Senior UX Research & Product Designer (Fixed Term, 9 Months)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX Research & Product Designer (Fixed Term, 9 Months)

Company: Armstrong Collective

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: UX Design & Research / Product Management

Date Posted: March 02, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is a critical, senior-level position focused on enhancing the digital guest experience for a luxury travel company, specifically within the discovery, planning, booking, and transaction phases of their customer journey.

• The position requires a blend of strategic UX research leadership and hands-on product design expertise to simplify complex travel offerings (multi-day itineraries, packages, dynamic pricing) into intuitive digital interactions.

• A key responsibility is to establish and operationalize a UX Center of Excellence, developing scalable design patterns and guiding future UX practices across the organization.

• The role is embedded within agile product teams, collaborating closely with engineering, product management, revenue management, and marketing to deliver data-informed design solutions that improve conversion rates and reduce friction in high-value checkout processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the job title is "Senior UX Research & Product Designer," the responsibilities and context strongly indicate a Product Management flavor, particularly concerning strategy, hypothesis testing, and cross-functional collaboration to drive business outcomes like conversion optimization. The "UX Center of Excellence" aspect also suggests a leadership and strategic development component beyond typical individual contributor roles.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end UX strategy and execution for the digital guest journey, from initial discovery through the final transaction and confirmation.

• Design intuitive and efficient booking flows, encompassing itinerary configuration, seat selection, transparent pricing presentation, and secure payment processes.

• Develop simplified interaction models for complex, multi-component travel products such as rail, hotels, and various add-on services.

• Establish and manage a structured UX research practice, including conducting usability testing, journey validation, and post-purchase research to gather actionable insights.

• Translate research findings and behavioral data into prioritized product opportunities and design recommendations, informing product roadmap decisions.

• Partner with Product Managers to rigorously test hypotheses and validate design concepts through iterative research and prototyping.

• Drive improvements in booking conversion rates and actively reduce cart abandonment through thoughtful UX/UI design and optimization.

• Design pricing and availability experiences that enhance transparency and build guest trust, especially for high-consideration purchases.

• Reduce friction points within high-value checkout and payment flows to ensure a seamless transactional experience.

• Work closely and collaboratively within agile product teams, embedding design and research into the development lifecycle.

• Collaborate with Engineering on user interface interactions that are directly tied to real-time system states, such as availability, inventory, and payment gateway responses.

• Partner with Revenue Management and Marketing teams to align pricing strategies and pre-booking customer experiences with overall business objectives.

• Define and document scalable UX patterns and design standards specifically for travel commerce applications.

• Contribute to the evolution and maintenance of the design system, ensuring consistency, usability, and accessibility across all digital touchpoints and devices.

• Accountable for establishing a UX Center of Excellence, which will guide all future UX practices and foster a culture of user-centric design within Armstrong Collective.

• Responsible for coaching and upskilling other UX specialists within the organization, promoting best practices and elevating the overall design maturity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus on deep UX/Product Design execution and strategic leadership in establishing UX best practices and a center of excellence. This suggests the role requires not only strong individual contribution but also the ability to influence and mentor others.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in UX research and product design.

• Direct, hands-on experience designing and optimizing booking platforms within the travel, airline, rail, cruise, or hospitality sectors is crucial.

• Demonstrated success in improving e-commerce conversion rates and streamlining transactional workflows.

• Proven experience working effectively within product-led organizations or agile development environments.

• Strong proficiency in conducting various forms of usability testing, user journey mapping, and qualitative research methods.

• Experience designing and validating complex, multi-step transactional workflows with a focus on user comprehension and task completion.

• Ability to simplify and present complex, high-consideration purchasing decisions in a clear and user-friendly manner.

• Extensive experience in data-informed design, leveraging analytics, user behavior data, and A/B testing results to guide design decisions.

• Comfortable designing within systems that involve intricate logic for inventory management, dynamic pricing, and payment processing.

• Experience partnering closely with engineering teams to translate design specifications into functional features, understanding API constraints and capabilities.

