Sallie Mae are hiring a

Director, UX Design and Operations

When you join Sallie Mae, you become a champion for all students.

We’re on a mission to power confidence as students begin their unique journey. To help them plan their higher education, successfully finish, and prepare for life after school. To help them Start smart. Learn big.

Students need guidance navigating this important time in their life. They need someone who acknowledges that their education path is unique. They need a partner willing to evolve and not only meet but surpass their expectations. We’re changing. Because students need a better way.

We’re looking for people who are excited to drive this transformation. To break barriers and think of new ways to adapt, help, and create better experiences for students—and for each other. This is where diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives matter. It’s where you’re empowered to bring your authentic self to work.

Feeling your best allows you to do your best. Our benefits take care of the whole you—from physical and mental to financial and professional. You’ll get opportunities to further your education and career, support for you and your family (including your pets!), paid time off to volunteer for the things that matter to you, and more.

We’re obsessed with impact and making a real difference. For us, that means putting relationships first, asking “why not?” when tackling challenges, and continuously learning new skills. Come do more than join something, change something. For students, for future generations, for the future of education.

Director UX/UI Design

What You'll Contribute

Are you a visionary design leader with a passion for education and financial services? Do you excel at balancing strategic leadership with hands-on design execution? Sallie Mae is seeking a Director of UX/UI Design to help shape our digital experiences as we transform from a traditional student loan provider into a comprehensive education services company.

In this pivotal leadership role, you'll guide a talented design team while collaborating closely with business and product stakeholders to create exceptional digital experiences that support students throughout their entire education journey. You'll drive design excellence, foster innovation, and ensure our digital products deliver measurable business impact while meeting user needs.

What You'll Do

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a small team of UX/UI designers, fostering a culture of design excellence and continuous improvement
• Conduct performance reviews and support career development for team members
• Participate in hiring and team building initiatives to grow design capabilities
• Collaborate with the Senior Director to establish team priorities and resource allocation
• Foster a team environment that balances creativity with business objectives

Strategic Direction & Standards

• Develop and drive the overall UX/UI strategy for Sallie Mae's digital products and services
• Define design standards, methodologies, and best practices in collaboration with team and leadership
• Ensure consistent application of design principles across all digital touchpoints
• Establish design processes that improve efficiency and quality of output
• Balance innovation with practical implementation consideration

Design Execution

• Contribute as an individual designer on key strategic projects (approximately 50% of role)
• Create high-quality design solutions for complex user experience challenges
• Review and provide constructive feedback on team deliverables
• Maintain hands-on design skills and stay current with emerging design trends
• Demonstrate design excellence through your own work that serves as inspiration for the team

Cross Functional Collaboration

• Work in lockstep with business and product stakeholders to understand initiatives and translate them into design solutions
• Balance creative possibilities with platform constraints and timeline requirements
• Partner with development teams to ensure successful implementation of designs
• Build strong relationships with key stakeholders across the organization
• Advocate for user-centered design across the company

Business Impacts & Results

• Drive improvements in conversion rates and funnel progression metrics
• Accelerate speed to market for new features and products
• Connect design decisions to business outcomes and ROI
• Identify opportunities to enhance user experience that drive measurable business results
• Develop metrics to evaluate design effectiveness and impact

The above information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this job; it is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees in this role.

What You Have

Minimum education, skills and experience required.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience in design, HCI, or related field
• 7+ years of experience in UX/UI design, with at least 1-3 years in a leadership capacity
• Proven track record of leading design teams and developing design talent
• Strong portfolio demonstrating both individual design excellence and team leadership
• Experience working in complex digital product environments with multiple stakeholders
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with ability to articulate design decisions to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Proficiency with design tools including Figma and Adobe Creative Suite
• Experience establishing or maintaining design systems
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with tactical execution
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously
• Passion for education and financial services

Preferred education, skills and experience required.

• Experience in financial services or education technology
• Knowledge of design thinking methodologies and workshop facilitation
• Knowledge of agile development processes
• Background in conversion optimization
• Experience leading digital transformation initiatives

How You'll Grow

At Sallie Mae, our professional development plan focuses on helping people at every level of their career to identify and use their strengths to do their best work every day. From entry-level employees to senior leaders, we believe there's always room to learn. We offer opportunities to help sharpen skills in addition to hands-on experience in the global, fast-changing business world. From on-the-job learning experiences to formal development programs, our professionals have a variety of opportunities to continue to grow throughout their career.

What You’ll Get at Sallie Mae

• Healthcare Benefits: medical, dental, vision plans
• Financial Well-being: 401K company match, Employee Stock purchase plan, and basic life insurance
• Work-life Balance: Generous paid time off, time off to volunteer, tuition reimbursement
• Family Support: After 6 months of employment, primary caregivers receive 12 weeks of fully paid time off, and secondary caregivers receive 4 weeks for birth or adoption
• Wellness Programs: Fitness center, gym subsidies, free Fitbits with step challenges, and wellness education

The Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination by employers, in compensation and employment opportunities, against qualified individuals with disabilities who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the “essential functions” of a job. A function may be essential for any of several reasons, including: the job exists to perform that function, the employee holding the job was hired for his/her expertise in performing the function, or only a limited number of employees are available to perform that function.

Feeling your best helps you do your best:

Our benefits take care of the whole you—so you can build your work around your life (not the other way around!).

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• Generous PTO, Floating Holidays and 12 Federal Holidays observed
• Support for financial-well-being and retirement: 401k with employer match
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, hospital indemnity, critical illness, pet insurance and more
• Employer paid short-term/long-term disability and basic life insurance
• Flexible hybrid working arrangements
• Paid parental leave and adoption reimbursement programs
• Free access to on-site staffed fitness centers (in Delaware) and gym subsidy (for locations outside Delaware)
• Confidential counseling support (EAP), Health Advocacy services and Wellness program with financial incentives
• Tuition Reimbursement and Family Scholarship Programs
• Career development and training opportunities

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Sallie Mae is proud to be an equal opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, gender identity, disability, Veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Reasonable accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation please call (855) 756-2007 and choose option 9. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.