Senior UX Designer I

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX Designer I

Company: ActBlue

Location: Remote (United States)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Design Systems

Date Posted: May 12, 2026

Experience Level: 3-5 Years

Remote Status: Remote Solely

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end design of products and product features, from discovery and ideation through detailed execution, ensuring user-centered solutions.

• Serve as a core contributor to ActBlue's design system, actively building and maintaining tokens, components, and documentation.

• Collaborate with UX research, product management, engineering, and internal stakeholders to ground design decisions in user needs and business objectives.

• Drive AI fluency within the design practice, exploring and integrating emerging AI tools to enhance design workflows and outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is unique in its dual focus on product design and design systems execution, requiring a candidate comfortable with both strategic user experience creation and the granular detail of component-level design and system maintenance. The emphasis on AI tools suggests a forward-thinking approach to design operations and efficiency.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conceptualize and create impactful design solutions that ensure clarity, cohesion, and visual consistency across all product experiences.

• Partner closely with UX research and data teams to ensure design decisions are informed by user behaviors, needs, and motivations, driving a data-informed design process.

• Translate complex concepts into cohesive, user-centered designs, effectively balancing the need for speed with high craft standards and structure with compelling storytelling.

• Contribute to the information architecture of products and influence best practices that elevate the overall standard of design across the UX team.

• Actively participate in team design critiques, providing constructive feedback and fostering a strong, collaborative design culture.

• Build and apply AI fluency in design practice, contributing to shared workflows and helping teammates explore AI's potential for faster, more consistent design outcomes.

• Collaborate closely with product managers, engineers, and other internal teams to translate creative direction into practical, user-centered solutions that meet business requirements.

• Effectively communicate design intent through compelling visuals, interactive prototypes, and clear storytelling that aligns diverse teams and stakeholders.

• Lead through influence by fostering alignment, elevating work quality, and helping peers navigate complex design challenges with clarity and confidence.

• Define project timelines, identify potential trade-offs, and articulate constraints throughout the design and development lifecycle in partnership with cross-functional teams.

• Contribute to component specifications, token definitions, and library maintenance within the design system, ensuring accuracy and consistency.

• Identify gaps and opportunities within the design system, proposing and defining new patterns that support product growth and scalability.

• Partner with front-end engineers to ensure design specifications translate cleanly into production code and that the token pipeline remains reliable and efficient.

• Support the creation and maintenance of documentation and guidelines that enable broad adoption of the design system across design and development teams, including versioning and deprecation strategies.

• Develop fluency with AI-powered design tools, applying them to generate and validate on-system designs using the design system as a reliable foundation for AI-assisted creation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of individual contribution and leadership through influence. The emphasis on "leading through influence" suggests that candidates should be adept at advocating for design excellence and guiding cross-functional partners without direct authority. The integration of AI tools indicates a need for adaptability and a proactive approach to technological advancements in design.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, is typically expected for a Senior UX Designer role.

Experience: 3-5 years of progressive experience in leading end-to-end product delivery, from initial ideation and discovery phases through to the creation of pixel-perfect mockups and detailed specifications.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience leading the end-to-end delivery of complex product features, from initial concept to final execution.

• Demonstrated experience working with remote, geographically distributed, cross-functional teams on challenging product initiatives.

• Hands-on experience leading discovery, ideation, and user research sessions to gather critical insights.

• Solid experience with design systems, including contributing to components, tokens, or documentation.

• Strong proficiency in design tooling, particularly Figma, including experience with component libraries and an eagerness to deepen knowledge in Variables and token workflows.

• Familiarity with token architecture and a strong interest in understanding how design tokens connect to engineering implementation.

• A user-first approach to UX design, with a demonstrated ability to ground design decisions in research findings and data analytics.

• Exceptional storytelling and presentation skills, with experience presenting design concepts to audiences at multiple organizational levels.

• Experience mentoring junior designers and fostering their professional growth.

