UI Design Lead, Aladdin Channels and Experience, Vice President

Job Description

About this role

About the Aladdin UX Design Team

The Aladdin UX Design team researches and designs the user experience for the Aladdin investment and risk analytics platform which is used by institutional wealth managers and investment professionals worldwide.

We practice a human-centered design approach—designing software grounded in user need—to enable our users to tap into the power of BlackRock’s Aladdin enterprise platform. We are a team of skilled UX designers, UI designers, and UX researchers, working to reinvent and improve the Aladdin platform through the user’s lens.

We are looking for a UI designer who understands and is inspired by the complexities of designing software for the enterprise.

About You

You are first and foremost a UI educator and advocate. Experienced at employing strategy and identifying and implementing processes that empower cross-functional teams to not only evolve their UI practice, but ultimately ensure we are creating high quality products on behalf of our users. You seek insight into user needs to derive efficient, friendly interaction design. You understand the holistic journey a user takes in order to provide them with valuable tools for task completion. You are not afraid of complexity, depth, and balancing the demands of a wide, varied user base when crafting software.

You love owning big interaction problems and providing the thought leadership vital to drive them toward success by collaborating hand-in-glove with product owners and engineers.

As a UX Designer, You Will:

• Own and influence the design of tool(s) used by internal and external users.
• Help develop and implement UI strategies that align with business goals, ensuring a seamless user experience.
• Design detailed wireframes, journeys, info architecture, and prototypes
• Ensure design is consistent with our UI guidelines and approved interaction patterns
• Lead the design of user interfaces using participatory and iterative design techniques, including heuristic evaluations, observational studies, customer interviews, usability testing, and other forms of requirements discovery
• Conduct comprehensive user research, including user interviews, surveys, and usability testing to gather insights and identify pain points.
• Collaborate with key project team members, including UX designers, researchers, product managers, and technology leads to deliver end-to-end solutions.
• Be a positive, friendly representative and evangelist for user-centered design.

Requirements

• 7+ years application design experience in either product or agency environments
• BFA degree in HCI or a related field
• Portfolio samples that show deep UI thinking and sophisticated problem solving
• Candidates who proceed to interviews will be required to perform a small UI design exercise, which they will then present to the team.

Expert-level Skills in:

• Developing UI artifacts such as wireframes, prototypes, site maps, user journeys
• Figma and/or Axure
• Detailing the work (i.e. functional specs, annotations, user stories, etc.)
• Communication and storytelling through presentation
• Ability to collaborate with development teams to ensure design implementation meets high quality standards
• Partnering with key stakeholders to identify, develop, and implement innovative processes to ensure that UI design/research efforts are efficient, repeatable at scale and that ultimately ensure production and release of effective and impactful design.

Strong Skills in:

• Leading a user-centered discovery phase for projects, such as running workshops and facilitating discussions with partners
• Working within lean/agile product development models
• Working with cross functional teams that are earlier in their UX evolution to establish and implement UX processes that ensure quality of design at scale.
• Experience facilitating or assisting user research and user testing – and subsequently identifying user needs, actions, behaviors and emotions through research

Design Experience with the Following Is a Plus, but Not Required:

• B2B offerings
• Enterprise desktop software
• Enterprise financial software

Portfolio sharing is preferred.

Our benefits

To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of employee benefits including: retirement investment and tools designed to help you in building a sound financial future; access to education reimbursement; comprehensive resources to support your physical health and emotional well-being; family support programs; and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.

Our hybrid work model

BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.

About BlackRock

At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being. Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children’s educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.

This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment – the one we make in our employees. It’s why we’re dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive.

For additional information on BlackRock, please visit @blackrock | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock

BlackRock is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, disability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics at law.