Senior UX Designer, GREF – Global Product at Amazon

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX Designer, GREF – Global Product

Company: Amazon

Location: Arlington, Virginia, United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: UX Design, Product Design

Date Posted: 2025-06-13T00:00:00

Experience Level: Senior (6+ years)

Remote Status: On-site

🎨 Role Summary

Lead end-to-end UX design for innovative space planning technology tools within Amazon's Global Real Estate and Facilities (GREF) organization.
Collaborate cross-functionally with UX Research, Product Management, Software Engineering, and Business stakeholders to deliver user-centered design solutions.
Focus on improving existing systems and designing new tools that enhance the employee experience in corporate office environments globally.
Drive the design process from ideation through implementation, ensuring customer-obsessed design specifications and ease of use for internal GREF employees and business partners.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role focuses on internal tools within a large corporate real estate and facilities function, implying a need for enterprise-level UX expertise, understanding of complex workflows, and strong stakeholder management skills in a non-customer-facing product context.

🖼️ Primary Responsibilities

Collaborate closely with design leadership and cross-functional partners (Product, Engineering, Business) throughout the entire product development lifecycle, ensuring design alignment with business goals and technical feasibility.
Drive design concepts from initial ideation workshops and sketching through to detailed wireframes, prototypes, and final high-fidelity mockups and specifications.
Conduct deep dives into the needs and use cases of space planning customers within the GREF organization, utilizing user research insights to inform design decisions.
Conceptualize and design creative, simplified solutions for complex real estate planning processes and systems, focusing on improving efficiency and user satisfaction.
Present design solutions and rationale effectively to cross-functional teams and senior leadership, advocating for user needs and design best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: Responsibilities emphasize collaboration, end-to-end design ownership, and a strong focus on understanding complex internal business processes to translate them into intuitive user interfaces. This requires a blend of strategic thinking and detailed execution.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is required. A Master's degree or equivalent practical experience is often highly valued for senior roles at Amazon.

Experience: A minimum of 6 years of professional UX design experience is required, with a strong portfolio showcasing shipped products and demonstrable impact. Experience with enterprise software or internal tools is a significant advantage.

Required Skills:

Extensive experience in end-to-end UX design, including user research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and visual design handover.
Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional teams (Product Management, Engineering) and senior leadership through effective communication and presentation of design rationale.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and user needs clearly and persuasively.
A comprehensive online portfolio or samples of work demonstrating past experience of designing and shipping successful digital products, highlighting your design process and problem-solving approach.

Preferred Skills:

Experience working cross-team and synthesizing feedback and input from diverse stakeholders, including product management, engineering, testing, and business partners.
Specific experience designing software for end users or enterprise customers, particularly in complex domains like real estate, logistics, or operations.
Ability to work efficiently and demonstrate a bias for action in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment, managing multiple priorities and adapting to changing requirements.
Experience with space planning, architectural visualization, or related tools and concepts is a strong plus.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on influencing senior leadership and cross-functional teams underscores the strategic nature of this senior-level role. Experience with complex software and the ability to synthesize diverse feedback are key indicators of the challenges and required skills in this domain.

🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

Include 3-5 detailed case studies of shipped products or significant features, focusing on your role, the problem you solved, your design process, and the impact of your work.
Clearly articulate the business problem and user needs addressed by each project, demonstrating your understanding of the context and constraints.
Showcase your end-to-end design process, from initial research and ideation to final design specifications and collaboration with engineering.
Present high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes that effectively communicate the user experience and visual design direction.

Process Documentation:

Detail your approach to user research and discovery, including methodologies used (interviews, surveys, usability testing) and how insights informed your design decisions.
Illustrate your ideation and iteration methods, showing sketches, wireframes, and different design explorations.
Explain your validation and testing approaches, including how you gathered user feedback and iterated on designs based on findings.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the senior level and focus on complex enterprise tools, the portfolio should strongly emphasize problem-solving, strategic thinking, and the ability to navigate complexity, in addition to strong visual design skills. Case studies should clearly articulate business impact.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry data for Senior UX Designer roles at large technology companies in the Arlington, Virginia area, the estimated annual salary range is typically between $140,000 and $190,000. This range can vary based on experience, specific skills, and negotiation. (Source: Based on publicly available salary data from sources like Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, and Payscale for similar roles in the specified location and company type as of mid-2024).

Benefits:

Comprehensive health insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision) with various plan options.
401(k) retirement plan with company match.
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) as part of the compensation package, providing a stake in Amazon's growth.
Paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, and company holidays.
Maternity and parental leave programs.
Employee discounts on Amazon products and services.
Access to professional development resources and training programs.
Potential for various wellness programs and employee assistance initiatives.

Working Hours: This is a full-time, on-site position, typically requiring standard business hours. Some flexibility may be available depending on team needs and project phases, but the role is primarily based in the Arlington office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on regional market data for senior design roles at major tech companies. Amazon's compensation structure often includes a significant RSU component, which can substantially increase total compensation over time.

