Principal UX/UI Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal UX/UI Designer

Company: Impinj

Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: UX/UI Design, Product Design

Date Posted: 2026-09-11

Experience Level: 15+ Years

Remote Status: Remote OK (within the United States)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end user experience design for Impinj's software-based solutions, shaping the future of IoT connectivity.

• Establish and evolve the foundational design practices, design system, and interaction standards for a new, growing design team.

• Drive design strategy by translating complex business objectives and user research into clear, actionable design solutions.

• Collaborate directly with Product Management, Engineering, and Innovation leadership to influence product roadmaps and technical decisions.

• Serve as a trusted advisor on design maturity and UX priorities, influencing executive leadership and ensuring high-quality user experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a foundational, principal-level individual contributor within a newly formed design team. The emphasis on "founding member," "shape early design practices," and "own the end-to-end experience" indicates a significant opportunity for strategic impact and the establishment of design standards. The role requires a blend of hands-on craft, strategic thinking, and leadership influence without direct reports, aligning with senior individual contributor (IC) career paths common in tech organizations focused on building and scaling product design functions.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the complete user experience lifecycle, from initial problem definition and concept exploration through to high-fidelity design and successful production handoff.

• Define and maintain the organization's design language, component library, and interaction patterns, creating foundational frameworks for all product development.

• Lead the discovery phase for ambiguous and high-impact challenges, translating user needs and business goals into cohesive design strategies.

• Partner with Product Management and Engineering to influence roadmap priorities, feature scope, and critical technical trade-offs.

• Collaborate closely with engineering teams, understanding technical constraints and actively contributing to feature decomposition into actionable development stories.

• Plan, conduct, and interpret user research and usability testing, validating design decisions with both qualitative and quantitative data.

• Act as the primary design advocate to executive leadership, articulating design rationale, trade-offs, and the measurable impact of UX initiatives.

• Proactively identify and resolve systemic UX debt, inconsistencies, and points of friction across the entire product surface.

• Mentor and upskill engineers and product managers on UX fundamentals and design best practices, enhancing the overall design fluency within the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a significant strategic and leadership component beyond typical senior design roles. The emphasis on "owning the end-to-end experience," "setting and evolving the design language," and "serving as the trusted advisor to executive leadership" indicates a need for a candidate who can operate autonomously, establish new processes, and influence organizational direction, which is characteristic of principal-level roles focused on building and scaling design functions.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a closely related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience:

• 15+ years of professional experience in UX/UI design or product design.

• Minimum of 3 years of experience at a Staff, Principal, or equivalent senior individual contributor (IC) level.

• Practical experience designing complex B2B enterprise products from initial concept (zero to MVP). Required Skills:

• Expert command of interaction design principles, information architecture, visual design aesthetics, and prototyping techniques.

• Demonstrated experience designing and owning a design system at scale, including governance, adoption strategies, and contribution models.

• Fluency in Figma and modern design and prototyping tools.

• Working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and front-end development constraints, enabling credible collaboration with engineering teams.

• Proven track record of influencing product strategy and cross-functional roadmaps without direct authority.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and rationale effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Experience leading discovery and definition for ambiguous, high-stakes problems. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for complex B2B enterprise products, specifically those that are browser-based and mobile.

• Experience in the Internet of Things (IoT) or RAIN RFID industries.

• Familiarity with modern product development methodologies and agile processes.

• Experience mentoring and upskilling junior designers, engineers, or product managers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The extensive experience requirement (15+ years) and the specific mention of 3+ years at a "Staff, Principal, or equivalent senior IC level" clearly define this as a principal-level role. The emphasis on "complex B2B enterprise products," "designing products from zero to MVP," and "ownership of a design system at scale" points to a need for a seasoned designer capable of establishing and scaling design practices within a growing organization, rather than just executing within an existing framework.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A robust portfolio demonstrating shipped, end-to-end work on complex B2B enterprise products.

• Clear articulation of the problems addressed, the design processes followed, and the measurable outcomes achieved for each project.

• Case studies showcasing practical experience in designing products from their initial concept through to Minimum Viable Product (MVP) release.

• Examples that highlight your ability to own and evolve a design system at scale, including its governance, adoption, and contribution frameworks.

• Demonstrations of your strategic influence on product roadmaps and cross-functional decision-making. Process Documentation:

• Evidence of structured problem-framing methodologies and user research synthesis into clear design strategies.

• Examples of workflow design and optimization for complex user journeys within enterprise software.

• Documentation of how you've collaborated with engineering on translating design into development stories and managing technical trade-offs.

