We’re looking for a strong Experience Architect to join a mighty, ambitious, User Experience team.
This individual should be an exceptional problem solver, a master of UX skills, and have an excellent
understanding of how technology and business drivers shape successful user experiences.
What we do
ITHAKA (www.ithaka.org) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping the academic community
use digital technology to preserve the scholarly record and advance research and teaching in sustainable
ways. ITHAKA provides innovative services that benefit higher education including JSTOR, Portico,
and Ithaka S+R. The ITHAKA UX team primarily works on JSTOR, an online, academic resource that
supports the research needs of millions of students, librarians, and scholars worldwide.
The UX team is responsible for working together and with others across the organization to create
engaging and intuitive online research experiences for ITHAKA products through strategic partnerships,
evidence-based design, and collaborative processes.
The team consists of individuals who are passionate about design, research, business, and technology,
and who believe that collaboration, communication, and fun are tenets of success. We are experts in
visual design, interaction design, information architecture, information design, prototyping, and research.
The Experience Architect will be part of the User Experience Design team located in downtown Ann
Arbor. However, travel to work with business owners in downtown NYC will be necessary up to 20% of
the time. This position reports to the Manager, User Experience Design.
What you’ll do
Principally, the Experience Architect is responsible for helping to define and express the overall
experience across products, platforms, and interface structures.
This role will be responsible for understanding how business and technology shape user experiences.
You will work with business owners and product managers to understand business requirements and
product goals. You will work with researchers and analysts to gather data and create insights to inform
product design. You will use that information and collaborate with senior UX colleagues and others in
the creation of the UX vision for the JSTOR platform and communicate and support the execution of
the vision. To do this well, you will need to be able to engage diverse audiences ranging from senior
executives to engineers.
You will work to identify gaps or problems within the product ecosytem. Working mostly outside of our
agile process and across product lines, you will identify touch points within workflows, user pain points,
and gaps in the product offering. You will use your excellent problem solving skills to work within project
constraints to create experiences that not only help our users get the job done but delight them as well.
What we’re looking for
Someone who’s agile
You are interested in establishing new or refined practices that work specifically for our unique
environment and users.
You embrace change and grow professionally by repeatedly doing, inspecting results and adapting
to continually improve.
Someone who’s committed
You’re excited to embrace ITHAKA’s mission and organization and fully engage with the issues our
partners, users, and participants face.
You extend the value-add of UX to the organization through excellent ouput, positive interactions, and
productive relationships (and good humor).
Someone who’s transparent
Your presentation skills are compelling and your presentation style is clear, coherent, and intelligent,
and appropriate to your audience.
You are eager to share the rationale of your work and you can productively engage in both technical
and business discussions.
You openly share and discuss successes, progress, challenges and mistakes and welcome
constructive criticism.
Someone who’s accountable
You are motivated to learn and apply your craftsmanship to create, and to take ownership of
problems and projects through to successful outcomes.
You are resilient and know that failure is critical to innovation and that you often learn more from your
mistakes than from successes.
Someone who’s a collaborative partner
You fully participate in the “marketplace of ideas” where the best idea is most often synthesized from
the input of many.
You’re no hero: you proactively work with others to solve problems.
Someone who’s ambitious
You are driven to be great and think mediocrity stinks.
You can lead, you can coach, and you can follow. And you know when it is best to do each.
Your skills
1) You know how to create and use the following deliverables:
Experience maps, wireframes/wireflows, system/ecosystem visualizations, user scenarios, personas,
paper prototypes, proofs of concept, system maps, concept maps, application structure diagram (just to
name a few).
2) You know how to do the following things:
Information architecture: workflow analysis, information organization, data modeling, business process
analysis, contextual analysis.
Interaction design: collaborative design activities, functional specification, cross-channel design.
Research: competitive analysis, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, contextual inquiry.
Assessment: usability testing, heuristic evaluations, analytics.
3) You know how to do all these things in the context of a high-traffic website and in the mobile world.
4) Your skills are based on at least one of the following:
• Several years of diverse experience in the UX field.
• A graduate degree in HCI, Information Science, Psychology, Design, or related field.
Our benefits:
*ITHAKA currently offers an extremely competitive benefit plan including:
- Choice of two medical plans, one at no cost to the employee
- Employer paid dental, vision, life insurance, and employee assistance programs
- Employer contributed pension with a 6 month vesting period…And much, much more
Interested in joining the team?
Click the link below to locate this posting and upload and attach your resume, cover letter and salary
requirements.
https://www11.ultirecruit.com/ITH1000/JobBoard/listjobs.aspx?Page=Browse
ITHAKA is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
*ITHAKA may make changes to its benefits from time to time.
Michigan UXPA 