Lead UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead UX Designer

Company: Allegion

Location: Carmel, IN; Golden, CO; Remote (US-based)

Job Type: Full time

Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Product Design

Date Posted: 2026-09-10

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: Hybrid/Remote (US-based remote preferred)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end user experience strategy and design for Allegion's Digital Order Management's Hollow Metal product team, focusing on key user journeys.

• Lead complex, cross-functional initiatives by leveraging generative research to inform product vision, roadmaps, and a recurring opportunity backlog.

• Define and track experience KPIs to measure the impact of design decisions and align them with product objectives and business goals.

• Conduct and synthesize various user research methodologies to ensure evidence-based design decisions and deliver actionable insights.

• Foster a culture of innovation and continuous learning within the design team, including the exploration of AI-assisted design practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a leadership opportunity within UX design, focusing heavily on strategic ownership, research-driven product development, and cross-functional collaboration. The emphasis on "driving design direction," "leading complex initiatives," and "mentoring designers" clearly indicates a senior or lead-level position. The specific mention of "Digital Order Management's Hollow Metal product team" suggests a focus on B2B SaaS products within a manufacturing or industrial security context.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the experience strategy and end-to-end design and research for all Hollow Metal product efforts, ensuring strategic alignment with product objectives and business goals.

• Craft and champion a forward-looking product vision by conducting generative research, identifying scalable opportunities, validating concepts, and communicating outcomes to stakeholders.

• Define, measure, and track key experience KPIs that demonstrate the measurable impact of design work and inform product prioritization and roadmaps.

• Plan, execute, and synthesize research using a variety of methods (e.g., contextual inquiry, interviews, usability testing, card sorting, heuristic evaluations) to translate findings into actionable design recommendations.

• Build strong partnerships with product management, engineering, customer success, marketing, and business leaders to drive consensus, facilitate decision-making, and ensure the delivery of high-quality, feasible user experiences.

• Define, validate, and maintain information architecture and design standards to guide the team's work and ensure consistency.

• Contribute to and extend the design system with reusable assets and processes to enhance consistency across the product team.

• Represent UX Services on cross-functional initiatives, translating stakeholder needs into a user-centered design approach.

• Uphold and champion accessibility standards (WCAG 2.2) and overall design quality for all led initiatives.

• Foster innovation by exploring and adopting AI-assisted design practices and tools, and sharing learnings to elevate team capabilities.

• Lead and shape team ceremonies, such as weekly critiques and cross-team demos, modeling effective storytelling and design rationale.

• Mentor and guide junior and mid-career designers, providing hands-on support, design quality feedback, and career development guidance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic leadership, hands-on design and research execution, and team mentorship. The emphasis on "owning the experience strategy," "crafting a forward-looking product vision," and "defining and tracking KPIs" points to a strategic role requiring business acumen. The detailed research methods and design artifact expectations (user flows, wireframes, prototypes) indicate a need for strong craft skills. The mentorship and team ceremony responsibilities further underscore the "Lead" aspect of the title.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Computer Science, or a related User Experience field.

• Master’s degree is preferred. Experience:

• 5+ years of relevant career experience in UX design.

• Proven track record of leading design work across multiple features, workflows, or product experiences within a large enterprise or mature startup environment.

• Relevant years of experience may be lower with higher educational qualifications. Required Skills:

• Exceptional written, storytelling, and verbal communication skills for stakeholder alignment and clear communication of experience strategy.

• Demonstrated strength and success in UX craft across design disciplines: interaction design, visual design, strategy, and research.

• Proven ability to define experience strategy for major product areas and establish standards for other designers.

• Strong proficiency in facilitating an iterative design process and creating high-quality UX artifacts, including customer journey maps, user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and research readouts.

• Strong proficiency with conducting generative, formative, and/or summative research, interpreting research questions, uncovering data trends, and creating actionable insights.

• Strong understanding of information architecture principles and WCAG 2.2 accessibility guidelines.

• Strong aptitude for mentoring junior and mid-career design staff, and collaboratively coaching cross-functional product, development, and marketing peers.