• Showcase of how you've used qualitative and quantitative signals (user research, usability testing) to validate and iterate on design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for a portfolio demonstrating "shipped, end-to-end work on complex B2B enterprise products" and "practical experience designing products from zero to MVP" is critical. This suggests that candidates will be evaluated not just on visual design skills but on their ability to navigate ambiguity, define product direction, and deliver tangible, impactful solutions in a challenging enterprise context. The emphasis on design systems and influencing roadmaps further reinforces the need for strategic, process-oriented documentation.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $185,000 - $277,600 annually.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive healthcare benefits.

• 401(k) plan with company match.

• Eligibility for merit increases, annual bonus, and stock awards.

• Potential for sales incentives based on revenue or utilization, depending on the specific role's plan.

• Open paid time-off policy, emphasizing work-life balance.

• Access to additional benefits detailed on the Impinj careers page.

Working Hours: The typical full-time work schedule is 40 hours per week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided ($185,000 - $277,600) is for the US and is based on market data for a Principal UX/UI Designer role with 15+ years of experience in a high-cost-of-living area like Seattle. This range reflects the seniority, strategic impact, and specialized skills required for this foundational position. The inclusion of bonus, stock, and sales incentives (if applicable) suggests a total compensation package that can exceed the base salary for high performers. The "open paid time-off policy" is a notable benefit, often indicative of a culture that trusts employees and emphasizes results over strict time tracking.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically RAIN RFID and Internet of Things (IoT). Impinj is a pioneer in connecting everyday items to the internet, serving sectors like retail, healthcare, and automotive.

Company Size: While not explicitly stated, the company has a significant global presence and serves Fortune 500 enterprises, suggesting a mid-to-large size organization with established processes but also room for growth and innovation.

Founded: Impinj was founded with a vision to connect trillions of everyday items to the Internet, implying a culture focused on innovation, long-term vision, and technological advancement.

Team Structure:

• This role is the founding member of a new design team, indicating an opportunity to shape its structure and culture.

• The UX/UI Designer will report to a leader in Product Management or Engineering, with close collaboration across Product, Engineering, Innovation, and Go-to-Market teams.

• The role involves significant cross-functional collaboration, influencing product strategy and roadmap decisions. Methodology:

• Emphasis on data-driven design decisions, leveraging user research and usability testing.

• Focus on establishing foundational design practices, including design systems and interaction standards.

• Collaboration with engineering to ensure practical implementation and manage technical trade-offs.

• Strategic approach to problem-framing and translating business objectives into user-centered solutions.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on "connecting every thing to the Internet" and the "boundless IoT" vision suggests a culture that values innovation, scalability, and a forward-thinking approach. For a Principal UX/UI Designer, this means an environment where design can have a profound, system-level impact on a rapidly evolving technological landscape. The fact that this is a "new design team" implies a startup-like environment within a larger, established company, offering both the opportunity to build from scratch and the stability of an existing enterprise.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Principal Individual Contributor (IC). This role is the most senior design position, focused on strategic impact, establishing best practices, and influencing organizational direction rather than managing direct reports. It signifies a deep expertise and a high degree of autonomy.

Reporting Structure: The Principal UX/UI Designer will likely report to a Director or VP level in Product Management or Engineering. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads, acting as a peer and strategic partner.

Operations Impact: The Principal UX/UI Designer's impact is critical to Impinj's software solutions, directly influencing user adoption, product usability, and ultimately, the success of their IoT platform. By setting design standards and improving user experiences, they will enhance customer satisfaction, reduce development friction, and contribute to revenue growth by making products more competitive and easier to use.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Design: Opportunity to grow into a Design Lead or Manager role as the design team expands, potentially building and managing a team.

• Strategic Influence: Deepen influence on product strategy, company-wide design maturity, and innovation initiatives.

• Domain Expertise: Become a recognized expert in designing for complex B2B enterprise IoT solutions, a high-demand specialization.

• Mentorship & Education: Expand impact by mentoring more designers and upskilling other departments on design thinking and UX best practices.

• System Ownership: Further develop expertise in building and scaling design systems for large, complex product portfolios.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Principal" title and the description of "founding member of a new design team" clearly position this role at the highest level of individual contribution for design. The growth opportunities focus on expanding strategic influence, building out a function, and deepening specialized expertise, which are typical for principal-level roles in tech organizations aiming to scale their design capabilities.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The job posting indicates the role is based in Seattle, Washington, and offers remote work flexibility within the United States. Impinj's headquarters in Seattle features views of the Olympics, Lake Union, and Mt. Baker, with a rooftop deck, suggesting a modern and amenity-rich office environment.

Office Location(s):

• Primary: Seattle, Washington, United States.

• Remote: OK within the United States, indicating flexibility for candidates outside of Seattle.

• Other: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil (Brazilian site). Workspace Context:

• For remote employees, there's an expectation of effective digital collaboration and communication tools.

• In-office employees can expect a collaborative workspace, potentially with access to amenities that foster creativity and well-being.

