Senior UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX Designer | Product & Systems

Company: Extra Duty Solutions (EDS)

Location: Huntersville, North Carolina, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / User Experience Operations

Date Posted: May 04, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end design process for both web portals and mobile applications, focusing on officer, customer, and internal user experiences.

• Develop and implement a comprehensive, token-based design system from inception to widespread adoption by product, PM, and engineering teams.

• Design complex, mission-critical workflows, including multi-party approval chains, intricate scheduling logic, and integrations with external services.

• Drive user research initiatives, translating findings into actionable product decisions and contributing to a data-driven design culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a foundational design leadership opportunity within a growing tech-enabled services company. The emphasis on "operational design" and "systems" suggests a need for a candidate who can not only create user-centric interfaces but also understand and optimize the underlying business processes and technological constraints. The direct impact on public safety operations and officer compensation highlights the critical nature of this role.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct thorough audits of existing user experiences across all product surfaces, identifying key areas for improvement and prioritizing findings for strategic implementation.

• Architect and build a robust design system, encompassing foundational design tokens, reusable components, and clear documentation to ensure consistency and accelerate development cycles.

• Design integrated user flows that create a unified and intuitive experience across disparate product surfaces, enhancing user efficiency and satisfaction.

• Develop UX solutions for an "instant pay" feature, a high-visibility and critical component impacting officer trust and financial well-being.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineers to translate complex business requirements and technical constraints into effective, user-centered design solutions.

• Champion user research methodologies, including user interviews, usability testing, and surveys, to gather insights and validate design decisions.

• Ensure designs are technically feasible by maintaining a strong understanding of back-end systems, API capabilities, and data constraints.

• Contribute to the company's product strategy by providing design expertise and advocating for user needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a hands-on, strategic approach to design leadership. The expectation to build a design system from scratch and deliver specific features like the instant pay flow within the first year indicates a need for a proactive, self-starter with strong execution capabilities. The mention of "complex workflows" implies a requirement for deep analytical thinking and problem-solving skills.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design, Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for senior-level UX roles. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in UX design, with a proven track record of designing for a variety of platforms including web applications, mobile apps, and internal operational tools.

Required Skills:

• UX Design: Comprehensive expertise in the full UX design lifecycle, from user research and ideation to wireframing, prototyping, and visual design.

• Interaction Design: Strong ability to craft intuitive and efficient user interactions, mapping out user journeys and defining navigation patterns.

• Visual Design: Solid understanding of visual design principles, typography, color theory, and layout to create aesthetically pleasing and functional interfaces.

• User Research: Proven experience in planning and executing diverse user research methods (e.g., interviews, usability testing, surveys) and synthesizing findings into actionable insights.

• Design Systems: Demonstrated experience in building, maintaining, or significantly contributing to a design system, including component libraries and style guides.

• Prototyping: Proficiency in creating interactive prototypes using industry-standard tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD) to effectively communicate design concepts.

• Workflow Design: Experience designing complex, multi-step workflows, operational tools, and data-dense interfaces.

• Technical Fluency: Sufficient understanding of software development processes, back-end constraints, and API limitations to design realistically and collaborate effectively with engineering teams.

• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions, present findings effectively, and translate complex ideas for diverse audiences.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience as a solo designer or lead designer in a product-centric environment, demonstrating ownership and end-to-end responsibility.

• Familiarity with leveraging Generative AI (Gen AI) tools for design acceleration, such as rapid prototyping, concept iteration, and research synthesis.

• Background in designing B2B operational tools, workforce management systems, field service applications, or public safety software.

• Understanding of law enforcement culture or public safety agency operations.

• Experience designing financial or payment-related workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "operational tools" and "complex workflows" suggests a need for a designer who can handle intricate systems and business logic, not just consumer-facing applications. The preference for candidates with experience in B2B or public safety further reinforces this. The mention of Gen AI indicates an openness to adopting new technologies for efficiency gains.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 5 years of UX design work, with a clear emphasis on projects involving complex web portals, mobile applications, and internal/operational tools.

• Include case studies that detail your involvement in the entire design process, from initial research and problem definition to interaction design, visual design, and prototyping.

• Demonstrate experience in designing intricate workflows, such as multi-step approval processes, scheduling logic, or integrations with external systems.