🎯Team & Company Context

🏢 Company & Design Culture

Industry: E-commerce, Cloud Computing, Digital Streaming, Artificial Intelligence, and various other sectors. Amazon's Global Real Estate and Facilities (GREF) operates within the broader corporate structure, focusing on internal infrastructure and employee experience.

Company Size: Amazon is a very large global organization with over 1.5 million employees worldwide (as of late 2024). Working within a large organization like Amazon means navigating complex structures, processes, and a diverse set of stakeholders.

Founded: Amazon was founded in 1994.

Team Structure:

The UX team within GREF is dedicated to designing location-based visualization and space planning tools for internal employees.
You will report to design leadership within the GREF organization.
Collaboration is highly cross-functional, requiring close partnership with Product Managers, Software Engineers, Business Analysts, and other GREF experts.

Methodology:

Expect a data-driven design process, utilizing metrics and user feedback to inform decisions.
Agile development methodologies are likely employed, requiring iterative design and close collaboration with engineering throughout development sprints.
Emphasis on understanding complex internal workflows and translating them into intuitive digital experiences.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Working within GREF means designing for internal corporate users and complex business processes, which differs significantly from designing for external consumers. The design culture will likely emphasize efficiency, scalability, and deep understanding of internal operational needs.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Design Career Level: This is a Senior-level UX Designer role. Senior designers at Amazon are expected to take ownership of significant product areas, mentor junior designers (though not explicitly stated as a requirement, it's common at this level), drive strategic design initiatives, and influence product direction.

Reporting Structure: You will report to a design leader within the GREF organization, likely a Design Manager or Principal Designer, providing guidance and oversight while allowing for significant autonomy in your project work.

Design Impact: This role has the potential for significant impact on the efficiency and experience of Amazon's internal GREF employees and potentially broader business partners who utilize space planning tools. Your work will directly contribute to how Amazon manages its global corporate real estate portfolio.

Growth Opportunities:

Opportunities to grow within the Senior UX Designer track (e.g., Principal Designer) by taking on increasingly complex problems and demonstrating leadership in design strategy and execution.
Potential for growth into design management roles, leading a team of designers.
Opportunities to specialize in specific areas of enterprise design, space planning technology, or data visualization.

📝 Enhancement Note: At a large company like Amazon, the senior level implies not just design execution but also strategic thinking, leadership potential, and the ability to navigate organizational complexity to drive design impact.

🌐 Work Environment

Studio Type: This is an on-site role based in a corporate office setting in Arlington, Virginia. Amazon's corporate offices are typically modern and designed to facilitate collaboration, though the specific setup within the GREF team may vary.

Office Location(s): The primary location is Arlington, Virginia. Amazon has a significant presence in Arlington (HQ2), suggesting a large and well-equipped office environment.

Design Workspace Context:

Expect a collaborative workspace environment designed to support cross-functional teamwork.
Access to standard design tools and software, as well as potential access to specialized tools for space planning and visualization.
Opportunities for informal and formal design critiques and knowledge sharing within the GREF UX team and potentially the broader Amazon design community.

Work Schedule: The role requires working from the Arlington office during standard business hours. While some flexibility might be possible, the expectation is regular attendance at the physical location for team collaboration and meetings.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement highlights the importance of in-person collaboration with the GREF team and cross-functional partners, which is often crucial for complex enterprise software development.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Design Interview Process:

Initial Screening: Likely includes a recruiter screen and potentially a hiring manager or peer designer screen to assess basic qualifications and fit.
Portfolio Review: A key part of the process will be presenting your portfolio and walking through 2-3 case studies in detail, focusing on your process, problem-solving, and impact. Be prepared to discuss your role in the project and your collaboration with others.
Design Challenge/Whiteboarding: You may be given a design challenge (either take-home or on-site whiteboarding) related to enterprise tools, complex workflows, or data visualization. Be prepared to articulate your thought process and design decisions.
Loop Interviews: A series of interviews with various team members (designers, product managers, engineers, potentially business stakeholders) focusing on behavioral questions (aligned with Amazon's Leadership Principles), technical skills, collaboration style, and cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

Tailor your case studies to highlight experience relevant to designing complex systems, enterprise tools, or data-heavy interfaces.
Focus on demonstrating your understanding of user needs in a business context and how your design solutions addressed those needs effectively.
Clearly articulate your design process, including research, ideation, iteration, and collaboration with engineering and product teams.
Be prepared to discuss the impact of your designs, using metrics or qualitative feedback where possible.

Challenge Preparation:

Practice whiteboarding or structuring your approach to a design problem under time constraints.
Focus on clearly defining the problem, identifying key users and their needs, exploring different solution options, and explaining your rationale for your chosen approach.
Be ready to discuss trade-offs and potential challenges in implementation.

