Here’s How to Write a Stellar UX Designer Job Description

Creating a job description, especially for a position requiring advanced technical expertise, poses certain challenges. The relevant software competencies and practical skill sets that these roles require are often changing, and some hiring managers may not feel confident about the technical know-how to effectively capture their company’s specific employment needs.

UX designers are invaluable to an organization. UX (or user experience) design seeks to improve the experience that users have while navigating your company’s platform and products. Designers shape your customer’s journey, and a successful UX design campaign can help build overall brand loyalty and increase your business.

Many UX jobs focus on digital products (websites and applications), but you can apply the principles to any kind of consumer experience. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the digital design field is growing faster than average with a projected 23% increase in demand over the next 10 years.

So, how do you create a job description for such an important, sought-after role? And how can you make your posting stand out in a competitive hiring field? We’ve created a nine-step guide to get you started. Plus, we’ve included some ways to customize the job description to your organization’s specific needs.

Step 1: Understand the Role

As we mentioned before, a UX designer is typically a tech-based position. These professionals are responsible for crafting your customer’s overall digital impression. Typically, UX designers work alongside UI (user interface) designers on a team, creating a functional and attractive consumer experience. UX designers also work with software engineers in product development, facilitate wireframing and design needs, and help during the prototype testing phase. To be successful in this role, these individuals have technical coding expertise, mastery of design principles, marketing acumen, and the soft skills required to work well on a team.

Step 2: Create a Summary

Begin your UX designer job description with a summary of the position as it stands within your company’s overall mission. Avoid the day-to-day details—instead, consider your goals for this position and how the designer’s responsibilities serve the organization as a whole.

Are you looking for someone to launch a brand-new product? Do you need a natural problem-solver who can troubleshoot specific customer issues? Or do you need someone who can fit effortlessly into an established team? You can integrate company values and needs into your summary from the get-go.

Step 3: Address the Required Skills

This is where you can begin fleshing out the more specific needs of your UX designer. Continue to keep language at a higher level (no need to dig into the exact software certifications yet). Generally, most companies look for similar UX design competencies, but you can fine-tune the job description depending on your company culture and goals.

Some of the more common requirements for a successful UX designer include:

• A knack for problem-solving and analyzing data
• In-depth knowledge of your company’s target audience
• An eye for design, technical mastery
• Story-telling abilities
• Excellent communication skills

We can’t stress this last point enough. You need an individual who can effectively communicate their ideas to colleagues and your leadership team.

Step 4: Outline the Primary Responsibilities

This section is where you can begin curating the position for your company. Ask yourself these questions:

• What specific problems do you want this individual to address?
• What needs to change?
• What do you expect them to research?
• Describe the general expectations that could occur from week to week: team meetings, supervisor check-ins, prototype demos, etc.
• Illustrate where this position stands within the organization. Who will they report to, and who might they supervise?

If your UX designer reports to a manager, you might ask that supervising individual for feedback on this position’s daily responsibilities.

Step 5: Decide on Educational Requirements

Consider whether your company prefers employees to have a bachelor’s degree or is comfortable with skills-based hiring. According to the BLS, common undergraduate fields for UX designers include graphic or web design. Other popular degrees include computer science or information technology. However, remember that this position is as people-focused as it is technically savvy, so UX designers could easily have a background in English or psychology.

Moreover, practical experience goes a long way for this profession, so don’t limit your candidate pool with strict educational requirements. A high school diploma, some UX design coursework, and an extensive portfolio could be all you need for a successful hire.

Step 6: List UX Designer Qualifications

Next, assess the professional experience and exact technical specifications your organization needs.

Will this person have a supervisor and mentor? In that case, you could require just one-to-two years of professional background (such as an internship or entry-level role).

Will your UX designer need to jump in and troubleshoot an ongoing issue immediately? Then you’ll likely want candidates with proven experience—a mid-level UX designer should demonstrate three-to-five years in the field.

There aren’t formal requirements mandating certifications, licenses, or degrees for UX design. If you’re just beginning to create your job description, it might benefit you to assess what similar companies list for their UX designer qualifications. Some of the more popular and respected certifications for UX design include those from Google, Designlab, Nielsen Norman Group, Human Factors International, and General Assembly.

UX designers need to be familiar with programming languages as well, specifically HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python. Ensure you include the exact coding knowledge your company requires in the job description.

Step 7: Request a Portfolio

The portfolio might be one of the most critical aspects of the job description.

Without firm hiring metrics like bachelor’s degrees or professional certifications, an individual’s portfolio is your best tool for assessing their overall fit for your company. Request your UX design candidates to submit a portfolio as part of the application. A strong UX portfolio should include a couple main elements that capture their comprehensive experience as a designer. These are:

• UX research experience
• Wireframe schematics
• Prototyping examples

Expect plenty of visuals that showcase their creative side and technical mastery of design software.

Step 8: Include Specifics

Make sure you add whatever specific hiring details your company requires. When is your ideal start date? Will this individual need to submit references? What about background checks, drug tests, or other pre-employment conditions? And what’s the job’s pay? Include as much relevant information as possible and set your applicants up for success.

Step 9: Be Inclusive

In today’s job market, you must craft an inclusive job description that encourages all candidates, no matter their gender, sexual orientation, and racial background, to apply. Comb through your finalized job description and adjust the language to be as neutral as possible. Highlight your company’s DEI initiatives and values, and showcase how you take care of your people.

---

There is no one-size-fits-all job description for UX design. However, it starts with research and talking to your colleagues. UX design encapsulates a lot of skills, so focus on what your company needs to succeed, whether market research, strong management, innovative design, or acute problem-solving.

Above all, seek candidates who can think outside the box and work well with your team. These soft skills can be just as essential but harder to learn than specific technical expertise.