Head of UX

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Head of UX

Company: NAVEX

Location: Houston, Texas, United States

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: User Experience (UX) Design & Strategy

Date Posted: 2026-08-28

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the definition and execution of a global enterprise UX vision, driving platform-scale customer experiences and elevating design maturity within a high-growth SaaS environment.

• Champion an AI-enabled UX strategy, integrating artificial intelligence to accelerate research, prototyping, and design delivery while maintaining human-centered design principles.

• Establish and foster a prototype-first product development culture to enhance alignment between Product and Engineering, mitigate delivery risks, and improve overall product quality.

• Transform customer insights into actionable product strategy, influencing investment decisions and driving measurable business outcomes through user-centered design thinking.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a strategic leadership function, requiring the Head of UX to act as a business partner, not just a design lead. The emphasis on AI, prototype-first culture, and measurable business impact signifies a mature and forward-thinking product development approach at NAVEX.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and champion the global enterprise UX vision, ensuring cohesive, differentiated customer experiences across the NAVEX platform.

• Lead UX as a strategic business function, influencing product strategy, investment priorities, and executive decisions through deep customer insight and design thinking.

• Develop and execute NAVEX's AI-enabled UX strategy, accelerating research, prototyping, documentation, and design delivery while championing human-centered design.

• Champion a prototype-first product development model, leveraging interactive prototypes for alignment, risk reduction, and accelerated delivery with Product and Engineering.

• Serve as the voice of the customer, translating research and insights into product strategy, prioritization, and measurable business outcomes.

• Lead Design Operations, building scalable design systems, research practices, governance, and accessibility standards to enhance quality and speed.

• Set the standard for design excellence by establishing principles, governance, and quality frameworks for intuitive, accessible, and exceptional user experiences.

• Build and inspire a world-class design organization, developing exceptional leaders and fostering a culture of accountability, experimentation, and continuous improvement.

• Strengthen product development by partnering with Product and Engineering leaders to create operating models that improve collaboration, execution, and delivery.

• Measure customer and business impact using data, customer feedback, and product outcomes to continuously improve adoption, engagement, retention, and experience quality.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong focus on operationalizing design processes, scaling design capabilities through Design Operations, and directly linking UX initiatives to tangible business results, common in senior operations and product leadership roles within SaaS companies.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Digital Media Design, Graphic Design, or a related field. Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive experience leading Product Design or UX within high-growth SaaS organizations, with a proven track record of shaping platform-scale customer experiences, building modern design organizations, and advancing enterprise design maturity.

• 5+ years of experience in a leadership capacity, managing and developing high-performing design teams through periods of growth and organizational transformation. Required Skills:

• Strategic UX Leadership: Proven ability to define and champion an enterprise UX vision, aligning executive leadership, Product, and Engineering around a shared customer experience strategy.

• Design Operations Expertise: Deep experience building and scaling Design Operations, including robust design systems, research operations, governance, and modern design practices.

• Human-Centered Design & AI Integration: Demonstrated success leveraging AI to accelerate research, prototyping, design quality, and team productivity while advancing human-centered design principles.

• Customer Insight to Strategy: Strong customer obsession with a track record of translating customer insights into product strategy, prioritization, and measurable business outcomes.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven ability to partner effectively with Product and Engineering leaders to modernize product development through AI, prototype-first practices, and scalable operating models.

• Executive Communication & Influence: Exceptional executive communication and storytelling skills, with a proven ability to influence strategy through customer insight, design thinking, and data.

• Portfolio of Impact: A compelling portfolio demonstrating strategic UX leadership, platform thinking, and measurable business impact. Preferred Skills:

• Product & Business Acumen: Strong understanding of product development lifecycles and business objectives, balancing customer needs, technical constraints, and commercial outcomes.

• Research & Feedback Programs: Experience building customer research and feedback programs that directly inform product strategy and investment decisions.

• UX Metrics Definition: Experience defining key UX success metrics that demonstrably improve adoption, engagement, satisfaction, retention, and overall business performance.

