User Experience (UX) Design Manager

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: User Experience (UX) Design Manager Company: Quest Software Location: Remote (United Kingdom) Job Type: FULL_TIME Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Product Design Management Date Posted: 2025-09-26 Experience Level: 5-10 Years

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and inspire a team of UX designers, fostering a culture of collaboration, curiosity, and excellence in user-centered design practices.
• Partner closely with Product Management to translate deep customer insights and business objectives into intuitive and innovative design solutions for SaaS, B2B, and B2C platforms.
• Champion simplicity, usability, and elegance across all product touchpoints, advocating for effective solutions to complex user challenges.
• Contribute directly to design efforts, including sketching ideas and refining final visuals, to support team output and maintain hands-on design proficiency.
• Drive the evolution of design processes, tools, and best practices to enhance team efficiency, output quality, and overall impact on product strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a management opportunity with a hands-on component, requiring a leader who can both guide a team and contribute to individual design tasks. The emphasis on SaaS, B2B, and B2C platforms indicates a need for versatile UX expertise across different user bases and product types.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Lead, mentor, and coach a small team of UX designers, facilitating their professional growth, skill development, and career progression.
• Strategic Partnership: Collaborate effectively with Product Management to gain a comprehensive understanding of customer needs, business goals, technical constraints, and market opportunities.
• Design Direction & Execution: Translate user research findings and business requirements into clear design direction, wireframes, user flows, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups.
• Usability & Innovation Advocacy: Champion user-centric principles, advocating for intuitive, effective, and delightful user experiences that solve complex problems and drive product adoption.
• Process Optimization: Continuously evaluate and refine design processes, methodologies, and toolsets to improve team efficiency, collaboration, and the quality of design output.
• Design Review & Facilitation: Lead and facilitate design critique sessions, cross-functional workshops, and stakeholder presentations to gather feedback, drive alignment, and ensure design quality.
• Hands-on Design Contribution: Actively contribute to individual design tasks, including concept generation, wireframing, prototyping, and visual design refinement, as needed to support project timelines and team capacity.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with Engineering, Product Management, and other stakeholders in agile development environments to ensure seamless implementation of design solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly outline a dual role of management and individual contribution. The emphasis on "translating insights into clear design direction" and "championing simplicity and usability" highlights the strategic and problem-solving aspects of the role, while "roll up your sleeves and contribute as an individual designer" emphasizes the need for hands-on expertise.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Degree in UX Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Graphic Design, or a related field; or equivalent practical professional experience.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in UI/UX product design, with a demonstrated track record of delivering successful complex, multi-platform solutions.
• Proven experience working within agile development methodologies, collaborating closely with Product Management and Engineering teams.
• Experience designing for technical users of SaaS, B2B, and B2C platforms is essential.

Required Skills:

• UX Design Expertise: Deep understanding of user-centered design principles, interaction design, information architecture, and visual design.
• Portfolio: A strong, compelling portfolio showcasing UX design excellence across large web and/or Windows applications, with clear examples of complex problem-solving.
• Prototyping & Wireframing: Proficiency in creating wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes to effectively communicate design concepts.
• User Research & Testing: Experience conducting or contributing to user research, usability testing, and synthesizing findings into actionable design improvements.
• Communication & Storytelling: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale, present concepts clearly, and influence stakeholders.
• Design Systems: Familiarity with or experience in developing and utilizing design systems and component libraries for consistency and scalability.
• Agile Methodologies: Working knowledge of agile development processes and experience collaborating within these frameworks.
• Mentorship & Coaching: Ability to guide, coach, and develop junior designers, fostering their professional growth and providing constructive feedback.

Preferred Skills:

• Previous experience in a formal leadership or management role overseeing UX design teams.
• Passion for accessibility and inclusive design principles, with experience implementing them in practice.
• Bonus: Knowledge or experience in the Cybersecurity space, particularly with Identity and Access Management (IAM).
• Bonus: Experience with specific design and collaboration tools such as Figma, Confluence, Tetra Insights, UX Tweak, Survey Monkey, or Adobe Creative Suite.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for a "strong portfolio showcasing complex, multi-platform solutions" and "design for technical users of SaaS, B2B and B2C platforms" indicates a need for a designer with a broad range of experience and the ability to handle sophisticated product challenges. The explicit mention of "previous experience in a leadership or mentorship role is a plus, but not essential" signals that strong senior designers with leadership potential are also encouraged to apply.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrates end-to-end UX design process, from initial research and concept development to final design and iteration.
• Showcases a minimum of 3-5 complex projects, ideally spanning web, SaaS, and/or desktop applications, with clear articulation of the problem, your role, the process, and the outcome.
• Highlights your ability to translate complex technical requirements into intuitive and user-friendly interfaces for technical users.
• Includes examples of wireframes, user flows, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity visual designs, along with rationale for design decisions.
• Must clearly articulate your contribution to user research, usability testing, and how insights informed design solutions.

