiarity with usability engineering, risk mitigation, and traceability in regulated environments (IEC 62366, ISO 13485).

Responsibilities

Conduct interviews, workflow studies, and contextual observation with surgeons, clinicians, and internal users to understand goals, challenges, and workflow constraints
Translate clinical and operational insights into clear user requirements and design opportunities
Design intuitive user interfaces for complex desktop and web applications supporting surgical planning and visualization
Develop consistent interaction patterns and navigation models across the platform
Design experiences that support multiple user personas, including surgeons, clinical specialists, and internal operational teams
Create low- and high-fidelity wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes
Plan and conduct usability testing with representative users to validate design effectiveness
Iterate designs based on user feedback, workflow analysis, and product requirements
Contribute to the development and maintenance of a scalable design system for the platform
Contribute to UI standards that promote consistency, accessibility, and usability across products
Partner with software engineers and product owners to translate design concepts into implementable solutions
Work with regulatory and quality teams to ensure designs align with usability engineering and design control requirements
Present design concepts, user flows, and recommendations to cross-functional teams and leadership