UPA Job Bank: February 2012

The Job Bank is a service of the Usability Professionals' Association, listing jobs for usablity and user experience professionals.

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Posted on: 27 February 2012

Trailer Park Inc is a modern day creative agency at the intersection of branding, entertainment and technology.  With a rich history and specialization in storytelling ‹ the combined agency now ranks amongst Adweek's Top #100 U.S. agencies.

Trailer Park Digital is currently seeking a  talented  User  Experience Designer for its UX team.

Digital clients include Toshiba, AMC, CNN, HBO, DreamWorks, Universal, and Twentieth Century Fox, to note only a few.

The successful candidate will be responsible for creating sketches, flow diagrams, site maps, and user personas for web sites, mobile apps, advertising campaigns, social media & games;  create  final documents and wireframe solutions using Omnigraffle, Illustrator, Visio, etc,  and prototype solutions using HTML, CSS & JavaScript.  This is a contract position, fulltime 40 hours a week, onsite in Hollywood, CA, up to 3 months. There is an opportunity to convert to regular fulltime (with Trailer Park benefits) after a period of time.

Requirements include:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent and  1-3 years’ experience in graphic/web design;
• Proficiency with Omnigraffle, Visio or Illustrator;
• Understanding and experience of user research and usability tests.
• Knowledge of developing visual/interactive/interface design trends.
• Solid IA/wireframing skills.
• Fundamental understanding of GUI design and intuitive navigational schemes.
• Ability to prototype solutions in HTML, CSS & JavaScript a plus.
• Familiarity with iOS, Android, WP7, and Facebook application design.
• Competence in and understanding of  CS4/5 (Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design, Flash).
• Demonstrate problem solving skills and creative talent with a rich understanding of online and mobile design and user interfaces.
• Ability to sketch solutions on paper as well as creating final documents in Omnigraffle as well as Visio, Illustrator or similar programs is a key skill.

For further information and to apply online, please follow link below -
http://tbe.taleo.net/NA2/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=TRAILERPARK&cws=1&rid=61

User Experience Designer
Avalara
Bainbridge Island, WA

Posted on: 27 February 2012

Join the revolution!  Avalara Inc., one of the fastest growing technology companies in the United States, is seeking a User Experience Designer.

Recently recognized by Inc. Magazine and other national publications, Avalara is the leader in web-based sales and use tax automation services and has experienced explosive growth since its inception in 2004.  Based on Bainbridge Island, WA, and with offices across the U.S. and overseas, Avalara offers exciting opportunities in numerous fields.

Job Summary:
The User Experience Designer (sometimes called UX Designer, Information Architect or Interaction Designer) collaborates with the Product Manager, Business Analyst, Graphics Designer, and Application Architect to translate business requirements into a positive user experience that aligns with the company brand strategy and is feasible within the constraints of product architecture. This function is responsible for the look and feel of our products.  The ideal candidate has a strong sense of design grounded in user-centered design principles.

Job Duties:

• Participate in the product definition process with the Product Management and Engineering teams
• Create process flows, wireframes, and visual design mockups as needed to effectively conceptualize and communicate detailed interaction behaviors for Avalara’s products
• Develop low and high fidelity prototypes for consumer and business evaluation
• Develop and maintain detailed user-interface specifications and documentation
• Provide an expert opinion in the area of user experience and usability
• Assist in creation, governance, and maintenance of style guides and user interaction standards
• Contribute to Avalara’s overall UX maturity by creating and refining processes and developing tools and templates that can be applied company-wide

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience as user experience designer,  interaction designer, information architect or similar role
• Demonstrated experience creating wireframes, designing user interfaces and defining information architecture and navigation for complex web applications and websites
• Bachelor’s degree in human-computer interaction, cognitive science, computer science, graphic design or substantial equivalent work experience; advanced degree preferred
• Experience with mobile application/site design preferred
• Experience with international and localization design consideration strongly preferred
• Strong understanding of front-end development; ability to hand-code HTML/CSS/Javascript
• Ability to rapidly create UI designs for iterative product development and user testing
• Superior communication and interpersonal skills; ability to consult, collaborate, facilitate, and lead
• Self-direction and an ability to manage multiple projects on-time with a high degree of quality

Avalara is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, disability, US Veteran status, or any other factor protected by Federal, state or local law.

