Sr Product Designer

At 2U, we are all in on purpose. We are motivated by our mission – to eliminate the back row in education – and connected by our shared passion to deliver world-class digital education at scale. As the parent company of edX, the world’s leading online learning platform, 2U powers more than 4,000 online higher education offerings – from free courses to full degrees. Together with more than 230 colleges, universities, and corporate partners, we are helping to unlock human potential.

What We’re Looking For:

The Sr. Product Designer is the senior-most individual contributor who works with Design Managers and the Design Director to drive and implement 2U design.  Through a human-centered design process, you’ll take complex business requirements and customer needs and expectations, and convert them into usable interfaces (or a journey involving multiple interfaces).  Advocating for a best-in-class, competitive user experience while balancing long and short-term business goals will be your sweet spot.  A key part of the role involves being able to deeply grasp the needs, wants and concerns of multiple stakeholders and processes, then skillfully guide and clarify conversations to achieve strategic alignment and outline achievable iterations.  Being able to both envision transformative user experiences, and make designs tangible and deliverable, will be the bread and butter of this job; innovation and continuous improvement will be your twin guiding principles.

Responsibilities Include, But Are Not Limited To:

• Following a piece of software through multiple iterations—from conception, to definition, to execution, to deployment—and have a significant impact every step of the way to ensure the best choices are made at every point
• Creating artifacts depicting the HCD process, such as information architecture, task flows, visual design comps, clickable prototypes, storyboards, and mockups
• Effectively communicating concepts to peers in the business, as well as peers in product management and engineering
• Establishing norms for UX culture and standards
• Leveraging our design system to produce select portions of your work in high fidelity to support translation to engineering
• Contributing back to the design system in Figma as needed when new component or iteration opportunities arise 
• Capturing and articulating the thinking and choices behind your work, while sharing early and often with the project and experience team members
• Possessing attention to detail and follow-through in producing multiple iterations of your work to reach the best solution for the project
• Concept validation using User Zoom and other customer research tools

Things That Should Be In Your Background:

• 4-6 years of professional user-centered design experience, preferably working on a product or product suite that blends UX and business decision-making
• A bachelor's degree in design, human-computer interaction (HCI), or equivalent professional experience as an interactive/user experience designer
• Maintains a portfolio that demonstrates complex and creative UX solutions that address business and user needs, exemplary visual design practices, and solid information architecture
• Experience leveraging research and data to inform product and design decisions
• Experience influencing product strategy to align with KPIs
• Has extensive knowledge of current best practices and trends for UI design
• Puts themselves in the shoes of the end-user and advocates that point of view 
• Able to communicate design decisions effectively across a wide array of audience types
• Experience collaborating with product managers, business analysts, and engineers on product briefs, roadmaps, and QA materials
• Familiarity with accessibility concerns and inclusive design practices
• Demonstrates and articulates understanding of layout, typography, color and visual hierarchy
• Experience working with industry standard tools (Figma)
• Demonstrates a strong work ethic and commitment to creating an encouraging and inclusive workplace, and a passion for doing great work
• Contributes to positive and healthy team culture
• A great listener who gives and receives honest, thoughtful feedback

Other Attributes That Will Help You In This Role:

• Experience leading the UX of multiple product verticals simultaneously while finding connections and efficiencies across different features and areas
• Able to lobby for exemplary user experience within the constraints of business operations
• Fundamental understanding of front-end development, experience working directly with developers for implementation of designs
• Ability to apply accessibility best practices, is able to communicate this knowledge to teammates, and actively apply this knowledge to user experiences
• Experience driving user research/usability tests
• Experience documenting design decisions for future reference and knowledge sharing. 
• Flexible in a fast-changing environment (able to “roll with the punches”)
• Involved in the broader design community and capable of communicating insights and opportunities to internal 2U teams
• Enthusiasm for education, technology and 2U’s mission

While this position is open to remote candidates across the U.S., we will prioritize those who live in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area and who are available to come into our Headquarters in Lanham, MD two days a week.

Benefits & Culture

Our global employee base is a diverse collection of innovators, dreamers, and doers working together to transform lives through higher education. We believe that every employee can advance our shared purpose, and that life at 2U should be fun and meaningful. If you’re excited by the opportunity to provide over 40 million learners and counting with access to world-class online higher education, then join us – and do work that makes a difference. #NoBackRow

We offer comprehensive benefits (unique per country) and excellent work/life balance.
Full-time, U.S.benefits include: 

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Life insurance, disability, and 401(k) employer match
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Free snacks and drinks in-office
• Generous paid holidays and leave policies, including unlimited PTO
• Additional time off benefits include: volunteer days, parental leave, and a company-wide winter break

The anticipated base salary range for this role is $100,000.00 - $155,000.00, with potential bonus eligibility.  Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, budget for the position and cost of labor in the market in which the candidate will be hired.

2U Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At 2U, we are committed to building and sustaining a culture of belonging, respect, and inclusion. We are proud of the steps we’ve taken to bring together an employee base that embodies diverse walks of life, ideas, genders, ages, races, cultures, sexual orientations, abilities and other unique qualities. We strive to offer a workplace where every employee feels empowered by what makes us different, as well as by how we are alike. 

2U is committed to providing reasonable accommodations during our recruitment process. If you need assistance or accommodations, please reach out to us at: [email protected]. 

About 2U Inc. (NASDAQ: TWOU)

For more than a decade, 2U, Inc. has been the digital transformation partner of choice to great non-profit colleges and universities delivering high-quality online education at scale. As the parent company of edX, a leading global online learning platform, 2U provides over 45 million learners with access to world-class education in partnership with more than 230 colleges, universities, and corporations. Our people and technology are powering more than 4,000 digital education offerings — from free courses to full degrees — and helping unlock human potential. To learn more: visit 2U.com.

About edX

edX is the education movement for restless learners and a leading global online learning platform from 2U, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWOU). Together with the majority of the world’s top-ranked universities and industry-leading companies, we bring our community of over 45 million learners world-class education to support them at every stage of their lives and careers, from free courses to full degrees. And we're not stopping there — we're relentlessly pursuing our vision of a world where every learner can access education to unlock their potential, without the barriers of cost or location. Learn more at edX.org.

Learn more at https://2u.com/careers/
#NoBackRow

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this position, and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required. All employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

2U is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against applicants or employees and ensures equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of their race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, marital status, disability, citizenship, military or veterans’ status, or any other classifications protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. 2U’s equal opportunity policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, job benefits and pay.