Archive for the 'Career Mondays' Category

This is for a friend of mine at Yola. Send your resume and portfolio at jobs@usabilitycounts.com.

Senior Visual Designer

Key Responsibilities:

• Producing innovative yet intuitive design solutions that address complex product, business, marketing and user needs.
• Rapidly developing user flows, wireframes, superior visual mock-ups, final design assets and documenting functional visual specs.
• Work with design, business development, and engineering to define and design products.
• Working closely with the Product Management, engineering and QA teams and support UI implementation efforts.
• Proactively works to understand customer needs and offers consultancy even when not asked.
• Acts as a source of expertise to others and contributes to discussion in own area.
• Accepts responsibility for and demonstrates support for delegated decisions.
• Communicates weekly or bi-weekly with remote team during off-business hours (can be early morning or later evening at times)

Experience:

A strong candidate for this role will match many of these criteria:

• 6+ years of designing consumer focused web and/or client application UI.
• Must demonstrate outstanding design talent, creativity and sense for clean visual and interaction design.
• Have an understanding of user-centered design process.
• Proven ability to work independently as well as in cross-functional groups.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment
• Expert-level proficiency in Adobe CS4 Suite (specifically Fireworks and Photoshop)
• Experience with other applications desired: Omnigraffle, HTML/CSS
• BFA or BA degree in design related studies

Please respond with a resumé and a link to an online portfolio or examples of work.

Interaction Designer

Must have skills:

• Demonstrated portfolio of interaction design deliverables, including wireframes, flows, site maps, specs, etc.
• Understanding of usability and user centered design principles
• Strong understanding of web concepts (HTML, CSS, XML, etc.)
• Experience working with engineering teams, particularly in an agile environment
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Understanding of, and desire to work in, a startup environment
• Mac platform experience
• Omnigraffle, Photoshop, Fireworks

It would be useful if you had:

• Visual design skills and portfolio (particularly web applications)
• Ability to code clean HTML and CSS

I know the guy posting this (Brian Salzman), and this is a great position. If you are looking to break in the field, this is a good place to start.

IBM in Costa Mesa, CA has an opening for a paid user experience intern. We are looking for students to start early in 2010 and to work for at least six months. We do not offer summer internships.

IBM interns join multidisciplinary product development teams to design, prototype, and evaluate graphical user interfaces for IBM’s industry-leading database, business intelligence, and content management products. Interns collaborate with user experience colleagues in Silicon Valley and around the world.

Applicants should have some combination of the following skills, experience, and personal characteristics:

Technical and Professional Skills

• Ability to learn new technologies quickly
• Familiar with graphical user interfaces and style guidelines
• Knowledge of User Centered Design methodologies
• User interface design experience
• Prototyping experience
• Usability evaluation experience
• Strong interest in Human Computer Interaction (HCI)

Software Experience

• Software applications for Windows, UNIX or LINUX
• User Interface prototyping tools (Visio, Axure, Visual Basic, Photoshop, etc.)
• HTML, XML or Javascript
• BASIC, C++, Java or other programming languages

Essential Characteristics

• Adaptable and dependable
• Highly motivated and a self-starter
• A good communicator
• Works well in teams
• An innovative attitude

Education

Internship candidates must be enrolled in a degree program – Preferred candidates will be pursuing a graduate degree with an emphasis on human-computer interaction (HCI). To be competitive, candidates should have HCI coursework and user interface design experience (class projects OK).

Send a resume and cover letter listing HF/HCI courses, programming/prototyping experience, and user interface design experience to:

Brian Salzman
Email: jsalzma@us.ibm.com

Information abut this position, from the recruiter:

The position:

• As their Director of Interaction Design you will be integral in reshaping their strategy to focus on the future of consumer needs in the automotive marketplace and aligning their brand and products to capitalize on the strength of their current position.
• Product Focused: They are now implementing a product driven culture with strong leads in key decision-making roles.
• Customer Focused: User centered design methodologies are a key part of their product development process and investing in a comprehensive look at user needs is a central focus.
• Technology focused: They are a scrum/agile shop that utilizes the latest in Microsoft technologies.
• Investing in the Future: They are making substantial financial investments in the development of brand strategy, product strategy and product development. This role will be key to that process!

This role with have dynamic ability to influence change:

• This right candidate will play a heavy role in the future strategy of my client as well as be a key part of bringing these changes to fruition.
• Opportunities to be able to make this level of contribution at a company with this level of brand recognition are rare – this is a great challenge with tremendous resume building potential.

If you have 8-10 years of UX experience, the experience and ability to lead/manage a team of highly skilled IA’s and sell UX concepts through the organization, we should talk.

If you have previously applied for this position and would like to be considered again, reach out. If we spoke but the salary was too low, reach out, that too had changed! If you heard the buzz and side stepped the position based in old information, it’s a new year, a new role and a new process!

You might recognize this position — they are making some changes to it, and it includes better pay and a better interview process.