To apply please send resumes and cover letter to jobs@avalara.com or visit our website at www.avalara.com.

User Experience Researcher
StumbleUpon
San Francisco, CA

Posted on: 10 February 2012

At StumbleUpon, our mission is to help people easily discover content and information they’ll love. We are building a User Experience Research team that will drive research efforts around StumbleUpon’s current and prospective users and apply those to product, design and marketing efforts. This role will contribute meaningfully to StumbleUpon’s growth in the U.S. and globally.

We’re hoping to fill multiple roles, and seeking candidates who possess either exploratory/market research skills, usability research skills or a blend of both. Generalists and specialists are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct user research studies, including surveys, usability studies, field studies, focus groups, concept testing, messaging tests and brand tracking studies.
• Collaborate with product, design and marketing teams to develop research plans and define and prioritize research questions.
• Assess key usability problem areas and opportunities for improvement.
• Effectively communicate research findings, and make and defend recommendations, across organization.
• Drive product and marketing improvements in collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Manage outside research projects from inception to conclusion, including managing RFP processes, recommending appropriate methodologies, and managing vendor relationships to produce reports meeting desired information objectives.
• Identify and synthesize secondary research to complement primary research.

 
Requirements

• BA/BS or MS degree preferred in HCI, CS, psychology or related field.
• At least 3 years of relevant work experience, including knowledge of a wide range of research methods and techniques such as lab-based usability studies, field research, creation of user personas, participatory design and survey design.
• Research experience with consumer Internet products and mobile applications; experience conducting global research a plus.
• Understanding of StumbleUpon's products, and passion for consumer Internet products.
• Comfortable working both autonomously and collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Excellent analytical ability, especially with regard to observation of user behavior.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong knowledge of secondary research resources, including market research firms and other vendors.
• Self-motivated and execution-oriented.
• Excellent sense of humor.

Please apply through our website: http://www.stumbleupon.com/job?jvi=oyP0Vfw2,job

WebEditor
Teach For America
Flexible, New York Preferred

Posted on: 10 February 2012

The freelance Web Editor will work on several large-scale content projects for Teach For America’s public website, www.teachforamerica.org. The freelance Web Editor will work with the Director of Content Strategy and Senior Web Editor on all aspects of these projects, including writing and editing new copy, commissioning new photo content, and making updates in our content management system (Drupal).
This is a full-time, temporary position.
Responsibilities:

• Write and edit copy that is in on message, in the appropriate voice, and follows brand guidelines
• Review multiple content sources to create a single coherent narrative about each of Teach For America’s 43 regions
• Help create compelling profiles of Teach For America community members to be used across the site
• Revise drafts based on feedback from various client teams
• Collect and organize photo and video content
• Update content in our content management system

Education and experience requirements:

• Four-year college degree in English, marketing, or a related field
• 2+ years experience in web editing or content strategy, including creating or commissioning text, photo, and video content specifically for online channels
• Project management experience and a proven ability to manage multiple projects at the same time
• Strong interest in Web best practices and knowledge of how websites work
• Experience working in content management systems; familiarity with Drupal is a plus

Skills:

• Excellent grammar, writing, and editing skills, including familiarity with Chicago style
• Fluent command of Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint

Apply Now
Please submit your resume and a one-page cover letter to webteamjobs@teachforamerica.org and include “web editor” in the e-mail subject line.
   
About Teach For America
Teach For America is the national corps of top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity. Our mission is to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders in the effort.

