User Experience Lead

About Us

Located in downtown Chicago, HighBeam Research is a part of Cengage Learning that provides consumers, professionals, students, and libraries convenient access to online content from thousands of credible, published sources from around the world.

We operate a growing number of Web properties that specialize in research for professionals and academics (e.g., www.highbeam.com) and free reference content from published sources like the Oxford University Press (e.g., www.encyclopedia.com).

Job Summary for User Experiece Lead:

We're looking for someone who lives and breathes all aspects of producing usable online creative. Hands-on experience with art direction for Web sites and online brands is a must. This includes experience with concepting, prototyping, visual design, writing, editing, documentation, and project management. The ideal candidate has a convincing portfolio and proven track record of turning ideas into final creative and user interfaces that excite users, support the brand, and fulfill business objectives.

Responsibilities of User Experience Lead:

• Guide a multi-disciplinary team through the process of turning business objectives into final designs, language, and functionality that provide a cohesive and rewarding customer experience
• Oversee the production of all customer-facing creative as it evolves from concept to launch
• Prepare and maintain creative briefs for Copywriters, Visual Designers, and Front-End Developers
• Write and edit customer-facing language ranging from campaign and marketing messages to SEO tags and error messages
• Review creative, gather input from Product Managers, and resolve open issues
• Document detailed designs and their behaviors for the IT and QA teams
• Ensure all User Experience deliverables to the QA and Development teams are completed on schedule
• Advocate for end users of all our sites and brands while ensuring all customer-facing language and UI elements work together
• Assist the Sr. Manager of User Experience with maintaining and evolving the creative direction for each of our sites and brands

• Solid portfolio of professional work demonstrating a clean sense of design and articulate writing skills
• Uncanny knack for helping produce fresh, innovative creative that resonates with end users
• Experience with art direction, user-centered design, project management, UI design, visual design, branding, advertising, and copywriting required
• Experience with publication design, typography, usability, HCI, ergonomics, SEO, direct marketing, Agile methodology, HTML, CSS, AJAX, Flash, and/or market research a strong plus
• Excellent analytical and creative problem-solving skills with an ability to identify opportunities in obstacles
• Natural ability to pay close attention to detail and instinctively go the extra mile to produce great work in a timely manner with little supervision
• Appetite to work on multiple projects in a fast-paced, growing organization
• Proficiency with Adobe Photoshop, Windows, and MS Office applications
• Experience with transactional, subscription-based, advertising-supported, and/or mobile sites a plus

• Do you have at least 5 years of usability and art direction experience producing Web sites that deliver engaging user experiences?
• Looking for an opportunity to apply your knack for design and language to high-visibility Web sites?
• Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment where you can contribute to an established, growing company with sites like www.highbeam.com and www.encyclopedia.com?