UX / IA Lead

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX / IA Lead

Company: Further

Location: Dallas, Texas

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design & User Experience

Date Posted: May 08, 2026

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the strategic design and implementation of Information Architecture (IA) for complex B2B SaaS products, ensuring clarity and usability for operator-facing workflows.

• Drive the design of critical user workflows that optimize cognitive load for tasks such as signal triage, action configuration, AI output review, and high-stakes decision approvals.

• Own and evolve the comprehensive design system, including components, patterns, and tokens, ensuring its robust governance and effective partnership with engineering for seamless extension.

• Conduct rigorous user research with senior practitioners and executives to inform product development and validate hypotheses, translating findings into actionable product improvements.

• Act as a key influencer in product shaping, contributing product instincts and strategic vision to the roadmap, beyond just design execution.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "UX / IA Lead," the responsibilities and requirements heavily lean towards a senior Product Designer or Associate Director of Product Design role with a strong emphasis on Information Architecture and complex B2B SaaS product strategy. The role requires a "player-coach" mentality, blending hands-on design leadership with strategic client engagement and team mentorship.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and own the information architecture strategy, encompassing navigation, taxonomy, page hierarchy, language, and concept grouping to ensure product coherence across a broad surface area.

• Design and iterate on critical workflows that enable operators to efficiently manage signals, configure actions, interpret AI outputs, and approve significant decisions, with a focus on reducing cognitive load.

• Develop, maintain, and govern the product's design system, including components, patterns, tokens, and accessibility standards, fostering an environment where engineers can extend it autonomously.

• Establish and maintain a high standard for visual craft, ensuring the product's aesthetic appeals to skeptical executives and aligns with perceived product value.

• Lead user research initiatives with operators, account leads, and executives to proactively identify learning needs and gather insights that directly influence product development priorities.

• Contribute significantly to product strategy and roadmap development by applying strong product instincts to scope, sequencing, and feature prioritization, influencing what should exist and in what order.

• Foster deep cross-functional partnerships with engineering, solution architecture, data architecture, and leadership teams to ensure technical feasibility, architectural alignment, data accessibility, and strategic product direction.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary responsibilities emphasize a strategic, end-to-end ownership of the user experience for a complex B2B SaaS product. The role is described as a "player-coach" and involves significant product shaping, client leadership, and team mentorship, indicating a senior-level position with broad impact.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Specific educational degree requirements are not explicitly stated, but a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical expertise is paramount.

Experience:

• 10+ years of professional product design experience.

Required Skills:

• Information Architecture (IA): Proven ability to own and define IA for complex products, including navigation, taxonomy, hierarchy, and concept grouping.

• Product Design Expertise: Demonstrated craft in designing for complexity, with a portfolio showcasing organized and intentional Figma files, and interaction design for high-stakes workflows.

• Design System Management: Experience owning a production design system, including components, tokens, patterns, governance, and effective engineering partnerships. Ability to read code, file precise issues, and participate in technical reviews.

• User Research Acumen: Direct experience conducting user research with senior practitioners or executives, including effective interview techniques, synthesizing findings from small samples, and presenting insights to challenging stakeholders.

• Product Instincts: Strong ability to argue for or against scope, sequence, or features based on user needs, business context, and platform coherence, demonstrating proactive product shaping.

• Mentorship & Teachable Work: A track record of mentoring designers, formally or informally, with a work style that is inherently teachable and scalable.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with B2B SaaS product environments.

• Proficiency in Figma for complex design projects.

• Understanding of data architecture and its impact on user-facing products.

• Experience with AI-driven product features and their UX implications.

• Familiarity with solution architecture and its relationship to user experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements highlight a very specific profile: a seasoned product designer with deep expertise in IA and design systems, specifically within the demanding context of B2B SaaS or complex platform products. The emphasis on "craft at complexity" and owning production design systems suggests a need for a designer who can handle intricate user needs and deliver polished, scalable solutions. The explicit exclusion of consumer-only backgrounds underscores the B2B focus.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio that demonstrates "craft at complexity," showcasing how you've owned and simplified difficult product areas through IA.