At the start of the 2011-2012 school year, more than 9,000 first- and second-year Teach For America corps members began teaching in 43 regions across the United States.  Since 1990, Teach For America corps members have reached more than three million students.  Nearly 24,000 Teach For America alumni are working in education and many other fields, where they continue to advocate for students and families in low-income communities.  While only one in six corps members was interested in the teaching profession before joining Teach For America, nearly two-thirds of its alumni remain in the field of education. 

Teach For America's culture and work is grounded in and guided by a deep commitment to pursuing true transformational change for students growing up in low-income communities. It is a leadership development organization - committed to fostering staff members, corps members and alumni who establish a clear and bold vision for the future, set measurable and ambitious goals, work purposefully and strategically to achieve that vision, always operate with a deep sense of possibility and with perseverance, and define broadly what is within its control to solve. It is an organization committed to its people, to diversity and inclusion, and to operating with respect and humility toward the other important people and organizations working to advance the cause of educational excellence for all children.

90% of the students our corps members teach are African American and Latino and come from low-income backgrounds. Since the academic achievement gap in our country is largely drawn along lines of race and class, we know that it's particularly important to foster the leadership of individuals - at all levels - who share the racial and economic backgrounds of our students. Our staff is diverse and we are thrilled to have staff members representing all racial backgrounds working here. For more information about our commitment to diversity, visit: http://www.teachforamerica.org/our-organization/diversity    

We are a high-growth, outcomes-oriented organization, with a $220 million budget and over 1,500 staff. In 2011 and 2012, we were named a Fortune 100 Best Company to Work For. We operate in an entrepreneurial environment, maintain focus on quantitative measures, and are committed to continuous improvement.

User Experience Researcher
Kohl's Department Stores
Menomonee Falls, WI

Posted on: 10 February 2012

POSITION OBJECTIVE:
The User Experience Researcher will plan and execute research activities that drive UX design throughout the product development lifecycle for web, mobile, social, and cross-channel digital experiences such as Kohl's Kiosk. The User Experience Researcher will be tasked with the timely coordination, execution, and reporting for contextual inquires, usability and eye-tracking studies, accessibly audits, ethnography, and emerging technology evaluations.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

UX research

• Execute design research activities both onsite and in the field that support the UX team throughout the product development lifecycle for web, mobile, social, and in-store digital experiences
• Execute all phases of usability testing, including development of participant screeners, consent forms, test plans, moderating lab sessions, and managing
• Manage test recruiting, partnering with vendors to recruit external test candidates and navigating the business to recruit internal users when necessary.
• Collaborate with Kohl's UX Prototypers and Innovation Technologists to position new and emerging technologies for evaluation and benchmarking.
• Execute external usability tests with vendors as needed.
• Manage Kohl's internal usability lab, including hardware and software assets used for testing.

UX analysis and reporting

• Develop post-testing analysis and top-line reports; make recommendations to project teams based on findings.
• Mine analytics and click-stream data for usage patterns and UX issues
• Serve as subject matter expert on the user experience, usability best practices, user-centered design, and our customers.
• Determine the appropriate methodologies while balancing project constraints timelines.

UX process and methodologies

• Inform Kohl's user experience DNA to ensure consistency and consumer familiarity throughout the digital ecosystem
• Assist in creation, governance, and maintenance of interaction, usability, and accessibility standards.
• Contribute to Kohl's overall UX maturity. This includes creating and refining processes and developing tools and templates that can be applied company-wide.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• 5+ years experience applying usability sciences to interactive design, industrial design, prototyping, and product development for preferably high-volume B2C or CPG
• Bachelor's degree in Human Factors, Cognitive or Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Science, Anthropology, Information design or related field (or equivalent professional experience)
• 5+ years experience conducting a variety of user experience research methodologies in a corporate or consulting environment.
• In-depth understanding of user-centered design principles and tools
• Experience presenting findings and recommendations to all levels of stakeholders, including executive management.
• Patience during long-term initiatives but the flexibility to do just-in-time testing as well

Preferred

• Master's degree preferred.
• Demonstrated experience planning and conducting UX research activities (e.g., Usability & eye-tracking evaluations, Accessibility compliance, Heuristic evaluations, Contextual inquires, Participatory design techniques, etc.)

