UX/UI Designer II

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX/UI Designer II Company: Systems Innovation Engineering Location: Remote (United States) Job Type: Salaried Full-Time Category: Product Design & User Experience Date Posted: January 07, 2026 Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5-10 years) Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and deliver intuitive, accessible, and operationally precise user interfaces and visualization systems for complex, data-rich environments.
• Contribute to the entire design lifecycle, from research and interaction design to visual design and prototyping.
• Collaborate closely with engineers, product managers, and subject matter experts to translate technical and operational requirements into effective user experiences.
• Emphasize clarity, usability, and consistency across digital experiences and systems.
• Grow technical depth, systems thinking, and domain expertise within secure and constrained environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role is specifically tailored for a UX/UI Designer with experience in complex, data-intensive, and potentially secure environments, likely within defense or enterprise sectors, given the mention of command and control systems and military interfaces. The emphasis on "operationally precise" and "secure and constrained environments" suggests a need for a designer who can balance aesthetic appeal with critical functionality and adherence to strict guidelines.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design and prototype command and control systems, complex dashboards, and data visualization tools to support critical decision-making.
• Conduct user research and usability testing to gather insights and drive iterative design improvements based on feedback.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including engineers, product managers, and subject matter experts, to define and refine user experience requirements.
• Contribute to the creation and evolution of design systems and component libraries to ensure consistency and scalability across applications.
• Translate complex technical requirements and operational needs into elegant, intuitive, and user-friendly digital interfaces.
• Ensure adherence to established design principles, accessibility standards, and visual hierarchy for optimal clarity and usability.
• Participate in the full design lifecycle, from conceptualization and wireframing to high-fidelity prototyping and final design handoff.
• Maintain a strong understanding of user needs and business objectives to inform design decisions and product strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a hands-on design role with a strong emphasis on user-centered design principles, iterative development, and cross-functional collaboration. The mention of "command and control systems" and "military interfaces" indicates a specialized domain requiring a deep understanding of user workflows in high-stakes environments.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for this level of role. Experience: 5+ years of professional experience in UX/UI design, with a proven track record of shipping digital products or platforms.

Required Skills:

• A robust portfolio demonstrating core design competencies, including information architecture, interaction design, and visual systems for complex or data-rich environments.
• Expertise in typography, layout, and color systems, with a strong focus on accessibility and visual hierarchy.
• Proficiency in Figma for design and prototyping, including experience with component-based workflows and design systems.
• Experience designing for multiple platforms and operating systems, particularly those used in defense or enterprise environments.
• Demonstrated ability to balance usability, clarity, and operational precision in design solutions.
• Experience conducting user research, usability testing, and heuristic evaluations.
• Ability to synthesize user feedback and testing results into actionable design updates.
• Strong collaboration skills, with experience working closely with cross-functional teams (developers, PMs, SMEs).
• Excellent communication and presentation abilities for articulating design rationale and tradeoffs to diverse stakeholders.
• Self-motivated, organized, and capable of leading design process aspects independently.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing command-and-control systems, mission planning tools, or similar military interfaces.
• Understanding of design principles for secure or constrained environments.
• Familiarity with Penpot or other design tools commonly used in secure environments.
• Expertise in data visualization techniques and best practices.
• Experience with rapid prototyping methodologies.
• Background in UX research methods and integrating human factors into design decisions.
• Interest in mentoring other designers and contributing to team growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: The required qualifications emphasize a blend of technical design skills (Figma, design systems), user-centered methodologies (research, testing), and domain-specific experience (defense/enterprise, command and control). The portfolio is a critical requirement, underscoring the need for demonstrable, impactful design work.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A mandatory portfolio showcasing a minimum of 5 years of design experience and demonstrating core design competencies.
• Projects should highlight expertise in information architecture, interaction design, and visual systems for complex or data-rich environments.
• Examples of work demonstrating strong grasp of typography, layout, and color systems, with attention to accessibility and hierarchy.
• Prototypes created using Figma, illustrating component-based workflows and design system application.
• Case studies demonstrating experience designing for multiple platforms, ideally within defense or enterprise contexts.
• Projects that clearly articulate how usability, clarity, and operational precision were balanced.
• Evidence of user research, usability testing, and heuristic evaluations, with clear articulation of how findings influenced design iterations.
• Examples of collaboration with cross-functional teams and effective presentation of design rationale.