• Comfortable working within a culture of constructive feedback and approaching conflict with curiosity and a problem-solving mindset.

• Dedicated to fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment, actively centering and amplifying diverse backgrounds and points of view.

• A genuine passion for progressive causes and politics, with a strong desire to make a meaningful impact through design work.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with AI-powered design tools and a genuine curiosity about how they can be effectively integrated and grounded within a strong design system.

• Familiarity with front-end development principles to facilitate smoother collaboration with engineering teams.

• Experience in the nonprofit or political tech sector, understanding the unique needs of mission-driven organizations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "What You Bring" section is quite detailed. The experience requirement of 3-5 years aligns with a "Senior" title, and the emphasis on remote, distributed teams suggests the need for strong communication and collaboration skills beyond typical in-office environments. The specific mention of Figma, Variables, and token workflows points to the technical depth expected in design system contributions. The passion for progressive causes is a critical cultural fit indicator.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase end-to-end product design projects, clearly detailing your role and contributions from discovery through final delivery.

• Include case studies that demonstrate your experience with design systems, highlighting contributions to components, tokens, or documentation and their impact on consistency and scalability.

• Present examples of user research, ideation, and user flow creation, emphasizing how data and user needs informed your design decisions.

• Detail your experience with Figma, including the creation and management of component libraries and proficiency with advanced features like Variables.

• Demonstrate your understanding of token architecture and its connection to engineering implementation, potentially through specific project examples.

Process Documentation:

• Document your approach to leading discovery and ideation phases, including methodologies for user research and synthesizing findings.

• Illustrate your process for translating research insights into user-centered design solutions and design system components.

• Showcase examples of how you collaborate with engineering and product teams, detailing your process for defining requirements, timelines, and trade-offs.

• Provide evidence of your contribution to design system maintenance, including how you approach component specification, token definition, and documentation.

• Demonstrate how you integrate AI tools into your design workflow, showing process improvements or novel applications.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the role's dual focus on product design and design systems, the portfolio should clearly delineate projects related to each area. For design systems, specific examples of component contributions, token definitions, and documentation are crucial. For product design, end-to-end case studies demonstrating user research, problem-solving, and final execution are expected. The AI component integration should also be visually represented, perhaps through examples of AI-assisted ideation or asset generation.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $141,906 - $164,145 USD Annually.

Benefits:

• Work-Life Balance: Flexible work schedules and an unlimited time-off policy, promoting autonomy and well-being.

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Fully paid and trans-inclusive health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their families.

• Financial Wellness: Fully-paid health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) for out-of-pocket expenses, automatic 2% employer-paid 401K contribution, and up to an additional 6% match on employee contributions.

• Income Protection: Fully-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance, and fully paid basic and AD&D life insurance with a voluntary supplemental life insurance option.

• Family Support: A minimum of three months paid medical, family, and parental leave for all new parents (including adoptions).

• Home Office Support: A $1,000 home-office setup allowance for all new full-time remote employees, plus commuter or home-office benefits.

• Employee Support: Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefits and dependent/healthcare flexible spending account options.

• Professional Perks: Quarterly snack deliveries and digital subscriptions to the Boston Globe & New York Times.

Working Hours: This role requires availability during established, regular business hours (Monday-Fri). The total expected hours are approximately 40 per week, standard for a full-time position.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range is quite specific and falls within the upper-mid to senior level for UX Designers in the US tech sector, especially for a remote role at a mission-driven organization. The extensive benefits package, particularly the generous parental leave, home office allowance, and comprehensive health coverage, indicates a strong commitment to employee well-being and financial security. The "Registered States" list is important for candidates to confirm their eligibility based on their location.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology / Nonprofit / Political Advocacy. ActBlue operates within the technology sector, specifically focusing on providing fundraising platforms for Democratic campaigns and progressive causes. This unique position within the nonprofit and advocacy space means a strong mission-driven culture is paramount.

