Lead UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead UX Designer

Company: Applied Systems, Inc.

Location: Remote (US and Canada)

Job Type: Other

Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Product Design

Date Posted: September 15, 2026

Experience Level: 7+ Years (with 2+ years in leadership)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the strategic direction and execution of UX design for complex, multi-step, high-volume workflows within insurance technology solutions.

• Drive innovation in the insurance technology space by designing cloud software and AI-powered solutions that enhance efficiency and reduce errors for thousands of agencies and brokers.

• Shape product vision and provide leadership to critical initiatives, ensuring seamless integration of UX activities with product and business roadmaps.

• Foster a culture of design excellence through mentorship, cross-functional collaboration, and the application of advanced UX principles, contributing to the overall growth and capability of the design team.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is for a Lead UX Designer focused on B2B complex interaction design within the insurance technology sector, specifically for Ivans, a division of Applied Systems. The emphasis is on designing high-volume workflows to remove time, friction, and errors, indicating a strong focus on operational efficiency and user productivity within a business context.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Strategic Planning & Framework Development: Define and implement comprehensive UX strategies and scalable frameworks for multi-team initiatives, ensuring alignment with product vision, user needs, and business objectives.

• User Research & Insights Integration: Shape research agendas, integrate data from diverse sources, and guide research prioritization to inform strategic design decisions and identify high-impact opportunities.

• Information Architecture & System Design: Create robust IA frameworks and system-level interaction models that ensure consistency and scalability across multiple workflows and products.

• Interaction & Visual Design Leadership: Lead the design of complex digital experiences, define visual direction, and ensure alignment with evolving design system standards and brand coherence.

• Design Delivery & Quality Assurance: Oversee design delivery, define and enforce standards for QA, fidelity, and usability validation, and collaborate with engineering to optimize handoff processes.

• Facilitation & Stakeholder Management: Lead high-impact design workshops, navigate competing priorities, build alignment through structured discussions, and mentor others in effective facilitation and decision-making.

• Storytelling & Communication: Deliver compelling design narratives to shape vision, inspire action, and translate strategy into clear, audience-specific communications for senior stakeholders.

• Mentorship & Team Development: Coach and mentor fellow designers, fostering team capability in complex problem spaces and promoting best practices in design, accessibility, and maintainability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a significant leadership component, requiring the candidate to not only design but also to strategize, mentor, and influence across multiple teams and stakeholders within a complex B2B product suite. The emphasis on "system-level thinking," "scalable IA frameworks," and "system alignment" points to a need for a designer who can think holistically across a large product ecosystem.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Design, HCI, or a related discipline, OR equivalent senior-level experience.

Experience: 7+ years of experience in UX/product design, with a minimum of 2 years in a leadership or strategic role. Proven success leading large-scale design efforts with measurable business and user impact is essential.

Required Skills:

• B2B complex interaction design experience, specifically crafting multi-step, high-volume workflows.

• Strong portfolio demonstrating design leadership across complex, shipped digital products.

• Deep expertise in user research methodologies and their strategic application.

• Mastery of UX design principles, systems thinking, interaction models, and product strategy alignment.

• Deep experience with design systems and their implementation.

• Expert-level proficiency in design and collaboration tools such as Figma and Miro.

• Exceptional facilitation and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and guide decision-making.

• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity and lead effectively in environments with shifting priorities.

• Ability to coach designers through complex problem spaces and grow team capability.

• Experience working across multiple product domains or platforms.

• Understanding of technical constraints and development workflows, with strong collaboration skills with engineering teams.

• Experience working across multiple product domains and stakeholder groups. Preferred Skills:

• Visionary thinking with the ability to drive long-term design impact while delivering short-term results.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "B2B complex interaction design experience" and "multi-step, high-volume workflows" is critical. This indicates the role is not for consumer-facing applications but for enterprise software where efficiency, scalability, and robustness are paramount. The portfolio must showcase this specific type of complex B2B product design.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A strong portfolio demonstrating design leadership across complex, shipped digital products, with a focus on B2B applications.