• Accessibility & Inclusive Design: Deep expertise in accessibility standards, inclusive design principles, and modern UX best practices.

• Culture Agility: Comfort and effectiveness working in a fast-paced, candid environment that values innovation, healthy debate, and consistent follow-through.

📝 Enhancement Note: The required experience level and specific leadership duration (5+ years leading leaders) suggest this is a senior executive-level role critical to the company's product strategy and GTM execution. The emphasis on SaaS and high-growth environments is a key differentiator for operations professionals.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio is mandatory, showcasing strategic UX leadership, a strong understanding of platform-scale thinking, and demonstrable business impact.

• The portfolio should highlight case studies that detail the challenges, your strategic approach, the solutions implemented, and the measurable outcomes achieved, with a focus on user adoption, engagement, and business performance.

• Evidence of experience in defining and executing enterprise-wide UX visions and influencing product strategy at a senior level must be clearly presented.

• Examples demonstrating the application of AI in UX workflows, the implementation of prototype-first development models, and the establishment of Design Operations functions are highly valued. Process Documentation:

• Candidates are expected to articulate their methodologies for establishing and scaling design systems, research operations, and governance frameworks that ensure consistency, quality, and efficiency.

• The ability to describe processes for translating customer insights into product strategy and prioritization, supported by data and user feedback mechanisms, is crucial.

• Documentation or examples of how you have fostered cross-functional operating models between Design, Product, and Engineering, focusing on collaboration, execution, and delivery efficiency, will be advantageous.

• Proficiency in defining and tracking UX success metrics that directly correlate to business outcomes such as adoption, engagement, satisfaction, and retention should be evident.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Head of UX role, the portfolio is not just about visual design but about strategic impact, process maturity, and leadership. Candidates should prepare to discuss their process for driving organizational change and scaling design capabilities.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• The starting base salary for this role is $240,000+ per annum.

• A significant performance-based bonus (MBO - Management by Objectives) of 20% is also offered.

• The total compensation package is designed to be competitive for a senior leadership role in the Houston, TX tech market, reflecting the experience and strategic importance of this position. Benefits:

• Competitive compensation package, including base salary and performance bonus.

• Professional growth opportunities, with a focus on continuous learning and development.

• Supportive work environment, emphasizing collaboration and individual success.

• The company likely offers standard benefits such as health insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement savings plans (e.g., 401k), paid time off, and potentially stock options or equity, though these are not explicitly detailed. Working Hours:

• Standard full-time working hours are expected to be approximately 40 hours per week.

• While on-site, the high-performance culture suggests a need for dedication, but the role's leadership nature may offer some flexibility in managing work schedules to achieve objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range of $240,000+ base plus a 20% MBO is highly competitive for a Head of UX role in Houston, TX, especially within the SaaS industry. This indicates a senior-level position with significant responsibilities and expected impact. Researching comparable Senior Director/VP of UX roles in enterprise SaaS in major Texas metros would provide further context for total compensation expectations.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software & Technology (specifically, Governance, Risk, and Compliance - GRC solutions). NAVEX focuses on transforming the world by making it safer, more ethical, and ensuring every voice is heard through its platform.

Company Size: NAVEX is a significant player in its industry, suggesting a medium to large enterprise size, likely with multiple product lines and a substantial customer base. This implies a structured but dynamic environment where a Head of UX can drive considerable impact.

Founded: While the founding date isn't specified, NAVEX has a history in the GRC space, indicating established processes and a need for innovation to maintain market leadership.

Team Structure:

• The Head of UX will report directly to the SVP of Product Management, indicating a close alignment with product strategy and development.

• This role will lead a design organization, likely comprising UX designers, researchers, and potentially design operations specialists.

• Close partnerships are expected with Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, and Customer Success teams, requiring strong cross-functional collaboration. Methodology:

• NAVEX emphasizes a high-performance culture driven by speed, passion, and purpose, operating as one team.

• Core values include boldness in ideas, accountability in actions, and commitment to doing the right thing right.

• The company is actively promoting a "prototype-first" culture and integrating AI into its UX strategy.

• Data analysis and customer insights are central to shaping product strategy and driving business impact.

