Manager, UX

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Manager, UX

Company: ActBlue

Location: Remote

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: User Experience (UX) Operations & Design Leadership

Date Posted: April 20, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5-10 years)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and mentor a team of product designers, fostering a culture of craft, curiosity, and psychological safety to drive high-quality user experiences.

• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and cross-functional leadership to define product strategy and ensure UX has a strong voice in product evolution.

• Oversee workload distribution and resourcing, providing strategic support and career coaching to designers for their professional growth.

• Establish and communicate design direction, ensuring consistency and quality across interconnected user journeys and contributing to shared design principles.

• Advocate for user-centered thinking at the leadership level, demonstrating the strategic value and business impact of UX investment.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role bridges people management with technical UX leadership, requiring a candidate who can both guide a team and influence product strategy. The focus on a nonprofit mission and a progressive cause suggests a need for candidates passionate about social impact and technology for good.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Manage and mentor a team of product designers, providing regular feedback, career coaching, and support for their professional growth and skill development.

• Foster a team culture of craft, curiosity, and psychological safety, empowering designers to take creative risks and learn from outcomes.

• Oversee workload distribution and resourcing across your team, ensuring designers have clear priorities and appropriate scope for successful project delivery.

• Establish and communicate design direction for your team's product areas, ensuring consistency and quality across interconnected user journeys and product features.

• Lead regular design reviews and critiques that elevate the work and build shared standards across the team, promoting a high bar for design excellence.

• Partner closely with Engineering and Product leaders to develop a shared understanding of product vertical goals and ensure design work aligns with broader product strategy.

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with Product, Engineering, Customer Experience, and Marketing leadership to align design efforts with organizational objectives.

• Advocate for user-centered thinking at the leadership level, communicating the strategic value and business impact of UX investment and initiatives.

• Partner with UX Research and Data teams to ensure design decisions are grounded in evidence, validated through appropriate research methods, and informed by user insights.

• Contribute to the evolution of the ActBlue Design System to meet the needs of a growing product portfolio and ensure consistent implementation across teams.

• Contribute to the development of shared UX processes, tooling, and ways of working that benefit the broader design organization and enhance team efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus on team development and strategic product contribution. The emphasis on cross-functional partnership and advocacy for UX indicates a need for strong communication and influencing skills, particularly in a remote, distributed environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, or a related field is typically expected for UX leadership roles. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: 6–8+ years of UX experience, with a significant portion dedicated to leading end-to-end product delivery and prior experience managing or coaching other designers.

Required Skills:

• UX Design Expertise: Deep understanding of user-centered design principles, methodologies, and best practices across the entire product development lifecycle.

• Team Leadership & People Management: Proven ability to manage, mentor, coach, and develop a team of designers, fostering their career growth and performance.

• Product Strategy & Vision: Ability to contribute to and articulate product strategy, ensuring design vision aligns with business objectives and user needs.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Experience working effectively with Product Managers, Engineers, Researchers, and other stakeholders in a collaborative environment.

• Design Systems: Experience working within or contributing to a shared design system, ensuring consistency and scalability of design solutions.

• User Research & Data Analysis: Proficiency in leading discovery, ideation, and user research sessions, and connecting insights to concrete product decisions.

• Storytelling & Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with a proven ability to present to and influence audiences at multiple levels of an organization.

• Remote Team Management: Experience working with and leading geographically distributed teams across product, engineering, and other functions.

• Inclusive Design Practices: A commitment to fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment, actively centering and amplifying diverse perspectives.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in the nonprofit or political tech sector.

• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies.

• Advanced knowledge of UX research techniques and quantitative analysis.

• Experience with SaaS platforms and complex user flows.

• Proficiency in visual design and prototyping tools beyond basic wireframing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement of 6-8+ years, coupled with prior management or coaching experience, positions this as a mid-to-senior leadership role. The emphasis on remote collaboration and inclusive design suggests ActBlue values diverse teams and effective virtual communication.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrated Leadership: The portfolio should clearly showcase instances of leading design initiatives, mentoring designers, or influencing product strategy.

• End-to-End Product Delivery: Examples of projects that illustrate the full product lifecycle, from initial discovery and ideation through to high-fidelity execution and post-launch analysis.

• Problem-Solving & Impact: Case studies detailing complex user problems addressed, the design process followed, and the measurable impact (e.g., improved user engagement, conversion rates, task completion) on the product and business.

• Collaboration & Influence: Evidence of effective collaboration with cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering) and how design recommendations were advocated for and implemented.

• Design System Contribution: Examples of contributions to or utilization of design systems, highlighting how consistency and efficiency were maintained.