Company Size: ActBlue is a growing organization, likely within the 201-500 employee range based on typical tech/nonprofit scaling. This size suggests a structure that is large enough to have dedicated teams and resources but still agile and collaborative.

Founded: ActBlue was founded in 2004. This history indicates a mature organization with established processes and a proven track record in its field, which can translate to stability and a well-defined mission.

Team Structure:

• UX Team: This role is part of a dedicated UX team, likely comprising UX Designers, UX Researchers, and potentially UI Engineers or Design System specialists. The structure emphasizes collaboration and shared ownership of design quality.

• Reporting Structure: The Senior UX Designer I will likely report to a UX Manager or Director, with close collaboration across Product Management and Engineering.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: A core aspect of ActBlue's operations is deep collaboration between Design, Product, and Engineering. This role will work daily with these functions to bring products and features to life, particularly leveraging the design system.

Methodology:

• Data-Informed Design: Decisions are grounded in user behaviors, needs, and motivations, suggesting a strong emphasis on UX research and data analysis.

• Design Systems Approach: A focus on building and maintaining a robust design system to ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency across products.

• Agile Development: While not explicitly stated, the nature of tech product development in a fast-paced environment suggests an agile or iterative development process where design plays a continuous role.

• AI Integration: Proactive exploration and integration of AI tools to enhance design workflows and outcomes.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission is central to its culture. Candidates should demonstrate an understanding of and passion for ActBlue's work in supporting progressive causes. The emphasis on design systems and AI integration suggests a technically sophisticated and forward-thinking design team. The remote-first culture with distributed teams across the US is a key characteristic.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a "Senior" level individual contributor role, indicating a solid level of experience and the ability to lead projects independently. It signifies a transition from executing tasks to owning significant parts of the product design lifecycle and contributing strategically to the design system.

Reporting Structure: The Senior UX Designer I will likely report into a Design leadership role (e.g., UX Manager or Director) and will work very closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads. This structure allows for both focused design work and broad cross-functional influence.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is significant. By leading product design and contributing to a robust design system, the Senior UX Designer I directly influences the user experience of millions of donors and thousands of campaigns. This impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of grassroots fundraising, directly supporting ActBlue's mission of empowering progressive movements. A well-maintained design system also streamlines development, enabling faster iteration and response to market needs.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Potential to grow into a Lead UX Designer role, taking ownership of larger product areas or leading specific design initiatives.

• Design Systems Specialization: Opportunity to become a dedicated Design Systems expert, leading its evolution, strategy, and adoption.

• AI Design Integration: Becoming a go-to person for leveraging AI in design, potentially leading workshops or developing best practices for AI tool integration.

• Mentorship: Continued development in mentoring junior designers, honing leadership and guidance skills.

• Broader Product Strategy: With a strong track record, opportunities may arise to influence product strategy beyond immediate design execution.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior I" designation suggests there may be further senior levels or Principal/Staff roles within the design organization. The role's emphasis on design systems and AI also presents opportunities for specialization and becoming a thought leader within ActBlue's design function.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Remote-first. ActBlue operates with a distributed workforce, meaning the primary work environment is remote. While there may be occasional in-person retreats for team building and strategic planning, day-to-day work is conducted virtually.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, the company is registered to support remote work in numerous US states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Washington D.C.). This broad registration allows for flexibility in candidate location within the US.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Employees work with distributed teams across all US time zones, requiring proficiency in virtual communication tools like Zoom and Slack. Regular attendance in virtual meetings is expected.

• Technology Focus: Roles require extended technology usage, indicating a highly digital and tool-dependent work environment. Access to design tools (Figma), communication platforms, and project management software is essential.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for team interaction will primarily be through scheduled virtual meetings, collaborative design sessions, and asynchronous communication channels.

