Principal UX Designer (AJC)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal UX Designer (AJC)

Company: Cox Enterprises

Location: Atlanta, GA - 1200 Peachtree St, Suite 100

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / User Experience

Date Posted: March 25, 2026

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the week

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the elevation of design quality across the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's (AJC) digital product ecosystem as a senior individual contributor.

• Drive the creation of thoughtful, user-centered experiences for consumer digital products, directly impacting audience engagement and business outcomes.

• Define and evolve design standards, patterns, and a design system to ensure consistency and excellence across all AJC digital platforms.

• Manage relationships with external design partners, ensuring their deliverables meet stringent internal quality and consistency benchmarks.

• Collaborate strategically with Product, Engineering, Editorial, and Creative Marketing to shape product strategy and foster a user-centric approach.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this role is not in a traditional Revenue or Sales Operations function, the core responsibilities and required skills—particularly around driving business outcomes, cross-functional collaboration, and defining standards—align with the strategic impact expected from senior operations professionals. The emphasis on user experience directly influences conversion rates and customer retention, key operational metrics.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as the foremost individual contributor in product design, significantly elevating the quality and impact of AJC's digital products.

• Lead complex and high-impact design initiatives from initial concept through final delivery, ensuring strategic alignment and user focus.

• Establish and rigorously maintain high standards for interaction design, visual design, and overall product usability across all digital touchpoints.

• Define, document, and evolve reusable design patterns, components, and initiate the development of a comprehensive design system for consistent application across AJC products.

• Produce high-quality wireframes, interactive prototypes, and production-ready design assets that clearly communicate design intent and functionality.

• Partner closely with Product Managers and Engineers within agile development teams to refine product requirements, user flows, and technical feasibility.

• Actively participate in discovery, ideation, and iterative design cycles for critical product initiatives, contributing hands-on design expertise.

• Translate intricate product requirements and business objectives into clear, intuitive, and engaging user experiences.

• Collaborate effectively with Product, Engineering, Editorial, Creative Marketing, and Data teams to co-shape product strategy and prioritize roadmap initiatives.

• Ensure design decisions are balanced, effectively mediating user needs, editorial goals, and business outcomes to achieve synergistic results.

• Advocate strongly for user-centered design principles and methodologies throughout the product development lifecycle.

• Manage the relationship with external design agencies, providing clear direction, constructive feedback, and design oversight to ensure quality and consistency.

• Promote best practices in UX design, product thinking, and collaborative design processes within the organization.

• Contribute to fostering a robust culture of experimentation, iteration, and continuous improvement in design and product development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities listed emphasize a blend of hands-on design execution and strategic leadership, typical for a Principal-level role. The management of external design partners and the initiative to build a design system are key indicators of the scope and impact expected, requiring strong process definition and quality assurance capabilities.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive experience in UX design, with a strong focus on consumer digital products.

• 8+ years of experience if holding a Master's Degree.

• Minimum of 22 years of related experience if not holding a degree.

• Proven track record in designing and launching successful consumer-facing digital products across both web and mobile platforms.

• Experience working collaboratively within agile development teams, partnering closely with Product Managers and Engineers.

Required Skills:

• Portfolio: A strong, comprehensive portfolio showcasing end-to-end product design work, problem-solving capabilities, and a deep understanding of user-centered design principles.

• Design Tools: Proficiency with modern design and prototyping tools, with specific experience in Figma being essential.

• Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with product management, engineering, editorial, and marketing teams.

• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate and defend design rationale to diverse audiences.

• Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a knack for translating complex requirements into intuitive user experiences.

• Agile Methodologies: Experience working within agile development environments and understanding of iterative design processes.

• Consumer Products: Deep understanding of designing for consumer audiences across web and mobile interfaces.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in the media or publishing industry.

• Experience initiating and developing design systems.

• Familiarity with A/B testing and data analysis to inform design decisions.

• Experience managing external vendors or agencies.

• Understanding of content strategy and editorial workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a strong portfolio and experience with specific tools like Figma are critical for UX roles. The requirement for 10+ years of experience indicates a senior-level position where strategic thinking and leadership in design are paramount. The explicit mention of consumer digital products and agile teams points to the fast-paced, outcome-driven nature of the role.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Comprehensive case studies demonstrating end-to-end product design process, from discovery and research to wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and final visual design.

• Evidence of problem-solving: Clearly articulate the user problem or business challenge addressed by each project.

• Design rationale: Explain the reasoning behind design decisions, showcasing an understanding of user needs, business goals, and technical constraints.

• Impact and outcomes: Quantify the impact of design solutions using relevant metrics (e.g., increased engagement, conversion rates, user satisfaction) or qualitative feedback.

• Tool