• Case studies highlighting experience in crafting multi-step, high-volume workflows that have demonstrably improved user efficiency, reduced errors, or achieved significant business impact.

• Examples of strategic UX planning, research integration, and system-level interaction model development.

• Demonstrations of how you have influenced product strategy and aligned design efforts with business goals.

• Evidence of your ability to work with and evolve design systems. Process Documentation:

• Showcase your approach to defining and implementing UX strategies and frameworks for multi-team initiatives.

• Illustrate your methods for integrating user research insights into strategic design direction and product decision-making.

• Provide examples of how you have created scalable Information Architecture (IA) frameworks and system-level interaction models.

• Detail your experience in overseeing design delivery, defining QA standards, and collaborating with engineering on handoff processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is expected to be a primary tool for demonstrating leadership and strategic impact. It should clearly articulate the candidate's process, from initial research and strategy through to execution and delivery, with a strong emphasis on measurable outcomes for complex B2B workflows.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $120,000 - $175,000 USD annually.

Benefits:

• Medical Coverage

• Dental Coverage

• Vision Coverage

• Holiday Time

• Vacation Time

• Health & Wellness Days

• A Bonus Day for Your Birthday

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours, likely around 40 hours per week, with flexibility expected given the remote nature of the role and the demands of leading complex projects.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a Lead UX Designer role in the US and Canada, reflecting the seniority and specialized B2B experience required. The benefits package is standard for a full-time employee, with a few unique additions like a birthday bonus day. The remote aspect across both US and Canada is a significant perk.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Insurance Technology (Insurtech). Applied Systems provides cloud software and AI-powered solutions to the insurance industry, specifically targeting agencies and brokers. Ivans, a division of Applied Systems, is focused on reinventing insurance technology.

Company Size: Applied Systems is a well-established company with a significant presence, likely falling into the large enterprise category based on its 40+ years in business and broad reach. This suggests a structured environment with established processes, but also opportunities for impact.

Founded: Applied Systems has been in business for over 40 years, indicating a stable, experienced company with a deep understanding of the insurance market. This longevity suggests a commitment to innovation and problem-solving within their sector.

Team Structure: The Lead UX Designer will join the Ivans UX team. This team likely comprises other UX designers, researchers, and potentially UI designers, working collaboratively. The role implies a matrixed structure where the Lead UX Designer will also collaborate closely with Product Management, Engineering, and potentially Marketing teams across various product lines.

Methodology: The company's focus on "cloud software and AI-powered solutions" suggests an agile development environment. The UX team's responsibilities indicate a strong emphasis on data-driven design, iterative testing, user research, and a systematic approach to building scalable and consistent user experiences.

Company Website: www.appliedsystems.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's long history in the insurance tech sector means it has a deep understanding of its target audience (insurance agents/brokers) and their workflows. This provides a rich context for UX design, where understanding existing processes and identifying friction points is key to delivering value.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is a "Lead" position, signifying a senior individual contributor with significant leadership and strategic responsibilities. It sits above mid-level UX roles and is a stepping stone towards potential management or principal design roles. The focus is on driving complex initiatives and influencing product direction.

Reporting Structure: The Lead UX Designer will report to a UX Manager or Director within the Ivans division, or potentially a broader Product Design leadership role at Applied Systems. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads for specific product initiatives.

Operations Impact: The Lead UX Designer has a direct impact on operational efficiency for insurance professionals by designing systems that remove time, friction, and errors. Their work influences how thousands of agencies and brokers operate daily, directly contributing to the productivity and success of Applied Systems' customers.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Advancement: Potential to move into a UX Manager role, overseeing a team of designers, or a Principal UX Designer role, focusing on architectural design and strategic initiatives across multiple product areas.