Work Schedule: This role requires availability during established, regular business hours (Monday-Friday). While the company offers flexible work schedules and unlimited PTO, core availability during standard business hours is necessary for effective team collaboration and timely project delivery.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "remote-first" designation is crucial. Candidates should be comfortable and effective working autonomously and collaborating virtually. The mention of "distributed teams across all U.S. time zones" implies a need for flexibility in scheduling and communication to accommodate different working hours.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review applications and resumes, looking for alignment with required experience and skills, particularly in UX design, design systems, and Figma proficiency.

• Portfolio Review & Initial Interview: Candidates will likely present their portfolio, focusing on end-to-end product design projects and design system contributions. This stage will assess design thinking, process, and communication abilities.

• Skills-Based Interview/Challenge: A practical exercise or case study may be assigned, potentially involving a design problem related to ActBlue's products or a design system component. This assesses problem-solving skills, design execution, and ability to apply learned concepts.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Management, Engineering, and potentially other UX team members to assess collaboration style, ability to work with technical constraints, and cultural fit.

• Final Interview: A conversation with senior leadership or the hiring manager to discuss overall fit, career aspirations, and alignment with ActBlue's mission and values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase End-to-End Process: For product design projects, clearly articulate the problem, your process (research, ideation, design, testing), your specific role, and the outcomes. Quantify impact where possible.

• Highlight Design System Contributions: For design system work, detail your involvement in creating/maintaining components, defining tokens, writing documentation, and how you ensured adoption and consistency. Use visual examples of components and their usage.

• Demonstrate AI Integration: If you have examples of using AI in your design process (e.g., for ideation, asset generation, content creation), showcase how you leveraged these tools and how they integrated with your established workflows.

• Tell a Story: Frame your projects as narratives. Explain the "why" behind your decisions and articulate the user and business value delivered.

• Tailor to ActBlue: Research ActBlue's platform and mission. If possible, frame your projects or discuss your approach in a way that resonates with their goals (e.g., driving donations, empowering movements).

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand ActBlue's Mission: Be prepared to discuss how design can support ActBlue's mission of grassroots fundraising and empowering progressive causes.

• Design System Thinking: Practice articulating how you would approach designing a new component or pattern within an existing design system, considering reusability, accessibility, and scalability.

• AI in Design: Be ready to discuss your thoughts on AI's role in UX design, specifically within a design system context. Think about potential benefits, challenges, and how to maintain control and quality.

• Collaboration Scenarios: Prepare to discuss how you handle disagreements with stakeholders or engineers regarding design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on both product design and design systems suggests that candidates should have a portfolio that clearly differentiates and showcases expertise in both areas. The inclusion of AI tools in the responsibilities and preferred skills means interviewers will likely probe on this, so candidates should be prepared to articulate their experience and perspective.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design and prototyping tool, including advanced features like component libraries, auto layout, and variables. Proficiency is essential.

• Design System Tools: Familiarity with tools and methodologies for managing component libraries, token definitions, and design system documentation (e.g., Zeroheight, Storybook, or similar).

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

AI & Emerging Tools:

• Familiarity with AI-powered design tools (e.g., Midjourney for image generation, ChatGPT for content ideation, AI plugins for Figma) is a significant advantage, reflecting the company's forward-looking approach.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly mentioned and central to ActBlue's design workflow. The role's dual focus also implies a need for tools that support both individual design execution and the management/documentation of design systems. The explicit mention of AI tools indicates that candidates should be prepared to discuss their experience and interest in these emerging technologies.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Mission-Driven: A deep commitment to ActBlue's mission of empowering Democratic candidates and progressive causes. This translates to a strong sense of purpose and impact in daily work.

• User-Centricity: Placing users (donors, campaigns) at the heart of all design and product decisions, driven by research and data.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Open communication, constructive feedback, and a willingness to share work and ideas across teams.

• Innovation & Adaptability: Embracing new technologies like AI and continuously seeking ways to improve processes and outcomes.

• Inclusion & Belonging: Actively fostering an environment that celebrates diverse perspectives and ensures everyone feels valued and respected.