Process Documentation:

• Evidence of structured design process, including methodologies for user research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration.
• Examples of how you have contributed to or improved design workflows and collaboration with Product Management and Engineering within agile environments.
• Demonstration of how you advocate for and implement design systems and component libraries to ensure consistency and efficiency.
• Ability to articulate the business impact and ROI of design decisions, supported by metrics or qualitative feedback where possible.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a UX Design Manager role, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to not only showcase design talent but also the ability to manage processes, lead projects, and articulate strategic thinking. The emphasis on "complex, multi-platform solutions" and "technical users" suggests a need for depth in problem-solving within enterprise software contexts.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Based on industry benchmarks for a UX Design Manager with 5-10 years of experience in the UK, a competitive salary range is estimated between £65,000 - £95,000 per annum. This range can vary based on specific experience, qualifications, and the candidate's location within the UK.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health and wellness programs, prioritizing employee well-being.
• Opportunities for professional development, including training, certifications, and access to learning resources.
• Collaborative work environment with dedicated professionals passionate about technology and innovation.
• Investment in employee growth, with programs designed to help individuals fulfill their career potential.
• Rewarding compensation and recognition for hard work and contributions.
• Retirement savings plan options.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time working hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week. Given the remote nature of the role and its UK location, flexibility may be offered, but consistent availability for team collaboration and project needs is essential.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on typical UK market rates for a UX Design Manager with the specified experience level. It assumes a standard benefits package for a technology company of this nature. The remote status for the UK implies adherence to UK employment law and benefits standards.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, Software (specifically Identity and Access Management, Cybersecurity) Company Size: Quest Software is a large enterprise with a significant global presence (part of the broader One Identity organization). This implies a structured environment with established processes, but also opportunities for impact within a substantial customer base. Founded: Quest Software has a long history in the software industry, with One Identity being a dedicated brand within Quest focused on identity security. This suggests a company with deep technical expertise and a forward-looking approach to evolving market needs.

Team Structure:

• The UX Design team is described as "small," indicating a close-knit group where individual contributions and team collaboration are highly valued.
• The UX Design Manager will report into a higher-level Product or Design leadership role, working closely with Product Management and Engineering teams.
• Cross-functional collaboration is a cornerstone, with frequent interaction between UX, Product Management, and Engineering in agile sprints.

Methodology:

• Agile development is a core methodology, requiring UX designers to be adaptable and responsive to iterative feedback.
• A strong emphasis is placed on understanding customer needs and translating them into tangible design solutions.
• The company fosters a culture of curiosity, innovation, and continuous improvement, encouraging the exploration of new ideas and refinement of existing processes.
• Data-driven decision-making is implied, with a focus on user research and usability testing to inform design direction.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company description highlights a focus on enabling organizations to secure and manage their infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on innovation and growth. This context suggests that the UX team will be instrumental in simplifying complex security solutions for a broad range of customers.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a mid-to-senior level management position within the UX design discipline. It is a step into formal leadership, responsible for both team performance and strategic design contributions. Reporting Structure: The UX Design Manager will likely report to a Director of Product Design, VP of Product, or a similar senior leadership role. They will manage a direct team of UX Designers and collaborate extensively with Product Managers and Engineering Leads. Operations Impact: The UX Design Manager plays a critical role in shaping the user experience of Quest Software's products, directly influencing customer satisfaction, adoption rates, and ultimately, revenue. Effective UX design can reduce support costs, increase user efficiency, and enhance the overall value proposition of the software.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Opportunity to hone management skills, mentor a growing team, and contribute to the strategic direction of UX within the organization.
• Skill Specialization: Potential to deepen expertise in specific areas of UX design, such as complex enterprise SaaS applications, cybersecurity UX, or design system management.
• Cross-functional Advancement: Growth into broader product leadership roles, or specialization within design operations or research leadership.
• Industry Exposure: Work with cutting-edge technology in cybersecurity and identity management, offering significant learning opportunities in a high-demand field.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers a clear path for individuals looking to transition from senior individual contributor roles into management, with opportunities to impact product strategy and user adoption at a significant scale. The "bonus points" for cybersecurity experience suggest a potential niche for growth within the company's core domain.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: While the position is advertised as remote within the UK, the company culture emphasizes collaboration and innovation. This suggests that even in a remote setting, there will be a strong emphasis on virtual collaboration tools and team engagement. Office Location(s): Remote within the United Kingdom. Specific company office locations are not detailed for this role but are extensive globally for Quest Software. Workspace Context:

• A remote-first or hybrid-friendly approach is implied, requiring strong self-discipline and excellent virtual communication skills.
• Access to modern design and collaboration tools is expected, facilitating seamless interaction with distributed teams.
• Opportunities for virtual team-building activities and cross-functional knowledge sharing will be crucial for maintaining a cohesive team environment.

Work Schedule:

• Standard full-time hours (approx. 40 per week) are expected. Flexibility may be available, but core working hours will likely align with UK business hours to facilitate collaboration with local and potentially global teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote nature of this role within the UK requires candidates to be self-motivated and adept at asynchronous and synchronous virtual communication. The company's culture suggests a supportive environment for remote employees, with an emphasis on connecting and collaborating digitally.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Application Screening: Review of resume and portfolio for alignment with core requirements.
2. Initial Recruiter Screen: A brief call to assess overall fit, interest, and basic qualifications.
3. Hiring Manager Interview: In-depth discussion focused on leadership experience, team management philosophy, UX strategy, and problem-solving approach. This is where your portfolio will be a key discussion point.
4. Design Challenge/Portfolio Review: A more extensive session where you'll present your portfolio, walk through case studies, and potentially tackle a design problem or scenario relevant to Quest Software's products.
5. Cross-functional Interview(s): Meetings with Product Management and/or Engineering leads to assess collaboration skills, understanding of agile processes, and ability to work with technical constraints.
6. Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader for final assessment of cultural fit and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your portfolio logically. For each project, clearly outline the business problem, your specific role and responsibilities, the UX process followed (research, ideation, design, testing), key decisions made, and the measurable outcomes.
• Focus on Process & Rationale: Go beyond showcasing final visuals. Explain why you made certain design decisions, the trade-offs considered, and how user research or business goals influenced your choices.
• Highlight Leadership & Collaboration: For this role, demonstrate instances where you've mentored others, facilitated design reviews, or collaborated effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Tailor to Quest: If possible, try to understand Quest's product landscape (Identity Management, Cybersecurity) and consider how your experience aligns. Showcasing UX for technical users and enterprise SaaS is crucial.
• Be Prepared for Ambiguity: Since the role involves managing ambiguity, be ready to discuss how you approach ill-defined problems and drive clarity.

Challenge Preparation:

• Anticipate questions about how you would approach designing for technical users, managing a remote team, or improving existing design processes.
• Practice articulating your design philosophy and leadership style concisely.
• Be ready to discuss your experience with design systems and how you'd approach their implementation or maintenance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily weigh your portfolio and your ability to articulate both your design thinking and your leadership capabilities. Prepare to discuss specific examples of how you've solved complex UX problems, mentored designers, and contributed to product strategy.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma is explicitly mentioned as a bonus, but is the industry standard for collaborative UX design. Proficiency in other tools like Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop) for visual design assets is also relevant.
• Collaboration & Documentation: Confluence is mentioned as a bonus, commonly used for project documentation, design specifications, and knowledge sharing. Tools like Jira are typically used for agile project management and task tracking, which UX designers integrate with.
• User Research & Testing: Tetra Insights, UX Tweak, and Survey Monkey are listed as bonus tools, indicating familiarity with platforms for user surveys, usability testing, and feedback collection.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed, familiarity with product analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel) and the ability to interpret data to inform design decisions is highly valuable.
• Experience with dashboarding tools for presenting UX metrics and impact would be an advantage.

CRM & Automation:

• Understanding how UX designs integrate with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and other business applications is beneficial, particularly in a B2B context.
• Familiarity with marketing automation platforms is less critical for this role but understanding the user journey across different touchpoints is key.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and a strong understanding of its collaborative features are highly recommended. Experience with a suite of tools covering design, research, documentation, and project management will be advantageous.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Collaboration: A strong emphasis on working together across disciplines (UX, Product, Engineering) to achieve common goals.
• Curiosity: A drive to understand users, explore new solutions, and continuously learn.
• Excellence: A commitment to high-quality design, attention to detail, and delivering impactful user experiences.
• Simplicity & Elegance: A dedication to finding straightforward, intuitive solutions for complex problems.
• Innovation: Encouragement to think creatively and develop delightful, cutting-edge user experiences.

