UX and Design Lead

IT and Infrastructure
Hinxton, UK

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Your role
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Why join us
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More about EMBL-EBI

We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic User Experience (UX) and Design Lead to join the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in our mission to create scientific web services that are aesthetically pleasing, useful, usable, and empower our employees and scientists worldwide to solve the biggest challenges in biology.

This is an exciting role offering direct contact with teams across EMBL-EBI that are responsible for a wide range of established and cutting-edge scientific web services, as well as the bioinformaticians and life scientists who use these services.

You will join our Web Development team where you will lead the other UX and product designers and be responsible for guiding the design process, while ensuring a focus on user-centric experiences. As a member of the Web Development team, you will have the opportunity to engage with a thriving community and will have the opportunity to contribute to the UX in Life Sciences (UXLS) initiative.

Your role

As a UX and Design Lead, you will be responsible for a wide range of tasks, all of which revolve around creating exceptional user experiences and guiding the design process.

**Key responsibilities**:
Lead and mentor a team of designers, providing guidance, support, and fostering a collaborative environment.
Develop and implement the overarching design strategy aligning with organisational objectives and user needs.
Evolve and extend the EMBL visual framework design library.
Gather insights to improve user experience and inform iterative design changes.
Oversee the creation of intuitive and visually appealing user interfaces, while ensuring a seamless user experience across various platforms and devices.
Create prototypes, wireframes, and mockups to illustrate design concepts and interactions for user testing and stakeholder review.
Plan and conduct usability testing sessions to validate design decisions and iterate based on user feedback.
Establish and maintain design system’s library, guidelines, and standards to ensure consistency and scalability across devices and services.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, product managers, developers, and stakeholders, to ensure that design efforts are aligned with the organisation’s goals.
Advocate for user-centric design principles within the organisation by presenting design concepts and strategies to stakeholders, and effectively communicating the rationale behind design decisions.
Ensure that designs comply with accessibility standards and strive to create inclusive experiences for diverse user groups.
Stay updated with industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in UX/UI design, implementing improvements accordingly.

**Closing date**: 25 February 2024

**Contract duration**: 3 years (renewable upto 9 years)

**Grading**: Grade 6 - Grade 7 (Monthly salary starting at £3,456 - £3,934 after tax) + Other paid benefits and allowances based on circumstances

**Reference number**: EBI02215

You have

At least 3 years experience of leading UX teams.
Demonstrable experience of successful implementation of design strategies and leading improvements in user engagement.
Proficiency in UX best practices and accessibility standards aligning with industry standard design principles and guidelines.
Expertise with Figma or other design and prototyping tools, such as Sketch or Adobe XD.
Experience working as a member of a dynamic interdisciplinary team and collaborating with other designers, developers and non-technical stakeholders throughout the research and design process.
Excellent written verbal and visual communication skills.

You might also have

A degree or other qualification in a design discipline, or equivalent industry experience.
Experience with User Centred Design (UCD) and/or Lean and Agile UX design methodologies.
An understanding of Agile software development practices.
Knowledge of HTML/CSS (basic understanding of Wordpress is a plus).
An interest in life sciences and a desire to work in a stimulating and international culture.

Why join us

Do something meaningful

Join a culture of innovation

We are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus, alongside other prominent research and biotech organisations, and surrounded by beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside. This is a highly collaborative and inclusive community where our employees enjoy a relaxed atmosphere. We are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their professional potential.

**Enjoy lots of benefits**:
**Financial incentives**: Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
Flexible working arrangements
Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and gene