To Apply, Please Click on the following Link:

http://www.kohlscareers.com/corporate/job/?jobID=129277

Posted on: 02 February 2012

Corporate Profile:

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer. Widely known through the “You’re in Good Hands with Allstate®” slogan, Allstate helps individuals in more than 17 million households protect what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow through approximately 14,700 exclusive agencies and financial specialists in the United States and Canada. By leveraging Our Shared Vision, Allstate is committed to strong principles of the highest ethical standards and encourages individual accountability. Allstate realizes success through innovative thinking while providing challenging and collaborative work for its 70,000 employees. Allstate demonstrates a commitment to diversity through a variety of ways and continues to identify the requirements for future success since it was founded in 1931.

Area of Responsibility:

User Experience Architects are responsible for applying knowledge of user-centered design methods, human-computer interaction and industry best practices to drive useful and usable interface design solutions. The User Experience Architect Senior Technician level is responsible for driving innovation and improvement in the creation and execution of user-interface components and architecture. 
In alignment with corporate goals, specific responsibilities will include:

• Acquire and assign appropriate resources to architecture activities;
• Plan, monitor and evaluate user-centered design efforts;
• Provide thought leadership and innovative ideas to drive process improvements;
• Oversee research initiatives to gather end-user requirements;
• Plan, manage and lead user-analysis efforts across various business areas;
• Drive the adoption of industry analysis best practices;
• Understand emerging technology capabilities and how to leverage them to deliver design solutions;
• Plan, conduct and facilitate iterative evaluations of user interface designs for complex or strategic projects (across organizations);
• Develop and educate others on usability testing techniques and processes;
• Lead others in use of appropriate techniques for conducting user interface design reviews;  
• Incorporate industry best practices and innovations to drive process improvements;
• Create and provide formal education on standards and processes.

Professional Background:

The skills and competencies required for this role include the following:

• Usability Testing: 8+ years
• Has coordinated and directed usability tests for complex, cross-departmental, and/or multi-platform systems while adhering to the guidelines of the organization's lifecycle methodology;
• Possesses ability to determine the optimal testing method for a given application or initiative;
• Helps to define best practices for usability testing;
• Has conducted heuristic reviews for complex applications.

• User Centered Design - 8+ years
• Demonstrates mastery in performing user-centered design tasks for difficult and complex applications;
• Has extensive experience in educating and leading teams in performing user-centered design tasks and activities required to complete application designs;
• Has defined best practices and approaches for performing these activities for simple, complex and strategic initiatives across multiple technology platforms.

• User Interface Design: 8+ years
• Demonstrates the uppermost levels of expertise in applying Human Factors knowledge to design user interfaces involving challenging and complex designs across different technology platforms;
• Possesses ability to create medium to high fidelity prototypes.

• User Interface Standards and Best Practices: 8+ years
• Demonstrates the uppermost levels of expertise in applying industry user-interface design standards and best practices to design usable, intuitive software applications of high complexity and/or strategic solutions;
• Often takes a role in establishing standards and best practices for the company;
• Applies knowledge from industry research and benchmarking to enhance existing standards, best practices and processes;
• May participate in advanced technology or architecture areas, which set standards for new products and processes as they are brought into the company.

• Web Concepts
• Demonstrates the ability to apply diverse areas of business knowledge to successfully meet broad objectives for web based application design;
• Able to converse intelligently with users, customers and management on the impact of web application design;
• Capable of discerning the impact of subtle changes in business and technology, and their impact on web application usability.

Educational Background:
A bachelor’s degree is required.

Application Instructions:
Interested and qualified applicants must apply at https://allstate.taleo.net/careersection/10200/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=USE00102

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