Collaboration Style:

• Agile & Iterative: Working within fast-paced, iterative development cycles, with frequent feedback loops.
• Data-Informed: Utilizing user research and analytics to guide design decisions, rather than relying solely on intuition.
• Transparent Communication: Openly sharing work, seeking feedback, and articulating design rationale clearly to all stakeholders.
• Cross-functional Partnership: Building strong relationships with Product Management and Engineering to ensure designs are feasible, desirable, and effectively implemented.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture appears to value a blend of creative exploration and pragmatic execution, underpinned by strong collaboration and a user-centric ethos. For a UX Design Manager, demonstrating an ability to foster these values within their team will be key.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Leading a Remote Team: Effectively managing, motivating, and fostering collaboration within a distributed UX design team.
• Balancing Management & Design: Juggling leadership responsibilities with hands-on design contributions, ensuring both aspects receive adequate attention.
• Designing for Technical Users: Creating intuitive experiences for complex enterprise software that may have steep learning curves.
• Ambiguity & Shifting Priorities: Navigating a fast-paced environment where requirements and priorities can change, requiring adaptability and strategic thinking.
• Driving Design Process Evolution: Implementing and championing improvements to existing design processes and toolsets within a larger organization.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Leadership Training: Formal or informal opportunities to develop management and team-building skills.
• Industry Best Practices: Staying current with the latest UX trends, tools, and methodologies through conferences, webinars, and internal knowledge sharing.
• Cybersecurity UX Specialization: Deepening expertise in the specific domain of Identity and Access Management (IAM) and cybersecurity UX.
• Cross-functional Exposure: Gaining a broader understanding of product development lifecycles and business strategy by working closely with Product and Engineering.
• Mentorship Programs: Engaging with senior leaders within Quest Software for guidance and career advice.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for a UX Design Manager stepping into a new role, especially one with a remote component and a focus on complex software. The growth opportunities are substantial, offering a path for both leadership and domain-specific expertise.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach building a design system for a complex enterprise SaaS product with multiple user roles?"
• "Describe a time you had to influence stakeholders or product management to adopt a user-centered design approach. What was the outcome?"
• "How do you balance the need for rapid iteration in an agile environment with ensuring high-quality, user-centered design?"
• "What is your philosophy on mentoring and developing UX designers? How do you foster a collaborative and high-performing team?"
• "Walk me through a complex UX challenge you've faced, detailing your process, key decisions, and the impact of your solution."

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Quest Software and the Identity Management/Cybersecurity space?"
• "How do you foster a culture of curiosity and continuous learning within a design team?"
• "How do you ensure your design team effectively collaborates with remote Product and Engineering teams?"
• "What are your thoughts on accessibility and inclusive design, and how would you champion these principles within the team and the product?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tell a Story: Frame each project as a narrative – the problem, your journey, the solution, and the results.
• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics (e.g., increased conversion rates, reduced task completion time, improved user satisfaction scores) to demonstrate the business value of your designs.
• Show Your Process: Clearly articulate your thinking at each stage. Use wireframes, user flows, and prototypes to illustrate your problem-solving approach.
• Highlight Collaboration: Point out instances where you worked effectively with Product Managers and Engineers.
• Address the "Technical User" Aspect: Be ready to discuss specific strategies you've employed to design for users who are highly technical or operating in complex environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: Be prepared to discuss your leadership style, your approach to managing ambiguity, and how you translate user needs into tangible design solutions, especially for technical audiences. Your portfolio is your primary tool for demonstrating these capabilities.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this User Experience (UX) Design Manager position:

• Submit your application through the provided job link on the Quest Software careers portal.
• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your resume highlights your management and leadership experience, while your portfolio prominently features complex, multi-platform UX designs, particularly for technical users and SaaS/B2B/B2C applications. Tailor your portfolio to showcase your process, rationale, and collaborative approach.
• Resume Optimization: Clearly articulate your 5+ years of UX design experience, framing your responsibilities and achievements in terms of leadership, strategic thinking, and problem-solving. Use keywords from the job description like "UX Design," "Product Management," "Agile," "SaaS," and "Leadership."
• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design philosophy, leadership style, and how you approach mentoring and process improvement. Prepare to walk through your portfolio case studies, emphasizing your decision-making process and the impact of your work.
• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Quest Software's products, particularly in the Identity and Access Management (IAM) and cybersecurity domains. Understand their customer base and the challenges technical users face.

⚠️ 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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