Required Skills:

• Advanced proficiency in UX research methodologies, including user interviews, surveys, usability testing, persona development, and journey mapping.

• Expert-level product design skills, with a strong portfolio showcasing end-to-end design process for complex digital products, particularly in e-commerce or transactional environments.

• Proficient in advanced Figma (or equivalent industry-standard design and prototyping tools like Sketch, Adobe XD).

• Experience with usability testing platforms (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze).

• Familiarity with analytics and A/B testing tools such as Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel, or similar platforms.

• Strong understanding of user interface (UI) design principles, visual design, and interaction design.

• Ability to translate complex business requirements into user-centered design solutions.

• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and research findings to diverse stakeholders.

• Experience working in cross-functional, agile teams.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience establishing and scaling UX practices or a UX Center of Excellence.

• Familiarity with design system implementation and maintenance.

• Knowledge of front-end development principles (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to better collaborate with engineering.

• Experience with data visualization tools and techniques.

• Background in luxury goods or high-end service industries.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "8+ years" experience in conjunction with "establishing a UX Center of Excellence" and "coaching and uplevelling on UX specialists" points to a senior leadership or lead-level individual contributor role, potentially with a focus on building out the UX function. The emphasis on travel booking platforms and complex transactional workflows is a critical differentiator.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing end-to-end UX research and product design projects, with a strong emphasis on complex transactional flows within e-commerce or booking platforms.

• Detailed case studies that clearly outline the problem, your role, the research methodologies employed, design process, iterative improvements, and measurable outcomes.

• Demonstrations of how you translated user research and behavioral data into concrete design solutions that addressed specific business objectives (e.g., increased conversion, reduced friction).

• Examples of simplified interaction models for complex products or services, illustrating how abstract concepts were made tangible and user-friendly.

Process Documentation:

• Case studies should detail the entire design process, from initial discovery and user research phases through to detailed design, prototyping, usability testing, and post-launch analysis.

• For research projects, documentation should include research plans, methodologies used, participant recruitment strategies, findings synthesis, and actionable recommendations.

• For design projects, documentation should illustrate wireframes, user flows, interactive prototypes, and final UI designs with clear rationale.

• Where applicable, demonstrate how you collaborated with engineering, product management, and other stakeholders, including any contributions to design systems or pattern libraries.

• Include examples of how you measured the impact of your designs using analytics and experimentation, showcasing improvements in key metrics.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role focused on complex booking and transaction design, portfolios should emphasize problem-solving for high-stakes user journeys and demonstrate a deep understanding of e-commerce conversion drivers and the technical constraints of real-time systems.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Benefits:

Working Hours:

• Full-time position, typically implying around 40 hours per week. The role is hybrid, requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in the Vancouver office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is specific and falls within a competitive band for senior UX Research & Product Designers in Vancouver, BC, particularly for specialized roles in e-commerce and complex transaction design. The limited benefits package is noted, which may be common for fixed-term contracts.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Luxury Travel / Hospitality

Company Size: The input data does not specify company size, but "Armstrong Collective" and "Rocky Mountaineer" suggest a well-established, potentially large-scale operation within the luxury tourism sector. The need for a "UX Center of Excellence" and "coaching UX specialists" implies a growing or maturing digital product team.

Founded: Information on founding date is not provided.

Team Structure:

• The Senior UX Research & Product Designer reports to the Director, IT Product Management, indicating a clear hierarchy within the IT and Product Management functions.

• The role is expected to work embedded within agile product teams, suggesting a matrixed or project-based team structure for day-to-day operations.

• Collaboration will extend across Engineering, Product Managers, Revenue Management, and Marketing, highlighting a cross-functional and collaborative approach to product development.

Methodology:

• The company is actively pursuing a "product-led operating model," indicating a strategic shift towards leveraging digital products to drive business growth and customer acquisition.

• Agile methodologies are explicitly mentioned, suggesting iterative development cycles, cross-functional team collaboration, and a focus on rapid feedback loops.

