University of Chicago are hiring a

Senior Product Designer

Department

BSD SUR - OHNS: Thirty Million Words - Communications

About the Department

The TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at the University of Chicago develops, tests, and implements evidence-based interventions designed to promote very young childrens cognitive and social-emotional development. TMW Center interventions are designed to be embedded into existing health, education, and social service systems working at scale in a given community in order to meet families where they already are. The TMW Center has a robust research and development strategy that includes further development and testing of TMW interventions; harnessing technology to support behavior change, intervention engagement, and analysis; and furthering strategies to engage parents in the TMW Centers interventions across the health, early learning, and social service sectors.

Job Summary

The TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health (TMW Center) develops, tests, and implements evidence-based interventions designed to promote very young childrens cognitive and social-emotional development, with emerging technologies that enhance—rather than replace—the pivotal role that caregivers play in building healthy young brains. Although there is a rich body of research demonstrating the importance of the early language environment for maximizing early learning, there are very ways to assess the quality of those environments. As a result, when it comes to nurturing their childrens brains, parents often feel like they are in a maze without a map.

The TMW Centers technological tools, like its evidence-based interventions, resources, and programs, provide parents and caregivers with information they need to engage in robust brain-building interactions — and help deepen caregiver-child connection.

The TMW Center is seeking a Senior Product Designer to lead the UX/UI design function of the TMW Centers technology to ensure user experiences a) are engaging, enjoyable, and easy for users and b) meet the needs of the TMW Center team and vision. This individual will shape both the Centers strategic design direction and the details to ensure the technology is exceptional, translating ambitious product roadmaps into intuitive, delightful user experiences. The role will work directly with Center leadership, engineers, and end users to understand problems deeply and create solutions that balance user needs with Center goals and technical constraints.

Responsibilities

Execute the design vision and strategy across multiple product lines, translating broad need statements from stakeholders and users into meaningful designs, while balancing usability with clinical relevance and technical considerations.
Lead design projects, including: creating and refining user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes; defining new features and functionality based on user feedback; providing design solutions for bugs and usability issues as they arise.
Build and manage a comprehensive design system and component library for the development team in alignment with brand guidelines.
Partner closely with product, engineering, and quality assurance engineers, attending routine agile ceremonies, to ensure accurate execution of designs.
Conduct and synthesize a wide range of user research, including exploratory interviews and task-based usability testing.
Proactively manage prioritization challenges to ensure design focus areas are aligned with Center goals.
Analyze user behavior data and app performance metrics using product analytics tools to identify areas for improvement.
Advocate for user-centered design, balancing Center goals with end user value.
Balance short-term experimentation with long-term scalability, ensuring solutions can extend across the product ecosystem.
Design new systems, features, and tools. Solve complex problems and identify opportunities for technical improvement and performance optimization. Review and test code to ensure appropriate standards are met.
Utilize technical knowledge of existing and emerging technologies, including public cloud offerings from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
Act as a technical consultant and resource for faculty research, teaching, and/or administrative projects.
Perform other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in a related field.
Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Certifications: None required.

Preferred Qualifications

Education: Advanced Degree in related field, strongly preferred.
Experience: Experience in product development, software development, agile methodologies, and other related fields. Strong proficiency in modern design tools (Figma, etc.) and familiarity with design systems. Experience conducting user research and translating insights into actionable design decisions.

Preferred Competencies

Ability to advocate for design decisions while remaining collaborative and open to feedback.
Strong communication and storytelling skills, with ability to articulate design rationale to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Comfortable with ambiguity and rapid iteration.
Track record of shipping products and features that users love.
Ability to multi-task and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
Excellent organizational skills, including strong attention to detail.
Proven ability to establish and stick to timelines.
Initiative and independent judgment.
Demonstrated ability to build diverse relationships and manage professional workload with minimal supervision.
Excellent problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and a collaborative mindset.

Working Conditions

Office Environment.

Application Documents

Resume (required)
Cover Letter (preferred)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Information Technology

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

Drug Test Required

Health Screen Required

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

Pay Rate Type

Salary

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Range

$100,000.00 - $140,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the Universitys good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes
The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the Universitys Notice of Nondiscrimination. Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form. All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position. The University of Chicagos Annual Security & Fire Safety Report provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.