📍 Job Overview
Job Title: UX Designer
Company: Springer Nature
Location: Pune, India
Job Type: FULL_TIME
Category: User Experience (UX) Design
Date Posted: 2025-06-13T00:00:00
Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years)
Remote Status: Hybrid
🎨 Role Summary
- Contribute to shaping innovative tools and services specifically for the life sciences research community within the Experiments platform.
- Improve the discoverability and design of laboratory protocols, empowering scientists globally.
- Enhance the researcher experience by making experimental science more open, collaborative, and efficient through user-centered design solutions.
- Champion the user throughout the design lifecycle, ensuring experiences align with the Materials Solutions vision and deliver tangible value.
🖼️ Primary Responsibilities
- Recognize and articulate end-user problems, pain points, challenges, and opportunities within the materials science domain through research and analysis.
- Facilitate the creation of well-thought-through, low-fidelity diagrams exploring ideas and solutions across user flows and customer journeys.
- Develop concepts from wireframes through to mid-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes, presenting solutions and iterating based on feedback.
- Organize, plan, and conduct user research activities to gather insights and validate design decisions.
- Foster a culture of sharing research findings and design insights within the project, program, and wider design teams.
🎓 Skills & Qualifications
Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a related field is typically preferred for a mid-level UX Designer role, providing a strong theoretical foundation in user-centered design principles.
Experience: Appropriate number of years of UX Design experience in a mid-level capacity, with at least 1 year of experience working specifically on a task-heavy application. A strong design portfolio demonstrating critical thinking, analysis, and sound decision-making is essential.
Required Skills:
- User Experience (UX) Design principles and methodologies
- Wireframing (e.g., Balsamiq, Miro)
- Prototyping (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision)
- User Research methodologies (e.g., interviews, usability testing, surveys)
- Collaborative teamwork and communication
- Stakeholder engagement and presentation skills
- Critical thinking and problem-solving
- Empathetic approach to understanding user needs
Preferred Skills:
- Experience with Design Systems and contributing to their evolution.
- Familiarity with the academic publishing or research domain.
- Experience working in a cross-functional Agile or Lean development environment.
🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements
Portfolio Essentials:
- Your portfolio (website or PDF) must clearly demonstrate critical thinking and analytical skills throughout the design process.
- Include case studies that showcase your application of diverse UX methods and techniques, from research and ideation to prototyping and testing.
- Present not just final designs, but the journey – the problem you solved, your process, iterations, and the impact of your design decisions.
- Showcase your ability to work on task-heavy applications, detailing how you simplified complex workflows or improved information architecture.
Process Documentation:
- Document your research and discovery phase, including how you identified user problems and pain points within the materials science domain or similar complex fields.
- Illustrate your ideation and iteration methods, showing the progression from low-fidelity sketches to mid-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes.
- Detail your approach to validation and testing, explaining how you gathered feedback and iterated on designs based on user insights.
💵 Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Mid-Level UX Designer in Pune, India, with 2-5 years of experience, the estimated annual salary range is typically between ₹8,00,000 and ₹15,00,000 INR. This estimate is based on data from various salary aggregators and industry reports for the Pune tech sector, adjusted for a hybrid work model in a large, international publishing company. The final salary will depend on the candidate's specific experience, skills, and the outcome of the negotiation process.
Benefits:
- Competitive, industry-benchmarked salary.
- Opportunities for personal and professional growth and learning.
- Hybrid working model (3 days in the office).
- Inclusion in a diverse and inclusive team culture.
- Potential access to resources and insights within the academic and research community.
Working Hours: Full-time, typically 40 hours per week, with a hybrid work schedule requiring 3 days per week in the Pune office. Flexibility may be available to accommodate creative workflows and collaboration across global time zones.
🎯Team & Company Context
🏢 Company & Design Culture
Industry: Academic and Professional Publishing. Springer Nature is a global leader in research, educational, and professional publishing, opening doors to discovery for millions of researchers, educators, clinicians, and other professionals. The industry context means designing for highly specialized users with complex information needs.
Company Size: Over 10,000 employees globally. Working in a large organization like Springer Nature means exposure to established processes, potentially larger project scopes, and opportunities for cross-functional collaboration on a significant scale.
Founded: With a history spanning over 180 years through various imprints, Springer Nature has a deep legacy in the publishing world. This long history suggests a stable organization with established practices, but also a focus on evolving with technology to serve modern researchers.
Team Structure:
- The role is within the Data & Analytics Solutions (DAS) division, which is a shared services division.