• The role requires close interaction with engineering and product teams, suggesting a highly collaborative environment, regardless of physical location.

• Access to modern design tools (Figma) and technologies is implied.

Work Schedule: The standard work schedule is 40 hours per week, with flexibility likely around specific working hours, especially for remote employees, to accommodate collaboration across different time zones if necessary, and to promote work-life balance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Remote OK" status within the US, combined with the description of the Seattle office, suggests a hybrid model or a fully remote option is available. This offers flexibility, which is a significant draw for senior talent. The emphasis on collaboration implies that even remote employees will need to be highly communicative and engaged with distributed teams.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: HR or Recruiter call to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest.

• Portfolio Presentation & Technical Interview: A deep dive into your portfolio, focusing on end-to-end UX process, problem-solving, design strategy, and impact. Expect to discuss your approach to complex B2B enterprise products, design systems, and influence without authority. This stage often includes a hands-on design exercise or a case study presentation.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Management and Engineering leadership to assess collaboration style, technical understanding, and strategic alignment. Discussions will likely revolve around roadmap influence, technical trade-offs, and user research methodologies.

• Executive Interview: A final conversation with senior leadership (e.g., VP of Product/Engineering) to evaluate strategic thinking, leadership potential, design maturity advocacy, and overall fit for the Principal role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-4 of your most impactful B2B enterprise projects that demonstrate end-to-end ownership, complex problem-solving, and significant outcomes. Prioritize projects that showcase your ability to design from zero to MVP and manage a design system.

• Structure for Impact: For each case study, clearly define the business problem, user needs, your specific role and contributions, the design process (research, ideation, iteration, testing), key design decisions and rationale, and measurable results (UX metrics, business impact).

• Highlight Systems Thinking: Explicitly detail your experience with design systems—how you built, governed, or scaled them, and how they drove consistency and efficiency.

• Demonstrate Influence: Showcase instances where you influenced product strategy, roadmaps, or technical decisions without formal authority.

• Articulate Rationale: Be prepared to verbally walk through your portfolio, clearly explaining your design decisions, trade-offs considered, and the impact achieved. Be ready to answer questions about your process and defend your choices.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Exercise: Anticipate a design challenge, potentially involving a complex problem statement related to Impinj's product space (IoT, RFID) or a general B2B enterprise software scenario. Focus on your process: problem definition, user flows, wireframing, key screen designs, and rationale.

• System Design: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach building or scaling a design system for a complex product suite, including governance and adoption strategies.

• Strategic Thinking: Practice articulating how design can drive business outcomes, influence product strategy, and improve organizational design maturity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "complex B2B enterprise products," "designing from zero to MVP," and "influencing product strategy without formal authority" suggests that interviewers will be looking for a highly strategic and process-oriented designer. Portfolio reviews will likely go beyond visual polish to assess the depth of strategic thinking, problem-solving methodology, and demonstrable impact. The "founding member" aspect means interviewers will also assess leadership potential and the ability to establish and mentor.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for wireframing, high-fidelity design, prototyping, and collaboration.

• Prototyping Tools: Proficiency in advanced prototyping within Figma or other tools (e.g., InVision, Principle) for demonstrating complex interactions.

• Design System Management Tools: Experience with platforms or methodologies for building, maintaining, and scaling design systems.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Research Platforms: Familiarity with tools for conducting and analyzing user interviews, surveys, and usability tests (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze, Qualtrics).

• Data Analysis Tools: Ability to interpret qualitative and quantitative data from user research, analytics, and A/B testing to inform design decisions.

CRM & Automation:

• Collaboration Tools: Proficiency with tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Confluence for cross-functional communication and project management.

• Front-end Technologies (Working Knowledge): Understanding of HTML, CSS, and front-end constraints is crucial for effective collaboration with engineering teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma and a "working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and front-end constraints" highlights the need for a designer who is both a master of their craft and a pragmatic collaborator with engineering. The emphasis on user research and data validation points to a need for designers who can leverage insights and metrics to drive design decisions, aligning with a data-driven operations mindset.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Innovation & Vision: Driving the "boundless IoT" vision by connecting trillions of everyday items.

• Impact & Purpose: Creating technology that delivers a positive impact on the world.

• Collaboration & Teamwork: Highly valued, fostering an environment of mutual support and shared success.

• Openness & Transparency: Encouraged through weekly Q&A sessions with executive leadership.

• Data-Driven Decisions: Validating design choices with qualitative and quantitative signals.

• Efficiency & Optimization: Identifying and resolving UX debt, streamlining processes.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Close partnership with Product Management, Engineering, Innovation, and Go-to-Market teams.

• Trusted Advisor: Acting as a reliable source of expertise and guidance for leadership and peers.

