📍 Job Overview
Job Title: Principal UX Designer
Company: Avalere Health
Location: Remote (US)
Job Type: Permanent/Full-time
Category: UX Design, Strategic Design
Date Posted: 2025-06-13T00:00:00
Experience Level: Principal (5-10 years)
Remote Status: Remote
🎨 Role Summary
- Lead and define the strategic direction for user experience initiatives within the healthcare marketing sector, with a strong emphasis on patient, HCP, and caregiver needs.
- Drive the full UX lifecycle from ideation and research through to implementation and iteration, ensuring user-centered design principles are applied consistently.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Client Services, Strategy, Technology, and Creative teams to develop and implement scalable and adaptable digital experiences.
- Champion UX best practices, mentor junior designers, and contribute to the refinement of internal design processes and governance, particularly within regulated environments like Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences.
🖼️ Primary Responsibilities
- Define, articulate, and champion UX strategy, aligning design initiatives with business outcomes and focusing on user needs in the healthcare space.
- Translate complex requirements into intuitive user flows, content architecture, sitemaps, wireframes, and prototypes.
- Advise creative teams on the implementation of design systems, ensuring compliance and accessibility standards are met.
- Plan, conduct, and synthesize user research and usability testing to validate design decisions and measure the success of UX interventions.
- Present UX concepts and strategies to internal teams, executive leadership, and external client partners with clarity and confidence.
- Lead and facilitate workshops to gather insights, synthesize findings, and develop actionable design strategies.
- Help refine internal UX processes and governance, particularly within the regulated domain of pharmaceutical and life sciences marketing.
- Continuously monitor trends in human-centered design, digital tools, and design technologies to propose innovative solutions and future opportunities.
🎓 Skills & Qualifications
Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is typically expected for a Principal-level role. Equivalent professional experience demonstrating a strong foundation in design theory and practice is also often accepted.
Experience: 5-10 years of progressive experience in UX/UI design, with a significant portion spent in a leadership or principal capacity. Demonstrated success in managing complex, omni-channel digital design projects and platform initiatives is crucial. Experience within the healthcare, pharmaceutical, or life sciences industry is a significant plus.
Required Skills:
- Expertise in UX Strategy and User-Centered Design methodologies.
- Proficiency in creating user flows, sitemaps, wireframes, and interactive prototypes.
- Strong experience planning, conducting, and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative user research and usability testing.
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams (Client Services, Strategy, Tech, Creative).
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex design concepts to diverse audiences.
- Experience with design systems and ensuring adherence to compliance and accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).
- Proven ability to mentor and provide guidance to other designers.
- Experience working in an Agile development environment.
- Strong understanding of responsive and adaptive design principles and modern web technologies.
Preferred Skills:
- Experience specifically within the Life Sciences or Pharmaceutical medical communications sector.
- Proficiency with UX research and analytics tools to measure and communicate design impact.
- Experience leading design workshops and facilitating collaborative design sessions.
🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements
Portfolio Essentials:
- Showcase a range of projects demonstrating strategic thinking and end-to-end ownership of the UX process, particularly for complex digital products and platforms.
- Include case studies that clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process followed (including research and iteration), the final solution, and the measured impact.
- Highlight projects within regulated industries (like healthcare or finance) if possible, demonstrating an understanding of compliance and accessibility requirements.
- Visually present your work clearly and professionally, emphasizing the user journey and key design decisions.
Process Documentation:
- Case studies should detail the research and discovery phase, including methodologies used (e.g., user interviews, surveys, competitive analysis) and key insights gathered.
- Document the ideation and iteration methods employed, showcasing sketches, wireframes, prototypes, and explaining the rationale behind design choices.
- Clearly articulate the validation and testing approaches used (e.g., usability testing, A/B testing) and how feedback influenced design iterations.
💵 Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range: $145,000 - $155,000 per year. This range is explicitly stated in the job description and is competitive for a Principal UX Designer role, particularly in a remote US setting within the healthcare/consulting sector.
Benefits:
- 401K plan with an employer match contribution up to 4% (immediately vested).
- Comprehensive health benefits including Medical, Dental, and Vision plans.
- Life Insurance and Disability Coverage.
- Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid and remote work options.
- Opportunity to work from anywhere globally for two weeks each year.
- 20 vacation days plus one personal well-being day.
- 9 public holidays observed.
- Gifted end-of-year holidays.
- Early Summer Friday finish in June, July, and August.
- Access to free counseling through an employee assistance program.
- Enhanced maternity, paternity, family leave, and fertility policies.
- Continuous professional development opportunities, including on-demand training and global mobility.