Process Documentation:

• Case studies detailing the design process from problem identification to solution implementation.
• Documentation of user research findings, usability test results, and how they informed design decisions.
• Examples of how design systems and component libraries were created or utilized.
• Demonstrations of iterative design cycles and how feedback was incorporated.
• Artifacts showcasing complex data visualization or command and control interface design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is paramount for this role. Applicants must present well-documented case studies that not only showcase design talent but also demonstrate a deep understanding of the design process, user research methodologies, and the ability to translate complex requirements into functional, user-friendly interfaces, especially within specialized domains.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $105,000 - $115,000 USD per year. * 📝 Enhancement Note: This salary range is provided by the employer and reflects the specified experience level and remote nature of the role within the United States. It aligns with industry standards for mid-senior UX/UI Designers with specialized experience in complex systems.

Benefits:

• Paid Time Off
• Paid Company Holidays
• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Optional Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Base and Voluntary Life Insurance
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability Insurance
• 401k Matching
• Employee Assistance Program

Working Hours: Approximately 40 hours per week, with flexibility expected for the nature of remote work and project demands.

📝 Enhancement Note: The benefits package is comprehensive, covering health, financial security, and work-life balance. The 401k matching is a significant advantage for long-term financial planning. The standard 40-hour work week is typical, but remote roles often offer some flexibility on exact hours, provided deliverables are met.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, Engineering, Government & Public Sector (likely defense, aerospace, or intelligence due to clearance requirements and domain focus). Company Size: The provided data does not specify company size, but the existence of a formal UX/UI Designer II role and the mention of a design system suggest a moderately sized organization or a dedicated design team within a larger entity. Founded: Systems Innovation Engineering's founding date is not provided.

Team Structure:

• The UX/UI Designer II will likely be part of a multidisciplinary team, collaborating closely with engineers, product managers, and subject matter experts.
• There may be a dedicated UX/UI team or the designer might be embedded within product development squads.
• The role involves reporting to a design lead or product management lead, depending on the organizational structure.

Methodology:

• Emphasis on user-centered design principles, iterative development, and agile methodologies.
• Data-driven decision-making, utilizing user research and analytics to inform design choices.
• Focus on building and maintaining robust design systems for consistency and efficiency.
• Collaboration and communication are key, with regular interaction across departments.

Company Website: siecompany.com (Note: This is inferred from the domain_derived field; the organization_url was null).

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the job description's focus on complex systems, operational precision, and security clearances, Systems Innovation Engineering likely operates in a sector that demands high levels of accuracy, reliability, and adherence to strict protocols. The culture likely values meticulous work, strong technical acumen, and collaborative problem-solving.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is classified as UX/UI Designer II, indicating a mid-level to senior individual contributor position. It requires a solid foundation of experience and the ability to work with some autonomy, while still being part of a larger team. Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Design Manager, Lead Designer, or a Product Director, depending on the company's organizational chart. They will collaborate extensively with engineering and product management teams. Operations Impact: The UX/UI Designer's work directly impacts the usability, efficiency, and effectiveness of critical systems. By creating intuitive interfaces for data-rich environments, they enable users to make better, faster, and more informed decisions, directly contributing to operational success and potentially mission outcomes.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific areas like data visualization, advanced interaction design for complex systems, or human-computer interaction in domain-specific contexts (e.g., defense, aerospace).
• Design Leadership: Progress to a Senior UX/UI Designer role, taking on more complex projects, mentoring junior designers, and contributing more significantly to design strategy.
• Cross-Functional Advancement: Potentially move into roles with more product management involvement or specialized UX research positions.
• Domain Expertise: Develop significant expertise in the defense or enterprise sectors, making them a highly valuable asset for companies in these industries.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for growth within the design discipline, particularly for those interested in specialized, high-impact areas. The emphasis on complex systems and domain expertise provides a unique opportunity to build a niche career.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. This position is intended to be executed entirely outside of a traditional office setting. Office Location(s): Remote within the United States. This implies that candidates must be legally authorized to work in the US and potentially meet residency requirements for certain states or tax purposes. Workspace Context:

• The remote nature requires strong self-discipline, effective time management, and proactive communication.
• Access to reliable internet and a suitable home office setup is essential.
• Collaboration will primarily occur through digital tools (e.g., video conferencing, instant messaging, collaborative design platforms).
• The company likely provides access to necessary software and tools for remote work and design execution.

Work Schedule: Standard 40-hour work week, but remote roles often allow for some flexibility in daily scheduling, provided that project deadlines and team collaboration needs are met. This flexibility can be beneficial for managing personal commitments alongside work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully remote aspect is a significant draw for many candidates. It necessitates a high degree of autonomy and self-management. The "United States" location requirement is crucial for compliance and payroll.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess qualifications and experience.
• Portfolio Presentation: A session where you will present your portfolio, discussing your design process, decision-making, and project outcomes. Expect to detail your approach to complex problems, user research, and collaboration.
• Technical/Design Challenge: You may be given a design exercise or case study to assess your problem-solving skills and design approach in a timed setting.
• Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with potential team members (engineers, product managers) and hiring managers to evaluate collaboration style, communication skills, and cultural fit.
• Final Interview: Likely with senior leadership to discuss overall fit, strategic thinking, and long-term potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Selectively: Focus on 3-5 of your strongest, most relevant projects. Prioritize those that demonstrate experience with complex data, command and control systems, or similar challenging design problems.
• Detail Your Process: Clearly articulate the problem, your role, the steps you took (research, ideation, prototyping, testing), your design decisions, and the final outcomes. Quantify results where possible.
• Showcase Figma Proficiency: Highlight your use of Figma features like component libraries, auto-layout, and prototyping capabilities.
• Address Operational Precision: Explain how your designs ensured clarity, accuracy, and efficiency for users in demanding operational contexts.
• Tailor to the Role: Emphasize projects that align with the requirements for designing dashboards, data visualizations, and command and control interfaces.
• Prepare for Questions: Be ready to discuss tradeoffs, challenges encountered, and how you collaborated with technical teams.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research common challenges and design patterns in command and control systems, data visualization, and defense/enterprise software.
• Practice Problem-Solving: Work through hypothetical design problems, focusing on structure, user needs, and iterative solutions.
• Time Management: Practice completing design exercises within a set timeframe, mimicking interview conditions.
• Articulate Your Rationale: Be prepared to clearly explain your design choices and the reasoning behind them.

📝 Enhancement Note: The application process heavily emphasizes the portfolio. Candidates should prepare a compelling narrative around their projects, showcasing not just the final product but the strategic thinking, user empathy, and technical execution involved. The "operationally precise" requirement suggests a need to demonstrate how designs support critical functions and minimize error.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI design, wireframing, and prototyping. Proficiency in creating and managing component-based workflows and design systems is critical.
• User Research Tools: Experience with tools for conducting user interviews, surveys, and usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze, Lookback, or internal tools).
• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma, familiarity with other prototyping tools may be beneficial.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly a data analytics role, understanding how to design for data visualization implies an awareness of how data is tracked and reported. Familiarity with data visualization principles is key.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to this UX/UI role, but understanding how user interfaces integrate with backend systems and data sources is important.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is the cornerstone of the required toolset. The emphasis on design systems and component-based workflows indicates a need for a designer who can contribute to scalable and maintainable design solutions.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Precision & Accuracy: Given the likely industry (defense/government), a strong emphasis on detail, accuracy, and minimizing errors in design is paramount.
• User-Centricity: A core value of understanding and advocating for the user, ensuring interfaces are intuitive and effective for critical tasks.
• Collaboration: Working effectively within multidisciplinary teams to achieve shared goals.
• Innovation within Constraints: Finding creative solutions within technical, security, and operational limitations.
• Continuous Improvement: An iterative approach to design, constantly seeking feedback and refining solutions.