• Present projects where you have contributed to or built a design system, illustrating component libraries, style guides, and their impact on development efficiency.

• Highlight examples of user research conducted, detailing the methodologies used, key findings, and how these insights directly influenced design decisions and product outcomes.

Process Documentation:

• For each portfolio project, clearly document the problem statement, your role and responsibilities, the design process followed, and the specific solutions implemented.

• Detail the user research methodologies employed, including study design, participant recruitment, and analysis of findings.

• Explain the design decisions made, providing rationale based on user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility.

• Quantify the impact of your designs where possible, using metrics related to user engagement, task completion rates, efficiency gains, or user satisfaction.

• Illustrate the evolution of designs through iterations, showing wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are stringent, emphasizing depth and breadth across operational tools and complex systems. Candidates must be able to articulate their design process, demonstrate problem-solving skills for intricate workflows, and showcase tangible impact. The expectation to have designed within technical constraints and contributed to design systems is crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $90,000 – $110,000 annually. This range is competitive for a Senior UX Designer role in the Huntersville, NC area, considering the experience level and the specialized nature of designing operational tools for public safety organizations.

Benefits:

• Paid Time Off: Three weeks of PTO/Sick time, plus company-paid holidays and floating holidays.

• Insurance: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Life Insurance: Provided to offer financial security.

• Retirement Savings: Matching 401(k) plan to support long-term financial planning.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week. While not explicitly stated, operational roles often require a degree of flexibility to address urgent issues or meet project deadlines, though a strong emphasis on work-life balance is suggested by the PTO policy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is specific and aligns with industry benchmarks for senior UX talent. The benefits package is comprehensive, covering essential aspects like PTO, health insurance, and retirement savings, which are attractive to experienced professionals. The mention of 40 hours per week suggests a standard work schedule.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology-enabled services for public safety organizations, specifically focusing on managing extra duty programs for law enforcement and fire departments. This sector involves unique operational complexities and regulatory considerations.

Company Size: Extra Duty Solutions (EDS) is described as a "fast-growing company," indicating a dynamic, evolving environment. While the exact employee count isn't provided, this suggests a company that is likely past the startup phase but still agile.

Founded: Founded in 2016, EDS has expanded nationwide since its inception, building a reputation for reliability and strong customer partnerships. This relatively short but impactful history suggests a culture of innovation and rapid development.

Team Structure:

• The role is within a "product team," implying collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers. As a Senior UX Designer, you will likely be the primary design voice, potentially building out a design function or leading its integration.

• The emphasis on "design here is not cosmetic. It is operational" suggests a culture that values practical, impactful design solutions tightly coupled with business objectives and user needs.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: The role requires a strong foundation in user research and translating findings into product decisions, indicating a data-informed approach.

• Systems Thinking: The focus on designing "complex workflows" and a "design system from the ground up" points to a methodology that values structured, scalable, and integrated solutions.

• Agile Development: While not explicit, the "fast-growing" nature and emphasis on product teams suggest an agile or iterative development process where design plays a crucial role in rapid iteration.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture appears to be focused on practical impact, growth, and user-centric problem-solving within a specialized niche. The "high-ownership" expectation for the Senior UX Designer suggests an environment where individuals are empowered to drive significant change and build out processes.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a "Senior UX Designer" role, indicating a mid-to-senior level position. It requires a significant level of autonomy, strategic thinking, and the ability to lead design initiatives, particularly in building foundational elements like a design system. The role is positioned as having "high ownership" and a "seat at the table" for design decisions.

Reporting Structure: The description implies reporting into a product management or engineering leadership structure. As the primary designer, the individual will likely work closely with Product Managers and Engineers, acting as the design lead for specific product initiatives.

Operations Impact: The role has a direct and substantial impact on the operational efficiency of public safety agencies and the financial well-being of officers. The software designed directly influences scheduling, payroll, invoicing, and officer job pickup, making design a critical component of EDS's service offering and customer satisfaction.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Opportunity to establish and lead the design practice at EDS, potentially growing into a Design Lead or Head of Design role as the company scales.

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing complex operational workflows, workforce management systems, and building robust design systems.

• Industry Expertise: Develop specialized knowledge in the public safety technology sector, a niche with significant operational challenges and opportunities.

• Product Impact: Drive significant product improvements and new feature development that directly affect a large user base of public safety professionals.