• Design decisions will be "data-informed," utilizing analytics, user research, and experimentation to guide product development and optimization efforts.

• The focus on "simplifying multi-component travel products" and "designing complex, multi-step transactional workflows" points to a methodology that prioritizes clarity, user guidance, and error prevention in intricate processes.

Company Website: The Armstrong Collective website is not explicitly provided, but the domain "thearmstrongcollective.com" is inferred. Rocky Mountaineer is a known brand associated with luxury train travel in Canada.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on luxury travel and digital transformation presents a unique challenge for UX design, requiring an understanding of high-touch customer experiences coupled with efficient digital transactions. The "product-led operating model" is a key strategic initiative that this role directly supports.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a senior individual contributor level, with significant autonomy and responsibility for a critical aspect of the business—the digital guest experience. The mandate to establish a "UX Center of Excellence" and "coach UX specialists" indicates potential for leadership growth and influence within the organization's design function.

Reporting Structure: The role reports directly to the Director, IT Product Management. This provides a clear line of sight to senior IT leadership and strategic product direction. Day-to-day work will involve collaboration within embedded agile product teams.

Operations Impact: The Senior UX Research & Product Designer will have a direct and measurable impact on key business metrics. By improving the digital guest experience, optimizing booking flows, and increasing conversion rates, this role will directly contribute to revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and operational scalability for Armstrong Collective's luxury travel offerings. The ability to simplify complex purchases and reduce friction in high-value transactions is paramount to achieving these business objectives.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in UX: Opportunity to build and lead the UX Center of Excellence, setting the standard for UX practices across the company and potentially managing or mentoring a team of UX professionals.

• Strategic Product Influence: Direct involvement in shaping the digital product strategy and roadmap, influencing key decisions that impact guest experience and commercial performance.

• Domain Expertise: Deepen expertise in the luxury travel sector, complex booking systems, and high-value e-commerce transactions, becoming a subject matter expert.

• Career Advancement: Potential to move into Product Management roles, lead larger product initiatives, or specialize in UX strategy and operations within a growing digital organization.

• Skill Development: Continuous learning through hands-on experience with complex design challenges, new methodologies, and collaboration with diverse teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fixed-term nature (9 months) suggests this role might be project-based, focused on specific transformation initiatives. However, the leadership mandate for the UX Center of Excellence could imply a longer-term vision or a pathway to a permanent role if successful.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Corporate Office - Vancouver based.

Office Location(s): Vancouver, BC, Canada. The specific office address is not provided, but it is a physical location.

Workspace Context:

• Hybrid Environment: The role operates on a hybrid model, requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in the Vancouver office. This offers a balance between focused remote work and collaborative in-person interaction.

• Collaborative Culture: Embedded within agile product teams, the role demands close collaboration with Product Managers, Engineers, and other stakeholders, fostering a dynamic and interactive work environment.

• Technology Focus: As part of the IT Product Management function, the team likely utilizes modern collaboration tools, design software (Figma), project management systems, and analytics platforms.

• Strategic Impact: The work environment is geared towards driving significant digital transformation, focusing on innovation, process improvement, and achieving ambitious business goals within the luxury travel sector.

Work Schedule: Full-time, with flexibility implied by the hybrid model, but with a requirement for in-office presence on specific days to facilitate team collaboration and project alignment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature with a minimum in-office requirement is key for candidates to consider, as it dictates the daily work structure. The focus on a luxury brand suggests an environment that values quality, attention to detail, and a high level of polish in both product and customer interactions.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a brief call with HR or a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, interest, and salary expectations.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Conversation with the Director, IT Product Management, to delve deeper into experience, strategic thinking, and fit for the role's objectives.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Exercise: A session where candidates present their portfolio, walking through key case studies, demonstrating their process, research insights, and design solutions. This may be followed by a practical design challenge or a discussion of hypothetical design problems relevant to the company's offerings.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with key collaborators such as Product Managers, Engineering leads, or Marketing stakeholders to assess collaboration style and cross-functional communication skills.

