UX Designer

THE OPPORTUNITY

Are you eager to take on more responsibility within UX design and ready to join a high-performing Agile web team in a fun and growing business?

As a user experience designer (UXD) with Home Solutions, you will define new features, functionality and designs for our growing portfolio of over 55 customer acquisition home services websites. If you have a high sense of ownership in your work,  are able to see the big picture strategy AND dive into the details to define and create new UX designs, then this role is a perfect opportunity for you.

For this position we are looking for a UX Designer who is strong in wireframing, prototyping and functional design AND able to gather requirements and write user stories (much like a business analyst). We are not looking for candidates whose primary UX experience is limited to usability testing or graphic design.

THE ROLE

Run the discovery and requirements gathering process working with internal business partners to take new website concepts/requests and translate them into implementable functional designs. 

• Lead requirements gathering sessions with internal partners to assess their needs and determine mandatory functionality. 
• Facilitate the definition of project scope by prioritizing feature requests and proposing phased launches (when needed) working in conjunction with team Scrum Master and Product Owner. 
• Review and analyze competitors’ landing pages/sites to determine best practices and incorporate related patterns and findings into new designs.

Translate business needs into functional requirements and new site or feature designs. 

• Create wireframes, flow diagrams, sitemaps and low-fidelity prototypes that illustrate how requirements translate into a new mobile and desktop user experience (UX). 
• Write user stories that capture administrator, user and SEO requirements to be used for development and testing. 
• Create documentation, as needed, for business partners, development and QA team members to facilitate the communication of site functionality. 
• Conduct working sessions to review design concepts and documentation with internal business partners and incorporate their feedback. 
• Facilitate the creation of logos and graphic design mockups by executing design work personally OR drafting creative briefs for work to be executed by freelance designers, as needed. 

Own the transition of enhancement requests and new site designs to development.  

• Schedule and lead development kickoff sessions to walk through designs and stories. 
• Package all design assets and documentation for development handoff. 
• Hold Q&A sessions with developers and check-in on development progress, as needed, to ensure requirements are met and developed solutions meet business requirements/expectations.

WHAT IT TAKES

• Business Savvy. In working with various internal business stakeholders, it's important you be able to understand the economics of each of our sites and channels and understand what drives revenue and how that translates to and impacts UXD. 

Balanced Design. Your job is to marry User-Centered Design (UCD), visual design, and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)  best practices into cohesive functional designs that help us meet our business objectives and financial goals. 

• Strong Communication skills. To succeed in this role, you need to be able to effectively communicate in person and in writing while also knowing when a visual (flowcharts, wireframes and mockups) is needed to get your point across. 
• Flexible/adaptable. As a growth stage company, we pivot quickly and use our speed to take advantage of opportunities in a competitive market. You need to be nimble, and help us figure out how to get high quality sites designed and built quickly. 
• Teamwork. You need to be able to work well with a high-functioning hybrid (local, remote and offshore) team of other UXDs, Scrum Masters, QA, Dev Ops, and Front-End Web developers. 
• Attention-to-Detail. It’s critical you be able to dig into the details and define all site UX and admin features our sites need to launch. 

About You

• You know what makes a user experience “work” and can show examples from your portfolio of how you’ve balanced usability with conversion optimization. 
• You frequently follow and read UX (user experience), UCD (user-centered design) or CRO (conversion rate optimization)  podcasts, blogs and books.
• You have experience reviewing and studying competitor’s sites and landing pages, synthesizing themes/patterns and using “best practices” to inform page and site design.
• You have examples of wireframes and prototypes you’ve completed for mobile and desktop experiences and are a pro in working with design tools such as Figma, Balsamiq, Sketch and InVision and Adobe XD.
• You have 3 - 5 years of professional working experience working as a Business Analyst (BA) or in Digital Experience, Customer Experience (CX) or User Experience Design (UXD). 
• Prior Agile experience required.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred.

About Us 

Three Ships started as a digital agency in 2009, and today encompasses businesses in multiple industries, with 65+ owned and operated websites that help brands connect to consumers to buy with confidence. We are now standing up a team focused on Technology and Services; you would be an early member of this team. The Three Ships team brings deep expertise from top customer acquisition, digital media, and digital marketing firms, all of which maintain our market leadership position in each vertical. We bring a “digital edge” through deep domain expertise, proprietary assets, thought leadership and a unique operating system focused on value creation. 

Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, Three Ships also has hubs in Charlotte and the United Kingdom, as well as, and remote employees all over the United States.

The Package

As a full-time employee of Three Ships, you’ll have access to competitive benefits, including flexible time off, health/dental/vision, 401(k) match, an annual Relax & Recharge Bonus, an annual Learning & Development stipend to enroll in classes of your choosing, and a monthly phone bill reimbursement. If you join us in person in our Raleigh or Charlotte locations, we have an office stocked with snacks, coffee, and just about every other beverage you can imagine.

How We Hire

All applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, gender identity, or any other discriminatory factors. Please note that we do not provide immigration sponsorship for this role. All offers are subject to a background check.