• Strategic Influence: Contribute to the overall product strategy and roadmap, influencing the direction of the company's technology offerings.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique opportunity for a designer to shape a product's user experience and establish design processes within a growing company. The "high-ownership" and "seat at the table" language suggests significant influence and potential for career advancement, particularly for those who can demonstrate impact in building foundational design assets and solving complex operational challenges.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is listed as "On-site," indicating a traditional office-based work environment. This suggests a company that values in-person collaboration and team synergy.

Office Location(s): Huntersville, North Carolina, specifically within Mecklenburg County. This location provides access to the Charlotte metropolitan area's talent pool and resources.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Being on-site likely facilitates spontaneous collaboration, brainstorming sessions, and closer working relationships with Product Managers and Engineers.

• Tools & Technology: As a tech-enabled company, the workspace is expected to be equipped with modern design and development tools. The emphasis on building a design system suggests that the company is investing in its technology stack.

• Operational Focus: The work environment is geared towards solving real-world operational problems for public safety agencies, fostering a sense of purpose and impact.

Work Schedule: A standard full-time schedule is implied (likely 40 hours/week). While on-site, the company's "fast-growing" nature and competitive PTO package suggest an effort to balance productivity with employee well-being.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement suggests a preference for in-person collaboration, which can be beneficial for building a design system and fostering strong team dynamics. Huntersville's proximity to Charlotte offers advantages in terms of talent and amenities.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess qualifications and experience.

• Portfolio Presentation: Expect to present a selection of your work, detailing your process, problem-solving approach, and the impact of your designs. This is a critical step to showcase your skills in interaction design, visual design, and workflow optimization.

• Design Challenge: A practical exercise, potentially involving a case study or a design problem related to EDS's product offerings, to evaluate your problem-solving abilities, strategic thinking, and design execution.

• Team Interviews: Discussions with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially leadership to assess your collaboration style, technical fluency, and cultural fit.

• Final Interview: Likely with senior leadership to discuss your vision for design at EDS and your strategic contributions.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase Operational Complexity: Highlight projects involving intricate workflows, data-dense interfaces, and internal/operational tools. Emphasize how you navigated these complexities.

• Detail Your Process: Clearly articulate your research methodologies, design iterations, and decision-making rationale. Use visuals to illustrate your process.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, present metrics demonstrating the success of your designs (e.g., improved efficiency, reduced errors, increased user satisfaction).

• Design System Contribution: If you have experience building or contributing to design systems, dedicate a section to showcase your work, including component documentation and adherence to design tokens.

• Tailor to EDS: Select projects that best align with EDS's focus on public safety, workforce management, and B2B operational tools.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research Extra Duty Solutions, their mission, their target users (law enforcement, fire departments, customers), and the operational challenges they address.

• Focus on Workflows: Practice designing complex workflows and consider edge cases, approval chains, and integration points.

• Design System Thinking: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach building or evolving a design system, including considerations for scalability, governance, and adoption.

• Technical Feasibility: Think about how to design realistically within technical constraints, demonstrating an understanding of APIs and back-end systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a deep dive into the candidate's portfolio and practical design skills. Candidates should be prepared to articulate their process, demonstrate problem-solving for complex operational challenges, and showcase their ability to build foundational design assets like design systems.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD (or similar industry-standard tools) for wireframing, UI design, and interactive prototyping.

• User Research: Tools for conducting usability testing, surveys, and interviews (e.g., UserTesting.com, SurveyMonkey, Zoom).

• Design System Management: Tools for documentation and component management, potentially including Storybook or a dedicated design system platform.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or Pendo to track user behavior, feature adoption, and performance metrics.

• Data Visualization: Tools for creating dashboards and reports, potentially integrated within analytics platforms or standalone tools like Tableau or Power BI, to communicate insights to stakeholders.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a UX tool, understanding how UX designs integrate with CRM systems (like Salesforce) and automation platforms is beneficial for designing cohesive user experiences.

• Understanding of API documentation and integration points will be critical for designing systems that connect effectively.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on building a "token-based, component-documented" design system suggests a modern, scalable approach. Proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools is a given, but an understanding of how designs translate into engineering implementation (API constraints) and how user behavior is tracked (analytics) is crucial for this role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A strong emphasis on creating designs that have a tangible, positive impact on the operational efficiency of public safety agencies and the daily lives of officers.

