Sr. UX Designer, Security

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Sr. UX Designer, Security

Company: Cribl

Location: California, United States

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / UX Design (Security Focus)

Date Posted: 2026-09-09

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: Remote OK (US-based)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end design for complex security product experiences, encompassing detection, alerting, investigation, triage, and AI-assisted workflows within the Cribl platform.

• Translate intricate Security Operations Center (SOC) workflows and technical concepts into intuitive, trustworthy, and actionable user interfaces for security practitioners.

• Apply deep understanding of security judgment, including evidence, provenance, confidence, severity, permissions, auditability, and operational risk, to design robust and secure user experiences.

• Design and iterate on AI-assisted and agentic experiences, ensuring clarity around intent, context, sources, capabilities, uncertainty, and user approval mechanisms.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the job title is "Sr. UX Designer, Security," the core responsibilities and required background strongly indicate a Product Design role with a specialized focus on security domains and complex B2B software. The emphasis on end-to-end design, partnering with Product and Engineering, and contributing to product strategy aligns with a Product Designer's scope. The "Sr." designation implies significant autonomy and leadership in design initiatives.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Spearhead the complete design lifecycle for security products, from initial problem framing and user research through interaction design, prototyping, validation, and final implementation.

• Design intuitive workflows for critical security operations tasks such as detection creation and management, alert review, incident investigation, triage, search pivots, threat coverage analysis, data normalization, and enrichment.

• Integrate security-specific considerations into design decisions, including managing evidence provenance, confidence scoring, severity classification, permission models, auditability trails, handling destructive actions, and mitigating operational risks.

• Develop user-centered designs for AI-assisted and agentic functionalities, ensuring that AI's intent, context, sources, capabilities, uncertainties, and user approval processes are clearly communicated and managed.

• Leverage and contribute to Cribl’s established design system, creating reusable components, patterns, interaction models, and guidance that enhance consistency and efficiency across the platform.

• Utilize Figma as the primary design tool for exploration, rapid prototyping, detailed documentation, collaborative sessions, and seamless handoff to engineering, employing advanced features like libraries, variables, components, variants, and tokens.

• Foster strong collaborative relationships with Product Managers, Engineering teams, and fellow designers throughout the ideation and development phases, ensuring design feasibility, accessibility, resilience, and high-fidelity implementation.

• Actively participate in design critiques and working sessions, providing and receiving specific, constructive feedback to elevate design quality and team collaboration.

• Employ user research findings and product performance data to identify and prioritize design opportunities, validate concepts, and continuously improve shipped workflows and user experiences.

• Clearly articulate design rationale, inherent tradeoffs, and strategic recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring alignment and buy-in.

• Occasionally perform duties outside standard working hours to accommodate collaboration across multiple time zones in a remote-first environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly outline a senior-level product design role focused on security, requiring a deep dive into complex user workflows and a strong emphasis on collaboration and communication. The mention of "AI-assisted and agentic experiences" indicates a forward-looking design challenge.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

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

Experience: 5+ years of progressive experience in designing complex B2B software, enterprise platforms, or products specifically tailored for technical user bases.

Required Skills:

• Security Domain Expertise: A demonstrable background in security products, security operations (SecOps), threat detection, incident response, threat hunting, detection engineering, SOC workflows, SIEM, EDR, SOAR, or a closely related cybersecurity discipline.

• User-Centric Design: Strong product thinking and interaction design capabilities, with a proven ability to simplify complex technical workflows without sacrificing critical detail or nuance.

• AI & Agentic Design: Experience designing for AI-assisted, agentic, conversational, or other emerging interaction models, focusing on clarity, control, and trust.

• Figma Proficiency: Expert-level command of Figma, including advanced prototyping, design documentation, and mastery of features such as libraries, variables, components, variants, and tokens.

• Design Systems: Demonstrated expertise in working with and contributing to design systems, understanding when to leverage existing patterns and when to thoughtfully extend them.

• AI UX Understanding: Comprehensive understanding of AI tools and AI UX interaction models, enabling the design of experiences where AI assists, recommends, generates, investigates, or acts while maintaining user understanding, control, and trust.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven experience working closely with Product Management and Engineering teams in iterative and dynamic development environments.