Process Documentation:

• Strategic Frameworks: Presentation of how strategic frameworks, design principles, and quality criteria were developed or applied to guide team efforts.

• Workflow Optimization: Examples of how team workflows and processes were improved to enhance efficiency, collaboration, or design quality.

• Research Integration: Documentation of how user research and data insights were integrated into the design process and decision-making.

• Design Review Cadence: Description of the approach to design reviews and critiques, including how feedback was solicited, given, and acted upon.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a UX Manager role, the portfolio is critical for demonstrating leadership capabilities, strategic thinking, and the ability to drive impactful design outcomes. Candidates should focus on showcasing not just individual contributions but also their ability to elevate a team and influence product direction.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $162,027 - $195,915 annually. This range is determined by ActBlue's compensation philosophy, considering candidate experience, interview performance, and internal salary parity.

Benefits:

• Work-Life Balance: Flexible work schedules and an unlimited time-off policy to promote well-being and autonomy.

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Fully paid and trans-inclusive health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their families.

• Health Reimbursement: Fully-paid health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) for out-of-pocket medical expenses.

• Disability & Insurance: Fully-paid short- and long-term disability insurance, plus fully paid basic and AD&D life insurance with an optional supplemental life insurance.

• Financial Well-being: Dependent and healthcare flexible spending account options, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and an automatic 2% employer-paid 401K contribution with up to a 6% match on employee contributions.

• Family Support: A minimum of three months paid medical, family, and parental leave for all new parents, including adoptions.

• Remote Work Support: Commuter or home-office benefits, including a $1,000 home-office setup allowance for all new full-time remote employees.

• Additional Perks: Quarterly snack deliveries and digital subscriptions to the Boston Globe & New York Times.

Working Hours: This role requires availability during established, regular business hours (Monday-Friday). While specific hours aren't dictated, consistent availability for team collaboration and meetings is expected.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a UX Manager role, especially considering the fully remote nature and comprehensive benefits package. The emphasis on paid leave, health coverage, and home-office support reflects a strong commitment to employee well-being and productivity in a remote setting.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically focused on supporting Democratic campaigns and progressive causes through fundraising technology. ActBlue is a nonprofit organization.

Company Size: The description doesn't explicitly state the company size, but the need for a Manager and the mention of a "broader UX team" and cross-functional leadership suggests a medium to large organization with established departments.

Founded: ActBlue was founded to revolutionize grassroots fundraising and has been building innovative solutions since its inception. This history implies a culture of innovation and a strong mission-driven approach.

Team Structure:

• UX Team: The UX Manager will lead a team of product designers and partner with a Senior UX Manager, indicating a structured UX department with potential for specialization.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Strong partnerships are expected with Product, Engineering, Customer Experience, and Marketing leadership, highlighting a collaborative, matrixed organizational structure.

• Reporting: The UX Manager will likely report to a Senior UX Manager or a Director of Design/Product, and will manage a team of individual contributor designers.

Methodology:

• User-Centered Design: A core tenet of ActBlue's approach, emphasizing a user-first mindset grounded in research and data.

• Mission-Driven Innovation: The organization is dedicated to building cutting-edge technology that fuels Democratic victories and progressive causes.

• Data-Informed Decisions: Collaboration with UX Research and Data teams to ensure design decisions are evidence-based.

• Agile/Iterative Development: Implied through partnership with Engineering and focus on delivering MVPs and complex features.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: ActBlue's mission as a nonprofit driving progressive change is a significant cultural differentiator. Candidates should be prepared to articulate how their UX leadership skills can contribute to this mission, emphasizing impact and user empowerment rather than purely commercial metrics.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is a management position within the UX discipline, specifically focused on leading a team of designers and influencing product strategy. It represents a step into people leadership for experienced individual contributors or a continuation of management experience for those already in leadership roles.

Reporting Structure: The UX Manager will report to a Senior UX Manager or an equivalent leadership role within the design or product organization. They will directly manage a team of Product Designers, providing them with mentorship and guidance. This structure allows for both direct team leadership and strategic input at a higher organizational level.

Operations Impact: The UX Manager's impact extends beyond design quality to directly influence the effectiveness of ActBlue's technology in supporting Democratic campaigns and progressive causes. By ensuring user-centered, efficient, and accessible fundraising tools, this role contributes significantly to the organization's mission of empowering small-dollar donors and mobilizing communities. The success of the products directly correlates with the success of the campaigns and organizations they serve.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Advancement: Potential to grow into a Senior UX Manager, Director of UX, or Head of Design role, overseeing larger teams and broader product portfolios.

• Strategic Influence: Deeper involvement in product strategy, roadmap planning, and organizational design initiatives.