• Figma files that are exceptionally organized, intentional, and reflect best practices in file management and component usage.

• Examples of interaction design specifically for high-stakes, operator-facing workflows, illustrating how you've managed cognitive load and decision-making processes.

Process Documentation:

• Show examples of user research methodologies and synthesis, particularly research conducted with senior practitioners or executives, demonstrating your ability to extract meaningful insights from limited data.

• Illustrate your approach to defining and owning information architecture, including how you structure navigation, taxonomies, and hierarchies for complex systems.

• Provide case studies that highlight your product shaping influence—how you've contributed to product strategy, roadmap decisions, or feature prioritization based on user needs and business context.

• Detail your experience in building and maintaining design systems, including governance models and how you've partnered with engineering to ensure adoption and scalability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is a critical component of this application, and it needs to explicitly showcase the candidate's ability to handle complexity in B2B SaaS environments. The emphasis is on tangible proof of IA ownership, design system maturity, rigorous research, and strategic product influence, not just visual design.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

The salary range for this role is estimated to be between $150,000 and $200,000 annually. This estimation is based on industry benchmarks for senior Product Design/IA Lead roles in major US tech hubs like Dallas, TX, considering the extensive experience (10+ years) and specialized B2B SaaS expertise required. Factors such as market demand for UX/IA professionals, company stage (Further is a growing data, cloud, and AI company), and the hybrid work model were also considered.

Benefits:

• Net-Zero Cost Medical Option: Comprehensive health coverage with no out-of-pocket premium costs for employees.

• HSA Contributions: Company contributions to Health Savings Accounts, supporting long-term healthcare savings.

• Fertility Support: Resources and financial assistance for fertility treatments.

• Fully-Paid Parental Leave: Generous paid leave for new parents, supporting work-life balance during significant life events.

• Lifestyle Spending Account: A monthly stipend to be used for various lifestyle expenses, promoting employee well-being.

• Additional Benefits: The company offers a "much more" package, implying a robust overall benefits program.

Working Hours:

The role is listed with a standard 40-hour work week, typical for full-time positions. As a hybrid role, it implies flexibility in scheduling daily work hours to accommodate personal needs, while ensuring core collaboration and productivity during business hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is an estimate based on industry standards for a senior-level UX/IA role in Dallas, given the specified experience level and the nature of a B2B SaaS company. The benefits package is highly attractive and comprehensive, with specific mentions of fertility support and a lifestyle spending account, which are strong differentiators.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Data, Cloud, and AI. Further specializes in helping companies leverage data for better decision-making through analytics, cloud solutions, and artificial intelligence.

Company Size: The provided data does not specify company size, but mentions "award winning culture" and "extraordinary people," suggesting a growing, possibly mid-sized to large organization that prioritizes talent and culture. The presence of multiple job openings and a dedicated hiring page implies a company actively scaling.

Founded: Further was founded in 2016. This indicates a company with established roots but still in a growth phase, likely offering dynamic career opportunities.

Team Structure:

• Operations Team Aspect: While not explicitly detailed, the role implies integration within a product development team that includes Engineering, Product Management, Data Science, and potentially client-facing roles (Account Leads).

• Reporting Structure: The "player-coach" nature suggests the Lead will report to a Director or VP of Product/Design and will mentor other designers, potentially leading a small team or individual contributors.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: The role heavily emphasizes cross-functional partnerships with Engineering, Solution Architecture, Data Architecture, and Leadership, indicating a highly collaborative environment.

Methodology:

• Data Analysis and Insights: The company's core business revolves around turning raw data into informed decisions, suggesting a strong emphasis on data-driven approaches across all functions, including product design.

