Senior Director, UX

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Director, UX

Company: LaunchDarkly

Location: Remote - US

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: User Experience (UX) Leadership / Product Design Management

Date Posted: 2026-02-26

Experience Level: Senior (10+ years UX, 5+ years management)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and scale a high-bar User Experience (UX) organization specifically for Developer Tools (DevTools) and technically complex products, focusing on strategic influence and design quality.

• Drive critical product strategy and execution by building deep, cross-functional credibility and partnership with Engineering and Product leadership within a fast-paced B2B SaaS environment.

• Elevate the overall UX maturity and impact by optimizing cross-product cohesion, reducing UX debt, and ensuring product experiences are intentional and cohesive.

• Connect UX initiatives directly to key business outcomes such as user activation, product adoption, and expansion revenue, demonstrating measurable business impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The job title "Senior Director, UX" combined with the emphasis on "DevTools," "technical users," "systems, platform, and leadership," and "developer-facing company" strongly indicates a role focused on the strategic direction and operational execution of user experience for a technical audience within a B2B SaaS context, rather than a consumer-facing or purely visual design role. The emphasis on scaling design and influencing product strategy aligns with a senior leadership position.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead and Develop a High-Bar DevTools UX Organization:

  • Manage and mentor a team of product designers across multiple product lines, fostering a culture of excellence and accountability.
  • Set clear expectations, establish performance metrics, and drive the consistent delivery of high-quality, cohesive UX design across the product portfolio.
  • Develop senior individual contributors into stronger, modern designers capable of navigating complex technical challenges.
  • Lead the hiring process to attract and onboard designers with demonstrated experience in DevTools or other technically complex product domains.

• Ensure Design’s Cross-Functional Credibility and Strategic Influence:

  • Build and maintain deep trust and direct partnerships with Engineering and Product Directors/VPs.
  • Comfortably engage in and lead highly technical discussions, bridging the gap between design and engineering.
  • Clearly define decision-making boundaries between UX, Product Management (PM), and Engineering, asserting UX leadership where appropriate.
  • Champion early and consistent UX involvement in product strategy and roadmap discussions, not just execution phases.
  • Model constructive conflict resolution and foster a high-trust, collaborative environment across teams.

• Drive DevTools-Native Product Judgment and Improvement:

  • Lead initiatives to drive significant user experience improvements within technically complex workflows and platform interactions.
  • Enhance cross-product cohesion and consistency across the entire LaunchDarkly product suite, ensuring a unified user journey.
  • Proactively identify, advocate for, and drive the prioritization and reduction of UX debt without hindering business velocity.
  • Ensure LaunchDarkly's products are perceived as intentionally designed and integrated, rather than disparate components.

• Deliver Measurable Business Impact through UX:

  • Clearly connect UX projects, feature enhancements, and strategic initiatives to key business metrics like user activation, feature adoption, and expansion revenue.

  • Prioritize UX work based on its potential for measurable business impact and advocate for investments in reducing critical UX debt.

  • Operate with a strong sense of urgency and a bias toward execution, driving projects to completion efficiently.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities are detailed and clearly segmented, emphasizing leadership, strategic influence, technical product judgment, and business impact. The language used (e.g., "high-bar," "DevTools," "UX debt," "cross-functional credibility," "activation, adoption, and expansion") is highly specific to senior operations and product leadership roles in a B2B SaaS environment, particularly those dealing with technical products.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in User Experience (UX) design and strategy.

• A minimum of 5 years specifically in a leadership role, managing and mentoring UX designers, including experience managing managers.

• Extensive, hands-on experience designing and leading UX for DevTools, developer-facing products, or other technically complex platforms is essential.

• Proven experience scaling design functions and processes within a growth-stage B2B SaaS company.

• Demonstrated success in building and improving cross-functional trust and collaboration within technical organizations (e.g., with Engineering, Product Management).

Required Skills:

• UX Leadership & Management: Proven ability to lead, mentor, and grow design teams, including managers, and foster a high-performance culture.

• DevTools/Technical UX Expertise: Deep understanding of the needs, workflows, and expectations of technical users (developers, SREs, data engineers, etc.).