- You will be part of the Experiments team, focused on the life sciences research community.
- The core team members are located globally (Pune, London, Heidelberg, Berlin, Beijing, New York), requiring strong remote and hybrid collaboration skills.
- You will work closely with a UX Lead, UX Researcher, and UI Designer within your immediate team.
- You will also be part of a larger community of UX practitioners across various global locations.
Methodology:
- The team works in collaborative, multi-disciplinary delivery teams, suggesting an Agile or Lean approach.
- Emphasis on continuous discovery and research to inform design decisions.
- Design is informed by research and utilizes a design system.
- There is a focus on user-centered design solutions.
Company Website: https://careers.springernature.com/
📈 Career & Growth Analysis
Design Career Level: This is a Mid-Level UX Designer role, indicating responsibility for executing design tasks with some autonomy, contributing to the design strategy, and collaborating effectively within the team and with stakeholders. It's a step above entry-level, requiring demonstrated experience and critical thinking.
Reporting Structure: You will be supported by a UX Lead and work closely with a dedicated UX Researcher and UI Designer within your team. This structure provides mentorship and specialized support within the design discipline.
Design Impact: Design plays a critical role in enhancing the researcher experience on the Experiments platform. Your work will directly impact how scientists discover, design, and execute laboratory protocols, contributing to accelerating progress in biomedical and life sciences research.
Growth Opportunities:
- Advancement within the UX design track, potentially towards a Senior UX Designer or UX Lead role within the DAS division or other teams.
- Opportunity to specialize in designing for complex, task-heavy applications within the academic/research domain.
- Contribution to and evolution of the company's design system.
- Learning and development through collaboration with experienced UX practitioners across a global community.
🌐 Work Environment
Studio Type: Hybrid office model, requiring 3 days per week in the Pune office. This setup encourages in-person collaboration while offering flexibility for focused remote work. The office environment likely supports a collaborative and focused creative process.
Office Location(s): The primary location for this role is Pune [SNTPS Kharadi], India. The team members are globally distributed, including London (UK), Heidelberg and Berlin (Germany), Beijing (China), and New York (USA).
Design Workspace Context:
- The hybrid model facilitates both individual focus time and in-person collaboration sessions crucial for design critiques, brainstorming, and team alignment.
- Access to necessary design tools and technology for seamless remote and in-office work.
- Opportunities to interact with other design peers and the wider DAS community both in person and virtually.
Work Schedule: Full-time, with the expectation of being in the Pune office 3 days per week. The remaining days can be worked remotely. Collaboration across different time zones will be a factor to manage effectively.
📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process
Design Interview Process:
- Initial screening to assess basic qualifications and experience.
- Portfolio review, where you will be expected to present case studies demonstrating your design process, critical thinking, and the impact of your work, particularly on task-heavy applications.
- Technical interview focused on your UX skills, methodologies, and problem-solving abilities, potentially including a design challenge or discussion of past challenges.
- Behavioral interview to assess cultural fit, collaboration style, and communication skills, especially in a global hybrid environment.
- Meeting with the hiring manager and potentially team members, including the UX Lead, UX Researcher, and UI Designer.
Portfolio Review Tips:
- Curate your portfolio to specifically address the requirements of this role, highlighting projects involving complex workflows or task-heavy applications.
- Structure your case studies using a framework like Problem, Process, Solution, Impact to clearly articulate your approach and outcomes.
- Emphasize your research methodologies, how you identified user needs, and how those insights informed your design decisions.
- Showcase your wireframes, mockups, and prototypes to demonstrate your iterative design process.
- Be prepared to discuss your rationale behind key design decisions and how you handled feedback.
Challenge Preparation:
- If given a design challenge, carefully read and understand the problem statement, focusing on the user needs and goals.
- Structure your approach clearly, outlining your process from understanding the problem to proposing a solution.
- Be prepared to articulate your design decisions and trade-offs.
- Consider the technical feasibility and business context of your proposed solution.
- Practice presenting your solution concisely and confidently, focusing on the user value.
ATS Keywords:
- Design Skills: UX Design, User Experience, Wireframing, Prototyping, User Research, Usability Testing, Information Architecture, Interaction Design, Design Strategy, User Flows, Customer Journeys, Design Thinking, Iterative Design, User-Centered Design, Visual Design (basic understanding), Design Systems, Accessibility, Responsive Design.
- Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision, Balsamiq, Miro, Zeplin, Abstract, Jira, Confluence, Google Analytics, Hotjar, UserTesting.com.
