Lead UI & UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead UI & UX Designer

Company: UKG

Location: Lowell, Massachusetts, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: AI Design Systems / Conversation Design

Date Posted: May 21, 2026

Experience Level: 7+ years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the design and evolution of AI behavior systems, focusing on conversation response patterns, ontologies, and structured content models for the advanced Bryte AI platform.

• Translate complex AI product visions into tangible, working behavioral systems that define how AI agents interpret intent, negotiate outcomes, and take action.

• Operate within a highly ambiguous and fast-moving AI development space, shipping real AI experiences while continuously refining the underlying systems and frameworks.

• Collaborate deeply with cross-functional teams including design, engineering, legal, and product to ensure the ethical, compliant, and effective deployment of agentic AI in high-stakes Human Capital Management (HCM) environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The job title "Lead UI & UX Designer" appears to be a misnomer given the detailed description. The core responsibilities and required skills clearly indicate a role focused on Conversation Design and AI Systems Design, specifically within the realm of AI behavior and agentic platforms, rather than traditional UI/UX visual design. The role is positioned as a "Conversation Designer on the AI Design Systems team."

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Build & Evolve AI Behavior Systems: Design and refine sophisticated conversation response patterns that govern how AI agents interpret user input, formulate responses, and execute actions, ensuring consistency and scalability.

• Develop Structured Content Models: Create and extend ontologies, schemas, and structured content systems that enable consistent, predictable, and maintainable AI behavior across the Bryte AI platform.

• Ship Agentic Experiences: Define the operational spectrum of AI agents, from providing suggestions and seeking confirmations to autonomously acting on behalf of users, while meticulously designing for complex scenarios involving trust, compliance, and human-in-the-loop decision-making.

• Iterate Through Experimentation: Rapidly test, analyze, and refine AI interaction patterns and system behaviors based on real user interactions, feedback loops, and A/B testing results, in close partnership with product and design teams.

• Design for Trust, Safety, and Transparency: Build robust systems and patterns that make AI behavior explainable, predictable, and controllable, proactively addressing bias, privacy concerns, and critical compliance constraints within the unique context of HCM environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a systems-level approach to AI design, focusing on the underlying logic and structure of AI interactions rather than the visual interface or direct copywriting. This requires a deep understanding of how to translate human intent and business rules into machine-interpretable frameworks.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Background in HCI, Linguistics, UX Design, Computer Science, or a related field is preferred, indicating a need for strong analytical and design thinking capabilities.

Experience: 7+ years of experience designing conversational or AI-driven systems, with a proven track record in developing structured content or interaction models.

Required Skills:

• Systems Thinking: Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous problems into scalable systems, frameworks, or behavioral patterns.

• Structured Content & Ontologies: Deep comfort and experience working with structured data, schemas, ontologies, and content modeling principles.

• Conversational AI Design: Proven experience in designing conversational or AI-driven systems, with a focus on behavior and interaction logic.

• Portfolio: A strong portfolio showcasing end-to-end work, specifically highlighting systems thinking, shipped outcomes, and complex problem-solving in AI or conversational design.

• Collaboration: Ability to work effectively in a deeply collaborative environment with design, engineering, legal, and product teams.

Preferred Skills:

• Agentic Systems & LLMs: Experience working with Large Language Model (LLM)-powered or agentic AI systems.

• AI Tools Proficiency: Familiarity with conversational AI platforms such as Dialogflow, Rasa, Voiceflow, or similar tools.

• Engineering Collaboration: Experience collaborating closely with engineering teams on the implementation of AI systems and behavioral logic.

• HCM Domain Knowledge: Understanding of Human Capital Management (HCM) environments and their specific constraints, such as trust, compliance, and privacy.

• Prompt Engineering: Familiarity with prompt engineering techniques for guiding LLM behavior.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "systems thinking" and "structured content" over traditional UI/UX or copywriting is a critical differentiator for this role. Candidates must demonstrate an ability to design the logic and architecture of AI interactions, not just their presentation.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Systems Design Case Studies: Showcase at least two detailed case studies demonstrating the design and evolution of complex AI behavior systems, including ontologies, response patterns, and interaction frameworks.

• Shipped Outcomes: Evidence of AI or conversational systems that have been successfully implemented and are in production, with clear articulation of the role played in their development.

• Structured Data & Schema Examples: Include examples or descriptions of how structured data, schemas, or content models were leveraged to enable scalable and consistent AI behavior.

• Problem-Solving & Ambiguity: Demonstrate through portfolio projects how ambiguous problems were translated into structured, actionable design solutions within AI or conversational contexts.

Process Documentation:

• Behavioral System Design: Documentation of the process used to design and refine conversation response patterns, ontologies, and prompt frameworks, detailing the iterative steps and decision-making involved.