• Strategic Product Influence: Ability to partner with Product and Engineering leadership to shape product strategy and roadmap, ensuring UX is a core component.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Exceptional ability to build trust and collaborate effectively with Engineering, Product Management, and other key stakeholders.

• Systems & Platform Thinking: Capacity to understand and optimize complex, interconnected systems and cross-product workflows.

• UX Debt Management: Skill in identifying, prioritizing, and advocating for the reduction of UX debt to improve product quality and maintainability.

• Business Acumen: Ability to connect UX initiatives to tangible business outcomes like activation, adoption, and expansion.

• Communication & Presentation: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex design concepts and strategic rationale clearly.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with experimentation platforms, regression detection, observability tools, or AI configuration.

• Familiarity with modern software development lifecycle (SDLC) and DevOps practices.

• Experience contributing to or defining design systems for complex technical products.

• Knowledge of user research methodologies tailored for technical audiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The qualifications clearly distinguish this role from a purely visual or consumer UX role. The emphasis on "DevTools," "technical users," "scaling design in a growth-stage B2B SaaS company," and "cross-functional trust in technical organizations" are critical indicators for candidates. The experience requirements are substantial, reflecting a senior leadership position.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Leadership Case Studies: Demonstrations of how you have led design teams to deliver significant UX improvements in complex, technical product environments. This should highlight your management style, team development, and strategic decision-making.

• Platform/Systems Design Examples: Evidence of your ability to tackle complex platform challenges, improve cross-product cohesion, and ensure a unified, intentional user experience across multiple integrated products.

• UX Debt Reduction Projects: Specific examples of how you identified, prioritized, and successfully reduced UX debt, clearly articulating the impact on product quality, developer efficiency, or business outcomes.

• Business Impact Alignment: Case studies that explicitly connect UX initiatives to business metrics such as user activation, adoption rates, feature expansion, or efficiency gains for technical users.

• Cross-Functional Partnership Examples: Documentation or case studies illustrating your collaborative approach with Product Management and Engineering, showcasing how you built trust and influenced strategy.

Process Documentation:

• Team Operating Model: Examples of how you've structured and scaled design teams, including defining roles, responsibilities, and team operating cadences.

• Design Process Optimization: Documentation of how you've improved design processes for efficiency, quality, and cross-functional alignment, particularly within a DevTools context.

• Metrics & Measurement Frameworks: Evidence of establishing frameworks to measure UX impact and connect design work to business objectives, demonstrating ROI.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Director role, especially in a technical product company, the portfolio is crucial for demonstrating strategic leadership, technical acumen, and business impact. The emphasis is on process, systems, and measurable outcomes, not just individual design artifacts.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Zone 1 (e.g., SF Bay Area, NYC, Boston, Seattle): $301,800 - $414,920 USD per year (inclusive of 15% target bonus)

• Zone 2 (e.g., Austin, Chicago, Portland, LA): $271,600 - $373,450 USD per year (inclusive of 15% target bonus)

• Zone 3 (All other US locations): $256,500 - $352,660 USD per year (inclusive of 15% target bonus)

Benefits:

• Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)

• Comprehensive Health Insurance

• Vision Insurance

• Dental Insurance

• Mental Health Benefits

Working Hours:

• The role is expected to require approximately 40 hours per week, with flexibility to accommodate the demands of a senior leadership position in a fast-paced environment. The remote nature allows for adaptable scheduling, but requires proactive communication and availability during core collaboration hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary ranges provided are detailed and geographically tiered, which is a strong indicator of a mature compensation strategy common in larger or well-funded SaaS companies. The inclusion of a target bonus is standard for senior leadership roles. The benefits listed are comprehensive and typical for tech companies.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: B2B SaaS, Developer Tools (DevTools), Feature Management, Experimentation, Observability, AI Configuration. LaunchDarkly operates at the intersection of DevOps and product development, providing essential tools for modern software delivery.

Company Size: LaunchDarkly is a growth-stage company, indicating a dynamic environment with established processes but still retaining agility and potential for rapid scaling. This size typically means a significant number of employees (often 500-1000+) with dedicated departments and cross-functional teams.

Founded: LaunchDarkly was founded in 2014. This history suggests a company that has moved beyond the startup phase, established a strong product-market fit, and is now focused on scaling its platform and operations.