• User-Centricity: A commitment to understanding and addressing the complex needs of diverse user groups, including law enforcement officers, agency administrators, and customers.

• Collaboration: A culture that values close partnership between design, product management, and engineering to achieve shared goals.

• Efficiency & Optimization: A focus on streamlining complex processes, automating tasks, and improving system performance through thoughtful design.

• Innovation: An openness to leveraging new technologies, such as Gen AI, to accelerate design processes and enhance product capabilities.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Partnership: The Senior UX Designer will work intimately with Product Managers to define requirements and strategize product direction, and with Engineers to ensure designs are technically feasible and well-implemented.

• Iterative Design Feedback: Expect a culture of constructive feedback, where designs are shared early and often for review and refinement.

• Knowledge Sharing: The role involves building documentation (e.g., design system) and communicating design decisions, fostering a culture of shared understanding and best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values practical, impactful design that solves real operational challenges for its users. The collaborative style is expected to be integrated and iterative, with design playing a central role in product development.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Complex Workflows: Navigating and simplifying intricate multi-party approval chains, scheduling logic, and service integrations inherent in public safety operations.

• Building a Design System from Scratch: Establishing a comprehensive, token-based design system that meets the needs of a growing product suite and gains adoption across teams.

• Balancing User Needs with Technical Constraints: Designing effective solutions while adhering to back-end limitations and API capabilities.

• Bridging Diverse User Groups: Catering to the distinct needs and expectations of law enforcement officers, agency administrators, and customers through a unified user experience.

• Driving Design Maturity: As potentially the primary design lead, establishing design best practices and fostering a stronger design-thinking culture within the organization.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design System Leadership: Opportunity to own and evolve a critical design asset that will scale with the company.

• Domain Expertise: Deepen understanding of the public safety and workforce management technology sectors.

• Strategic Product Influence: Gain experience in shaping product roadmaps and influencing business strategy through design.

• Emerging Technologies: Explore and implement Gen AI tools for design acceleration and innovation.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Hone skills in working effectively with product and engineering teams on complex technical projects.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant challenges related to complexity and foundational work, but these are directly tied to substantial growth opportunities for a designer eager to make a significant impact and build out a design practice.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach auditing the current user experience across our web and mobile platforms, and what criteria would you use to prioritize findings?" (Focus on structured analysis, user impact, and business value).

• "Describe your process for building a design system from the ground up, including how you'd ensure it's token-based, well-documented, and adopted by developers and PMs." (Emphasize component strategy, design tokens, governance, and collaboration).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in designing for public safety organizations and operational tools like ours?" (Connect your passion for impact and problem-solving to EDS's mission).

• "How would you foster collaboration between design, product, and engineering teams in a relatively small, fast-growing company?" (Highlight your communication skills and experience with cross-functional partnerships).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tell a Story: For each project, frame it as a narrative: the problem, your role, your process, the challenges, the solutions, and the results.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use high-fidelity mockups, interactive prototypes, and user flow diagrams to illustrate your design solutions.

• Highlight Process: Clearly explain your research methods, design iterations, and rationale behind key decisions. Emphasize how you incorporated user feedback and technical constraints.

• Quantify Impact: If possible, present metrics that demonstrate the success of your designs. If direct metrics aren't available, discuss how you would measure success.

• Focus on Systems & Workflows: Select projects that best showcase your ability to design complex systems and intricate workflows, as this is a key requirement for the role.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a deep understanding of UX principles applied to complex operational environments, with a strong emphasis on process, systems thinking, and tangible impact.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Extra Duty Solutions careers portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to prominently feature projects involving complex operational tools, web portals, and mobile applications. Prioritize case studies that demonstrate your ability to design intricate workflows and build or contribute to design systems. Tailor your selection to align with EDS's focus on public safety and B2B solutions.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume highlights 5+ years of relevant UX design experience, specifically mentioning skills in interaction design, visual design, user research, design systems, and technical fluency. Quantify achievements and responsibilities where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, problem-solving methodologies, and the impact of your work. Prepare specific examples to answer strategy and behavioral questions, especially those related to building design systems and designing complex workflows.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Extra Duty Solutions, their mission, their target market (public safety agencies), and the operational challenges they aim to solve. Understand their product offerings and how design contributes to their value proposition.

⚠️ 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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