• Problem Solving & Communication: Exceptional communication, facilitation, and problem-solving skills, with a strong ability to drive progress even when faced with incomplete information.

• Portfolio: A compelling portfolio showcasing case studies that detail your role, design process, decision-making, collaboration efforts, and achieved outcomes. Candidates will be expected to present and discuss their work.

Preferred Skills:

• Research Tools: Familiarity with user research tools like Dovetail, including proficiency in managing transcripts, tagging themes, repository organization, and insight extraction.

• Security Data & Workflows: Experience designing for security data, detections, alerts, investigations, threat intelligence, telemetry, data pipelines, or complex analytical workflows.

• Multi-Tenancy & Permissions: Experience designing for roles, permissions, tenant management, environment configurations, or accommodating varying levels of technical expertise among users.

A Plus:

• Accessibility Design: Understanding of accessible product design principles and inclusive interaction practices, including familiarity with WCAG, keyboard navigation, focus management, semantic structure, color contrast, and accessible content patterns.

• Security Frameworks: Familiarity with security concepts and frameworks such as OCSF, MITRE ATT&CK, KQL, Sigma, detection rules, or threat intelligence.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "security background" and "security practitioners' realities" is critical. Candidates without direct experience in security operations or product design for security professionals may find this role challenging. The requirement for expert Figma skills and design system contribution is also a significant filter.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Case Study Depth: Portfolios must contain detailed case studies that clearly articulate your specific role in each project, the design process undertaken, the rationale behind key decisions, collaborative interactions, and the measurable outcomes achieved.

• Process Documentation: Demonstrate a structured approach to design, showcasing how you move from problem definition and research to ideation, prototyping, user validation, and implementation. Evidence of iterative design and refinement is crucial.

• System Contribution: Examples of contributions to design systems, including the creation of reusable components, patterns, or guidelines, are highly valued. Show how you maintain consistency and extend design language thoughtfully.

• Problem-Solving Showcase: Case studies should highlight your ability to tackle complex technical challenges, particularly within security workflows, and demonstrate how you simplified these into user-friendly experiences.

• AI/Agentic Design Examples: If available, include examples of designing for AI-assisted or agentic functionalities, detailing how you managed user control, understanding, and trust.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Analysis & Design: Evidence of analyzing complex user workflows, identifying pain points, and designing optimized solutions that improve efficiency and user effectiveness.

• Prototyping & Validation: Showcase your ability to create high-fidelity prototypes in Figma and the methods used for user validation and gathering feedback to iterate on designs.

• Implementation Handoff: Demonstrate a clear process for collaborating with engineering teams, including detailed documentation, clear communication, and support during the implementation phase to ensure accurate execution.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for a portfolio with specific case studies and discussion of previous work is a key component of the application process. Candidates should prepare to walk through their design decisions and the impact of their work.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on the Senior UX Designer title, 5+ years of experience, the specialized security focus, and the California location, a competitive salary range for this role in the US market, particularly in California, would typically fall between $140,000 - $190,000 annually. This estimate is derived from industry benchmarks for senior-level UX/Product Designers in enterprise software companies, adjusted for the high cost of living and strong demand for specialized security design talent in California.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Stock options or equity in a growing technology company.

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays.

• 401(k) plan with potential company match.

• Professional development budget for conferences, training, and courses.

• Remote work stipend for home office setup.

• Opportunities for professional growth and advancement within a rapidly expanding company.

Working Hours: The role is typically a full-time position, expected to align with standard business hours within the employee's respective time zone. However, due to the remote-first nature and global collaboration requirements, occasional flexibility may be needed to accommodate meetings and urgent tasks outside of standard hours. An estimated 40 hours per week is standard, with flexibility expected.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary ranges are estimates based on industry data for similar roles in the specified region and experience level. Actual compensation may vary based on candidate experience, specific skill set, and negotiation. Benefits listed are typical for tech companies in this space.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically focused on Observability and Security data management. Cribl operates in the fast-growing space of data pipeline management for security and IT operations, providing tools that help organizations ingest, process, and route vast amounts of data efficiently.

Company Size: Cribl is a growth-stage technology company. While specific numbers fluctuate, they are typically considered a mid-to-large-sized startup, indicating a dynamic environment with established processes but still retaining agility and innovation. This size often means opportunities for significant impact and visibility.

