User Experience Operations Lead

Workiva Inc.•Remote - NC, NC

1d•$177,000 - $290,000

About The Position

The UX Operations Lead at Workiva serves as the central connection between UX disciplines—including UX Design, Design Systems, Content, and UX Research—and the broader Product organization. The role establishes unified decision routines and shared operating models so the UX organization can work cohesively. It drives continuous operational improvement by streamlining workflows, standardizing practices, and applying automation and AI to repetitive tasks. The role directly supports the Head of UX and UX Directors, who retain responsibility for people leadership, UX strategy, and priorities. It partners closely with Product Operations on shared operating models and cross-functional initiatives. The position also supports a geographically distributed team and may involve travel of up to 10%, depending on proximity to company offices.

Requirements

10+ years in UX operations, design/research program management, or a comparable operations role across multiple director-led teams.
Experience owning a budget and managing vendor relationships end to end.
Track record of building an operating model, cadence, or process from a low-maturity starting point.
Experience preparing an executive for high-stakes cross-organizational conversations and driving follow-through.

Nice To Haves

Experience building operating processes, planning cadences, or shared systems where structure was limited or evolving.
Ability to influence without formal authority, facilitate decisions, and build strong relationships across disciplines.
Experience preparing leaders for cross-functional discussions and translating decisions into clear actions and follow-through.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt information for executives, team leaders, and individual contributors.
Ability to prioritize a broad portfolio and deliver improvements in practical, manageable stages.
Experience supporting a multidisciplinary UX organization spanning design, research, content, and design systems.
Experience partnering with Product Operations on shared planning processes, workflows, or organizational standards.
Experience developing hiring and onboarding systems, supporting competency frameworks, or coordinating research operations.
Working proficiency with Figma, Jira, collaboration and documentation platforms, and budget-tracking tools.
Experience applying AI or automation to operational workflows with clear guardrails and measurable outcomes.
Experience defining operational metrics and using data to improve processes, understand capacity, and evaluate adoption.

Responsibilities

Design and run recurring rituals, design critique routines, and decision-making checkpoints across UX functions.
Prepare the Head of UX for Product Strategy & Operations sessions, drive follow-through, and serve as the day-to-day UX counterpart to Product Operations.
Own the UX tooling and vendor budget and manage renewals and procurement in coordination with IT, Procurement, Finance, and Legal.
Consolidate communication channels and documentation, audit the tooling ecosystem—including Figma and AI tools—pilot new tools with measurable outcomes, and build reusable templates.
Build reusable hiring and onboarding systems, including job description, interview loop, and evaluation templates for Directors to adapt with discipline-specific content.
Connect Research Operations to shared rhythms and facilitate a cross-discipline competency and leveling framework.
Run executive reporting cadence, communicate UX strategy to the team, and coordinate UX participation in annual cross-functional efforts.
Identify repeatable workflows for AI or automation, pilot solutions with guardrails, and use operational health measures to scale effective approaches.
Create rituals and engagement moments that build connectivity and psychological safety across the distributed team.