Staff UX/UI Designer

CHAOS Industries•San Francisco, CA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

CHAOS Industries is seeking a Staff UX Designer to establish and lead the UX function. This senior individual-contributor role has significant autonomy and influence, with responsibility for setting UX direction across the company rather than joining an established function. The designer will bring research, interaction design, information architecture, and usability practices to products and internal tools, working closely with engineering to shape designs from the user’s perspective. The role will also build scalable UX processes, standards, and research practices, including developing user research capabilities over time. The successful candidate will lead work from early concepts through shipped experiences, translate complex technical workflows into intuitive interfaces, and advocate for users in cross-functional and leadership decisions. The position is hybrid, with three days per week in the office in El Segundo or San Francisco.

Requirements

10+ years of UX design experience, with a demonstrated track record operating at a staff or principal level on complex products.
Experience conducting or overseeing user research, such as usability testing or interviews, and using it to inform design decisions.
A strong portfolio demonstrating senior-level end-to-end UX work, including research, interaction design, and polished execution.
Experience working closely and effectively with engineering teams, including translating technical constraints into effective design solutions.
Proficiency in Figma and standard UX and prototyping tools.
Exceptional communication, stakeholder-management, and influence skills, including the ability to set direction and build buy-in in a new function.
Ability to operate independently with substantial ownership amid ambiguity, particularly when building a function.
Ability to work hybrid, three days per week in-office, at the El Segundo or San Francisco office.

Nice To Haves

Experience designing technical, engineering-heavy, or hardware-adjacent products.
Experience designing map-based, geospatial, or location-based interfaces.
Experience in defense or government, especially with command and control (C2) systems.
Experience establishing design systems from scratch.
Bachelor's degree in design, HCI, psychology, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
U.S. citizenship.

Responsibilities

Lead UX design for key products and internal tools, from early concept through shipped experience, as the senior-most UX voice.
Partner closely with engineering to design and refine interfaces, workflows, and interactions while balancing user needs with technical constraints.
Introduce and establish user research practices, including usability testing and user interviews, to inform design decisions.
Define and advocate for UX best practices, standards, and processes across the company.
Build scalable processes, standards, and practices as the foundation for a growing UX function.
Translate complex, technical, or novel workflows into intuitive user experiences.
Partner with engineering, product, and leadership stakeholders to align priorities and advocate for users in high-level decisions.
Create and maintain design systems and UX standards that scale across products.
Communicate design rationale and research findings clearly to technical and non-technical audiences, including leadership.