UX Engineer

Volkswagen AG•Belmont, CA

About The Position

Worldwide, the Volkswagen Group has a long tradition of dramatic innovations. The Volkswagen Group with its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. The Group comprises twelve brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN. Brief Role Description The ICC focuses on research and development of leading-edge technologies with the goal to meet the future mobility needs of the Volkswagen Group customer. The ICC also works to test and validate North American vehicle systems to improve and localize those products for the market. Usability (“UX”) work at the ICC has always spanned these diverse goals of the ICC teams. Our value as UX designer to the ICC is to support the customer experience at all stages of the product development process, from blue-sky concept ideation to benchmark usability testing of our products on market versus competitors’ products. The goal of the ICC UX program centers on a core aspect of the ICC’s mission statement: “improving the customer experience.”

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree and at least 5 years of experience in UX Design (or equivalent)
Bachelor’s Degree in Design
Communication skills
Problem solving skills
Create Concepts from Scratch that solve a human problem or need
Analytical skills
Conceptual thinking skills
Computer savvy
Excellent knowledge of UX research methods and advanced statistical analysis
Integration - joining people, processes or systems
Broad knowledge of full vehicle interrelationships
Verbal and writing skills
Advanced knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch, Proto.io
Proven experience supporting all stages of the product design process to create from scratch to final product.
High level of engagement and self-initiative
Focus on customer orientation
Working to solve complex problems in UX design to address internal and external customer needs
Strong storytelling abilities when laying out work
Strong communication skills, problem solving abilities, and influencing and negotiation skills

Nice To Haves

MFA in Design
Strong UX and Human Factors methods expertise
Proven leadership skills and project management experience in interdisciplinary and inter-organizational teams
Detailed knowledge of specific usability issues and human factors issues around vehicle interfaces

Responsibilities

Defines scope, timeline, and deliverables
Tracks project timeline and resources
Aligns individual goals with team goals, and ICC vision/mission
Helps to contribute to the ICC design specific cluster performance metrics.
Drives work with Team Leaders at ICC to insert best-practices UX into team roadmaps
Drive the work with partners across the Brands and Volkswagen Group to standardize and improve UX
Transfers actionable improvements for improving customer experience to the relevant parties within Volkswagen Group
Presents project/progress reports and presentations to top management, mentors, partners, and project affiliates.
Initiates, organizes and leads management, PR, and Lobbying meetings at the ICC
Represents Volkswagen Group at conferences, regulatory authorities, and the media
Secures internal project funding for initiatives from the Brands and Volkswagen Group
Expands network between Volkswagen Group and local Tier 1, Tier 2, and Universities
Develops supplier network with local Silicon Valley companies
Helps to strategically organize personnel around usability activities at ICC
Facilitates networking opportunities for team members
Provides research, design, and engineering skill development opportunities for group members
Manages internal/external project budget and resources for team, grows own sub-business
Secures intellectual property and develops roadmaps with an automotive focus
Manages portfolio of intellectual property in the field
Leads research and development activities to improve vehicle systems across all functions
Provides a Research and Development focus