Founded: Cribl was founded in 2018. This relatively recent founding means the company is likely to have a modern, forward-thinking culture, emphasizing innovation, rapid development, and a strong sense of mission.

Team Structure:

• Product Design Team: The UX Designer will be part of a Product Design team, likely consisting of other designers specializing in different product areas or UX research. This team will collaborate closely with Product Management and Engineering.

• Reporting Structure: The Senior UX Designer will likely report to a Design Lead, Head of Product Design, or a Director of Product. The structure is expected to be flat and collaborative, typical of a growth-stage tech company.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: A core aspect of the role involves deep collaboration with Product Managers (defining requirements and strategy), Engineers (ensuring feasibility and high-fidelity implementation), and UX Researchers (gathering insights and validating designs). The security domain also necessitates close ties with security practitioners and subject matter experts.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Expect a strong emphasis on using user research, product analytics, and performance metrics to inform design decisions and measure the impact of design changes.

• Agile & Iterative Development: The team likely operates within an agile framework, emphasizing iterative design, continuous feedback loops, and rapid prototyping to adapt to evolving product requirements and user needs.

• Security-First Mindset: Design processes will incorporate security considerations from the outset, ensuring that security, privacy, and operational integrity are paramount in all product experiences.

Company Website: https://cribl.io/

📝 Enhancement Note: Cribl's focus on data pipelines for security and observability positions it in a critical and rapidly evolving market. The company culture is likely to be fast-paced, innovative, and deeply technical, attracting professionals who thrive in such environments.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a Senior Individual Contributor position within the Product Design discipline, specifically focused on a high-impact, specialized area (Security). It signifies a level of expertise where the designer is expected to lead complex projects autonomously, mentor junior designers, and significantly influence product strategy and user experience. The "Sr." designation implies a mastery of design principles, deep understanding of the target user (security practitioners), and the ability to navigate ambiguity.

Reporting Structure: The Senior UX Designer will likely report to a Design Manager or Director of Product Design. This structure provides guidance and mentorship while allowing for significant autonomy in project execution. Collaboration will be extensive with Product Management and Engineering leads.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is substantial. By designing intuitive and effective security workflows, the UX Designer directly influences the ability of security professionals to detect, investigate, and respond to threats more efficiently and accurately. This has direct implications for reducing cyber risk, minimizing downtime, and protecting organizational assets. The role bridges the gap between complex technical capabilities and the human element of cybersecurity operations, making Cribl's platform more valuable and usable.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Potential to grow into a Lead Designer role for specific product areas or a Principal Designer, taking on greater strategic influence and mentorship responsibilities.

• Specialization Deepening: Further specialize in advanced security UX, AI/agentic design for security, or specific domains within cybersecurity.

• Cross-Functional Mobility: Opportunities to transition into Product Management roles, leveraging a deep understanding of user needs and product strategy.

• Mentorship & Team Building: Contribute to growing the design team, mentoring junior designers, and shaping design processes and culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant growth potential for experienced designers looking to make a tangible impact in the cybersecurity technology space. The emphasis on complex B2B products and security makes it a valuable stepping stone for career advancement.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Cribl is a remote-first company. This means the primary work environment is remote, with potential for optional in-person meetups or offsites for team building and collaboration. The focus is on output and results rather than physical office presence.

Office Location(s): While remote-first, the role specifies "California, United States," suggesting a preference for candidates located within or willing to work within US time zones, particularly those aligned with California (e.g., PST). This facilitates collaboration with other US-based teams and potentially US-based customers.

Workspace Context:

• Flexibility & Autonomy: The remote-first setup offers significant flexibility in managing one's workspace and daily schedule, promoting a strong work-life balance.

• Digital Collaboration Tools: Expect a reliance on digital collaboration tools (e.g., Slack, Zoom, Figma, Jira) to maintain seamless communication and teamwork.

• Operations Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design and collaboration software, including Figma, potentially Miro, and Cribl’s own product suite for understanding its capabilities and user experience.

• Team Interaction: While remote, opportunities for team interaction will be facilitated through regular virtual meetings, design critiques, and dedicated collaboration sessions.