Team Structure:

• UX Organization: The UX team is led by this Senior Director role, overseeing multiple product designers who are likely aligned with specific product lines or feature areas.

• Reporting Structure: This role will report to a higher-level executive, likely a VP of Product, Chief Product Officer (CPO), or potentially a Chief Technology Officer (CTO), depending on the organizational structure.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: This role is integral to a matrixed organization, requiring close collaboration with Directors and teams in Engineering, Product Management, Marketing, and potentially Sales and Customer Success.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Product Development: Emphasizes using data and insights to inform product strategy, UX improvements, and business decisions.

• Agile & Iterative Processes: Likely employs agile methodologies for software development, with UX integrated early and iteratively throughout the product lifecycle.

• Focus on Developer Experience: A core tenet is improving the efficiency, stability, and overall experience for developers using their platform.

• Outcome-Oriented: Focus on delivering measurable business impact through product development and UX initiatives.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company description emphasizes its evolution into a broader platform and its mission to improve software delivery. This context is crucial for understanding the complexity of the UX challenges and the strategic importance of this leadership role. The founding date and growth-stage status suggest a company with established processes and a focus on scaling.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a significant leadership position within the UX function, equivalent to a VP or senior director level. It is responsible for strategic direction, team scaling, and direct impact on product and business outcomes. The scope includes managing managers and influencing company-wide product strategy.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Director of UX will report into a senior executive (e.g., VP of Product, CPO, CTO), indicating a direct line of influence into the highest levels of product and technology decision-making. They will lead a team of designers, potentially including other design managers.

Operations Impact: The UX team, under this leadership, is expected to have a direct impact on:

• Product Adoption & Retention: By ensuring intuitive and efficient user experiences for technically sophisticated users.

• Revenue Growth: Through feature adoption, expansion, and improved customer satisfaction that leads to renewals and upsells.

• Engineering Efficiency: By providing clear, well-designed interfaces that reduce developer friction and cognitive load.

• Brand Perception: By delivering a high-quality, cohesive product experience that reflects the company's technical expertise and commitment to its users.

Growth Opportunities:

• Expanded Leadership Scope: Potential to grow into a VP of Product or Chief Design Officer role, overseeing broader product functions or establishing a more expansive design practice.

• Strategic Initiative Ownership: Opportunity to lead major strategic initiatives related to platform unification, developer experience transformation, or new product area UX.

• Mentorship and Industry Influence: Develop into a recognized leader in the DevTools UX space, mentoring future leaders and contributing to industry best practices.

• Deepening Technical Domain Expertise: Further solidify expertise in complex technical domains relevant to software development and operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: This analysis frames the role within the broader context of career progression in UX leadership, particularly for those focused on technical products. It highlights the strategic impact and growth potential beyond the immediate responsibilities.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote position, meaning there is no central office requirement for daily work. This offers significant flexibility in terms of location within the US.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, LaunchDarkly operates with defined geographic pay zones within the US (Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3) that influence compensation. The company has physical offices in locations like San Francisco, New York, and others, but this role does not require presence in any specific office.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration Tools: Expect extensive use of collaboration platforms (e.g., Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, Notion) for communication, project management, and documentation.

• Design & Prototyping Software: Access to industry-standard design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, InVision) will be essential for the team.

• Cross-Functional Interaction: Opportunities for regular interaction with Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and other stakeholders will occur virtually, requiring proactive engagement and clear communication.

• Asynchronous Workflows: The remote setup necessitates proficiency in asynchronous communication and documentation to ensure information is accessible and workflows remain efficient regardless of time zones.

Work Schedule: The role requires approximately 40 hours per week. While remote work offers flexibility, candidates must be prepared to establish a consistent work routine and be available for key meetings and collaborative sessions during core business hours relevant to their US-based teams and stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on remote work highlights the need for strong self-management, communication skills, and comfort with digital collaboration tools. The mention of geographic pay zones is a practical consideration for remote employees.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screen: A conversation with a recruiter to assess overall fit, experience, and interest in the role and LaunchDarkly.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A deep dive with the hiring manager (likely VP of Product or CPO) focusing on leadership experience, strategic thinking, DevTools UX expertise, and team management philosophy.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with Engineering and Product Directors/VPs to assess collaboration style, technical acumen, and ability to build trust with peer leaders.

