Director of UX

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Director of UX based in the United States. This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for unifying and elevating the user experience across a complex, multi-product SaaS portfolio serving municipalities, waste haulers, and residents. You will step into a fragmented UX ecosystem shaped by acquisitions and be accountable for defining a cohesive design vision that connects multiple platforms into a seamless experience. Operating as a player-coach, you will combine strategic leadership with hands-on design execution, while building and scaling the UX function from the ground up. The role spans design systems, research practices, accessibility standards, and UX integration across agile delivery teams. You will partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Customer Success to ensure user experience directly informs roadmap decisions. This is a rare opportunity to shape both the product experience and the UX organization in a mission-driven, fast-evolving environment focused on operational impact and sustainability. Accountabilities You will define and lead the end-to-end UX strategy across a multi-product ecosystem, ensuring consistency, usability, and scalability while building the foundations of a mature UX function. Define and own the multi-year UX strategy across all products, prioritizing initiatives that unify visual language, interaction models, and information architecture across acquired and native platforms. Build and govern a scalable design system, including components, patterns, tokens, and accessibility standards aligned with WCAG 2.2 AA requirements. Embed UX into the product development lifecycle by defining how discovery, research, prototyping, validation, and delivery integrate with agile workflows. Lead and develop the UX function, managing and mentoring the existing designer while shaping future hiring plans and team structure. Establish scalable user research practices, including usability testing, journey mapping, and synthesis of customer insights to guide product decisions. Define UX success metrics and partner with Product on adoption, retention, and usability improvements driven by experimentation and data. Partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Customer Success to align UX strategy with roadmap priorities and real-world user needs. Requirements This role requires strong UX leadership experience, deep systems thinking, and the ability to operate as both a strategic leader and hands-on practitioner in a complex SaaS environment. 8+ years of experience in UX, product design, or human-centered design, with increasing leadership responsibility and scope. Proven experience leading or mentoring designers, with comfort operating as a player-coach managing at least one direct report. Demonstrated success building or significantly scaling a UX function, including design systems, research practices, or design operations in SaaS environments. Strong portfolio showcasing systems thinking, multi-product or platform-level UX work, and measurable user impact. Deep expertise in UX disciplines including interaction design, information architecture, usability testing, accessibility, and user research. Hands-on proficiency in Figma, with working knowledge of product tools such as Jira, Confluence, and analytics platforms. Experience leveraging AI tools to accelerate design workflows, research synthesis, and prototyping. Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence both technical and executive audiences. Bonus: experience with M&A UX unification, B2B/B2G SaaS, civic tech, logistics, or dual user systems (operators and consumers). Bonus: interest in sustainability and mission-driven product development. Benefits Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, including HSA options Paid parental leave Flexible spending accounts (medical and dependent care) 401(k) retirement plan with employer match Unlimited PTO and ten paid company holidays Summer Fridays for improved work-life balance Paid volunteer day each year Life insurance coverage Mission-driven culture focused on sustainability and real-world impact Inclusive and equal opportunity workplace environment How Jobgether works: We use an AI-powered matching process to ensure your application is reviewed quickly, objectively, and fairly against the role's core requirements. Our system identifies the top-fitting candidates, and this shortlist is then shared directly with the hiring company. The final decision and next steps (interviews, assessments) are managed by their internal team. We appreciate your interest and wish you the best! Why Apply Through Jobgether? Data Privacy Notice: By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Jobgether will process your personal data to evaluate your candidacy and share relevant information with the hiring employer. This processing is based on legitimate interest and pre-contractual measures under applicable data protection laws (including GDPR). You may exercise your rights (access, rectification, erasure, objection) at any time. #LI-CL1