• Workflow Planning and Optimization: A key responsibility is designing and optimizing critical workflows, indicating a focus on efficiency, cognitive load reduction, and user task success.

• Automation and Efficiency: The mention of AI and cloud solutions implies a commitment to leveraging technology for automation and enhancing operational efficiency for clients.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Further positions itself as a culture-driven company focused on enabling people and businesses through data and AI. The product design role is central to this mission, requiring a deep understanding of how to translate complex data capabilities into intuitive, impactful user experiences for business clients.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a senior to lead level, akin to an Associate Director or Principal Designer. It requires a significant depth of experience (10+ years) and the ability to not only execute design but also to shape product strategy, lead client engagements, and mentor junior talent. The focus is on owning critical product areas and driving significant business impact through design.

Reporting Structure: The UX/IA Lead will likely report to a Director or VP of Product/Design. They are expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, influencing product direction and mentoring other designers within the product team. This structure provides opportunities for direct interaction with senior leadership.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is substantial. By owning the Information Architecture and critical workflows for complex B2B SaaS products, the UX/IA Lead directly influences user adoption, efficiency, decision-making accuracy, and ultimately, client success and retention. This role is crucial for turning complex data and AI capabilities into tangible business value for Further's clients.

Growth Opportunities:

• Operations Skill Advancement: Opportunity to deepen expertise in Information Architecture, B2B SaaS product design, and design systems within a rapidly evolving AI and data landscape.

• Leadership Development: Potential to grow into a formal management role, leading a larger design team, or to become a recognized Principal/Staff designer known for strategic product influence.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Opportunities to lead design initiatives that span multiple product areas and collaborate closely with senior engineering, product, and executive leadership, building a strong understanding of overall business strategy.

• Industry Influence: Contributing to award-winning products and culture can provide a platform for industry recognition and thought leadership in UX/IA for B2B data and AI solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant growth potential for a designer who wants to move beyond pure execution into strategic product shaping and leadership within a cutting-edge tech company. The emphasis on "player-coach" and product influence suggests a path toward principal or management tracks.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is designated as "Hybrid," indicating a blend of remote work and in-office collaboration. This suggests a modern work environment that values flexibility while recognizing the importance of in-person interaction for team cohesion and strategic discussions.

Office Location(s): Dallas, Texas. This location provides a base for in-office collaboration, likely with access to a well-equipped workspace designed to foster innovation and teamwork. Specific office amenities are not detailed but can be assumed to support a professional, collaborative atmosphere.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model and emphasis on cross-functional partnerships suggest a work environment where designers actively collaborate with engineers, product managers, data architects, and leadership. This likely involves regular design reviews, brainstorming sessions, and joint problem-solving.

• Operations Tools & Technology: Expect access to industry-standard design and collaboration tools, with a strong emphasis on Figma and potentially other specialized software for IA, research, and prototyping. The company's focus on data and AI suggests advanced analytical tools may also be integrated into workflows.

• Operations Team Interaction: Opportunities for direct interaction with peers, mentors, and senior leaders within the product and design functions are inherent in a hybrid, collaborative setting. This facilitates knowledge sharing and continuous learning.

Work Schedule: The standard 40-hour work week is typical for full-time roles. The hybrid arrangement provides flexibility in daily scheduling, allowing designers to balance personal needs with project deadlines and collaborative needs, ensuring productivity and work-life integration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid "Dallas, Texas" environment for this role suggests a balance between remote flexibility and the benefits of in-person collaboration. It's an environment that likely fosters innovation through cross-functional teamwork and provides the necessary tools for complex B2B SaaS product design.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio by a recruiter or hiring manager to assess basic qualifications and alignment with the role's core requirements.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: A dedicated session where you will present your portfolio, likely focusing on case studies that demonstrate your IA, design system, and B2B SaaS product design expertise. This may be accompanied by a specific design challenge or deep dive into past projects.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with engineering leads, product managers, and potentially data architects to assess your collaboration style, technical understanding, and ability to integrate design into broader product development processes.