• Agentic Experience Design: Clear articulation of the methodology used to define AI agent autonomy levels, design for trust, safety, and transparency, and handle complex scenarios involving human-in-the-loop decision-making.

• Experimentation & Iteration: Examples of how experimentation, user feedback, and data analysis were incorporated to continuously improve AI systems and interaction strategies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is expected to be heavily focused on the "how" and "why" of AI system design, emphasizing structure, logic, and demonstrable impact rather than visual mockups or user flows typical of traditional UX roles.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $129,500 - $186,100 annually.

• Methodology: This range is based on the explicit information provided in the job posting. The actual base pay offered will depend on factors such as skills, experience, job-related knowledge, and work location.

• Regional Context: For Lowell, Massachusetts, this salary range aligns with competitive compensation for senior-level design and AI-focused roles in the technology sector, considering the cost of living and market demand for specialized skills.

Benefits:

• Performance-based Bonus Plan: Opportunity to earn bonuses tied to individual and company performance, rewarding impactful contributions.

• Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) Awards: Potential to receive equity in the company, aligning long-term incentives with company growth and success.

• Comprehensive Health & Wellness: (Implied by company benefits page link) Typically includes medical, dental, vision insurance, and wellness programs.

• Retirement Savings Plan: (Implied by company benefits page link) Likely includes a 401(k) or similar plan with potential company match.

• Professional Development: (Implied by company benefits page link) Access to learning resources, training, and opportunities for skill advancement.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week.

• Flexibility: While a standard work week is outlined, the hybrid nature of the role suggests some flexibility in scheduling may be available, allowing for effective collaboration and focus time, crucial for complex system design tasks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is clearly stated. The benefits listed are explicitly mentioned, with additional standard benefits inferred from the company's benefits page link. The '40 hours' is a standard full-time designation, with the hybrid nature implying potential flexibility within that framework.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software / Human Capital Management (HCM) Technology. UKG operates as a key player in the workforce operating platform space, providing solutions that help businesses manage their employees, payroll, and HR functions. This industry context means the AI systems designed will operate within regulated, high-stakes environments where accuracy, compliance, and user trust are paramount.

Company Size: UKG is a large enterprise company. While the exact number of employees isn't provided in the raw data, industry knowledge suggests it's in the thousands, indicating a structured environment with established processes, but also opportunities for significant impact through specialized teams like AI Design Systems.

Founded: UKG was formed in 2020 through the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos Incorporated. This relatively recent formation as a unified entity suggests a dynamic culture that blends the strengths and legacies of two established companies, likely fostering innovation while maintaining operational rigor.

Team Structure:

• AI Design Systems Team: This specialized team focuses on creating the foundational design systems and behavioral frameworks for AI agents, such as the Bryte AI platform. It implies a highly technical and strategic group.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: The role requires deep collaboration with Product Management, Engineering (especially AI/ML engineers), UX/UI Designers, Legal, and potentially Research teams. This indicates a matrixed reporting or project-based interaction model.

• Reporting: While not explicitly stated, a "Lead" role typically suggests reporting to a Director or VP of Design/Product/Engineering, with the expectation of guiding or mentoring other designers within the AI systems domain.

Methodology:

• Systems-Level Design: The team prioritizes designing scalable, reusable systems and frameworks for AI behavior rather than one-off solutions.

• Data-Driven Iteration: Emphasis on rapid experimentation, user feedback loops, and analysis of task success, user trust, and escalation patterns to continuously improve AI systems.

• Human-Centric AI: A strong focus on designing AI that is trustworthy, safe, transparent, and compliant, especially within the sensitive domain of HCM.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on workforce solutions and its recent merger provide context for a culture that values both innovation in AI and the critical importance of reliability and compliance in HCM. The team structure highlights a collaborative, specialized approach to AI development.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a "Lead" position within AI Design Systems, specifically focusing on conversation design and AI behavior. It represents a senior individual contributor role with significant influence and strategic input. It requires deep expertise in designing complex systems rather than managing a team directly, focusing on technical leadership and impact.

Reporting Structure: The role likely reports to a Director or VP level within the Product or Engineering organization, specifically overseeing AI/Design Systems. The individual will work closely with peer leads in engineering, product, and other design disciplines.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is foundational to the success of UKG's next-generation AI platform, Bryte AI. By designing the core behavior systems, this individual will directly influence user experience, operational efficiency, trust, and compliance for millions of workers and managers. Their work will shape how AI integrates into critical business workflows, driving adoption and demonstrating the strategic value of AI in HCM.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in advanced AI systems design, LLMs, agentic platforms, and ontologies, becoming a go-to expert in the field.

• Strategic Influence: Contribute to the strategic direction of UKG's AI product roadmap and the evolution of its AI design principles and methodologies.