Working Hours: While not explicitly stated, full-time employment typically implies a standard 40-hour work week, with flexibility offered through remote work arrangements.
🎯Team & Company Context
🏢 Company & Design Culture
Industry: Business Consulting and Services, with a strong focus on healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences. Avalere Health positions itself as a strategic partner in this sector, aiming to improve patient outcomes.
Company Size: 1,001-5,000 employees (LinkedIn data: 1344 employees). A company of this size typically has established processes and structures, but also offers opportunities for individual impact and growth within teams.
Founded: Founding date not provided, but the company has a significant global presence and history as indicated by its multiple office locations and large employee base.
Team Structure:
- The Principal UX Designer will collaborate closely with Client Services, Strategy, Technology, and Creative teams, suggesting a matrixed or cross-functional team structure.
- The role involves mentoring junior designers, indicating a structured design team with different experience levels.
- Collaboration across global teams is mentioned, implying distributed design workflows.
Methodology:
- Emphasis on the full UX lifecycle from ideation to implementation suggests a comprehensive design process.
- Mention of "Agile sprints" indicates the use of Agile development methodologies.
- A focus on user research and usability testing points to a user-centered and data-driven design approach.
Company Website: https://avalerehealth.com/
📈 Career & Growth Analysis
Design Career Level: Principal UX Designer. This is a senior-level role focused on strategic leadership, complex problem-solving, and mentoring. It sits above Senior Designer roles and often involves significant autonomy and influence on design direction.
Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, a Principal Designer typically reports to a Design Lead, Design Manager, or potentially a Director of UX, depending on the organizational structure. The role's emphasis on leadership and mentorship suggests reporting to someone who oversees the design team.
Design Impact: The role is described as instrumental in shaping the strategic direction of user experience initiatives and defining product vision. This indicates that design has a significant influence on product and business decisions within the healthcare marketing sector.
Growth Opportunities:
- Opportunity to advance into a Design Lead or Managerial role, overseeing a team of designers.
- Potential for specialization in areas like UX Strategy, healthcare-specific design, or leading large-scale platform initiatives.
- Growth through mentorship and elevating the performance of other design team members.
🌐 Work Environment
Studio Type: Remote-first with collaboration hubs. While the role is remote (US), the company has major city hubs in London, Manchester, Washington, D.C., and New York, which serve as collaboration spaces for teams when needed. This suggests a flexible but potentially distributed team environment.
Office Location(s): Major hubs in London, Manchester, Washington, D.C., and New York, with smaller offices globally. The specific US hubs mentioned are Washington, D.C. and New York.
Design Workspace Context:
- As a remote role, the primary workspace is the employee's home office.
- Collaboration tools and virtual meeting platforms will be essential for daily work and team interaction.
- Opportunities for in-person collaboration may exist at the US hubs for team meetings or workshops, depending on team needs and company policies.
Work Schedule: Flexible working arrangements are offered, including remote work. While a standard full-time schedule is implied, the company emphasizes flexibility and offers benefits like early Summer Fridays, suggesting a culture that supports work-life balance for designers and their creative workflows.
📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process
Design Interview Process:
- Initial screening to assess basic qualifications and experience.
- Portfolio review focusing on strategic thinking, process documentation, and relevant project experience, particularly in complex domains or regulated industries.
- Technical interview or design challenge to evaluate problem-solving skills, design methodology, and ability to translate requirements into design solutions.
- Behavioral and team fit interviews to assess collaboration style, leadership potential, and cultural alignment.
Portfolio Review Tips:
- Curate your portfolio to showcase projects that demonstrate strategic impact and leadership in solving complex design problems.
- For each case study, clearly articulate your design process, including research, ideation, iteration, and validation, emphasizing your role as a Principal Designer.
- Highlight any experience working within regulated industries or on projects requiring adherence to strict compliance and accessibility standards.
- Be prepared to discuss the business outcomes and user impact of your design solutions, using data where possible.
Challenge Preparation:
- Review common design challenge formats (e.g., whiteboard challenge, take-home assignment) and practice articulating your thought process and design rationale under pressure.
- Focus on demonstrating your ability to understand complex requirements, prioritize user needs, and propose strategic design solutions within constraints.
- Be prepared to discuss how you would collaborate with cross-functional teams and gather feedback throughout the design process.
