Senior UX Designer, Wayfinder

About the position

Sofar is on a mission to connect the world's oceans. We design, build, and deploy the largest privately owned network of marine weather sensors to power the world's best marine weather forecasts. Our data helps our customers to increase efficiency and reduce emissions, delivering tools to governments and other stakeholders to understand impacts of climate change on extreme weather and ocean health. We live on Planet Ocean, and our goal is to create the ocean intelligence needed to ensure a sustainable future. Designers at Sofar are responsible for owning and running user research activities for their teams, designing modern web application features from the ground up within a complex system, and pivoting to the products and corresponding initiatives that present the greatest opportunities for our users and our business. They must understand and balance tradeoffs between business needs, user needs, and technical limitations while maintaining a sustainable pace. Using user-centered design principles, designers de-risk new releases and craft great experiences as part of a balanced team. They maintain tight feedback loops within the project team, with internal stakeholders, and with customer stakeholders, establishing and maintaining excellent end-user relationships with alignment on priorities and progress. Designers contribute to the continuous improvement of our software design practice across the entire product lifecycle by applying and advocating for modern agile and design practices.

Responsibilities

• Owning and running user research activities for their teams
• Designing modern web application features from the ground up within a complex system
• Pivoting to the products and corresponding initiatives that present the greatest opportunities for our users and our business
• Understanding and balancing tradeoffs between business needs, user needs, and technical limitations while maintaining sustainable pace
• Using user-centered design principles to de-risk new releases and craft great experiences as part of a balanced team
• Maintaining tight feedback loops within the project team, with internal stakeholders, and with customer stakeholders
• Establishing and maintaining excellent end users relationships, with alignment on priorities and progress
• Contributing to the continuous improvement of our software design practice across the entire product lifecycle by applying and advocating for modern agile and design practices
• Conducting user research to understand end user needs
• Designing screens in Figma, sharing for feedback, and incorporating feedback from users, customers, and teammates (engineers and product managers)
• Facilitating collaborative design workshops in all-remote, hybrid, and in-person settings
• Working alongside engineers, as needed, to implement designs
• Communicating with internal and external stakeholders about design strategy, concept validation, and usability
• Attending and facilitating agile team ceremonies such as daily standup, weekly planning, and weekly retrospectives

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in a product design role, preferably in a fast-paced startup or tech company.
• Strong understanding of design principles, typography, color theory, and layout.
• Ability to think through complex design challenges and navigate ambiguity.
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to meet tight deadlines.
• Ability to adapt quickly and work independently in a fast-paced environment with shifting constraints.
• Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.