• Specialization Development: Deepen expertise in specific areas such as AI-driven UX, complex workflow optimization, or design system architecture within the insurance tech domain.

• Cross-functional Influence: Expand influence across product portfolios and contribute to broader GTM strategies by ensuring user-centricity in all product development.

• Mentorship & Coaching: Develop strong coaching and mentoring skills, becoming a recognized expert and thought leader within the design community at Applied Systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Lead" title and emphasis on strategic direction and mentorship indicate that career progression will likely involve either managing people or becoming a deeply influential individual contributor shaping the future of product design at Applied Systems.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote position, allowing employees to work from their homes in the US and Canada.

Office Location(s): While remote, the company operates across the United States and Canada, implying a distributed workforce and potential for collaboration with colleagues across these regions.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration: The environment will rely heavily on digital collaboration tools like Figma and Miro, emphasizing asynchronous and synchronous communication.

• Technology Access: Employees are expected to have reliable internet access and a suitable home office setup. The company provides the necessary software tools.

• Team Interaction: While remote, there will be opportunities for virtual team meetings, design critiques, workshops, and cross-functional planning sessions.

Work Schedule: Full-time, with the expectation of flexibility to accommodate project deadlines and collaborative sessions across different time zones within the US and Canada.

📝 Enhancement Note: As a fully remote role, the emphasis will be on self-discipline, effective communication, and leveraging digital tools to maintain collaboration and productivity. Candidates should be comfortable working independently and proactively engaging with remote teams.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess experience and fit for the Lead UX Designer role.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion focusing on your experience, leadership style, strategic thinking, and approach to complex B2B design challenges.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: You will likely present your portfolio, focusing on relevant case studies, and may be given a design challenge or scenario to work through, demonstrating your problem-solving skills and design process.

• Team/Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with potential peers, Product Managers, and Engineering Leads to assess collaboration skills, cultural fit, and technical understanding.

• Final Interview: Potentially with senior leadership to discuss strategic vision and overall fit with the company.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Impact: Select 3-5 projects that best showcase your leadership, strategic thinking, and experience with complex, multi-step B2B workflows.

• Quantify Results: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process followed, the solutions designed, and, most importantly, the measurable outcomes (e.g., reduction in time spent, error rates, user satisfaction improvements).

• Showcase Process: Detail your thought process, research methodologies, IA and interaction design decisions, and how you collaborated with stakeholders and engineering.

• Highlight Leadership: Emphasize your role in defining strategy, mentoring others, and driving alignment across teams.

• Prepare for Questions: Be ready to discuss your design decisions, trade-offs made, and how your work aligns with business goals.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: If given a design challenge, thoroughly understand the business context and user needs specific to the insurance industry and B2B software.

• Focus on Process: Demonstrate a structured approach to problem-solving, starting with clarifying questions and defining the scope.

• Prioritize & Justify: Show how you would prioritize features or solutions and justify your decisions based on user needs and business impact.

• Consider Scalability: Think about how your solutions would scale across different workflows and user segments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily scrutinize your ability to translate strategic thinking into tangible design outcomes for complex B2B products and your capacity to lead and mentor. The portfolio is your primary tool to prove this.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Expert-level skills required for UI design, prototyping, and collaborative design sessions.

• Miro: Essential for collaborative whiteboarding, brainstorming, user journey mapping, and workshop facilitation.

• Design Systems: Experience in creating, maintaining, or working within established design systems to ensure consistency and scalability.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as primary tools, understanding how to leverage user analytics and data from tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or Amplitude will be crucial for informing design decisions and measuring impact. CRM & Automation:

• Familiarity with CRM systems (though not directly used for design) and workflow automation concepts will be beneficial for understanding the business context of the insurance workflows being designed.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and Miro is a non-negotiable requirement, indicating a modern, collaborative design workflow. The company's reliance on these tools suggests a commitment to efficient and iterative design processes.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Efficiency & Productivity: A strong emphasis on designing workflows that remove time, friction, and errors for users.