• Design Team/IC Interviews: Conversations with senior designers and potentially individual contributors on the UX team to evaluate leadership approach, mentorship capabilities, and design vision.

• Executive/Final Interview: A session with a senior executive (e.g., CPO, CTO, CEO) to discuss strategic alignment, company vision, and overall executive presence.

• Portfolio Presentation: A dedicated session where the candidate presents a curated selection of their work, focusing on leadership examples, strategic impact, and handling of complex technical product challenges.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Leadership Impact: Showcase projects where you led teams to achieve significant outcomes, not just your individual design contributions. Highlight your role in strategy, team development, and process improvement.

• Quantify Business Impact: For each case study, clearly articulate the business problem, your strategic approach, the UX solutions implemented, and the measurable business results (e.g., increased adoption, reduced support tickets, improved conversion rates, developer efficiency gains).

• Demonstrate Technical Acumen: Be prepared to discuss the technical complexities of the products you've worked on and how you and your team navigated them from a UX perspective. Show comfort with technical discussions.

• Illustrate Collaboration: Provide examples of how you partnered with PM and Engineering, highlighting your ability to influence, build consensus, and drive alignment.

• Address UX Debt and Platform Cohesion: Specifically include examples that demonstrate your strategic approach to managing UX debt and improving the coherence of complex product platforms.

• Tailor to DevTools: Emphasize experience with developer or technical user products, showcasing an understanding of their unique needs and workflows.

Challenge Preparation:

• Strategic UX Challenge: Be prepared for a hypothetical scenario or case study where you'll need to outline your approach to improving UX for a complex technical product, scaling a design team, or influencing product strategy.

• Team Management Discussion: Anticipate questions about how you hire, onboard, manage performance, and develop designers and managers.

• Stakeholder Management Scenarios: Practice articulating how you would handle disagreements with Product or Engineering, advocate for UX needs, and manage competing priorities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and strategic impact, aligning with the seniority of the role. The portfolio review is critical and should focus on demonstrating leadership in a technical product context.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, InVision, Adobe Creative Suite (as applicable for team standards).

• Collaboration & Communication: Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides), Microsoft Teams.

• Project Management & Documentation: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Notion, Aha! (or similar tools for workflow management and knowledge sharing).

• User Research & Analytics Platforms: Mixpanel, Amplitude, Pendo, Hotjar, UserTesting.com, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey (or similar tools for gathering user feedback and product usage data).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Proficiency in analyzing product usage data and user feedback to inform UX strategy and measure impact.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct CRM role, understanding how UX impacts customer lifecycle stages (activation, adoption, expansion) is key. Familiarity with CRM concepts and how product experience influences them is beneficial.

• Experience with workflow automation tools might be relevant for improving internal design team processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The tools listed are standard for a senior UX leadership role in a modern SaaS company. The emphasis is on tools that support collaboration, design execution, user research, and data analysis to drive strategic decisions.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Humility, Openness, Collaboration, Respect, Kindness: These are explicitly stated company values that form the bedrock of their culture. Operations professionals are expected to embody these in their daily interactions and decision-making.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: A strong emphasis on using data and evidence to guide strategy, prioritize efforts, and measure success.

• Bias for Action & Urgency: LaunchDarkly operates in a fast-moving market and values individuals who can execute efficiently and with a sense of urgency.

• Customer Focus: A deep understanding of and commitment to serving the needs of developers and technical users.

• Continuous Improvement: A mindset geared towards iterating, learning, and optimizing processes, products, and team performance.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Expect a highly collaborative environment where UX works hand-in-hand with Product Management and Engineering, fostering mutual respect and shared ownership.

• Constructive Conflict: The culture encourages healthy debate and constructive conflict to arrive at the best solutions, rather than avoiding difficult conversations.

• Transparency: LaunchDarkly operates with a high degree of trust and transparency, which extends to how teams communicate and make decisions.

• Knowledge Sharing: A culture that promotes sharing insights, best practices, and learnings across teams to foster collective growth and efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicitly stated company values are critical for candidates to understand and align with. The emphasis on collaboration in a technical context is key for this role.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling Design in a Complex Product Environment: Balancing the need to scale the design team and processes with the increasing complexity of LaunchDarkly's platform and diverse product offerings.