Work Schedule: The standard work schedule is full-time (approximately 40 hours per week). However, the remote-first nature and global collaboration necessitate flexibility, with occasional adjustments required to accommodate meetings and urgent tasks across different time zones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature is a key differentiator. Candidates should be comfortable with asynchronous communication and self-management. The California location might imply a preference for candidates within that time zone for better team synchronization.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio by a recruiter to assess qualifications, experience, and alignment with the role's core requirements.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion with the Hiring Manager (likely a Design Lead or Director) to delve deeper into your experience, design philosophy, and suitability for the team and role. This is a good time to ask about team dynamics and project specifics.

• Design Portfolio Presentation & Critique: A dedicated session where you will present selected case studies from your portfolio. Expect detailed questions about your process, decision-making, collaboration, and the impact of your work. This is also a critique session, so be prepared for constructive feedback.

• Cross-Functional Interview: An interview with key stakeholders, likely a Product Manager and/or Engineering Lead, to assess your collaboration skills, understanding of product development, and ability to communicate design rationale to technical audiences.

• Final Interview/Executive Interview: Potentially a final discussion with a senior leader to assess cultural fit and overall strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best showcase your experience with complex B2B software, security workflows, and end-to-end design processes. Tailor your selection to highlight skills mentioned in the job description (e.g., AI-assisted design, Figma expertise).

• Structure for Clarity: For each case study, clearly outline: the problem statement, your specific role and responsibilities, the design process (research, ideation, prototyping, testing), key design decisions and rationale, challenges faced and how you overcame them, collaboration with stakeholders, and the final outcomes (quantified if possible).

• Highlight Process & Decisions: Focus on why you made certain design choices, the tradeoffs you considered, and how you leveraged data or user feedback. This demonstrates your strategic thinking.

• Demonstrate Collaboration: Show how you worked with PMs, engineers, and researchers. This is crucial for a collaborative role.

• Present with Confidence: Be prepared to articulate your work clearly, concisely, and enthusiastically. Anticipate questions about your design choices and be open to feedback.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Exercise: You may be given a small design challenge or asked to critique an existing product/workflow. Prepare to think critically about user needs, business goals, and technical constraints.

• Problem-Solving Scenarios: Be ready to discuss how you would approach ambiguous problems or situations with incomplete information, drawing on your experience.

• Articulate Strategy: Practice articulating your design strategy and how it aligns with business objectives, particularly within a security context.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio presentation is a critical gate. Candidates must be prepared to deeply discuss their work and demonstrate a rigorous design process with a focus on impact and collaboration.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is explicitly called out as a required expert skill. Proficiency in Figma for UI design, prototyping, component libraries, variables, and design system integration is essential.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma's built-in capabilities, familiarity with other advanced prototyping tools might be beneficial, though Figma is the primary focus.

• Design System Tools: Experience with tools or methods for managing and contributing to design systems.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Research Tools: Familiarity with tools like Dovetail for managing user research data, transcripts, themes, and insights is highly desired.

• Product Analytics Tools: While not explicitly stated, experience with tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Google Analytics would be beneficial for understanding user behavior and informing design decisions.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a UX design tool, understanding how design integrates with CRM (e.g., Salesforce) and automation platforms (e.g., Marketo, HubSpot for B2B marketing/sales context) can be advantageous for context. However, the primary focus for this role is on the product development lifecycle. Other Relevant Tools/Concepts:

• Collaboration Tools: Slack, Zoom, Jira, Confluence.

• Security Concepts & Frameworks: OCSF, MITRE ATT&CK, KQL, Sigma, threat intelligence platforms.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma proficiency is non-negotiable. The mention of Dovetail indicates a strong emphasis on research-backed design. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their experience with these tools and how they integrate them into their design workflow.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity with a Security Lens: A core value will be deeply understanding and advocating for the security practitioner user, balancing their needs with the critical requirements of security, compliance, and operational integrity.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Valuing evidence from user research, product analytics, and performance metrics to guide design choices and measure impact.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Fostering an environment where open communication, constructive feedback, and cross-functional teamwork are paramount. Sharing work early and often is encouraged.

• Ownership & Accountability: Taking responsibility for the end-to-end design process, from problem framing to implementation support, and driving initiatives to successful completion.

• Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Encouraging exploration of new design patterns, technologies (like AI), and methodologies to continuously enhance the product experience and team processes.

Collaboration Style:

• Iterative & Agile: Working in close, rapid cycles with Product and Engineering, embracing feedback and adapting designs based on new information.

• Proactive Communication: Actively engaging with stakeholders, sharing progress, and seeking input throughout the design process.

• Critique-Driven: Participating regularly in design critiques to provide and receive constructive feedback, fostering a culture of shared learning and improvement.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Building strong relationships with Product Managers to understand strategic goals and with Engineers to ensure feasibility and high-quality execution.

📝 Enhancement Note: Cribl's culture likely emphasizes agility, innovation, and a strong sense of ownership, common in fast-growing tech companies. The security focus will weave a thread of meticulousness and responsibility through all team interactions and values.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complexity of Security Workflows: Designing for highly technical and complex security operations tasks requires deep domain understanding and the ability to simplify without losing critical detail.

• Balancing User Needs with Security Requirements: Ensuring that user-friendly designs do not compromise security, compliance, or operational integrity is a constant challenge.

• Designing for AI/Agentic Systems: Navigating the complexities of designing trust, control, and transparency in AI-assisted workflows presents a novel challenge.

• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining strong team cohesion and effective communication in a fully remote environment requires intentional effort and robust tool utilization.

• Rapidly Evolving Threat Landscape: The security domain is constantly changing, requiring designers to stay abreast of new threats, technologies, and user needs.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into Cybersecurity: Gain extensive knowledge and practical experience in the cybersecurity domain, becoming a subject matter expert in security practitioner workflows.

• Cutting-Edge AI UX: Develop expertise in designing for advanced AI and agentic systems, a highly sought-after skill.

• Enterprise Software Design Mastery: Hone skills in designing for complex, large-scale B2B enterprise platforms.

• Design System Contribution: Contribute significantly to and potentially lead the evolution of a growing design system.

• Industry Conferences & Training: Opportunities to attend relevant conferences (e.g., RSA Conference for security, UX/Product Design conferences) and pursue specialized training.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are significant but also offer substantial opportunities for professional growth and skill development in a high-demand field.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you designed a complex workflow for technical users. What was the problem, your process, and the outcome?" (Focus on process, decision-making, and impact).

• "How would you approach designing an AI-assisted alert triage system for a Security Operations Center? What are the key considerations for trust and control?" (Demonstrate domain understanding and AI UX thinking).

• "Walk me through your process for collaborating with Product Managers and Engineers on a challenging feature. How do you handle disagreements or technical constraints?" (Highlight collaboration and problem-solving skills). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Cribl and our focus on security data pipelines?" (Show research and genuine interest).

• "How do you approach giving and receiving design feedback in a critique session?" (Assess collaboration and openness to improvement).

• "How do you ensure your designs are accessible and inclusive?" (Demonstrate awareness of best practices). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Frame your case studies as compelling narratives. Start with the user problem, detail your journey and decisions, and conclude with the impact.

• Visuals: Use clear, high-fidelity mockups and prototypes. Annotate key design elements and decision points.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data (e.g., improved efficiency, reduced error rates, increased task completion) to demonstrate the value of your designs.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your process, rationale, and how you handled specific challenges. Be honest about what you don't know and how you would find out.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a combination of strong UX/Product Design skills, a genuine understanding of the security domain, expertise in Figma, and excellent collaboration abilities. Be ready to articulate your thought process clearly and confidently.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Sr. UX Designer, Security position:

• Submit your application through the Ashby portal via the provided link.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight 2-3 case studies that best demonstrate your experience with complex B2B software, security workflows, AI-assisted design, and your end-to-end design process. Ensure clear documentation of your role, decisions, and outcomes.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to emphasize your 5+ years of experience, specific security background (if applicable), expert Figma skills, design system contributions, and experience with enterprise/B2B platforms. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, decision-making, and collaboration strategies. Prepare specific examples for behavioral questions and be ready to present your portfolio case studies confidently. Research Cribl and its products.

• Company Research: Understand Cribl's mission, its role in the observability and security data market, and its remote-first culture. Familiarize yourself with their product offerings and target audience.

⚠️ 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.