• Mastery with design patterns for web-based and native mobile (iOS and Android) B2B & B2C software applications.

• Mastery of modern design and collaboration tools such as Figma, Mural, and Microsoft Teams.

• Experience with research tools such as Maze, Optimal Workshop, and Qualtrics.

• Comfort integrating AI-assisted tools (e.g., Figma Make, Claude, GPT) into design workflows.

• Ability to navigate ambiguity and high-stakes problems autonomously, with strong organizational rigor and prioritization skills to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously. Preferred Skills:

• Experience in fostering a culture of continuous learning.

• Experience with research tools like Maze, Optimal Workshop, and Qualtrics.

• Experience with AI-assisted design tools such as Figma Make, Claude, and GPT.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize a senior-level UX professional with a strong blend of strategic thinking, hands-on execution across the full UX spectrum (design, research, strategy), and leadership capabilities. The explicit requirement for a portfolio showcasing complex problem-solving and measurable impact is crucial. The mention of B2B/B2C and specific tools like Figma, Mural, and research platforms, along with AI tools, provides a clear picture of the technical and methodological expectations. The preference for a Master's degree and potentially fewer years of experience with higher education aligns with typical lead-level requirements.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A portfolio showcasing a minimum of 5 years of UX design experience, with a strong emphasis on leading complex initiatives and solving high-stakes design problems.

• Evidence of end-to-end design ownership, from generative research and strategy definition to final implementation and outcome measurement.

• Case studies demonstrating the ability to define experience strategy for major product areas and establish design standards.

• Clear articulation of user needs, success metrics, and the resulting business impact for each project presented.

• Examples of creating high-quality UX artifacts, including customer journey maps, user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes.

• Demonstrations of research proficiency, including the planning, execution, and synthesis of generative, formative, and summative research methods. Process Documentation:

• Examples of how you have planned, run, and synthesized research studies, translating findings into actionable insights and prioritized recommendations.

• Documentation of your experience in defining and maintaining information architecture and design standards.

• Case studies illustrating how you have extended design systems with reusable assets and processes.

• Examples of how you have collaborated with product, engineering, and other stakeholders to ensure feasibility and deliver high-quality experiences.

• Demonstrations of how you have defined and tracked design and experience KPIs to measure impact and inform roadmaps.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are central to this role, reflecting the need for a candidate to visually and narratively demonstrate their strategic thinking, craft, research capabilities, and leadership impact. The emphasis on "measurable impact," "strategy definition," and "end-to-end ownership" suggests a need for detailed case studies that go beyond just aesthetics, highlighting problem-solving and business value. The inclusion of process documentation for research synthesis, IA, and design systems points to a structured and methodical approach to UX work.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• The expected Base Salary Range is $110,150 - $146,200 USD per year.

• Actual compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills, experience, and other legally permitted criteria. Benefits:

• Health, dental, and vision insurance coverage.

• A 401K plan with a 6% company match and no vesting period.

• Tuition Reimbursement program.

• Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO).

• Employee Discounts through Perks at Work.

• Opportunities for community involvement and giving back.

• Clifton Strengths testing and coaching to leverage unique strengths. Working Hours:

• The standard working hours are approximately 40 hours per week, typical for a full-time position.

• While not explicitly stated as flexible, the inclusion of Unlimited PTO and remote options suggests a focus on work-life balance and results over strict hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range is competitive for a Lead UX Designer role in the US market, aligning with the experience level and responsibilities. The benefits package is robust, with Unlimited PTO being a significant perk, alongside strong health coverage and retirement matching. The mention of "Unlimited PTO" and "US-based remote employees" indicates a modern work environment that values flexibility and employee well-being, which is attractive to senior operational roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Security & Safety (specifically security around the doorway and beyond), Building Technologies. Allegion is a global leader with over 40 brands.

Company Size: Allegion is a large enterprise, indicated by its global presence, 14,000+ employees, and products sold in 130 countries.

Founded: The founding date is not explicitly provided, but the company has a significant global presence and is recognized for its long-standing commitment to safety and security.