Collaboration Style:

• Remote-First & Distributed: Highly reliant on asynchronous and synchronous virtual communication tools (Slack, Zoom).

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Design actively collaborates with Product Management and Engineering, with a shared understanding of goals and constraints.

• Feedback-Oriented: A culture where constructive feedback is welcomed and utilized for continuous improvement of both product and processes.

• Empowerment: Trusting team members to own their work and make decisions, fostering a sense of autonomy and accountability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The inclusion statement and the emphasis on "centering and amplifying, backgrounds and points of view that differ from yours" are critical indicators of ActBlue's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Candidates should be prepared to speak to their own experiences and commitment to DEI principles.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Product Design and Design Systems: Effectively managing time and focus between delivering new product features and contributing to the health and growth of the design system.

• Remote Collaboration Nuances: Navigating communication and team cohesion challenges inherent in a fully remote, distributed team environment.

• Integrating AI Responsibly: Exploring and integrating AI tools into design workflows while ensuring quality, consistency, and ethical considerations are met, especially within a design system framework.

• Pace of Innovation: Keeping up with rapid advancements in UX design tools, methodologies, and the political tech landscape to ensure ActBlue remains at the forefront.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design System Mastery: Deepening expertise in design system architecture, tokenization, and governance.

• AI in Design: Developing advanced skills in leveraging AI tools for efficiency and creativity in UX design.

• Cross-functional Skill Enhancement: Gaining deeper insights into product management and engineering processes through close collaboration.

• Mentorship and Leadership: Opportunities to mentor junior designers and potentially take on leadership roles for specific design initiatives.

• Industry Conferences & Training: Access to resources for continuous learning in UX, design systems, and emerging technologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between product design and design systems, and to be at the forefront of integrating AI into design workflows at a mission-driven organization.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you led the end-to-end design of a complex product feature. What was your process, what were the key challenges, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on process, problem-solving, and impact).

• "How do you approach balancing the needs of new product features with the requirements of maintaining and evolving a design system?" (Assess understanding of dual focus).

• "Tell us about your experience with design systems. How have you contributed to components, tokens, or documentation? What makes a design system successful?" (Evaluate design systems expertise).

• "How do you see AI tools impacting the future of UX design, particularly within a design system context? Share an example of how you've used AI in your design process." (Gauge AI fluency and forward-thinking).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about ActBlue's mission, and how do you see your role as a Senior UX Designer contributing to it?" (Test mission alignment).

• "Our culture values inclusion and diverse perspectives. Can you share an example of how you've fostered an inclusive environment or amplified different viewpoints in a team setting?" (Evaluate DEI commitment).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly state the problem, your role, your process, your design decisions (and the rationale), and the results.

• Showcase Design Systems Work: Dedicate specific slides or sections to your design system contributions. Show examples of components, tokens, and documentation, explaining their purpose and impact.

• Highlight AI Integration: If applicable, visually demonstrate how you used AI tools in your projects. Explain the benefits and how it fit into your overall workflow.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased conversion rates, reduced user errors, improved efficiency).

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Expect questions about specific design choices, technical constraints, and your collaboration with engineers.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the role's emphasis on both product design and design systems, interviewers will likely probe deeply into both areas. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their experience with Figma's advanced features (Variables) and their perspective on integrating AI into a design system context.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UX Designer I position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on ActBlue's careers page.

• Customize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight experience in end-to-end product design, design systems, Figma proficiency, user research, and any experience with AI design tools. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio prominently features 2-3 strong end-to-end product design case studies and at least one detailed example of your contributions to a design system, including components, tokens, or documentation. Clearly articulate your role and impact in each.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice presenting your portfolio projects, focusing on storytelling, articulating your design process, and explaining the rationale behind your decisions. Be ready to discuss your experience with remote collaboration and your interest in ActBlue's mission.

• Research ActBlue: Understand their platform, mission, and values. Be prepared to discuss why you are a good cultural fit and how you can contribute to their goals.

⚠️ 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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