• Maintaining UX Cohesion Across Multiple Products: Ensuring a consistent, high-quality, and intentional user experience across a growing suite of developer tools that may have evolved independently.

• Influencing Technical Product Strategy: Effectively advocating for and integrating UX considerations early and deeply into the product strategy of technically complex, developer-focused products.

• Reducing UX Debt Without Slowing Development: Prioritizing and executing on UX debt reduction initiatives in a way that is recognized for its value and doesn't impede the pace of new feature development.

• Measuring and Demonstrating UX Impact: Clearly connecting UX efforts to tangible business outcomes (adoption, expansion, efficiency) in a way that resonates with technical and business stakeholders.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership Development: Opportunities to hone executive leadership skills, strategic planning, and large-scale team management.

• Deepening DevTools Expertise: Gaining in-depth knowledge of the evolving landscape of developer tools, experimentation, and observability.

• Cross-Functional Influence Mastery: Developing advanced skills in influencing product and engineering roadmaps at the executive level.

• Industry Engagement: Potential to represent LaunchDarkly at industry conferences, mentor other leaders, and contribute to the broader DevTools UX community.

• Mentorship: Access to mentorship from senior executives within LaunchDarkly, providing guidance on career growth and strategic leadership.

📝 Enhancement Note: Identifying these challenges helps candidates prepare for the realities of the role and showcases areas where they can make a significant impact and grow their own capabilities.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you significantly increased the strategic influence of UX within a technical product organization. What were the key challenges, and how did you overcome them?" (Focus on your approach to building trust with PM/Eng, influencing roadmaps, and demonstrating value.)

• "How would you approach assessing and improving UX cohesion across a platform with multiple, evolving product lines like LaunchDarkly's?" (Prepare to discuss your framework for platform UX audits, identifying gaps, and driving unified experiences.)

• "Walk us through your process for identifying, prioritizing, and advocating for the reduction of UX debt in a fast-paced SaaS environment. How do you quantify its impact?" (Highlight your prioritization methodologies and ability to build business cases for technical debt reduction.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your research, what do you see as the biggest UX opportunities and challenges for LaunchDarkly in the next 1-2 years, given its platform expansion?" (Showcase your understanding of their business, product, and market.)

• "How do you align UX priorities with business objectives like activation, adoption, and expansion, particularly in a developer-focused product?" (Demonstrate your business acumen and ability to connect design to revenue.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Curate for Leadership: Select 2-3 key projects that clearly demonstrate your leadership, strategic thinking, and impact on complex technical products.

• Structure with STAR Method (Situation, Task, Action, Result): For each project, clearly define the context, your role (as a leader), the actions taken by you and your team, and the quantifiable results.

• Focus on 'Why' and 'How': Explain the strategic rationale behind your decisions and the methodologies you employed.

• Showcase Collaboration: Highlight how you partnered with Product Management and Engineering, and how you navigated cross-functional dynamics.

• Address Technical Nuances: Be prepared to discuss the technical challenges and how UX solutions were tailored to meet the needs of developers.

• Prepare for Q&A: Anticipate detailed questions about your decisions, team management, and strategic approach.

📝 Enhancement Note: These questions are designed to probe for the specific leadership qualities, strategic thinking, and technical understanding required for this Senior Director role within a DevTools context. Portfolio preparation is emphasized as a critical component.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on Greenhouse.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight leadership experience, management of designers (including managers), experience with DevTools or developer-facing products, and accomplishments in scaling design functions within B2B SaaS companies. Use keywords like "UX Leadership," "DevTools UX," "Product Strategy," "Cross-Functional Collaboration," and "Scale Design."

• Prepare Your Portfolio: Curate 2-3 significant case studies that demonstrate your strategic leadership, ability to manage complex technical products, cross-functional partnership, and measurable business impact. Focus on leadership and process, not just individual design work.

• Research LaunchDarkly: Familiarize yourself with LaunchDarkly's platform, target audience (developers, technical teams), recent product announcements, and company values. Understand their mission to improve software delivery.

• Practice Your Narrative: Be ready to articulate your leadership philosophy, your approach to building and scaling design teams, and how you drive impact in technically complex environments.

⚠️ 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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