Senior User Experience Designer

Contract Duration-Length of Time (years/months):

3 years 

About the team/job

We are looking for an experienced User Experience (UX) Designer to join the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in our mission to create scientific web services that are aesthetically pleasing, useful, usable, and empower our employees and scientists worldwide to solve the biggest challenges in biology. 

This is an exciting role offering direct contact with teams across EMBL-EBI that are responsible for a wide range of established and cutting-edge scientific web services, as well as the bioinformaticians and life scientists who use these services. You will join our Web Development team and will liaise with other teams within EMBL-EBI to guide the UX design of their services.

You will also have an opportunity to connect with several other UX Designers working for particular services at EMBL-EBI, as well as a wider community of developers, curators, data scientists and team leads who are interested in UX design on our campus. We are also contributing to the UX in Life Sciences (UXLS) initiative. As a member of the Web Development team, you will have the opportunity to engage with this thriving community. 

Your role

As a Senior User Experience Designer at EMBL-EBI, you will bring your expertise to help develop and enhance our services and will be involved in:

• Conducting user research and usability testing.
• Developing wireframes and high fidelity mockups to address user needs.
• Collaborating with other designers and developers to create intuitive, user-friendly innovative solutions.
• Leading UX training and outreach efforts to familiarise EMBL-EBI teams with fundamentals of UX practices.
• Advocating the use of best UX practices across projects to align with the industry standard design principles and meet accessibility guidelines.
• Mentoring and supporting junior members and promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvements within the team.

User research and evaluation

• Organise and contribute to user research studies (user interviews, observations, usability studies) to gain insights into user needs.
• Collaborate with the service team to articulate the outcomes of user research (e.g. by developing problem statements, personas, scenarios and user stories).
• Combine the above outcomes with other information (such as analytics, surveys, existing user feedback, stakeholder requirements), and produce actionable insights that can guide the next stage of development. 

Design

• Translate research insights and stakeholder requirements into sketches, wireframes, and interactive prototypes of appropriate fidelity, to present interactions supporting the user journey.
• Produce high-fidelity design mockups to facilitate development.
• Organise collaborative design sessions and lead design reviews.
• Incorporate and extend the new EMBL visual framework in your designs.
• Ensure that the designs conform to accessibility standards.

Collaboration

• Work collaboratively with other designers, product design and development teams, engineers and project managers.
• Communicate effectively with the team and demonstrate the value of user-centred design.
• Oversee research and insight projects and propose changes for improvements. 

You have

• Ideally, at least 3 years of experience as a UX designer, UI designer or a similar role.
• A portfolio showcasing examples of your work.
• Experience in organising and leading user research activities.
• Proficiency in UX best practices and knowledge of accessibility standards.
• Expertise with Figma or another design and prototyping tool, such as Sketch, Adobe XD etc.
• Experience determining the information architecture and creating sitemaps.
• Experience working as a member of a dynamic interdisciplinary team and collaborating with other designers, developers and non-technical stakeholders throughout the research and design process.
• Ability to work autonomously when required, handle multiple tasks  and work to deadlines.
• Excellent written verbal and visual communication skills. 

You might also have

• A degree or other qualification in a design discipline, or equivalent  industry experience.
• Experience with User Centered Design (UCD) and/or Lean and Agile UX design methodologies.
• Familiarity with best practices for design systems.
• An understanding of Agile software development practices.
• Knowledge of HTML/CSS (basic understanding of Wordpress is a plus).
• An interest in life sciences and a desire to work in a stimulating and international culture. 

Why join us

Do something meaningful

At EMBL-EBI you can apply your talent and passion to accelerate science and tackle some of humankind's greatest challenges. EMBL-EBI, part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, is a worldwide leader in the storage, analysis and dissemination of large biological datasets. We provide the global research community with access to publicly available databases and tools which are crucial for the advancement of healthcare, food security, and biodiversity.

Join a culture of innovation

We are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus, alongside other prominent research and biotech organisations, and surrounded by beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside. This is a highly collaborative and inclusive community where our employees enjoy a relaxed atmosphere. We are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their professional potential. 

Enjoy lots of benefits:

• Financial incentives: Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
• Flexible working arrangements
• Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)
• Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition to eight bank holidays
• Relocation package including installation grant (if required)
• Campus life: Free shuttle bus to and from work, on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)
• Family benefits: On-site nursery, 10 days of child sick leave, generous parental leave, holiday clubs on campus and monthly family and child allowances
• Benefits for non-UK residents: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance.

For more details please see our employee benefits page. 

What else you need to know

• Contract duration: This position is a 3 year fixed-term contract, with a possibility for renewal to 9 years. 
• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Read more on our page for international applicants. 
• Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL-EBI, we strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought. We encourage applications from women, LGBTQ+ and individuals from all nationalities. 
• EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we implement best practices in research assessment in our recruitment processes here.
• Job location: This role is based in Hinxton, near Cambridge, UK. You will be required to relocate if you are based overseas and you will receive a generous relocation package to support you.
• How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. 

To apply, click the 'Apply' button.