• Stakeholder/Leadership Interview: A final interview with senior leadership (e.g., VP of Product/Design) to evaluate strategic thinking, product vision, leadership potential, and cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Complexity: Select case studies that explicitly showcase your ability to tackle complex IA challenges within B2B SaaS or similar environments. Highlight how you simplified intricate systems.

• Demonstrate IA Ownership: Clearly articulate your role in defining navigation, taxonomy, and hierarchy. Use diagrams or process flows to illustrate your IA strategy.

• Showcase Design System Maturity: Present your experience with production design systems, detailing components, governance, and your collaboration with engineering. If you led a system, explain its impact and evolution.

• Highlight Research & Strategy: Include examples of user research with senior stakeholders and explain how your insights directly influenced product strategy and roadmap decisions. Quantify impact where possible.

• Focus on B2B SaaS Context: Ensure your examples are relevant to operator-facing products and complex workflows, demonstrating an understanding of B2B user needs and business objectives.

Challenge Preparation:

• IA Deep Dive: Be prepared to discuss IA principles and apply them to hypothetical scenarios relevant to Further's product domain.

• Design System Application: Expect questions about how you would extend, govern, or improve a design system for a complex product.

• Product Strategy Thinking: Practice articulating your product instincts and how you'd contribute to shaping a product roadmap, considering user needs, technical feasibility, and business goals.

• Collaboration Scenarios: Prepare examples of how you've collaborated with engineering, product managers, and other stakeholders on challenging projects.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is heavily weighted towards portfolio presentation and demonstrating strategic product thinking, not just visual design skills. Candidates should be ready to deeply articulate their IA process, design system contributions, and strategic product influence.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Explicitly mentioned and expected to be the primary tool for design, prototyping, and collaboration. Proficiency in managing complex Figma files and component libraries is essential.

• Design System Tools: Experience with tools and methodologies for building, maintaining, and governing design systems (e.g., Storybook, Zeroheight, or internal platforms).

• User Research Platforms: Familiarity with tools for conducting and synthesizing user research (e.g., UserTesting.com, Dovetail, Lookback, or similar).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Analysis Tools: While not directly a UX tool, understanding how data analysis informs product decisions is key. Familiarity with tools that surface user behavior data (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics) would be beneficial.

• Product Analytics Integration: Understanding how UX designs can be instrumented for tracking and analysis within product analytics platforms.

CRM & Automation:

• Not Directly Applicable: While the company uses data, cloud, and AI, the UX/IA Lead role itself is unlikely to directly manage CRM or marketing automation tools. However, understanding how product design can support sales and customer success workflows would be an advantage.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core technical requirement is deep proficiency in Figma and a strong understanding of design system implementation and user research methodologies. Awareness of how design integrates with data analytics and product strategy is also crucial for this strategic role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: A fundamental value, reflecting the company's core business. Operations professionals are expected to leverage data to inform their strategies and measure impact.

• Excellence & Craft: The emphasis on an "award-winning culture" and "extraordinary people" suggests a high bar for quality and execution in all roles, particularly in product design.

• Impact & Meaningful Work: The company purpose is to "enable people to thrive so that businesses can thrive," implying a value placed on work that has a positive, tangible impact.

• Collaboration & Partnership: The "player-coach" role and cross-functional responsibilities highlight the importance of strong teamwork and shared ownership.

• Continuous Improvement & Growth: The mention of "unlimited growth opportunities" points to a culture that encourages learning, development, and pushing boundaries.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Operations professionals, especially in UX/IA, are expected to work closely with engineering, product, and data teams, acting as a bridge between user needs and technical capabilities.

• Process Optimization Focus: A collaborative approach that actively seeks to improve workflows, reduce friction, and enhance efficiency for both internal teams and end-users.

