UX/Interaction Designer IV

Overview

Senior Designer – UX (Core UX) Position Type: Contract / Full-Time

Rate: $70-80/hr

Location: Chicago preferred – remote okay

?? Role Overview

We are seeking an elite, highly adaptable Senior Designer – UX to join our Core UX team. In this role, you will help lead the design, definition, and integration of human-centered practices, directly shaping and improving the digital customer experience across every stage of the travel journey.

This is not a role for a passive pixel-pusher or someone who simply takes requirements and colors inside the lines. We are looking for a heavyweight, autonomous design driver who thrives in ambiguous environments.

The ideal candidate is an empathetic, curious innovator who can easily walk into unstructured spaces, synthesize complex business goals, and translate them into intuitive, next-generation web and mobile application experiences.

? Key Responsibilities

• Create Order from Chaos: Walk into shifting, unstructured environments with minimal direction to independently map user journeys, define project scope, and build intuitive interaction models from scratch.
• Bridge the Design-Executive Gap: Confidently present design concepts, interactive prototypes, and wireframes to cross-functional product teams, engineering partners, and executive leadership, defending design decisions with clear, value-driven rationale.
• Drive End-to-End Product Design: Lead the rapid, iterative creation of high-fidelity interactive prototypes, process flows, storyboards, and detailed design specifications (red-lines, templates, and navigation patterns) that developers can seamlessly build from.
• Champion Next-Gen Innovation: Infuse cutting-edge UI/UX trends, custom micro-interactions, and visual storytelling into our core digital platforms (.com and mobile apps) to deliver a modern, premium brand experience.
• Navigate a Matrixed Ecosystem: Collaborate harmoniously with usability researchers, product managers, developers, and QA teams. Act as the design source-of-truth during implementation to answer developer questions, review builds, and verify bug fixes.
• Mentor & Elevate: Provide collaborative guidance, feedback, and mentorship to junior designers on the team to elevate the overall design standard.

? Target Candidate Profile & Qualifications

• Ambiguity Master (30%): A self-starter with a proven track record of creating design schedules and defining scopes of work even when there are no clear, established requirements.
• Visual & Interaction Artistry (25%): Deep expertise in high-fidelity visual design and creating polished micro-interactions that elevate standard interfaces into dynamic, engaging customer experiences.
• UX Platform Fluency (20%): 5 to 8+ years of professional UX design experience with a strong portfolio showcasing complex, production-ready web (.com) and mobile app products.
• Accessibility & Standards Advocacy (15%): Strong foundational fluency in accessibility standards (WCAG) to ensure digital customer touchpoints are inclusive and usable for all travelers.
• Collaborative Translator (10%): Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills. The ability to coordinate with cross-functional partners and seamlessly integrate diverse feedback into cohesive, user-centered solutions.

? Nice-to-Haves

• Master’s Degree in UX Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a related design field.
• Advanced accessibility certifications or verified deep-dive compliance experience.
• Experience in the travel, aviation, or high-volume transactional industries.