Collaboration Style:

• Highly collaborative, working closely with engineers, product managers, and subject matter experts.
• Proactive communication is essential, especially in a remote setting.
• Openness to feedback and constructive criticism.
• Sharing design rationale and contributing to team knowledge.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture likely reflects the high-stakes nature of its work. Values such as precision, reliability, and collaboration are critical for success in designing systems that support critical operations.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Complexity: Creating intuitive interfaces for complex, data-rich environments where users must make critical decisions under pressure.
• Balancing Usability and Operational Precision: Ensuring designs are both easy to use and highly accurate, with minimal room for error.
• Working within Secure/Constrained Environments: Adapting design practices to meet specific security protocols and technical limitations.
• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining strong team cohesion and effective communication in a fully remote setting.
• Domain Specificity: Quickly acquiring and applying knowledge of specialized domains (e.g., defense, military operations).

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized Design Skills: Opportunities to deepen expertise in data visualization, complex system design, and human-computer interaction for mission-critical applications.
• Industry Knowledge: Gaining in-depth understanding of defense, aerospace, or intelligence sectors.
• Mentorship: Potential to mentor junior designers or be mentored by senior design leaders.
• Design System Contribution: Playing a key role in developing and expanding robust design systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to the specialized nature of the role. Overcoming them presents significant growth opportunities, particularly in developing expertise in high-demand, critical-application design.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Design Process: "Walk me through a project where you designed a complex dashboard or command and control interface. What was your process, and what were the key challenges?" (Focus on your methodology, research, and how you handled complexity and data.)
• Collaboration: "Describe a time you collaborated with engineers and subject matter experts on a challenging design. How did you manage different perspectives and ensure alignment?" (Highlight your communication and negotiation skills.)
• Problem-Solving: "Imagine you need to visualize real-time sensor data for an operational team. What are your initial considerations, and how would you approach the design?" (Demonstrate your systems thinking, data visualization knowledge, and user-centric approach.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Systems Innovation Engineering and our work in complex systems?" (Research the company's mission, values, and any public information about their projects.)
• "How do you approach designing for secure or constrained environments?" (Showcase your understanding of the implications of security and limitations on design.)
• "Describe your experience with design systems. How do you ensure consistency and scalability?" (Highlight your experience with component-based design and best practices.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Frame each project as a narrative: the problem, your approach, your actions, and the results.
• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improved task completion time, reduced error rates, increased user satisfaction).
• Showcase Figma Skills: Be prepared to discuss specific Figma techniques you used, especially regarding components and prototyping.
• Address Tradeoffs: Be ready to discuss design decisions where you had to make compromises and explain your rationale.
• Focus on Relevance: Tailor your presentation to highlight projects most relevant to data visualization, complex interfaces, and operational precision.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should heavily focus on demonstrating a deep understanding of the design process, problem-solving capabilities for complex systems, and the ability to articulate design rationale clearly. The portfolio presentation is the primary tool for showcasing these abilities.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX/UI Designer II position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on ats.rippling.com.
• Portfolio Preparation: Ensure your portfolio is polished, up-to-date, and clearly showcases 3-5 relevant projects, detailing your process, role, and outcomes, with a strong emphasis on complex data visualization or command/control systems.
• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight keywords such as Figma, UX/UI Design, interaction design, information architecture, user research, data visualization, and any experience with defense or enterprise systems. Quantify achievements where possible.
• Interview Practice: Prepare to present your portfolio effectively, articulate your design process, and answer strategy and behavioral questions related to collaboration, problem-solving, and designing for critical systems.
• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Systems Innovation Engineering's mission, industry focus (likely defense/government technology), and any available information on their products or projects to demonstrate genuine interest and cultural alignment.

⚠️ 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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