ATS Keywords: UX Strategy, User-Centered Design, Principal Designer, Healthcare UX, Pharmaceutical UX, Life Sciences UX, Strategic Design, User Research, Usability Testing, Design Systems, Accessibility Standards (WCAG), Wireframing, Prototyping, Information Architecture, User Flows, Stakeholder Management, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Agile, Mentorship, Design Leadership, Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision, User Interviews, Surveys, Analytics, Omnichannel Design, Responsive Design, Adaptive Design, Compliance, Regulation, Patient Journey, Healthcare Provider (HCP), Caregiver, Case Studies, Portfolio, Design Process, Design Thinking, Iteration, Validation, Digital Health, Medical Communications.
🛠 Tools & Technology Stack
Primary Design Tools:
- Specific tools are not explicitly mentioned, but industry standards for a Principal UX Designer would likely include proficiency in tools like Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD for UI design, wireframing, and prototyping. Expect to use tools that facilitate complex design system management and collaboration.
- Proficiency level expected is high, given the Principal title and the need to advise creative teams on design system use.
Collaboration & Handoff:
- Tools like InVision, Zeplin, or Abstract might be used for prototyping, collaboration, and developer handoff.
- Project management and communication tools such as Jira, Asana, Slack, or Microsoft Teams are likely part of the workflow for cross-functional collaboration.
Research & Testing:
- Tools for conducting and analyzing user research (e.g., Dovetail, Optimal Workshop) and usability testing platforms (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback) are likely used.
- Analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics) may be used to measure design performance and gather user insights.
👥 Team Culture & Values
Design Values:
- A core value of making "EVERY PATIENT POSSIBLE" drives the company's mission, suggesting a strong emphasis on user-centeredness and the impact of design on patient lives.
- Prioritizing the needs of patients, healthcare providers (HCPs), and caregivers is central to the role, indicating a focus on empathetic and inclusive design.
- The commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through Employee Network Groups suggests a value placed on diverse perspectives and backgrounds within the team.
Collaboration Style:
- Seamless collaboration across Advisory, Medical, and Marketing capabilities is emphasized, indicating a highly collaborative and integrated team environment.
- Close partnerships with Client Services, Strategy, Tech, and Creative teams are expected, requiring strong communication and collaboration skills.
- Mentorship and elevating team performance are valued, suggesting a culture of knowledge sharing and support within the design team.
⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities
Design Challenges:
- Navigating the complexities and regulations of the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries while delivering innovative and user-friendly design solutions.
- Balancing creativity with strategic business outcomes and demonstrating the measurable impact of UX initiatives.
- Leading and guiding cross-functional teams through the full UX lifecycle, ensuring alignment and effective collaboration across different disciplines.
- Continuously staying updated on trends in human-centered design, digital tools, and technologies, and proposing innovative solutions in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Learning & Development Opportunities:
- Opportunities for professional growth through day-to-day career experiences, on-demand training sessions, and regular career conversations.
- Potential for global, cross-capability career moves within Avalere Health.
- Mentorship opportunities to further develop leadership and coaching skills.
💡 Interview Preparation
Design Process Questions:
- Be prepared to walk through your end-to-end design process for a complex project, highlighting your strategic decisions and the rationale behind them.
- Discuss how you approach user research and usability testing, including methodologies, synthesizing findings, and incorporating feedback into design iterations.
- Explain how you translate complex business requirements and user needs into intuitive design solutions, providing specific examples from your portfolio.
Company Culture Questions:
- Research Avalere Health's mission and values, particularly their focus on "EVERY PATIENT POSSIBLE," and be prepared to discuss how your personal values align.
- Ask questions about the design team structure, collaboration patterns with other departments, and the company's approach to fostering a user-centered culture.
- Inquire about the specific challenges of designing for the healthcare/pharmaceutical industry within the company context and how the team addresses compliance and accessibility.
Portfolio Presentation Strategy:
- Structure your portfolio presentation around 2-3 key case studies that best showcase your strategic thinking, leadership, and experience with complex projects or regulated industries.
- For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the impact, focusing on the "why" behind your design decisions.
- Be prepared to discuss the challenges you faced and how you overcame them, demonstrating your problem-solving skills and adaptability as a Principal Designer.
📌 Application Steps
To apply for this design position:
- Submit your application through this link.
- Customize your design portfolio to highlight projects relevant to the healthcare or other regulated industries, showcasing strategic thinking and end-to-end process ownership.
- Optimize your resume by incorporating relevant design keywords from the job description, emphasizing leadership experience, and detailing your experience with user research, design systems, and compliance standards.
- Prepare for the interview process by practicing articulating your design process, preparing detailed case study walkthroughs, and researching Avalere Health's business and design culture.
- Be ready to discuss your experience mentoring other designers and contributing to the improvement of design processes and methodologies.