Company Website: https://www.navex.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: NAVEX's focus on GRC solutions means the UX will likely serve businesses needing to manage compliance, ethics, and risk. Understanding this domain is key. The company's stated values and emphasis on a high-performance, purpose-driven culture are critical for cultural fit assessment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a senior leadership position, equivalent to a Director or VP level within the UX and Product organization. The scope includes defining enterprise-wide strategy, leading a team of leaders and individual contributors, and directly influencing product roadmap and investment decisions. It represents a significant step in career progression for experienced UX leaders.

Reporting Structure: The Head of UX reports to the SVP of Product Management. This structure places UX at a strategic level within the product organization, ensuring direct input into product strategy and roadmap development. Collaboration with other senior leaders across Engineering, Marketing, and Customer Success will be paramount.

Operations Impact: The Head of UX is expected to be a key driver of business impact. By defining a cohesive and differentiated customer experience, elevating design maturity, and leveraging AI for efficiency, this role directly contributes to customer acquisition, retention, adoption, and overall business growth for NAVEX's SaaS platform. The emphasis on measurable outcomes underscores this expectation.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership: Opportunity to shape the future of customer experience for a leading GRC SaaS company and influence company-wide product strategy.

• Team Development: Build and mentor a high-performing design organization, developing future leaders and fostering a culture of innovation and excellence.

• Industry Advancement: Lead the adoption of cutting-edge methodologies like AI-enabled UX and prototype-first development, positioning NAVEX and the individual as industry innovators.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Gain broad exposure and influence across product, engineering, marketing, and sales by embedding UX as a core strategic function.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Head of UX, growth is often measured by the scope of influence, the scale of the teams led, and the direct impact on business strategy and outcomes, rather than just linear promotion. This role offers significant opportunity in all these areas.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is listed as "On-site," indicating a traditional office-based work environment. This suggests a focus on in-person collaboration, team cohesion, and leveraging company resources.

Office Location(s): The primary location is Houston, Texas. NAVEX may have other office locations, but this role is based in Houston. The company's website indicates a global presence, suggesting potential for interaction with teams in other regions.

Workspace Context:

• The Houston office will likely provide a professional workspace designed to foster collaboration among Product, Engineering, and Design teams.

• Access to necessary design and prototyping tools, as well as company-wide technology infrastructure, will be provided.

• Opportunities for direct interaction with a dedicated design team, product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders will be frequent, facilitating the "one team" culture. Work Schedule:

• The role is full-time, with an expected 40 hours per week.

• While on-site, the high-performance culture and leadership nature of the role may necessitate flexibility to meet project demands and strategic objectives. The company values speed and purpose, which can sometimes translate to demanding project timelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "On-site" requirement in Houston is a key factor for candidates. It implies a preference for in-person leadership, team building, and collaborative design processes that are best facilitated face-to-face.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio, focusing on leadership experience, strategic impact, and relevant SaaS/enterprise UX background.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Discussion with the SVP of Product Management to assess strategic vision, leadership philosophy, and alignment with NAVEX's culture and goals.

• Team Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders from Product, Engineering, and potentially other design leaders to evaluate collaboration style, technical understanding, and problem-solving approach.

• Executive/Panel Interview: A final interview, possibly with other senior executives, to confirm strategic fit, executive presence, and overall suitability for the role.

• Portfolio Presentation: A crucial component will likely involve a presentation of your portfolio, detailing key projects, strategic decisions, and measurable outcomes.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Strategic Narrative: Frame your portfolio around strategic impact. Focus on how your UX leadership drove business goals, not just individual design tasks.

• Quantifiable Results: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your strategic approach, the solutions, and the measurable business outcomes (e.g., increased adoption, reduced churn, improved satisfaction scores).

• Leadership Examples: Showcase instances where you led teams, mentored talent, influenced product strategy, and drove organizational change.

• AI & Modern Methodologies: Highlight specific examples of how you've integrated AI into UX workflows, championed prototype-first development, or scaled Design Operations.