- Methodologies: Agile, Lean UX, Scrum, Design Sprints, Continuous Discovery.
- Soft Skills: Collaboration, Communication, Stakeholder Management, Presentation Skills, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Empathy, Teamwork, Feedback Incorporation, Leadership (within design context).
- Industry Terms: Academic Publishing, Research Community, Life Sciences, Materials Science, Digital Products, Web Applications, SaaS, User Needs, Pain Points, Solutions, Impact, Metrics.
🛠 Tools & Technology Stack
Primary Design Tools:
- Specific tools used were not explicitly mentioned, but industry standards for mid-level UX Designers typically include: Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD for UI design and prototyping; InVision or similar for interactive prototyping and collaboration; Balsamiq or Miro for wireframing and ideation. Proficiency in at least one major design tool is expected.
- Expect to use tools that support collaborative design, version control, and potentially design system management.
Collaboration & Handoff:
- Tools like Zeplin, Abstract, or Figma's built-in handoff features for developer collaboration and design specification.
- Project management and collaboration tools such as Jira and Confluence are likely used for tracking tasks and documentation.
Research & Testing:
- Tools to support user research activities like interviews, usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com), and surveys.
- Analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Hotjar) may be used to gather data on user behavior and measure the impact of design changes.
👥 Team Culture & Values
Design Values:
- Dedication to user-centered design, placing the needs and experiences of researchers and scientists at the forefront of the design process.
- Emphasis on critical thinking, analysis, and sound decision-making based on research and insights.
- Value placed on collaboration within the design team and with cross-functional partners (UX Lead, UX Researcher, UI Designer, developers, product managers).
- A culture of sharing findings and insights to ensure informed design decisions and a shared understanding of the user.
Collaboration Style:
- Collaborative and friendly team environment, encouraging collective ownership of the product.
- Regular interaction with the UX Lead, UX Researcher, UI Designer, and members of the Materials Solutions team.
- Active participation in the wider UX community within Springer Nature for sharing knowledge and best practices.
- Open and empathetic communication style is valued, especially when working with stakeholders and non-designers.
⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities
Design Challenges:
- Designing for a highly specialized user base (researchers, scientists) with complex workflows and domain-specific knowledge within the materials science domain.
- Navigating the complexities of designing task-heavy applications and optimizing information architecture for discoverability and efficiency.
- Collaborating effectively with a globally distributed team across multiple time zones.
- Integrating new design solutions within existing platforms and potentially contributing to the evolution of a design system.
Learning & Development Opportunities:
- Gain deep expertise in designing for the academic and research community, a specialized and impactful domain.
- Develop skills in designing for complex, task-heavy applications and optimizing intricate workflows.
- Enhance remote and hybrid collaboration skills by working with a global team.
- Opportunity to contribute to and learn from a wider community of UX practitioners within a large organization.
- Potential for growth into more senior design roles or specialization areas within the company.
💡 Interview Preparation
Design Process Questions:
- Be prepared to walk through your design process for a complex project, focusing on how you identified user problems, conducted research, and iterated on solutions. Use examples from your portfolio, especially those involving task-heavy applications.
- Discuss your experience with different UX methods (e.g., user interviews, usability testing, journey mapping) and when you would apply them.
- Explain how you approach information architecture and workflow design for complex systems.
Company Culture Questions:
- Research Springer Nature's values and recent work, particularly within the DAS division and the Experiments platform.
- Be ready to discuss how you collaborate with cross-functional teams (developers, product managers) and stakeholders.
- Highlight your experience working in a collaborative, potentially remote or hybrid, team environment.
Portfolio Presentation Strategy:
- Select 2-3 case studies that best demonstrate your relevant skills and experience, particularly your work on task-heavy applications and your research process.
- For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process (including research, ideation, and testing), your key design decisions and rationale, and the impact of your work.
- Be prepared to go into detail about specific challenges you faced and how you overcame them.
📌 Application Steps
To apply for this design position:
- Submit your application through this link
- Customize your resume to highlight relevant experience with UX design, user research, wireframing, prototyping, and working on task-heavy applications, incorporating relevant ATS keywords.
- Prepare your design portfolio, ensuring it includes compelling case studies that showcase your design process, critical thinking, and the impact of your work, with a focus on complex workflows.
- Practice presenting your portfolio and articulating your design decisions and rationale clearly and concisely.
- Research Springer Nature, the DAS division, and the Experiments platform to understand the company's mission and the specific context of this role.