• Feedback Exchange: An environment where constructive feedback is welcomed and shared openly to foster continuous improvement in products and processes.

• Strategic Alignment: Collaboration is geared towards achieving shared business objectives and ensuring that design decisions align with the company's overall data, cloud, and AI strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: Further's culture appears to value high performance, data-informed decision-making, and a strong sense of purpose. For a UX/IA Lead, this means being both a skilled practitioner and a strategic partner who can drive impact through collaboration and a commitment to excellence.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Complexity: Managing the IA and UX for a product with a "lot of surface area" and complex operator workflows presents a significant challenge in maintaining coherence and usability.

• Balancing Stakeholder Needs: Effectively synthesizing input from diverse stakeholders (operators, executives, engineering, product, data) and translating them into a unified design vision.

• Design System Governance at Scale: Ensuring a production design system remains robust, scalable, and adopted by engineering while the product evolves rapidly.

• Driving Product Strategy: Moving beyond design execution to influential product shaping requires strong business acumen, strategic thinking, and the ability to advocate for user-centered solutions in roadmap discussions.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepening B2B SaaS Expertise: Gaining extensive experience in designing for complex enterprise-level products within the data, cloud, and AI sectors.

• Leadership & Mentorship: Developing coaching and leadership skills by mentoring junior designers and potentially leading design initiatives.

• Strategic Product Influence: Enhancing skills in product strategy, roadmap planning, and business case development for design initiatives.

• Industry Trends: Staying at the forefront of UX for AI-driven products, data visualization, and complex enterprise software.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for senior roles in complex product environments, offering substantial opportunities for professional growth and skill development in strategic product design and leadership.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to define the information architecture for a product with a large surface area. What was your process, and what were the key challenges?" (Focus on IA methodology, taxonomy, hierarchy, and problem-solving.)

• "How do you approach designing critical workflows for high-stakes decisions, especially when cognitive load is a concern? Can you walk us through a specific example from your portfolio?" (Highlight user-centered design, workflow optimization, and impact on decision accuracy.)

• "Discuss your experience owning a design system in production. How did you ensure its adoption by engineering, and what was your process for governance and evolution?" (Emphasize partnership, technical understanding, and scalability.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on our focus on data, cloud, and AI, what do you see as the biggest UX challenges for our target audience?" (Demonstrate understanding of the company's domain and user base.)

• "How do you approach mentoring designers, and what’s your philosophy on building a teachable design practice?" (Assess leadership potential and team-building approach.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, the constraints, your process (especially IA and research), the solution, and the impact (quantified where possible).

• Highlight IA & Systems: Dedicate specific time to detail your IA contributions and any design system work. Use visual aids (diagrams, screenshots, component examples) effectively.

• Articulate Strategic Influence: Beyond design execution, explain how your work influenced the product strategy, roadmap, or business outcomes.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, research findings, and technical considerations. Your Figma files should be impeccably organized for potential live walkthroughs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on showcasing strategic thinking, IA expertise, design system leadership, and the ability to influence product direction in a B2B SaaS context. Quantifiable results and clear articulation of process are key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX / IA Lead position:

• Submit your application through the provided Greenhouse link.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your online portfolio or PDF to prominently feature 2-3 in-depth case studies that best exemplify your experience with complex B2B SaaS Information Architecture, Design Systems, and strategic product influence. Ensure these examples directly address the requirements mentioned in the job description.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight keywords such as "Information Architecture," "B2B SaaS," "Design Systems," "User Research," "Product Strategy," "Figma," and "Interaction Design." Quantify achievements and responsibilities where possible, focusing on impact.

• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio, focusing on articulating your process, strategic contributions, and the impact of your work. Prepare to discuss your approach to IA, design systems, and user research with senior stakeholders.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Further's mission, products, and company culture. Understand their focus on data, cloud, and AI, and how your UX/IA expertise can contribute to their goals.

⚠️ 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.