• Innovation: A drive to reinvent insurance technology with cloud software and AI-powered solutions.

• User-Centricity: A commitment to understanding user needs and delivering tangible value through design.

• Collaboration: Encouraging seamless integration and alignment across disciplines (UX, Product, Engineering).

• Growth & Development: Investing in employees' skills and career progression.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: The role requires close collaboration with Product Management, Engineering, and potentially Marketing to ensure cohesive product development.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Insights from user research and analytics are key drivers for design strategy and prioritization.

• Mentorship and Knowledge Sharing: A culture that encourages senior designers to mentor junior team members and share best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company emphasizes a "people-first culture built on trust, inclusion, and growth." For a Lead UX Designer, this translates to an environment where strategic input is valued, collaboration is key, and there's support for professional development.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complexity of B2B Workflows: Designing for intricate, multi-step, high-volume processes in a regulated industry like insurance requires deep understanding and meticulous design.

• Balancing Strategic Vision with Short-Term Delivery: The need to drive long-term design impact while delivering immediate, impactful solutions.

• Navigating Ambiguity and Shifting Priorities: Leading design efforts in an environment where priorities may change, requiring adaptability and strong stakeholder management.

• Ensuring Cross-Product Consistency: Maintaining a unified user experience across multiple product domains and systems.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen Insurtech Expertise: Gain in-depth knowledge of the insurance industry's operational workflows and technology landscape.

• Advanced Design Leadership: Hone skills in strategic planning, cross-functional influence, and team mentorship.

• AI & Emerging Technologies: Contribute to the development of AI-powered solutions, staying at the forefront of technological advancements in UX.

• Systemic Design Thinking: Further develop expertise in designing complex, interconnected systems and large-scale design initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant challenges in terms of complexity and strategic impact, which are also the primary drivers for growth. The opportunity to shape the future of insurance technology through design is a key differentiator.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you defined and executed a UX strategy for a complex, multi-team initiative. What was your process, and what were the outcomes?"

• "How do you ensure user research insights are effectively integrated into product roadmaps and design decisions, especially when dealing with competing business priorities?"

• "Walk us through your approach to designing a complex, multi-step workflow. What factors do you consider, and how do you ensure scalability and maintainability?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on our company's focus on reinventing insurance technology, what opportunities do you see for UX to drive significant impact?"

• "How do you foster a collaborative environment and build alignment with Product Management and Engineering teams, especially in a remote setting?"

• "How do you measure the success of your design initiatives, and what metrics do you prioritize for B2B products?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Leadership: Begin with an overview of your design philosophy and leadership approach.

• Deep Dive on Key Projects: For your chosen B2B case studies, clearly articulate the business problem, your strategic role, the user needs identified, the design process, key decisions made, and quantifiable results.

• Demonstrate Systems Thinking: Explain how your designs integrate into a larger product ecosystem and contribute to overall consistency.

• Be Prepared for Follow-up: Anticipate questions about trade-offs, challenges, and alternative solutions you considered.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for evidence of strategic thinking, problem-solving skills for complex B2B scenarios, leadership capabilities, and a strong understanding of how UX contributes to business objectives. Your portfolio presentation should be a narrative that illustrates these qualities.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Applied Systems careers portal.

• Tailor your Resume: Highlight your experience in B2B complex interaction design, multi-step workflows, strategic UX leadership, and your proficiency with tools like Figma and Miro. Quantify achievements wherever possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-5 of your most impactful projects that demonstrate your leadership, strategic thinking, and experience with complex B2B digital products. Ensure case studies clearly articulate problems, solutions, processes, and measurable outcomes.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Be ready to articulate your design process, strategic approach, and leadership philosophy during interviews, using specific examples from your portfolio.

• Research Applied Systems & Ivans: Understand their mission, products, and the insurance technology landscape to demonstrate your genuine interest and industry awareness.

⚠️ 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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