Team Structure:

• The Lead UX Designer will be part of the Global UX Services Team, specifically working with the Digital Order Management's Hollow Metal product team.

• This role will join a broader Research and Software Solutions team, emphasizing rapid scaling, momentum driving, and user delight.

• Designers collaborate daily with cross-functional teams including product managers, software engineers, researchers, customer success professionals, marketing, and business leaders. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Vision: The team drives an "evidence-based vision" and "opportunity backlog," leveraging generative research to inform product roadmaps.

• User-Centered Design: A core tenet is ensuring solutions are "user-centered" and create value for customers and their businesses.

• Iterative Process: The role requires facilitating an "iterative process" and creating high-quality UX artifacts.

• Collaboration & Team Sport: Building world-class software is viewed as a "team sport," emphasizing strong partnerships and consensus-building.

• Continuous Learning & Innovation: Fostering a "culture of innovation" by exploring AI-assisted design and sharing learnings is a key aspect.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Allegion positions itself as a mission-driven company focused on safety and security, which can be a strong motivator for employees. The company culture appears to be a blend of established enterprise practices with a forward-looking approach to innovation (AI, agile methodologies) and employee well-being (Gallup awards, Unlimited PTO). The UX team operates within a product-centric structure, collaborating closely with development and product management to deliver B2B/B2C software solutions.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a "Lead" UX Designer role, signifying a senior individual contributor with leadership responsibilities. It involves strategic ownership of significant product areas, end-to-end design process management, and mentorship of other designers. This level requires a strong command of UX principles, research methodologies, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence product direction.

Reporting Structure: The Lead UX Designer will report into a leadership position within the Global UX Services Team, likely a UX Director or Manager. They will collaborate closely with Product Management and Engineering leadership within the Digital Order Management's Hollow Metal product team.

Operations Impact: The Lead UX Designer's impact is centered on improving the user experience of Allegion's digital products, specifically within the Digital Order Management system for Hollow Metal. This directly influences customer satisfaction, adoption rates, operational efficiency for users, and ultimately, revenue by ensuring the software is intuitive, effective, and valuable. By defining experience KPIs, the role directly measures and drives business outcomes.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Advancement: Potential to grow into a UX Manager or Director role, leading larger teams or broader product portfolios.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific areas like B2B SaaS UX, product strategy, or advanced research methodologies.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Develop skills in leading large-scale, complex initiatives that span multiple product lines or business units.

• Mentorship & Coaching: Enhance leadership and coaching skills through mentoring junior designers and influencing cross-functional peers.

• Innovation: Opportunities to explore and implement cutting-edge design practices, including AI-assisted tools.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Lead" title implies a significant step up from a mid-level designer, requiring strategic input and team guidance. The growth opportunities are clearly aligned with advancing within a UX leadership track or deepening specialized expertise within a large, established organization. The emphasis on cross-functional influence and driving measurable business outcomes is key to career progression here.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role offers flexibility, being available in Carmel, IN, and Golden, CO, as well as US-based remote. This suggests a hybrid approach is common, with options for in-office collaboration and remote work. Allegion's recognition by Gallup for workplace culture indicates a supportive and engaging environment.

Office Location(s):

• Carmel, IN

• Golden, CO

• Remote (US-based) Workspace Context:

• Collaborative: Designers collaborate daily with product managers, engineers, researchers, customer success, marketing, and business leaders, indicating a highly cross-functional and interactive environment.

• Tooling: Access to modern design and collaboration tools like Figma, Mural, and Teams, along with research platforms, is expected. The role also encourages the adoption of AI-assisted design tools.

• Team Interaction: Frequent participation in team ceremonies like critiques and demos will foster regular interaction and knowledge sharing.