• Specialization: Opportunity to develop expertise in specific areas of UX, such as design systems, accessibility, or research leadership, within the context of political technology.

• Mentorship & Coaching: Continued development of people management and coaching skills, potentially mentoring other managers or leads.

• Industry Impact: Contributing to the advancement of technology in the nonprofit and political sectors, gaining unique experience in mission-driven product development.

📝 Enhancement Note: For individuals looking to move into UX management, this role offers a structured path with clear reporting lines and a focus on developing both people management and strategic product skills. The mission-driven nature of ActBlue also provides a unique opportunity for impact.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. This means the primary work environment is a home office or other remote workspace, with no central physical office required for daily work.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, ActBlue is registered to support remote work in specific US states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Washington D.C.). They may register in additional states as needed.

Workspace Context:

• Distributed Teams: Employees will work with distributed teams across all U.S. time zones, necessitating strong asynchronous communication skills and proficiency with virtual collaboration tools.

• Technology Reliance: The role requires extended technology usage, including high proficiency with virtual communication tools such as Zoom and Slack.

• Virtual Meetings: Regular attendance in virtual meetings is an inherent part of the role, requiring active participation and engagement.

• Focus on Impact: The environment is geared towards mission-driven work, with a focus on delivering impactful technology solutions.

Work Schedule: This role requires availability during established, regular business hours (Monday-Friday). While the exact hours may have some flexibility, consistent availability for team collaboration, meetings, and responsiveness is essential.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully remote nature of this role requires candidates to be self-motivated, disciplined, and adept at virtual communication. Experience with asynchronous workflows and managing teams across different time zones is a significant advantage.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your application and resume to assess experience, qualifications, and cultural fit.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Typically conducted by the Senior UX Manager or Hiring Manager to discuss your background, leadership philosophy, and approach to UX management.

• Team/Peer Interviews: Interviews with designers on your potential team and cross-functional partners (Product, Engineering) to assess collaboration style, technical expertise, and team dynamic fit.

• Portfolio Presentation: A dedicated session where you will present your portfolio, detailing key projects, your leadership contributions, and the impact of your work. This is a critical step to demonstrate your strategic thinking and process.

• Final Interview: Potentially with higher-level leadership to discuss overall strategic alignment and final decision-making.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your most impactful projects that best showcase your leadership, strategic thinking, and ability to drive results. Prioritize projects that demonstrate end-to-end ownership and cross-functional collaboration.

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role and responsibilities (especially leadership aspects), the process you followed, the challenges encountered, your solutions, and the measurable outcomes. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

• Highlight Leadership: Explicitly detail how you mentored designers, influenced product strategy, managed workloads, or fostered team culture. Quantify leadership impact where possible.

• Demonstrate Process: Show, don't just tell, your design process. Explain how you integrated research, iterated based on feedback, and leveraged design systems.

• Visual Clarity: Ensure your presentation is visually appealing, easy to follow, and professionally designed. Use mockups, wireframes, and key metrics to support your narrative.

• Company Alignment: Be prepared to connect your experience and approach to ActBlue's mission and values.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Leadership Scenarios: Anticipate questions about how you handle design disagreements, mentor underperforming designers, onboard new team members, or manage competing priorities.

• Product Strategy Questions: Prepare to discuss how you'd approach defining UX strategy for a new product area or how you'd advocate for UX investment.

• Process Improvement: Be ready to discuss how you've improved team processes, design workflows, or collaboration methods in previous roles.

• Remote Collaboration: Prepare examples of how you've successfully managed and collaborated with distributed teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio presentation is likely a substantial part of the interview process. Candidates should prepare a compelling narrative that highlights their leadership capabilities, strategic thinking, and ability to drive measurable outcomes in a mission-driven context.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, XD), InVision, or similar platforms for wireframing, UI design, and prototyping.

• Collaboration & Communication: Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet), and potentially project management tools like Asana, Jira, or Trello.

• Design Systems: Experience with or contribution to design system tools or platforms (e.g., Storybook, Zeroheight, internal component libraries).

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Research Platforms: Tools for conducting user interviews, surveys, and usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Maze).

• Data Analysis Tools: Familiarity with tools used by UX Research and Data teams to analyze user behavior and performance metrics (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics, SQL for data retrieval).

• Performance Metrics: Understanding of key UX metrics such as conversion rates, task completion rates, user satisfaction scores (NPS, CSAT), and engagement metrics.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly managing CRM/automation tools from a UX perspective, understanding how user data and workflows are managed within systems like Salesforce or HubSpot is beneficial for context in product design.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in modern UX design and collaboration tools is expected. The emphasis on partnering with UX Research and Data teams suggests a need for understanding how to leverage data and research findings effectively within the design process.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Mission-Driven: A deep commitment to ActBlue's mission of fueling Democratic victories and enabling progressive causes to thrive through technology.

