{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@context":"https://schema.org/","@type":"JobPosting","@id":"#jobPosting","title":"Lead UX designer

This role is centered on systematic design, cross-product coherence, and supporting multiple development squads.

• Design System Ownership & Impact : You will be responsible for a cross-product design system , creating tangible internal and user-facing impact by identifying and contributing reusable, accessible patterns and components. This includes establishing guidelines that balance consistency with flexibility for diverse product use cases.
• System Governance & Adoption : Actively support design system adoption and product innovation by translating system principles into squad-level implementation. You will establish governance practices to maintain design coherence, quality standards, and a clear process for evaluating system enhancements.
• Technical Design Bridge : You will support multiple squads with systematic design, requiring you to fluently cross between design and front-end code .
• Strategic Discovery : Lead product discovery to find actionable insights using a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methods, focusing on complex problems in the productivity space such as search and discovery, academic writing, and knowledge management .
• AI Interaction : Design patterns and solutions for cross-product experiences , including emerging patterns for agentic AI interactions .
• Collaboration and Execution : Partner efficiently with Product, Engineering, and Marketing in cross-functional squads. Produce engineering-ready systematic design , rapidly prototype, and proactively measure and communicate design outcomes with product analytics.

• Design System Expertise : Extensive experience in systematic design, including maintaining and governing design systems across design and code.

• UX Strategy : Experience delivering strategic and impactful UX on complex SaaS web applications in productivity, AI, or scientific domains.

• Adoption Driver : Proven experience advocating for and driving design system adoption across product teams, balancing system consistency with product needs and negotiating trade-offs with engineering and product peers.

• Design Ownership : Ability to own an end-to-end human-centred design process from discovery to impact evaluation, working independently.

• Discovery Leadership : Independently conduct qualitative and quantitative product discovery and facilitate co-creation workshops with senior stakeholders.

• Execution Tools : Ability to do rapid interactive prototyping in modern design tools such as Figma.

• Accessibility : Firm understanding and application of accessibility standards in design (WCAG 2.2AA). Mindset and Attributes

• Strategic Focus : Ability to strategically balance scope, speed and quality for the best outcomes.

• AI Curiosity : Curiosity and interest in agentic experiences and leveraging AI within design systems responsibly.

• Collaborative Ethos : A collaborative, humble and consultative "maker" mindset.

• Storytelling : Clear visual communication and storytelling skills to communicate design rationale. Bonus Experience : Experience in mentoring designers, service design, designing for human-AI interactions, data visualisation, or inclusive design would be an advantage. Don't worry if you don't meet every qualification-let us be the judge! We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive team and strongly encourage you to submit your application.

We invest in, nurture and support innovative businesses and technologies that make all parts of the research process more open, efficient and effective. The talent we secure is fundamental to us achieving our vision and our growth plans. The values we live by are : We are brave in the pursuit of better We are collaborative and inclusive We are always open-minded We are from and for the community At Digital Science, our vision is to see research flow seamlessly - trusted, collaborative, and accessible - fueling breakthroughs that push humanity forward. This ambitious mission is one we achieve together, by enabling open, collaborative, inclusive research. We firmly believe that to truly innovate and solve the complex challenges faced by our customers, from researchers and universities to funders and publishers, we need diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas. A rich mix of voices drives quality insights, fosters enhanced collaboration, and ultimately pushes knowledge forward more effectively.