Work Schedule: The typical work schedule is 40 hours per week. However, the "Unlimited PTO" policy and remote options suggest a focus on flexibility, autonomy, and results, allowing individuals to manage their time effectively to meet project deadlines and personal needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid/remote flexibility is a significant factor. For those in Carmel or Golden, there will be opportunities for in-person collaboration, which can be beneficial for complex problem-solving. For remote employees, strong communication and collaboration skills will be paramount. The emphasis on modern tools and AI integration points to a forward-thinking workspace.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely an HR or recruiter screen to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

• Portfolio Review & Design Exercise: Candidates will present their portfolio, showcasing relevant case studies. This may be followed by a design exercise or challenge, either take-home or live, to assess problem-solving skills, craft, and strategic thinking.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with key stakeholders, including Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and potentially other UX team members, to evaluate collaboration skills, technical understanding, and strategic alignment.

• Leadership Interview: An interview with the hiring manager or a senior UX leader to discuss leadership capabilities, strategic vision, mentorship approach, and overall fit for the Lead role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Impact: Select 3-4 strong case studies that best represent your ability to lead complex initiatives, define strategy, conduct research, and drive measurable outcomes. Prioritize projects relevant to B2B SaaS or digital order management if possible.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role and process, the challenges faced, the solutions designed, and the quantifiable impact on users and the business. Use visuals effectively to illustrate user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and research findings.

• Highlight Leadership: Emphasize instances where you took ownership, influenced direction, mentored others, or navigated ambiguity. Quantify your impact wherever possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time, increased user satisfaction scores).

• Demonstrate Craft & Research: Showcase your proficiency across the UX spectrum, from generative research methods to detailed interaction design and accessibility standards. Clearly explain your research rationale and how findings informed your design decisions.

• Prepare for Questions: Be ready to discuss your design philosophy, how you approach ambiguity, your experience with AI tools, and your mentorship style.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research Allegion, its products (especially in the security and digital order management space), and common challenges in B2B SaaS UX.

• Practice Problem-Solving: Be prepared to tackle a design problem that requires you to define requirements, conduct quick research (even if hypothetical), propose solutions, and justify your approach based on user needs and business goals.

• Focus on Process: Clearly articulate your thought process, design decisions, and how you would measure success. Demonstrate your ability to balance user needs with technical feasibility and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is standard for a senior UX role, with a strong emphasis on the portfolio as a primary evaluation tool. The advice focuses on showcasing strategic leadership, measurable impact, and a holistic UX skillset, aligning with the requirements of a "Lead" position. The inclusion of AI tools in the required skills means candidates should be prepared to discuss their experience or willingness to explore them.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (Mastery expected), other tools like Sketch, Adobe XD may be relevant.

• Collaboration: Mural, Microsoft Teams (Mastery expected).

• User Research: Maze, Optimal Workshop, Qualtrics (Experience with these or similar tools required).

• AI-Assisted Design: Figma Make, Claude, GPT (Comfort integrating these into workflows expected).

Analytics & Reporting:

• While specific tools aren't listed, the role requires defining and tracking KPIs, implying familiarity with analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Pendo) or the ability to work with data analysts to extract insights. CRM & Automation:

• Not explicitly mentioned for the UX role, but understanding how UX designs integrate with CRM systems (like Salesforce) or automation platforms (like Marketo, HubSpot) could be beneficial for context within a B2B environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma, Mural, Teams, and specific research tools like Maze and Qualtrics, along with AI tools, provides a clear picture of the expected technical proficiency. Mastery of Figma and collaboration tools is highlighted, indicating these are critical for daily operations.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Safety & Security: A core value that permeates the company's mission and product development.

• Customer Focus: "Creating value to our customers and their businesses" is a primary driver.

• Innovation: Encouraging exploration of new technologies like AI-assisted design and fostering a "culture of innovation."

• Collaboration & Teamwork: Software development is a "team sport," requiring strong partnerships and consensus.

• Growth Mindset: Seeking individuals with a "growth mindset" who are adaptable and eager to learn.

• Ownership & Accountability: Employees are encouraged to see the company as "your business, run with it," implying a sense of ownership.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Daily collaboration with Product Management, Engineering, Research, Customer Success, and Marketing is the norm.

• Consensus-Driven: The role requires building strong partnerships and facilitating decision-making across diverse stakeholder groups.

• Evidence-Based: Decisions are informed by research and data, ensuring a shared understanding and alignment.

