Lead Product Designer

Job Summary:

 At The Walt Disney Company, we are committed to delivering extraordinary experiences to our employees through innovative digital solutions. As a global leader in entertainment and media, we are seeking a Lead Product Designer to join our Digital Experience and Strategy team within Workforce Technology (WFT). This role is pivotal in executing our digital product strategy, delivering best-in-class product design experiences that surpass employee expectations and drive key business outcomes. 

If you are a visionary digital product designer, with a keen eye for quality and a passion for crafting impactful and innovative digital experiences, we want to hear from you. As a Lead Product Designer, you will play a critical role in crafting and executing the implementation of our digital experience strategy for 250K employees of The Walt Disney Company. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Engineering, Strategy, Human Resources, Talent Acquisition and multiple segment business partners — Disney Experiences, ESPN and Disney Entertainment. In this role, you’ll drive design vision and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver exceptional user experiences. Your leadership and design expertise will be crucial in shaping the future of our product offerings. 

Responsibilities: 

Design Leadership: 

• Set design vision, provide guidance, and ensure consistent, high-quality design output. 

• Champion user-centered design principles and foster a culture of design excellence. 

• Define and articulate the design vision for products, aligning with business goals and user needs. 

• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business requirements into innovative design solutions. 

User Research: 

• Conduct and oversee user research, gather insights, validate design concepts and direction. 

• Analyze user feedback, market trends, and data to drive design decisions and iterations. 

Design Strategy: 

• Define product design strategies that align user needs with business goals and technological capabilities to create compelling, differentiated experiences. 

UI/Visual Design: 

• Design intuitive and visually appealing user interfaces that adhere to brand guidelines and ensure consistency across all touchpoints. 

Interaction and Experience Design: 

• Create interactions, animations, and micro-interactions that enhance usability and deliver delightful user experiences. 

Prototyping, Testing and Iterating: 

• Develop high-fidelity prototypes, wireframes, and mockups to test and refine design solutions. 

• Lead usability testing sessions and iterate on designs based on user feedback, and data analysis, and usability testing to continuously improve product usability and satisfaction. 

Design Systems: 

• Contribute to and maintain design systems and component libraries, promoting consistency and scalability in design across the platforms and systems. 

Collaboration and Execution: 

• Work closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and other stakeholders to align design with technical feasibility and business goals. Facilitate design reviews and presentations, effectively communicating design rationale and decisions. 

Continuous Improvement: 

• Stay updated with industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in product design and AI, advocating for user centric innovative solutions that drive user satisfaction. 

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Design, Human Computer Interaction, or a related field.  

• 7+ years of experience in product design, with a proven track record of leading design projects from concept to launch. 

• A robust portfolio showcasing a range of design projects, including case studies that highlight your problem-solving skills, design process, and impact. 

• Proficient with design and prototyping tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Sketch or similar. 

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with ability to translate complex data and information into actionable design. 

• Comfortable in large team setting and excited to collaborate with Product, Engineering and Business stakeholders.  

• Strong understanding of user-centered design principles, interaction design, and visual design. 

• Experience with user research methodologies and usability testing 

• Proficient in ADA and WCAG accessibility standards and responsive design principles. 

• Proficient in creating responsive designs that provide optimal viewing experiences across various device viewports. 

• Exceptional visual design and communication skills, with the ability to present and advocate for design solutions effectively. 

• Analytical mindset with a keen eye for detail, strong problem-solving ability and a passion for creating outstanding user experiences. 

Preferred Qualifications  

• Demonstrated expertise in integrating AI functionality into product design for personalizing user interactions and recommendations 

• Familiarity with front end development technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) is a plus.  

• Experience at a large / big 5 consulting firm or similar design consultancy is a plus. 

The hiring range for this position in Washington is $$145,400.00-$195,000.00 per year and in California is $138,900 – $186,200. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.