• Domain Expansion: Extend knowledge into other areas of AI application within HCM or adjacent enterprise software domains.

• Leadership Development: Develop mentorship and guidance skills for junior designers or engineers working within the AI design systems space, potentially leading initiatives or small project teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Lead" title here signifies technical leadership and deep subject matter expertise, not necessarily people management. Growth is focused on expanding influence, technical depth, and strategic contribution within the AI and HCM domains.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid. This indicates a blend of remote work and in-office presence, allowing for flexibility while maintaining in-person collaboration opportunities.

Office Location(s): Lowell, Massachusetts, United States. This location likely serves as a significant hub for UKG, offering opportunities for in-person collaboration with local teams, access to company resources, and engagement with the broader tech community in the region.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The hybrid model suggests access to office spaces designed for collaboration, informal meetings, and focused work, accommodating both individual design tasks and team-based problem-solving sessions.

• Technology & Tools: Employees working in this hybrid environment will have access to UKG's standard technology stack, including relevant design software, communication platforms, and potentially specialized AI development tools, both remotely and in the office.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for spontaneous interactions, whiteboard sessions, and in-depth discussions with colleagues on-site, which are invaluable for complex system design challenges.

Work Schedule: Standard 40-hour work week, with the hybrid arrangement allowing for potential flexibility in how and when these hours are structured, balancing focused design work with collaborative needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature of the role suggests a modern work environment that values flexibility and a balance between remote autonomy and in-person collaboration, which is often beneficial for complex, iterative design processes.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess alignment with the required systems design and AI experience. Be prepared to articulate your specific contributions to shipped AI or conversational systems.

• Technical Interview(s): Deep dives into your systems thinking capabilities, experience with structured data, ontologies, and conversational AI design principles. Expect questions about how you approach ambiguous problems and translate them into scalable solutions.

• Portfolio Presentation: A dedicated session to walk through your portfolio, focusing on case studies that demonstrate your ability to design AI behavior systems, manage complexity, and achieve tangible outcomes. Be ready to discuss your design decisions, trade-offs, and the impact of your work.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration Interview: Discussions with members of the engineering, product, and legal teams to assess your collaboration style, communication skills, and understanding of how AI systems integrate with broader product development and compliance requirements.

• Final Interview: A conversation with senior leadership to evaluate strategic thinking, cultural fit, and long-term potential within UKG's AI initiatives.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Systems: Clearly articulate the "systems" you designed—the rules, structures, ontologies, and interaction patterns—rather than just the UI elements.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use diagrams, flowcharts, or schema examples to visually represent your system designs and how they function.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, provide metrics on task success, user adoption, efficiency gains, or improvements in trust/transparency resulting from your designs.

• Highlight Ambiguity Navigation: Showcase projects where you took an undefined problem and structured a clear, scalable AI design solution.

• Explain Trade-offs: Discuss the decisions you made, the constraints you faced (e.g., technical, compliance), and the trade-offs you navigated during the design process.

Challenge Preparation:

• Systems Design Exercise: Be prepared for a hypothetical challenge where you might need to outline the design system for a specific AI interaction or agent behavior. Focus on structure, rules, and potential data models.

• Scenario-Based Questions: Practice answering questions about how you would handle specific AI design challenges, such as ensuring fairness, managing user trust, or designing for edge cases in an HCM context.

• Communication Skills: Be ready to articulate complex technical and design concepts clearly and concisely to a diverse audience, including non-technical stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview and portfolio review process heavily emphasizes systems thinking, demonstrable impact through shipped products, and the ability to navigate complex, ambiguous AI design challenges within a regulated industry.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Conversational AI Platforms: Familiarity with tools like Dialogflow, Rasa, Voiceflow, or similar platforms is preferred for designing and prototyping conversational flows and AI behaviors.

• Design & Prototyping Tools: While not the primary focus, proficiency in standard UX/UI design tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD) may be beneficial for creating system diagrams, mockups of interaction frameworks, or collaborating on visual aspects.

• Structured Data & Schema Tools: Experience with tools or methodologies for defining and managing ontologies, schemas, and structured content is crucial. This could involve XML, JSON schemas, graph databases, or specialized content modeling tools.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Analysis Tools: Ability to interpret data from user interactions, task success rates, and escalation patterns to inform system design iterations. Familiarity with analytics platforms and data visualization tools.

• Experimentation Platforms: Experience with A/B testing or experimentation frameworks to validate design hypotheses and refine AI behaviors.

CRM & Automation:

• System Integration Concepts: Understanding of how AI systems integrate with broader platforms, potentially including CRM or HRIS systems, to enable agentic actions and data exchange.