• Mentorship & Coaching: A culture of sharing knowledge and sharpening craft through guidance and feedback among designers and with cross-functional peers.

📝 Enhancement Note: Allegion's culture appears to value mission-driven work, customer impact, and collaborative innovation. The emphasis on a "growth mindset" and "team sport" mentality is crucial for success in this role, especially for a lead position requiring influence and mentorship.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Ambiguity: The role explicitly states the need to "navigate ambiguity and high-stakes problems autonomously." This is common in large organizations with complex product portfolios.

• Driving Change: Influencing product direction and fostering adoption of new UX practices or tools within a large enterprise can be challenging.

• Balancing Stakeholder Needs: Effectively managing diverse stakeholder expectations (Product, Engineering, Business, Marketing) while advocating for the user.

• Scaling Design Systems: Extending and maintaining design system components across a growing product suite requires rigorous process and collaboration.

• Integrating AI: Responsibly adopting and integrating new AI-assisted design tools while maintaining quality and ethical considerations.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced UX Leadership: Developing skills in strategic planning, team leadership, and influencing executive stakeholders.

• Product Strategy: Deeper involvement in product discovery, roadmap definition, and business case development.

• AI in Design: Gaining practical experience with emerging AI tools and their application in UX workflows.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Enhancing understanding of engineering, product management, and business operations through close collaboration.

• Industry Best Practices: Staying current with UX trends, research methodologies, and design system advancements through conferences, training, and internal knowledge sharing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges listed are typical for a senior UX role in a large company, emphasizing strategic influence and navigating complexity. The growth opportunities are well-defined, pointing towards advancement in leadership, strategy, and emerging technology adoption.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you defined the experience strategy for a significant product area. What was your process, and what was the outcome?"

• "How do you balance user needs with business objectives and technical constraints when making design decisions?"

• "Walk me through a complex project from your portfolio where you led the end-to-end design and research process. What were the key challenges and your approach to overcoming them?"

• "How do you measure the success of your design work? What KPIs do you typically track, and how do you use that data?"

• "Describe your approach to mentoring junior designers. How do you provide feedback and support their growth?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about Allegion and our mission in safety and security?"

• "How do you foster a culture of innovation within a design team?"

• "Describe your experience working in a highly collaborative, cross-functional environment. How do you build consensus among diverse stakeholders?"

• "How do you stay current with the latest UX trends, tools, and methodologies, particularly AI-assisted design?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your portfolio presentation around 3-4 key projects. For each, clearly state the problem, your specific role and contributions, the process followed (research, design, testing), key decisions made, the final solution, and importantly, the measurable results and business impact.

• Quantify Everything: Use data and metrics to support your claims about user satisfaction, efficiency gains, conversion improvements, etc.

• Showcase Leadership: Highlight instances where you took initiative, led the team, navigated ambiguity, or influenced product strategy.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design choices, research methodologies, and problem-solving approach. Be prepared to defend your decisions with logic and evidence.

• Discuss AI Integration: Be ready to talk about your experience or thoughts on integrating AI tools into your design workflow, including potential benefits and challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation advice is tailored to the Lead UX Designer role, emphasizing strategic thinking, leadership, research-driven decision-making, and quantifiable impact. The inclusion of AI tools in the interview questions is a direct reflection of the job description's requirements.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided career site link for JR37595.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight experience in B2B/B2C SaaS design, end-to-end UX strategy, generative research, and leading complex initiatives. Ensure case studies demonstrate measurable impact and leadership.

• Resume Optimization: Integrate keywords from the job description such as "UX Design," "User Research," "Product Strategy," "Information Architecture," "WCAG 2.2," "Figma," "AI-assisted design," and "stakeholder management." Quantify achievements with specific metrics.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, research findings, and strategic thinking using the STAR method. Prepare to present your portfolio confidently and discuss your experience with modern design tools and AI.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Allegion's mission, products, and recent news. Understand their commitment to safety, security, and workplace culture, and be ready to discuss how your values align.

⚠️ 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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