Senior UX Designer/Researcher

About the position

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we’re on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We’re developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we’ve built a world-class team in Human-Centered AI, Human Interactive Driving, Energy and Materials, Machine Learning, and Robotics! The Robotics UX team comprises UX designers, researchers, and engineers and is based in TRI’s Los Altos, CA office. We research, and design robot interfaces for the manufacturing environment and contribute directly to the design of robot prototypes for both research and applied projects. We are looking for a Hybrid UX Designer/Researcher to join our team! The ideal candidate has interaction design experience as well as experience in UX research, conducting generative and evaluative research. This role will require flexibility and the desire to work equally in the UX research and design spaces. You will focus on our factory robotics initiative in both a research and design capacity. Depending on the project, you will design both screen-based interfaces and in-person, tangible interactions between robots and users and conduct user research to assess the system’s usability and intuitiveness. TRI’s Robotics division builds exciting, groundbreaking robotics capabilities. In this role, you will help translate user needs into impactful robotics applications and craft the future of human-robot interaction design.

Responsibilities

• Design screen-based interfaces and in-person interactions between robots and users.
• Conduct user research to assess system usability and intuitiveness.
• Translate user needs into impactful robotics applications.
• Collaborate with engineers to advocate for the best design approach.

Requirements

• Undergraduate or graduate degree in HCI, Interaction Design, or a related field.
• 4–7 years of industry experience.
• Portfolio demonstrating the user-centered design process and UI prototypes.
• Proficient in Figma and able to design various UX artifacts.
• Experience conducting evaluative research on UI prototypes.
• Experience conducting generative research and distilling insights.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience designing interfaces for a physical device, such as a robot.
• Experience facilitating design sprints, workshops, and brainstorming sessions.

Benefits

• 401(k) eligibility
• Various paid time off benefits including vacation, sick time, and parental leave
• Annual cash bonus structure