• Final Interview: Potentially a meeting with a higher-level executive to discuss strategic alignment and cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight E-commerce & Transactional Expertise: Clearly showcase projects involving booking flows, checkout processes, pricing configurations, and inventory management. Quantify improvements in conversion rates, task success, or reduction in abandonment.

• Emphasize Research-to-Design Impact: Demonstrate how user research directly informed design decisions and led to tangible product improvements. Use clear narratives to connect insights to solutions.

• Showcase Problem Simplification: Present examples where you took complex products or processes and distilled them into simple, intuitive user experiences.

• Detail Your Process: Walk through your methodology for each project—from problem definition and research to ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration. Explain why you made certain choices.

• Quantify Results: Wherever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the impact of your work. This is critical for a role focused on conversion and transaction optimization.

• Tailor to Travel/Luxury: If possible, include examples from the travel or hospitality industry, or demonstrate an understanding of the nuances of luxury customer expectations.

Challenge Preparation:

• Anticipate UX Strategy Questions: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach understanding the target audience, defining key user journeys, and setting UX goals for Armstrong Collective's digital platforms.

• Prepare for Design Problem-Solving: Practice articulating your design process for a hypothetical scenario—e.g., "How would you improve the itinerary configuration process for a complex luxury train journey?" Focus on your structured approach, user-centricity, and consideration of data and constraints.

• Think About UX Center of Excellence: Be ready to discuss your vision for establishing and growing a UX Center of Excellence, including best practices, team development, and integrating UX across the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the emphasis on conversion and transaction optimization, expect portfolio reviews and design challenges to heavily scrutinize the candidate's ability to drive measurable business outcomes through design. The "UX Center of Excellence" aspect means candidates should also be prepared to discuss leadership, mentorship, and process-building.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Advanced Figma proficiency is explicitly required. Equivalent tools like Sketch or Adobe XD might be acceptable but Figma is preferred.

• Usability Testing Platforms: Experience with platforms such as UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, or similar tools for conducting remote and in-person usability studies.

• Analytics & A/B Testing: Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel, or other product analytics platforms. Experience with A/B testing tools (e.g., Optimizely, VWO, Google Optimize) is also expected for conversion optimization.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Proficiency in interpreting data from analytics platforms to identify user behavior patterns, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.

CRM & Automation:

Design Systems:

• Experience contributing to or working with design systems is mentioned, implying familiarity with component-based design and maintaining design consistency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma, usability testing platforms, and analytics/A/B testing tools indicates a modern, data-driven design environment. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their practical experience with these specific technologies.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Creating Meaningful Moments: This core value suggests a focus on designing experiences that are not just functional but also emotionally resonant and memorable for guests, aligning with the luxury travel brand.

• Being One Team: Emphasizes collaboration, teamwork, and a unified approach to achieving company goals. This translates to strong cross-functional partnerships and mutual support.

• Achieving Extraordinary Outcomes: Highlights a drive for excellence, innovation, and exceeding expectations in both product delivery and customer experience.

• Data-Driven Approach: The emphasis on UX research, analytics, and A/B testing indicates a strong reliance on data to inform decisions and measure success.

• Efficiency and Scalability: The goal of modernizing the digital platform and adopting a product-led model points to a culture that values efficiency, scalability, and continuous improvement in processes and user flows.

Collaboration Style:

• Embedded within Agile Teams: Implies a highly collaborative, iterative, and communicative style, working closely with Product Managers and Engineers on a daily basis.

• Cross-Functional Partnerships: Requires strong ability to collaborate with diverse departments like Revenue Management and Marketing, bridging different perspectives and aligning on common goals.

• User-Centric Advocacy: As a UX advocate, the role will champion the user's needs and perspective in all discussions and decision-making processes.

• Mentorship and Knowledge Sharing: The mandate to "coach and uplevel on UX specialists" suggests a culture that values sharing expertise and fostering professional growth among team members.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's stated values provide a strong framework for understanding the desired cultural fit. Candidates should be prepared to articulate how their work and approach align with these values, particularly "Creating Meaningful Moments" and "Achieving Extraordinary Outcomes."

