Our client ’92s flagship product is the most successful domestic product in the world; it controls about 75% of the North American market, and holds a sizable lead in Europe as well, according to Adam Fleck of Morningstar. With the resounding success of its Home Automation business, the company is going through a momentous transition in strategy and culture: from standalone hardware-oriented products to the internet and software-based Connected Home ecosystem that presents potential partners in everything from mobile and voice-enabled devices to add-on home automation functionality. A design focus that once prioritized individual product utility is fast shifting to one emphasizing overarching user experience consistent with the aspirational nature of a premium brand.

What will the future of our client ’92s Connected Home products look and feel like? Will mobile phone-based control persist as the ’93right ’94 interface, or will voice control become a user imperative for the future? Who are the potential partners that can help the company provide their users the best experience in a Connected Home ecosystem, and speed the company ’92s passage to becoming the Connected Home leader?

The company requires a strong, visionary and inspirational UX leader and evangelist to embrace this newly created role and lead the charge to the company ’92s UX-centric, Connected Home future as category leader.

Overview of the Role

The Director UX will not only drive UX as a priority internally, and translate that focus into best-in-class, user-centric Connected Home products, but will help chart the future of the company ’92s user experience. He or she will be responsible for ‘a0defining the holistic user experience for the products ’96 the user ’92s end-to-end journey with the product ’96 to ensure an experience with our client ’92s products that is consistent with the company ’92s strategy and brand, and that delight the company ’92s users. The Director UX will work closely with the executive, engineering and product management teams to make certain that the user experience is translated into present and future product design, both hardware and software.

Responsibilities

UX Vision & Strategy

Serve as the steward of the company ’92s UX vision. How will the user experience define the company ’92s brand, everything from the out-of-box experience through set-up, control, and everyday product interaction?

Strengthen the research processes, tools and resources necessary to define the total user experience, present and future. What problems do users want resolved today? What will users be looking for in the future as technology and the Connected Home market evolve? How will the company leverage their products ’92 connected functionality for data logging, testing and analytics to persistently assess and improve the user experience? What is the current state of the art in UX design in the industry? What is possible and practical with respect to both the software and the physical design, bearing in mind price and performance?

UX Leadership

Serve as the UX evangelist for the company. Provide knowledge, leadership and inspiration to help orient product design and development teams to a user-centric model that will inculcate UX strategy into design specifications for features and functionality.

Serve as a technology evangelist to advocate for product capabilities that enable a great mobile experience in the broader IoT ecosystem.

Support the validation of UX functionality during all stages of prototyping and development.

Team Management

Lead, manage and inspire what is currently a team of 5 UX designers, doing everything from foundational user research, through interaction, graphical design and usability assessments.

Manage and provide leadership to the 4-person Industrial Design team to support the ID direction already in motion and ensure consistent UX experience and brand.

Manage outsourced services related to User Experience and Industrial Design.

Requirements

• Demonstrated success in UX leadership, evangelism and culture change for companies in consumer device, home automation or related markets; and for products that benefit from IoT capabilities and partnerships, and involve both software and hardware technologies
• 10+ years of experience participating in all aspects of the user experience lifecycle: research, design and validation, with at least 3 years of successful leadership
• Proven background in creating great experiences in consumer mobile software applications
• Proven ability to balance the varying needs of the organization with the user: resulting in a user experience strategy that is informed by meaningful research, empathy for the user and an appreciation for the difficulties and realities of implementing change and new plans internally
• Strong knowledge of different research methodologies that inspire and inform consumer experiences
• Strong understanding of user-centric processes that contribute to the creation of successful, cutting edge experiences
• Strong understanding and study of human behavior, and a proven record of translating behavioral characteristics into design feature/functionality
• Ability to influence and partner with executive, product and technology teams/experts to reinforce user needs and values within the product design process
• Enough of a technologist to understand the cutting edge of UX and how design imperatives are blended into engineering best practices
• Knowledgeable about UX tools and techniques
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, especially as they relate to inspiring, articulating and defending design decisions
• Effective leadership, interpersonal, project management, meeting management and consulting skills
• Ability to manage effectively external third party design partners
• Degree in Human Computer Interaction, Cognitive Sciences, Digital Design helpful but not required