Send your resume to me at jobs@usabilitycounts.com. I’ll send it along.

Certona Corporation is the creator of ResonanceR, a real-time personalization and revenue optimization platform for multi-channel retailers. Resonance automates a company’s ability to provide relevant, individualized experience and product recommendations in real-time, increasing average order value and revenue per visit. With seven patents pending, the “self-optimizing” system is powered by sophisticated neural networks and a portfolio of algorithms to deliver real-time product, content, and promotional offers through multiple channels – web, email, call center, point-of-sale, and mobile. Clients are typically up and running in less than a month, and include some of the most recognized online and multi-channel retail brands across all popular verticals. For more information, visit www.certona.com.

Position Description

Certona Corporation is looking for an experienced UI Designer to create the next generation of analytics and merchandising tools for Certona’s ResonanceR personalization platform. The successful candidate will have experience with the full software development lifecycle, starting with gathering requirements from internal and external customers, graphical design, GUI development, and testing. Understanding of software usability, SaaS applications, e-commerce, enterprise dashboards, business intelligence, predictive analytics, and e-mail automation is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Work with Product Management to ensure understanding of business requirement and use cases
• Establish design patterns working with common interface components
• to promote consistency and reuse across applications
• May need to assist in the development of UML diagrams and wireframes
• May need to provide UI prototypes for usability evaluations
• Develop presentation layer for web-based applications in XHTML/CSS/JS/.Net
• Ensure that presentation layer code is semantically correct, liquid, well-formed, and valid
• Ensure that the presentation layer architecture supports localization and internationalization Create UI specification for Development and QA

Qualifications

• BS in Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science or related field
• Five years UI design and UCD experience with web-based applications
• Expertise with XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript is mandatory
• Familiar with semantic, liquid layout design is a must
• Familiar with localization and internationalization standards for web-based applications
• Familiar with chart and other data presentation controls for the web
• Proven communication skills and ability to excel in a team-oriented environment
• Self-motivated and attentive to detail

Please send your resume and cover letter to careers@certona.com.

The Associate Producer will work closely with the production team in scheduling, resource management, budgeting, and planning. They manage the site production process for assigned projects from pre-production through development, QA, launch, and post-launch updates. The Associate producer is also be responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of existing sites helping produce content updates and troubleshooting efforts.

Qualifications

• 2-3 years project management experience in the Internet field, preferably in the entertainment industry
• Experience and knowledge of web site technology, design and production
• Ability to use online traffic tracking tools to report and help interpret data for editorial decision making.
• Ability to use online publishing and content management systems for programming and reviewing web pages.
• Must be able to multi-task in a fast-paced environment
• Must be proactive and able to prioritize projects based on business and promotional goals
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work closely with other producers artists, content developers, engineers, QA testers, and webmasters on day-to-day production; established people skills
• Ability to create and maintain accurate schedules

Skills Required

• 2 to 4 years experience in website production required; working with children‚s or branded content preferred
• A college degree or equivalent work experience with website, digital or entertainment production and development
• Superior organizational skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Understanding of Brand development very helpful, understanding of (and passion for) the brand extremely helpful
• Self starter with high level of initiative
• Ability to manage multiple projects, set priorities and meet deadlines
• Proficiency with managing external developers and contractors
• Familiarity with project management tools, e.g. Microsoft Project and Visio
• Established presentation skills and familiarity with Microsoft PowerPoint
• Ability to analyze and provide solutions to complex technical problems

Email your resume to jobs@usabilitycounts.com.

I have a client that wants the transition the role to full time. I’m starting another gig, so I can’t do it. I’m recruiting for the role, so…

The company

A well-funded startup with founders that have multiple successes behind them (good, as opposed to lucky). They seem like really good people, and the track record of the leadership is solid. Like huge startup solid, five times over, with cash in the bank.

The position

Information Architect with some design experience so when the contract designer is done, the IA can carry through creating of buttons, some graphics, etc. Must know personas, wireframes, site maps, A/B testing, usability testing, but doesn’t have to be overly formal about it. It’s an agile environment, so the IA should have experience working in one. I would like to see people with at least 5 years experience, because the manager doesn’t have time to baby sit. The person must be a self starter. Consumer-facing site design experience required. Social Media (Facebook Connect) experience a huge plus. Willing to wash my car in exchange for the position, another plus.

Send resume, portfolio, some indication of design experience and salary expectations to jobs@usabilitycounts.com.

I worked over here years ago, and the Marketing Department is top notch. If you want a place to learn with great people, send me a note at jobs@usabilitycounts.com. Also, if you aren’t interested in this job, but are looking, send me a note.

Stamps.com is seeking an experienced User Experience Designer to help design new products, features and upgrades for B2B and B2C web sites and client applications. Stamps.com has over 350,000 users of their flagship product and is expanding into web-based tools. You will be part of a small, creative team focused solely on product design to come up with our next generation of easy-to-use, powerful tools. You must have a passion for clean, intuitive UI, and be self-motivated and directed as we give a lot of lattitude to create. In addition, we engage in lively discussion on UI patterns, approaches, etc. so you must be willing to play well and be able to take direction where necessary.