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Simplifying Complexity: The primary challenge will be to design intuitive experiences for complex, multi-component luxury travel products and dynamic pricing, balancing rich options with user-friendliness.

• Balancing UX and Business Goals: Effectively translating user needs into features that also drive conversion and revenue, while adhering to brand standards for luxury.

• Integrating Real-Time Data: Designing for systems with real-time inventory, availability, and pricing constraints requires careful consideration of user feedback mechanisms and error handling.

• Establishing a New Function: If the "UX Center of Excellence" is nascent, significant effort will be required to define its structure, processes, and influence within the organization.

• Fixed-Term Contract: Working within a 9-month fixed-term contract may present challenges related to project scope, long-term strategic integration, and career continuity planning.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced UX for Complex E-commerce: Deepen expertise in designing for high-consideration, multi-step transactional journeys specific to the travel industry.

• Product Strategy & Leadership: Gain experience in shaping product strategy and potentially leading the development of a new UX function.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Enhance skills in working with engineering, product management, revenue management, and marketing in a product-led environment.

• Industry Best Practices: Learn about the latest trends and best practices in UX research, product design, and digital transformation within the luxury travel sector.

• Mentorship and Coaching: Develop leadership and mentoring skills by guiding and developing other UX specialists.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fixed-term nature of the role is a significant factor. Candidates should be aware of this and consider their career goals, as well as whether this role is a stepping stone or a specific project-focused engagement. The opportunity to "build" the UX Center of Excellence is a major growth driver.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach understanding the core needs and pain points of a luxury traveler looking to book a complex, multi-day journey?" (Focus on research methods, segmentation, and understanding the luxury customer.)

• "Describe your experience in designing booking flows for products with dynamic pricing, inventory constraints, and multiple add-ons. What were the biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?" (Prepare a detailed case study from your portfolio.)

• "What is your vision for establishing a UX Center of Excellence within a company that is adopting a product-led operating model?" (Discuss structure, processes, best practices, and how to drive adoption.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Armstrong Collective's mission and the luxury travel industry?" (Research the company, its brand, and the luxury travel market.)

• "How do you embody the company values of 'Creating Meaningful Moments,' 'Being One Team,' and 'Achieving Extraordinary Outcomes' in your work?" (Provide specific examples from your experience.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the measurable impact. Use a story-telling approach.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (screenshots, wireframes, prototypes) to illustrate your design process and final solutions.

• Focus on Impact: Quantify achievements whenever possible (e.g., "Increased conversion by X%", "Reduced checkout abandonment by Y%", "Improved task completion rate by Z%").

• Highlight Research-to-Design Link: Clearly demonstrate how user research directly informed your design decisions and led to positive outcomes.

• Explain Trade-offs: Be prepared to discuss any design trade-offs you made, the reasoning behind them, and how you validated those decisions.

• Address the "UX Center of Excellence" Mandate: Be ready to discuss your experience in defining UX standards, processes, and potentially mentoring others, even if it's not from a formal leadership role.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to discuss their experience not only as a designer and researcher but also as a potential leader and process builder, given the "UX Center of Excellence" responsibility.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

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

• Portfolio Customization: Carefully curate your portfolio to highlight projects most relevant to complex e-commerce booking, transactional workflows, and ideally, the travel or luxury goods industry. Ensure case studies clearly demonstrate your research-to-design process and quantifiable results.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize your 8+ years of experience in UX research and product design, specifically mentioning experience with travel booking platforms, conversion optimization, and complex transaction design. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Rehearse your portfolio presentation, focusing on clear storytelling, quantifiable achievements, and your process for simplifying complex user journeys. Prepare to discuss your vision for a UX Center of Excellence and how you'd work within a hybrid and agile environment.

• Company Research: Deeply research Armstrong Collective, Rocky Mountaineer, and the luxury travel market. Understand their brand, customer base, and digital presence to articulate your insights and enthusiasm during interviews.

⚠️ 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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