ATS Keywords: UX Design, User Experience, Product Design, Interaction Design, Information Architecture, User Research, Usability Testing, Wireframing, Prototyping, Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, Design Systems, Enterprise Software, Space Planning, Data Visualization, Cross-functional Collaboration, Stakeholder Management, Agile, Lean UX, Design Thinking, Problem Solving, Analytical Skills, Communication Skills, Leadership, Mentorship, Corporate Real Estate, Facilities Management, Internal Tools, Workflow Optimization, User-Centered Design, Design Strategy, Information Design, Journey Mapping, Usability, Heuristic Evaluation, Accessibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process at Amazon is known for its rigor, particularly the focus on Leadership Principles and in-depth portfolio review. Candidates should prepare to articulate their design process and impact using concrete examples and data where possible.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design Tools:

Figma or Sketch: Highly likely as the primary tools for UI design, wireframing, and prototyping, given industry standards and collaborative features. Proficiency in one or both is essential.
Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator): Likely used for supplementary visual asset creation and image editing.
Prototyping Tools: In addition to Figma/Sketch prototyping features, tools like InVision or Axure might be used for more complex interactions.

Collaboration & Handoff:

Confluence/Jira: Standard tools for project management, documentation, and tracking design tasks within an Agile workflow.
Slack/Chime: Primary communication platforms for team and cross-functional collaboration.
Zeplin or similar: Tools for design handoff to engineering, providing specifications and assets.

Research & Testing:

Usability Testing Platforms: Tools for conducting remote or in-person usability studies.
Survey Tools: Platforms for gathering user feedback and conducting quantitative research.
Analytics Platforms: Tools for analyzing user behavior and feature adoption within the product.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools weren't listed, these are standard tools for a Senior UX role at a large tech company. Proficiency in collaborative design tools and experience with project management platforms are crucial for working effectively in a cross-functional environment.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Design Values:

Customer Obsession: A core Amazon principle, applied here to understanding and designing for the needs of internal GREF employees and business partners.
Invent and Simplify: Designing innovative and user-friendly solutions for complex space planning problems, simplifying existing processes.
Are Right, A Lot: Making sound design decisions based on data, user research, and design expertise.
Dive Deep: Thoroughly understanding the intricacies of real estate planning processes and user workflows to inform design.

Collaboration Style:

Expect a collaborative environment with frequent interaction with Product, Engineering, and Business teams.
Design critiques and feedback sessions are likely part of the workflow to refine design solutions.
Emphasis on clear and concise communication to align stakeholders and drive consensus.

📝 Enhancement Note: Amazon's Leadership Principles heavily influence the work culture. Understanding how these principles apply to the design function within GREF will be important for success and interview preparation.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Design Challenges:

Designing intuitive interfaces for complex, data-heavy enterprise systems used by internal experts.
Navigating a large, matrixed organization with diverse stakeholders and competing priorities.
Balancing the needs of different user groups within GREF and across the company.
Innovating within existing system constraints and technical limitations.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

Opportunity to become an expert in designing for the corporate real estate and facilities domain within a large global company.
Exposure to complex business processes and the challenge of translating them into effective digital tools.
Opportunities to strengthen skills in stakeholder management, strategic thinking, and influencing product roadmaps.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges highlight the need for a designer who is comfortable with complexity, adept at stakeholder management, and capable of driving design solutions within a large organizational structure.

💡 Interview Preparation

Design Process Questions:

Describe a time you designed a solution for a complex workflow or system. How did you approach understanding the existing process and identifying user needs? (Prepare a case study focusing on complexity).
Walk me through a project where you had to balance competing requirements from different stakeholders. How did you facilitate alignment and make design decisions? (Prepare a case study highlighting collaboration and negotiation).
Tell me about a time you used data or user research to inform a significant design decision. (Prepare examples where research insights directly impacted your design).

Company Culture Questions:

Which Amazon Leadership Principle resonates most with you and why? How have you demonstrated this principle in your past work? (Review all Leadership Principles and prepare specific examples).
Describe a situation where you had to work with a team that had differing opinions. How did you approach the situation and reach a successful outcome? (Focus on collaboration and conflict resolution).
How do you prioritize your work when faced with multiple projects or competing deadlines? (Demonstrate ability to manage priorities in a fast-paced environment).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

Structure your case studies using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result), focusing on the problem, your role, your process, and the impact.
For each project, highlight how you addressed user needs and business goals.
Be prepared to discuss challenges you faced and how you overcame them.
Practice presenting your work concisely and confidently, anticipating potential questions about your design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should heavily focus on Amazon's Leadership Principles and preparing detailed case studies that demonstrate senior-level design thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this design position:

Submit your application through this link.
Ensure your resume is tailored to the role, highlighting relevant experience in UX design, enterprise software, and collaboration with cross-functional teams. Optimize your resume with relevant ATS keywords.
Prepare your online portfolio, ensuring it is easily accessible and showcases your strongest work, particularly projects involving complex systems or internal tools. Organize your case studies clearly and concisely.
Practice presenting your portfolio and discussing your design process, focusing on the problem, your approach, and the impact of your work.
Research Amazon's Leadership Principles and be prepared to discuss how you have demonstrated these principles in your past professional experience, using specific examples.

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

Senior UX Designer, GREF – Global Product