• Conciseness and Clarity: Tailor your presentation to the time allocated. Focus on your most impactful projects and clearly articulate your role and contributions.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared to discuss your vision for enterprise UX at NAVEX, including how you would scale design maturity and integrate AI.

• Anticipate questions about how you build and lead high-performing design teams and foster a culture of innovation and accountability.

• Prepare to walk through a specific case study from your portfolio that best demonstrates your strategic leadership, problem-solving skills, and ability to drive business results.

• Think about how you would collaborate with Product and Engineering to refine operating models and improve product delivery.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a portfolio presentation and specific leadership challenges suggests a rigorous evaluation process designed to assess not just design skills but also strategic thinking and executive leadership capabilities. Candidates should prepare to articulate their vision and demonstrate past successes with concrete examples.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Proficiency with industry-standard tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, XD), and interactive prototyping tools (e.g., InVision, Axure, ProtoPie) is expected. The role will likely involve establishing or refining design systems within these tools.

• AI-Powered Design Tools: Experience with AI tools that assist in research synthesis, content generation, design iteration, or code generation will be highly advantageous, aligning with the company's AI-enabled UX strategy.

• Collaboration Platforms: Familiarity with tools like Jira, Confluence, Asana, or similar project management and documentation platforms for cross-functional workflow management.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Experience with tools like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or Pendo to track user behavior, measure adoption, engagement, and identify areas for UX improvement.

• Customer Feedback Tools: Familiarity with platforms for collecting and analyzing user feedback (e.g., surveys, NPS tools, user interview platforms).

• Data Visualization: Ability to use or interpret data from tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker to present insights to stakeholders.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly managing CRM, understanding how UX impacts CRM adoption and usage within sales and customer success teams is beneficial. Familiarity with CRM systems like Salesforce might be useful for context.

• Experience with workflow automation tools or understanding how UX design can leverage or improve automated processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The specific mention of "AI-enabled UX strategy" and "prototype-first" culture implies a need for candidates to be well-versed in modern design tools and emerging AI applications in the design process. Experience with Design Operations tools and platforms for managing design systems will also be critical.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Purpose-Driven: A strong commitment to NAVEX's mission of making the world safer and more ethical. This translates to designing solutions that genuinely help organizations operate with integrity.

• High-Performance & Accountability: A culture that moves with speed, sets ambitious goals, and expects excellence. Team members are trusted with ownership and held accountable for measurable outcomes.

• Boldness & Innovation: Encouragement to be bold in ideas, challenge the status quo, and embrace experimentation. This applies to both product innovation and how the design team operates.

• Customer Centricity: Deep obsession with the customer, ensuring that user needs and insights are at the forefront of all product and design decisions.

• Collaboration & Candor: Open communication, healthy debate, and a supportive environment where ideas are challenged constructively, fostering continuous improvement.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: A highly collaborative approach is essential, working closely with Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, and Customer Success to ensure a unified and effective go-to-market strategy and product experience.

• Prototype-First Mindset: Encouraging a collaborative environment where interactive prototypes serve as the common language, facilitating alignment, shared understanding, and faster decision-making across teams.

• Data-Informed Decision Making: A culture that values data, customer feedback, and analytical insights to inform strategy, prioritize efforts, and measure success, ensuring decisions are objective and impact-driven.

• Continuous Improvement: An ongoing commitment to learning, experimentation, and iterative refinement of both products and internal processes, fostering a dynamic and evolving work environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: NAVEX's explicitly stated values (speed, passion, purpose, boldness, accountability, doing the right thing right) are central to their culture. Candidates should demonstrate how their work ethic and leadership style align with these principles, especially in a high-performance, fast-paced environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Elevating Design Maturity: Leading the transformation of design practices across an established enterprise SaaS company, potentially requiring significant cultural and process shifts.

• Integrating AI Effectively: Successfully defining and implementing an AI-enabled UX strategy that enhances productivity and innovation without compromising human-centered design principles.

