Lead UX Designer - Search

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead UX Designer - Search

Company: Grainger Businesses

Location: Chicago, IL & Lake Forest, IL, United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Product Design

Date Posted: 2026-08-14

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days/week in office)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end UX strategy and design execution for critical Search and Guidance functionalities on Grainger.com, directly impacting customer discoverability and purchasing decisions.

• Drive human-centered design initiatives by integrating customer research, behavioral analytics, and usability testing to inform iterative improvements and strategic design choices.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Engineering, Machine Learning (ML), and Merchandising, to align on experience objectives and deliver cohesive, scalable solutions.

• Develop high-fidelity designs, prototypes, user flows, and detailed design specifications that facilitate efficient implementation and high-quality execution by engineering teams.

• Contribute to and evolve Grainger’s established design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, accessibility, and predictability across all user experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is focused on the core "Search and Guidance" experience, which is a crucial component for B2B e-commerce platforms like Grainger.com. Success will hinge on the candidate's ability to simplify complex product catalogs and user needs into intuitive digital journeys. The emphasis on "systems thinking" suggests a need for a designer who can see the interconnectedness of search, product discovery, and broader customer touchpoints.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Spearhead the UX strategy and design for Grainger.com's Search and Guidance features, creating intuitive customer journeys that enhance product discoverability and decision-making.

• Partner with Product Management, Engineering, ML, Analytics, and Merchandising teams to define experience objectives and deliver impactful solutions.

• Translate complex customer, business, and technical requirements into elegant, scalable, and user-friendly experiences that align with business goals.

• Apply systems thinking to design interconnected experiences that span search, guidance, and various customer interaction points across the platform.

• Leverage customer research, behavioral analytics, session replay insights, and usability testing to drive design decisions and continuous improvement cycles.

• Produce high-fidelity designs, interactive prototypes, detailed user flows, and comprehensive design specifications for seamless implementation by development teams.

• Balance user needs with technical and business constraints, designing solutions that support agile development and continuous delivery while upholding high UX standards.

• Actively contribute to the development and refinement of Grainger's design system, ensuring adherence to established patterns and principles.

• Articulate design rationale clearly, effectively influence stakeholders, and facilitate productive design critiques and discussions to gain alignment and buy-in.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic leadership and hands-on design execution. The emphasis on "complex, ambiguous product initiatives" and "systems thinking" indicates that this role requires a seasoned designer capable of navigating multifaceted challenges and connecting disparate user experiences.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in User Experience Design, Human-Centered Design, Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Product Design, or a related discipline.

Experience: 5+ years of UX experience within an agile product development environment, with a preference for B2B and search-focused product experience. Experience leading complex, ambiguous product initiatives from discovery through delivery is essential.

Required Skills:

• Deep understanding of UX design principles, interaction design, information architecture, usability best practices, and product design methodologies.

• Advanced proficiency in Figma, including mastery of prototyping, component creation, variables, design systems, and developer handoff features.

• Demonstrated ability in systems thinking to design cohesive experiences across multiple products, features, and customer journeys.

• Experience working within fast-paced, lean product environments that utilize continuous delivery practices.

• Proven experience creating responsive web designs that adapt seamlessly across devices and screen sizes.

• Experience contributing to and actively working within an established design system.

• Familiarity with accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA) and a commitment to inclusive design principles.

• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and storytelling skills, with a strong ability to influence cross-functional partners.

• Strong facilitation, collaboration, and relationship-building skills to foster productive teamwork.

• Proactive mindset with the ability to independently identify opportunities, prioritize work, and drive initiatives forward with minimal supervision. Preferred Skills:

• Experience with AI tools to enhance design workflows and customer experiences.

• Experience in B2B e-commerce,