We’re looking for a strong UX Designer to join a mighty, ambitious User Experience team. This
individual should be an exceptional problem solver, a master of wireframes, 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 UX Designer will be part of the User Experience Design team located in downtown Ann
Arbor. However, there may be occasional travel to work with business owners in downtown NYC. This
position reports to the Manager, User Experience Design.
What you’ll do
Principally, the UX Designer uses best practices, data, and design principles to solve UX challenges
for the JSTOR (www.jstor.org) platform. The UX Designer is responsible for page-level layout, task
fulfillment, and component flow consistent with expressed design principles and UX vision.
You will transform a wide range of high-level and detailed ideas into solid UX deliverables yielding
exceptional experiences for users.
When you act as the lead UX representative on projects you will participate on scrum teams, work with
product managers, engineers, and fellow designers to create user stories, wireframes, and workflows
for specific product lines. When you support teammates leading other projects you will partner with
teammates to identify gaps, pain points, and delightful aspects within the JSTOR experience. You will
evaluate the JSTOR user experience and work with analysts, designers and product managers to use
analytics and other quantitative and qualitative data to inform design.
What we’re looking for
Someone who’s agile
You understand usability best practices and can use or make exceptions to these as needed. You are
interested in establishing new or refined practices that work specifically for our unique environment
and users.
You understand that being part of an innovative culture means rapid development cycles and shifting
priorities. You thrive in such a fast-paced environment.
You embrace change and grow professionally by repeatedly doing, inspecting results and adapting to
continually improve.
Someone who’s a collaborative partner
You have a team-oriented, collaborative approach to user experience design and problem-solving;
you enjoy work in a shared space.
You fully participate in the “marketplace of ideas” where the best idea is most often synthesized from
the input of many.
Someone who’s transparent
You are an excellent listener and know how to translate business requirements and technical
constraints into compelling design. You are also a good talker and know how to convey design in
compelling ways to others.
You openly share and discuss successes, progress, challenges, and mistakes and welcome
constructive criticism.
Someone who’s ambitious
You are driven to be great and think mediocrity stinks.
You are engaged in the UX community in a variety of ways: following important blogs, Twitter feeds,
or publications.
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 output, positive interactions,
and productive relationships (and good humor).
Someone who’s accountable
You are resilient and own your mistakes because you know that failure is critical to innovation and
that you often learn more from your mistakes than from successes.
You are able to operate efficiently and effectively with limited oversight and as a member of a diverse
team.
Your skills
1) You know how to create and use the following deliverables:
Mockups, wireframes, user scenarios, personas, paper prototypes, page templates, functional
specifications, content inventories/matrices, usability test plans/protocols, storyboards, user flows, key
states (just to name a few).
2) You know how to do the following things:
Form design, mobile design, cross-channel design, competitive landscape, quantitative and qualitative
data analysis, usability testing, heuristic evaluations, web 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:
• 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 