• Balancing Strategic Vision with Execution: Translating a bold UX vision into tangible, high-quality product experiences delivered at pace, requiring strong operational discipline and stakeholder management.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring consistent UX quality and strategic alignment across multiple product lines and collaborating effectively with diverse teams (Product, Engineering, Marketing, Sales) that may have varying priorities.

• Measuring and Demonstrating Impact: Quantifying the business value of UX initiatives and effectively communicating this impact to executive leadership to secure ongoing investment and support.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership: Opportunity to shape the overarching product and customer experience strategy for a significant player in the GRC SaaS market.

• Innovation Leadership: Spearhead the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and methodologies like AI in UX, positioning yourself and NAVEX at the forefront of industry trends.

• Team Building & Mentorship: Develop and grow a world-class design organization, nurturing talent and shaping future design leaders within the company.

• Broad Business Acumen: Gain deeper insights into the GRC industry, SaaS business models, and executive-level decision-making through close collaboration with senior leadership.

• Process Optimization: Drive significant improvements in product development processes, from research and prototyping to delivery and iteration, enhancing overall efficiency and product quality.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for a senior leadership role focused on transformation. Candidates should be prepared to discuss how they approach these challenges with strategic thinking, strong leadership, and a focus on measurable results.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your vision for enterprise UX at NAVEX, considering our GRC focus and the potential of AI. How would you operationalize this vision to elevate our design maturity?" (Focus on strategic roadmap, AI integration, and scaling Design Ops).

• "How do you build and lead high-performing, diverse design teams, particularly through periods of growth and transformation? Provide an example of a leader you developed." (Highlight leadership philosophy, team structure, talent development, and culture building).

• "Walk us through a complex platform-scale UX initiative you led. What was the strategic challenge, your approach, the key decisions made, and the quantifiable business impact?" (Use a STAR method case study, emphasizing strategic influence and measurable outcomes). Company & Culture Questions:

• "How do NAVEX's stated values (speed, passion, purpose, boldness, accountability) resonate with your leadership style and past experiences?" (Connect your experiences to their values, providing specific examples).

• "Describe your approach to fostering a 'prototype-first' culture and ensuring strong collaboration between Design, Product, and Engineering." (Focus on communication, process, and shared ownership).

• "How do you measure the success of UX initiatives and demonstrate their business impact to executive stakeholders?" (Discuss metrics, reporting, and storytelling for ROI). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Executive Summary First: Begin with a high-level overview of your strategic impact and key achievements before diving into specific case studies.

• Focus on Business Outcomes: For each project, clearly articulate the business problem, your strategic UX solution, and the quantifiable results (e.g., % increase in adoption, reduction in support tickets, improvement in NPS).

• Highlight Leadership and Process: Emphasize your role as a leader, how you influenced strategy, scaled teams, and implemented robust design processes (e.g., Design Systems, Design Ops, AI integration).

• Tailor to NAVEX: Demonstrate an understanding of NAVEX's GRC domain and how your UX expertise can address their specific business challenges.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your design process, decision-making rationale, and how you handle trade-offs and stakeholder feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparing a concise, impact-driven portfolio presentation is critical. The interview process will likely assess not only design thinking but also strategic business acumen, leadership capabilities, and cultural fit within NAVEX's high-performance environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Head of UX position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the NAVEX careers portal (jobs.dayforcehcm.com).

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to prominently feature case studies demonstrating strategic UX leadership, platform-scale experience, and quantifiable business impact relevant to enterprise SaaS. Highlight your experience with AI-enabled UX, prototype-first development, and Design Operations.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize your leadership experience (10+ years overall, 5+ years managing leaders), SaaS industry background, and accomplishments in driving design maturity and business results. Use keywords from the job description such as "UX Strategy," "Design Operations," "AI-enabled UX," and "Product Development."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your strategic vision for UX at NAVEX, preparing specific examples of how you've led teams, influenced product strategy, and driven measurable outcomes. Rehearse your portfolio presentation, focusing on storytelling, business impact, and alignment with NAVEX's values and mission.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research NAVEX's GRC solutions, target market, company culture, and recent news. Understand their mission and values to articulate how your leadership and design philosophy align with their strategic objectives and high-performance culture.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.