UX Strategist - New York

Photon

9h

About The Position

The Enterprise Experience Architect (XA) will collaborate with cross-functional
teams (Business, Product, Design, Development) to define business goals, assess
market landscapes, identify customer needs, and shape end-to-end experience
strategy and design from early concept through delivery.

The XA partners closely with UX/UI designers, Product, and Engineering to set
strategic ambition, identify opportunity areas, and co-create
solutions, operating as a senior individual contributor embedded with teams.

This role blends strategy, research, and design- with a strong expectation of
independent leadership, business development mindset, and hands-on contribution
where needed - delivering experiences our customers and colleagues love.

Requirements

• 7–10 ; years in experience strategy, design strategy, consulting, product strategy, or adjacent roles operating at senior levels
• Demonstrated ability to lead strategic work independently, including framing problems, driving alignment, and influencing senior stakeholders
• Strong experience across qualitative and quantitative research, with sound judgment on when not to research
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and shaping new work, not just executing pre-defined briefs
• Proven ability to influence product, design, and business leaders through clarity, judgment, and executive presence
• Experience working in cross-functional, embedded team models (pods, squads, or similar)
• Hands-on experience with design tools is a plus (e.g., Figma) - ability to engage directly in early experience articulation is important
• Experience using AI-assisted tools for concepting, synthesis, or strategic exploration is a strong plus (e.g., Figma Make or similar)
• Strong understanding of customer, cultural, and competitive dynamics in complex, regulated environments
• Finance, Corporate & Investment Banking experience a plus
• Product design, service design, or product development experience a plus
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (Business, Design, Psychology, Economics, etc.)

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on experience with design tools is a plus (e.g., Figma) - ability to engage directly in early experience articulation is important
• Experience using AI-assisted tools for concepting, synthesis, or strategic exploration is a strong plus (e.g., Figma Make or similar)
• Finance, Corporate & Investment Banking experience a plus
• Product design, service design, or product development experience a plus

Responsibilities

• Operate as a senior, autonomous experience strategist, capable of owning ambiguous problem spaces end-to-end without the need for program management support
• Identify opportunity areas proactively - treating work as an internal consultancy, shaping what we should work on, not just how
• Recognize when user research will be impactful, right-size the approach, execute the research, and translate findings into clear strategic direction and business recommendations
• Drive experience strategy upstream, shaping problem framing, success metrics, and North Star design concepts before delivery begins
• Build strong relationships with your Product and Engineering pod-based team, sharing accountability for outcomes that ship
• Support creative and product teams with clear strategic direction, experience principles, and decision frameworks, not just insights
• Leverage AI and emerging tools to accelerate early concepting and strategic exploration (e.g., rapid concept generation, scenario modeling, early experience articulation)
• Keep track of product roadmaps and business priorities to identify intersections with user needs and surface strategic tradeoffs early. Shape the pod's prioritization approach to determine which work gets done.
• Package and present insights, designs, and recommendations in persuasive, executive-ready narratives - strong presence and storytelling skills are essential
• Insert user insight into designs and product decisions, challenging assumptions and influencing prioritization, feasibility tradeoffs, and roadmap direction
• Contribute hands-on where valuable — including early experience models, journey maps, concepts, or lightweight design artifacts
• Inspire and lead with an entrepreneurial mindset, pushing work forward, creating momentum, and raising the strategic bar by becoming trusted partners to our stakeholders

Benefits

• Medical, vision, and dental benefits, 401k retirement plan, variable pay/incentives, paid time off, and paid holidays are available for full time employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level