• Workflow Automation Principles: Knowledge of workflow design and automation principles as they apply to AI-driven experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack emphasizes tools and concepts related to AI development, structured data, and conversational design, rather than typical UI design software. The ability to work with structured data and AI platforms is key.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven Innovation: A culture that values pushing boundaries with AI to solve real-world problems for customers, emphasizing measurable impact and tangible outcomes.

• Systems Thinking & Scalability: A commitment to designing robust, scalable, and maintainable systems that can evolve with the technology and business needs, valuing structure and efficiency.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Fostering an environment where open communication, knowledge sharing, and cross-functional teamwork are essential for tackling complex challenges.

• User Trust & Responsibility: A core dedication to designing AI that is ethical, trustworthy, safe, and compliant, with a deep understanding of the responsibilities involved in deploying AI in sensitive domains like HCM.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Expect a highly collaborative approach, working closely with engineering, product management, legal, and other design disciplines to co-create AI solutions.

• Iterative Design Process: A culture that embraces continuous feedback, rapid prototyping, and iterative refinement based on data and user insights.

• Knowledge Sharing: Emphasis on sharing best practices, learnings, and insights across teams to elevate the collective understanding and capability in AI design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The team culture aligns with the role's requirements: a focus on building robust, ethical AI systems through collaboration and continuous improvement, with a strong emphasis on the HCM domain's specific needs for trust and compliance.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Ambiguity: The primary challenge will be operating and designing effectively in a rapidly evolving AI landscape with undefined problems and cutting-edge technology.

• Balancing Speed & Responsibility: The need to ship quickly while ensuring AI behavior is trustworthy, safe, compliant, and ethically sound in high-stakes HCM environments.

• System Complexity: Designing and managing intricate AI behavior systems, ontologies, and interaction frameworks that are scalable, maintainable, and performant.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring seamless integration and understanding between design, engineering, legal, and product teams on complex AI system requirements and implications.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Cutting-Edge AI Technology: Direct exposure to and hands-on experience with LLMs, agentic platforms, and advanced AI design methodologies.

• Domain Expertise: Deepen knowledge of HCM workflows, compliance regulations, and the unique challenges of AI application in this sector.

• Systems Design Mastery: Further develop expertise in designing complex, scalable behavioral systems and ontologies.

• Industry Conferences & Training: Opportunities to attend relevant AI, UX, and industry conferences, and pursue certifications in specialized AI design or development areas.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are directly tied to the innovative and complex nature of AI development, particularly in a regulated field. Growth opportunities focus on mastering advanced AI design and expanding domain expertise.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you translated a highly ambiguous problem into a structured, scalable system. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on systems thinking, problem deconstruction, and tangible results.)

• "How would you design a system to ensure an AI agent remains trustworthy and compliant when negotiating outcomes in an HCM context?" (Prepare to discuss principles of AI ethics, transparency, control mechanisms, and compliance considerations.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about UKG and our mission in the workforce operating platform space?" (Research UKG's products, recent news, and their approach to AI.)

• "How do you approach collaboration with engineering and legal teams on AI development projects?" (Highlight your communication skills, ability to understand different perspectives, and experience working in cross-functional teams.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your approach (focusing on system design, ontologies, patterns), the solutions you implemented, and the measurable outcomes.

• Visualize Your Systems: Use diagrams, flowcharts, or schema representations to make your system designs understandable. Avoid solely relying on UI mockups.

• Demonstrate Thinking: Explain why you made certain design choices, the trade-offs you considered, and how you adapted to feedback or new information.

• Highlight AI & HCM Relevance: Explicitly connect your work to AI principles and, if applicable, the specific constraints and opportunities within the HCM domain.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should heavily focus on demonstrating systems thinking, a deep understanding of AI behavior design, and the ability to articulate complex processes and outcomes clearly, using portfolio examples as concrete evidence.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead UI & UX Designer (Conversation Design) position:

• Submit your application through the UKG careers portal.

• Customize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight experience in conversational AI, systems design, ontologies, structured content, and AI behavior. Use keywords from the job description such as "systems thinking," "agentic systems," and "structured content modeling." Quantify achievements wherever possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best showcase your systems design capabilities for AI or conversational interfaces. Ensure these projects demonstrate your ability to handle ambiguity, design scalable systems, and deliver shipped outcomes. Prepare clear diagrams and explanations for your portfolio walkthrough.

• Prepare for System Design Questions: Practice articulating your design process for complex AI interactions, focusing on the underlying logic, rules, and data structures rather than just visual design. Be ready to discuss how you ensure trust, safety, and compliance.

• Research UKG: Understand UKG's mission, their workforce operating platform, and their strategic approach to AI. Prepare thoughtful questions about the Bryte AI platform and the AI Design Systems team.

⚠️ 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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