• User-Centric: A fundamental belief in putting users first, understanding their needs, and designing solutions that empower them.

• Craftsmanship & Excellence: A dedication to high-quality design, continuous improvement, and a pursuit of excellence in product delivery.

• Curiosity & Learning: An environment that encourages exploration, experimentation, and learning from both successes and failures.

• Collaboration & Inclusion: A commitment to working together effectively across teams and actively valuing and amplifying diverse perspectives to create a truly inclusive environment.

• Impact & Empowerment: Focusing on how technology can empower individuals and drive meaningful change.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Close collaboration and strong partnerships with Product, Engineering, Customer Experience, and Marketing leadership are crucial. This involves shared goal-setting, regular communication, and mutual respect for different disciplines.

• Transparent Feedback: A culture that encourages open and constructive feedback through design reviews, critiques, and team discussions.

• Asynchronous Communication: Given the remote nature, a reliance on clear, concise asynchronous communication via tools like Slack and documentation, supplemented by synchronous meetings when necessary.

• Shared Ownership: Fostering a sense of shared ownership over product outcomes, where all team members contribute to the success of the product and mission.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should be prepared to articulate how their personal values align with ActBlue's mission and how they contribute to fostering a positive, inclusive, and collaborative remote team environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Leading a Distributed Team: Effectively managing, motivating, and ensuring the quality of work from a geographically dispersed UX team requires strong communication and organizational skills.

• Balancing Mission and Technology: Ensuring that the technology is both cutting-edge and user-friendly for a diverse range of users, from campaign staff to small-dollar donors, while staying true to the progressive mission.

• Influencing Product Strategy: Advocating for UX priorities and user needs within a fast-paced, mission-driven environment that also involves significant technical development.

• Scaling Design Processes: As ActBlue grows, maintaining design quality and consistency while scaling processes and potentially the design team requires strategic foresight.

• Navigating Political Tech Landscape: Understanding the unique demands and sensitivities of working within the political technology sector.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Leadership Skills: Opportunities to hone people management, coaching, and strategic leadership skills through direct experience and potential training.

• Product Strategy Development: Deep involvement in shaping the product roadmap and contributing to high-level business objectives.

• Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Gaining insights into product management, engineering processes, and the intricacies of political fundraising technology.

• Design System Evolution: Contributing to and helping to shape a growing design system that supports a complex product suite.

• Industry Best Practices: Staying abreast of UX trends, tools, and methodologies, particularly within the nonprofit and political tech space.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant opportunities for professional growth in leadership and strategic impact. Candidates should be prepared to discuss how they would approach these challenges and leverage the learning opportunities.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach setting the design vision and priorities for your team in the first 90 days?"

• "Describe a time you had to influence product or engineering leadership to adopt a user-centered approach. What was the outcome?"

• "How do you balance the need for speed in product delivery with the importance of thorough UX research and design?"

• "What strategies would you employ to foster psychological safety and a culture of learning within a remote UX team?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about ActBlue's mission, and how do you see your UX leadership contributing to it?"

• "Describe your experience working with distributed teams. What are the key challenges and best practices?"

• "How do you ensure inclusivity and amplify diverse perspectives within your team and in your design work?"

• "What is your philosophy on career development and mentorship for designers?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Lead with Impact: Start with your most compelling projects that demonstrate leadership and measurable outcomes.

• Tell a Story: Weave a narrative around each project that clearly outlines the problem, your role, your process, the decisions made, and the impact.

• Quantify Results: Use data and metrics wherever possible to showcase the success of your design solutions and leadership efforts.

• Emphasize Leadership: For each project, explicitly call out your contributions to mentoring, strategy, team collaboration, and influencing stakeholders.

• Be Prepared for Q&A: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, process trade-offs, and leadership approach. Practice articulating your thoughts clearly and concisely.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviews will likely assess both your technical UX leadership capabilities and your alignment with ActBlue's mission and remote-first culture. Be ready to speak about your leadership philosophy and how you foster team growth and collaboration.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Manager position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the ActBlue careers page.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience in UX management, end-to-end product delivery, cross-functional collaboration, and working with remote teams. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-5 key projects that best demonstrate your leadership, strategic thinking, and impact. Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your role, process, solutions, and measurable outcomes, with a specific focus on your leadership contributions.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice presenting your portfolio with a clear narrative, focusing on leadership impact and alignment with ActBlue's mission.

• Research ActBlue: Understand their mission, products, and values. Be ready to articulate why you are passionate about their work and how your skills can contribute to their success.

⚠️ 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.

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