• Mentorship & Upskilling: Proactively sharing knowledge and raising the design fluency of others.

• Open Feedback: Willingness to give and receive constructive feedback to improve designs and processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: Impinj's culture emphasizes innovation, impact, and collaboration. For a Principal Designer, this means an environment where they can champion new ideas, work closely with diverse teams, and contribute to a meaningful technological mission. The "open paid time-off policy" and emphasis on work-life balance suggest a culture that values employee well-being and trusts individuals to manage their time effectively, aligning with a mature, results-oriented operational philosophy.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Establishing New Design Practices: As the founding member of a new team, you'll face the challenge of defining processes, standards, and culture from the ground up. This requires strong leadership and strategic foresight.

• Influencing Without Authority: You'll need to effectively influence product strategy and roadmap decisions across multiple departments without direct managerial power.

• Designing for Complexity: Working with B2B enterprise software and IoT solutions involves navigating complex user needs, technical constraints, and diverse workflows.

• Scaling Design Systems: Owning and scaling a design system for a growing product portfolio presents ongoing challenges in governance, adoption, and evolution.

• Raising Design Maturity: Mentoring engineers and product managers to improve their UX understanding and practices across the organization.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Foundational Design Leadership: Opportunity to shape and lead a design function, setting its strategic direction and operational cadence.

• Deep Domain Expertise: Become a specialist in designing for the rapidly evolving IoT and RAIN RFID sectors.

• Strategic Product Influence: Gain extensive experience influencing product roadmaps and technical decisions at a senior executive level.

• Mentorship Programs: Formal or informal opportunities to mentor other designers and contribute to the growth of design talent within Impinj.

• Industry Conferences & Training: Potential for support in attending relevant design conferences or pursuing advanced certifications to stay at the forefront of UX/UI.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to a principal-level role establishing a new function. They offer significant growth opportunities in leadership, strategic impact, and specialized domain expertise. The role is designed for someone who thrives on building, optimizing, and influencing complex systems and organizational processes.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to establish design standards and processes for a new product or team. What was your approach, and what were the key outcomes?" (Focus on your process for building foundational practices, design systems, and influencing adoption.)

• "Walk us through a complex B2B enterprise product you designed from zero to MVP. What were the biggest challenges, how did you overcome them, and what was the measurable impact?" (Highlight your end-to-end ownership, problem-solving, and ability to deliver tangible results.)

• "How do you influence product strategy and roadmap decisions when you don't have formal authority? Provide an example of how you've successfully partnered with Product and Engineering leadership." (Demonstrate your communication, collaboration, and strategic persuasion skills.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Impinj's mission in the IoT space, and how do you see design playing a role in achieving that vision?" (Show your understanding of the company's mission and your ability to connect design to business goals.)

• "How would you approach raising the overall design maturity of an organization, particularly among engineers and product managers?" (Explain your mentoring philosophy and strategies for upskilling non-designers.)

• "Describe your experience with design systems at scale. How do you handle governance, adoption, and contribution models?" (Detail your expertise in creating and managing scalable design systems.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Frame each case study as a narrative: the problem, your journey to the solution, the impact, and lessons learned.

• Visual Clarity: Ensure your presentation is clean, visually appealing, and easy to follow. Use clear diagrams, user flows, and mockups.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased conversion rates, reduced support tickets, improved task completion times).

• Focus on Process & Rationale: Be prepared to deep-dive into why you made specific design decisions and the process you followed, not just what you designed.

• Engage Your Audience: Make it interactive. Ask clarifying questions, and be ready to discuss your work and defend your decisions openly.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation advice focuses on demonstrating strategic thinking, process ownership, and leadership influence, which are paramount for a Principal Designer role. Candidates should be ready to articulate their approach to building design functions, influencing stakeholders, and delivering impactful B2B enterprise solutions, using their portfolio as concrete evidence.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal UX/UI Designer position:

• Submit your application directly through the Impinj careers portal via the provided link.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight 3-4 of your most relevant B2B enterprise projects that showcase end-to-end ownership, complex problem-solving, design system experience, and measurable impact. Ensure it demonstrates your ability to design from zero to MVP.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to emphasize your 15+ years of experience, specifically highlighting the 3+ years at a senior/principal IC level. Use keywords from the job description such as "design systems," "product strategy," "influence without authority," "complex B2B enterprise products," and "Figma." Quantify your achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, rationale, and impact for your portfolio projects. Prepare to discuss how you would establish design practices for a new team and influence cross-functional stakeholders. Rehearse your answers to strategy, company, and culture-focused questions.

• Company Research: Deeply research Impinj's mission, products (RAIN RFID, IoT), and recent news. Understand their market position and the challenges they aim to solve. Consider how your design philosophy and experience align with their innovative and collaborative culture.

⚠️ 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.