Primary Responsibilities

• Analyze high level requirements to develop sitemaps, user flows, wireframes and functional prototypes using Axure.
• Present designs to team & management; iteratively refine designs based on feedback to arrive at final product prototype.
• Analyze best UI patterns used in industry and apply to our products
• Oversee adherence to internal web style guide and web standards, and refinement of it.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of relevant experience as Information Architect, User Experience Designer, UI Designer, Web Designer, etc.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field is preferred.
• Have both good visual design/layout skills as well as good analytical skills to be able to conceive, understand, define and effectively address user goals & needs.
• A portfolio of User Interface showing designs, site maps, wireframes, or user interfaces.
• Good knowledge of capabilities of HTML, DHTML, CSS, Javascript, and Web 2.0 in general.
• Knowledge of design software such as Axure, Visio, ProtoShare, Adobe Photoshop and/or Fireworks, Dreamweaver, etc.
• Must be detailed oriented and be able to drive projects to completion

If you or someone you know might be a good candidate for this position, please send your resume to jobs@usabilitycounts.com.

Kelley Blue Book is looking for a Director of User Experience to lead the vision, strategy, and execution of the interaction design of Kelley Blue Book’s website, kbb.com. This individual will work closely with other senior level executives to identify effective product strategies and lead a team of interaction designers and information architects to deliver innovative, customer centric design solutions. The ideal candidate has a passion for user centered design and a wide breadth of experience across multiple types of products and design methodologies.

This is a full-time position located in Orange County, CA. Formal training in human computer interaction, a minimum of 5 years experience working on a highly trafficked consumer facing web site and prior management experience required.

If you are interested, send me an email at jobs@usabilitycounts.com.

Position Overview

• Lead the design of our new web site
• Create an amazing user experience for our members
• Optimize Conversion from Visitors to Consumers
• Team work within the company to strategize and implement an ever improving experience.
• Lead the creation of our Product Requirement Documents
• Team with the Engineers in the web team to create a productive and friendly work environment
• Team work with the entire company and our community to identify new needs and get feedback on existing features

Required Experience

• 4+ Years as a Web Product Manager focused on Conversion to paying customers in B2C websites
• 4+ Years of experience building dynamic, customizable and personalizable web sites
• 4+ Years of practical experience of web optimization of conversion based on metrics, AB testing and other such techniques
• Excellent understanding of Web Engineering
• Excellent understanding of Web Marketing
• Successful track record of driving the successful completion multiple cycles of optimization of conversion of traffic from non-paying to paying in a B2C environment
• BS/MS in Marketing or MBA
• BS/MS in Computer Science or Engineering

This is a full-time position based in Pasadena, CA. We are in need of a mid to senior-level interactive producer. This person should be able to lead projects from conception to completion, self-manage and work in a fast-paced environment. If you enjoy working in small teams, helping to build process and working for clients that make a difference in the world, this job is for you.

The Online Producer will work on projects including large-scale websites, small sites, banner + email programs and large-scale, integrated direct marketing campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Helps scope and manage all client (proposals, statements of work, deliverables, timelines, status, budgets, etc)
• Act as primary internal contact to client services teams
• Coordinate integration and hand-off between creative team, offline project managers and client services
• Schedule and manage project development, overseeing full development cycle and site launch, overseeing information architecture, creative personnel, tech and QA stages; and managing status and resourcing reports
• Managing schedules and route approvals and requests to internal agency groups as well as assist in implementing calendars and light QA/Online testing.
• In this role you will be working closely with Supervisor, Account Directors, Creative Teams, Project Managers, Developers, Vendors, and IT Staff.

Experience

• The ideal candidate must have strong commons sense and prior experience (2 to 5 years) working with the Internet, new media production, or related experience.
• Must have the ability to delegate tasks and lead a team, along with providing quick solutions to both team and client.
• An in depth understanding of project financials – estimated budgets, costs, actual hours, etc. – and the ability to track and reconcile.
• Thorough understanding of managing web capabilities/technologies and production processes.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, along with effective meeting facilitation skills.
• Ability to work within deadlines, ensuring timely, cost-effective delivery and client satisfaction.
• Self starter who works as well independently as they do as part of a team.
• Strong analytical abilities.
• Proficiency in MS Office, a solid knowledge of Microsoft Project Scheduling, Browsers, Visio and Operating Systems are a must.
• Must be able to work overtime when required.
• Must understand how HTML, CSS, (.Net or PHP) works in order to effectively project manage.
• Knowledge of localization, experience with e-commerce sites and working with external developers and HTML is a plus!

Salary is in the 65 to 80K range DOE and freelance rate is commiserate with fulltime salary.