User Experience (UX) Designer

Looking for a career where you can give back to those who have supported you? Have a favorite teacher or, snowplow driver who helped you through a storm or maybe a State Trooper that let you off with a warning? If so, there is a good chance they are a PERA member. Colorado PERA provides retirement benefits for Colorado State Employees, like many teachers, snowplow drivers and State Troopers. Come join the team and give back to those who have helped you.

Colorado PERA’s Application Development team is growing and we need help! Are you talented in the area of User Experience and Design? We are looking for an experienced UX Designer to help with developing wire frames, low/high fidelity mock-ups and prototypes, in addition to problem identification, definition, ideation and testing. If UX design is your passion, please read our full job description below and how to apply for this great opportunity!

Please see below for the full Job Description.

JOB SUMMARY

User experience (UX) designers create high-quality, seamless, functionally optimized user experiences for members, employees, and other stakeholders. UX designers apply user-centered design principles and techniques, and work closely with the development team and other stakeholders to refine user experience and to inform and improve solution design. The designer is responsible for ensuring that websites and applications are easy to use. Duties include reviewing user feedback to determine potential defects and areas for clarity, using analytics to understand and align functionality with user behavior, and performing usability tests on software and website features to ensure functionality.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

PERA is seeking a talented team member to guide the development of internal UX design processes. The ideal candidate is an experienced UX Designer who has worked on a wide range of applications, and is comfortable leading UX design efforts. The candidate has experience communicating across teams and balancing needs across stakeholders. As part of the development team, the UX Designer will help with problem identification, definition, ideation and testing. They will develop wire frames, low and high fidelity mockups, and prototypes. The ideal candidate is motivated to continually apply lessons learned and improve design methodologies as the team’s understanding of the ideal design process evolves. The candidate must be able to take initiative, make independent decisions and ensure the effective completion of projects.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Collect and analyze user behaviors and develop a shared understanding of business and user needs through qualitative and quantitative research such as interviews, field studies, surveys, A/B testing, digital experience monitoring, and usability testing
• Manage ongoing gathering of user and stakeholder feedback on existing UX and design ideas
• Develop a deep understanding and documentation of customer journeys, personas and segmentation
• Design solutions to address critical user pain points and opportunities to increase efficiency
• Apply user-centered design processes that incorporate data from analytics, user insights, and continuous feedback
• Assists in defining alternate solutions for the business problem
• Ensure applications and websites supported meet objectives for usability, adhere to relevant design and accessibility standards, are consistent across the organization, and deliver positive experiences
• Partner with the development team to translate research into user stories, prioritize, test, and deliver features
• Identify and troubleshoot UX problems
• Use, improve, and coach others on UI/UX tools, techniques, processes, and best practices
• Communicate designs using storyboards, wireframes, process flows, sitemaps, mockups, and clickable prototypes to convey the impact of design decisions on user and business outcomes
• Present designs to stakeholders and product owners
• Contribute to and promote adoption of design patterns, standards, and systems
• Design short- and long-term UX vision and strategy for websites and applications supported
• Provide guidance on UX research techniques and testing activities to assess user behavior
• Ongoing training and education for professional development including learning new processes and technologies independently

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Product Design, a major design discipline, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Training in using HTML, CSS and JavaScript
• Experience with UX design tools such as UXPin, InVision, Figma, and Adobe’s Creative Cloud
• Ability to prioritize tasks, set goals, and manage time independently
• Attention to quality and detail
• A devotion to user satisfaction
• Experience in user interviews and design thinking principles
• Experience with storyboards, wireframes, process flows, sitemaps, and mockups
• Effective analytical, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills
• Experience working on a variety of software projects including web and mobile applications
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, written and verbal, and the ability to work collaboratively

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Standard office environment with regular computer and telephone use
• Occasional lifting, moving or carrying materials and equipment weighing in excess of 20 pounds

HYBRID WORK OPTION

• Opportunity to work from home up to three days per week. Eligibility dependent upon factors detailed in PERA's Work from Home Policy.

JOB DESCRIPTION DISCLAIMER:

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of an employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or new ones may be assigned with or without notice.

Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot consider candidates that require sponsorship (now or in the future), or are located outside of the US.

INTERESTED CANDIDATES
Complete the employment application online at https://www.copera.org/careers. Please have copies of your resume and cover letter available to upload. Please review the following questions. You will be asked for a response to these as part of your application:

• Why are you interested in working for PERA?
• People who do not know you well, may describe you as ______?
• What 3 words best describe you?
• What skills and previous experience make you the right fit for this position?

Upon submission of your application you will be provided a link to a short pre-employment skills assessment. You may complete this assessment immediately following your application submission or you may log into your account and complete this at a time which works better for you.

ABOUT COLORADO PERA
As Colorado’s largest public pension plan, we are committed to providing retirement and other benefits to more than 600,000 current and former teachers, State Troopers, corrections officers, snowplow drivers, and many other public employees who provide valuable service to all of Colorado.

We hire exceptional employees and invest in their growth and development. We are passionate about our work and committed to serving our members by delivering quality customer service, sound investment decisions, and education programs. Our culture is built on the core values of integrity and accountability, excellence and initiative, collaboration, and engagement. We value diverse perspectives and promote an inclusive culture, recognizing that our people are our primary asset. We provide a healthy work-life balance and a culture where excellence is rewarded. At PERA, your work makes a difference every day.

At PERA, you will earn more than just a paycheck- our total rewards package is focused on wellbeing. We offer a comprehensive benefit plan including Health, Dental and Vision coverage, with eligibility for most plans being the first of the month following the date of hire. We offer a generous paid time off plan as well as paid volunteer hours, PERA’s defined benefit plan, 401(k) and 457 defined contribution plans (including employer match on the 401(k), as applicable), tuition assistance, on-the-job training, free access to an on-site fitness center, free on-site parking or RTD subsidy, and more. PERA is also a Public Service Loan Forgiveness qualifying employer. For more information, please visit www.copera.org/careers.

Position Title: User Experience (UX) Designer
Division: Application Development
Reports to: Director of Application Development
Job Status: Full Time / Exempt
Salary: $75,000 - $100,000 annually, commensurate with experience
Posting Dates: 4/7/2023 - 4/23/2023

‍