Senior UX Designer

SENIOR UX DESIGNER (DESIGN SYSTEMS)

Location: Remote

Duration: Permanent

Hours: Full time

Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit organization supporting Wikipedia and other Wiki projects. The Foundation operates one of the world’s top five websites and has global reach and impact.  Technology and innovation are critical in our quest to support every human in freely sharing knowledge. 

The Product Design and Strategy Group at Wikimedia is looking for a Senior UX Designer with a solid understanding of user experience and product development processes to work within our design systems team. You will be influential in helping shape our design system, working with engineers, UX designers embedded in product teams, and a visual designer to develop, unify and maintain our design language and system.

You will be responsible for…

• Working closely with the visual designer, lead UX engineer and other stakeholders to evolve the look and feel of the Wikimedia design language, components and patterns from concept to implementation. 
• Supporting usability testing of components across different platforms, whilst also considering how to internationalise our components to increase global reach. 
• Documenting processes for how and why to create and retire components in our design system, and pro-actively sharing this knowledge within the team and beyond.
• Defining guidelines and applying accessibility standards to component designs.
• Working closely with engineers and product owners to ensure the delivery of consistent, best practice components.
• Creating and maintaining our design inventory of components, Figma libraries and style guide in order to support the development of a roadmap that evolves our design system over time.
• Communicating the value and requirements of our design system to others internally, and sharing our progress on our design system externally to the larger design community and beyond.
• Overseeing the work of a contract copywriter and integrating their output into our design system. 

Skills and experience…. 

The right person is better than the right set of experiences. These are the traits we’ve identified that make great additions to our team so far.

• Has previous experience constructing and contributing to a large established design system for the web and other platforms, with a strong attention to detail.
• Has experience working independently as a product leader and driver in the delivery of a design system that serves the needs of a variety of projects across different platforms and audiences. 
• Has a solid technical understanding of how to build systems and UI patterns, whilst working within a complex set of technical constraints.
• Can communicate their design goals and processes clearly and concisely to other team members and stakeholders.
• Has the ability to write and share simple and clear design documentation for multiple audiences including designers, engineers and other stakeholders.
• Provides constructive feedback to other designers and welcomes feedback from others.
• Is able to generate ideas for the future as well as think tactically about how to deliver work in the present.  
• Is self-motivated and seeks to evolve their skills and share what they’ve learnt with others.
• 5+ years of experience contributing on design teams
• Bachelor's degree and/or Masters degree, or equivalent in related work experience 

Additionally, we’d love it if you have…

• Experience in interaction and motion design.
• Background in content consumption, publishing, education, or news
• Experience acting as a researcher, both in-person and with remote participants
• Have familiarity with Free Knowledge and/or Open Source communities
• Speak more than one of the nearly 300 languages of the users you’ll be designing for

For more information on what to expect during the interview process, please see our article on How we hire UX designers at Wikimedia.

The Wikimedia Foundation is... 

...the nonprofit organization that hosts and operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge, and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge, free of interference. We host the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive. The Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on donations. We receive financial support from millions of individuals around the world, with an average donation of about $15. We also receive donations through institutional grants and gifts. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon their race, traits historically associated with race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.

If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process due to a disability, you may contact us at recruiting@wikimedia.org or (415) 839-6885.

U.S. Benefits & Perks*

• Fully paid medical, dental and vision coverage for employees and their eligible families (yes, fully paid premiums!)
• The Wellness Program provides reimbursement for mind, body and soul activities such as fitness memberships, baby sitting, continuing education and much more
• The 401(k) retirement plan offers matched contributions at 4% of annual salary
• Flexible and generous time off - vacation, sick and volunteer days, plus 22 paid holidays - including the last week of the year.
• Family friendly! 100% paid new parent leave for seven weeks plus an additional five weeks for pregnancy, flexible options to phase back in after leave, fully equipped lactation room.
• For those emergency moments - long and short term disability, life insurance (2x salary) and an employee assistance program
• Pre-tax savings plans for health care, child care, elder care, public transportation and parking expenses
• Telecommuting and flexible work schedules available
• Appropriate fuel for thinking and coding (aka, a pantry full of treats) and monthly massages to help staff relax
• Paid travel to Wikimedia Foundation events all around the world!
• Equipment including a laptop, monitor, plus a one-time stipend to cover any additional needs to make sure you have the best work experience
• Great colleagues - diverse staff and contractors speaking dozens of languages from around the world, fantastic intellectual discourse, mission-driven and intensely passionate people

*Please note that for remote roles located outside of the U.S., we defer to our PEO to ensure alignment with local labor laws.

More information

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