UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Designer

Company: Smarsh

Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States / US - Remote

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: UX Research & Design

Date Posted: May 19, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (with remote options)

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is primarily focused on UX Research, demanding a significant portion of time dedicated to uncovering and evaluating user insights to drive product strategy and decision-making.

• The position requires a strong mixed-methods research practice, encompassing both qualitative discovery and quantitative validation techniques.

• Candidates will be expected to translate research findings into actionable design artifacts and communicate insights effectively to diverse stakeholders, including senior leadership.

• A secondary focus includes contributing light front-end development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to support research prototypes and the design system, rather than building production features.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "UX Designer," the description heavily emphasizes UX Research (80% of the role) with a "light" contribution to design and code. This suggests the company is seeking a researcher with strong design and front-end prototyping skills, not a traditional UX Designer or Front-End Engineer. The role's success hinges on deep human understanding and translating research into product decisions.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Plan and execute a wide range of generative research methodologies, including user interviews, contextual inquiry, diary studies, and ethnographic observation, to identify unmet user needs and new opportunities.

• Design and conduct evaluative research studies, such as usability testing, concept testing, prototype reviews, and survey-based validation, at critical stages of the product development lifecycle.

• Define clear research questions collaboratively with product management, design, and engineering teams, and independently manage research execution from participant recruitment through synthesis and reporting.

• Develop and maintain a centralized research repository to ensure user insights are easily discoverable, accessible, and actionable across the organization.

• Communicate research findings and user insights effectively to a variety of audiences, from individual contributors to senior executives, tailoring the depth and format of communication to suit the audience's needs.

• Actively advocate for the user in product roadmap planning and prioritization discussions, substantiating recommendations with robust research evidence.

• Contribute to the continuous improvement and evolution of the team's research standards, tools, and best practices, fostering a culture of research excellence.

• Create clear, well-structured synthesis artifacts such as journey maps, mental model diagrams, and opportunity frameworks that directly inform product and design decisions.

• Facilitate participatory design workshops and co-creation sessions involving both users and internal stakeholders to foster collaborative innovation.

• Make targeted HTML, CSS, and JavaScript contributions to the company's design system, primarily for the creation of research prototypes and interactive stimuli for studies.

• Collaborate closely with design engineers to ensure research prototypes accurately reflect intended interaction designs and user flows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a significant emphasis on research leadership and strategic impact. The "light front-end contribution" is clearly defined as supporting research prototypes and design system components, not production feature development, setting clear expectations for candidates. The expectation is for a proactive researcher who can drive product decisions through evidence.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree or higher in Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Anthropology, Information Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. Advanced degrees are valued but not required.

Experience: 5+ years of dedicated UX research experience, with a proven track record in a mixed-methods research practice that spans both generative and evaluative approaches.

Required Skills:

• Deep fluency in qualitative research methods (e.g., user interviews, contextual inquiry, diary studies, ethnographic observation).

• Strong working knowledge of quantitative research methods (e.g., surveys, behavioral analytics, A/B test interpretation).

• Proven ability to design and execute research studies that directly drive product decisions, not just inform them.

• Experience with participant recruitment and management across diverse user populations.

• Proficiency in creating polished, actionable synthesis artifacts like journey maps, mental model diagrams, and opportunity frameworks.

• Proficiency with design tools such as Figma for creating research communication materials and lightweight prototypes.

• Working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript at a level sufficient for building and modifying interactive research prototypes.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to influence product direction through research findings.

• Experience facilitating workshops and alignment sessions with cross-functional teams.

Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with research operations (ResOps) best practices, including managing vendors, tools, participant panels, and research repositories.

• Understanding of interaction design principles and ability to contribute meaningfully to design reviews.

• Experience contributing to existing design systems, including understanding component patterns and making targeted changes.

• Familiarity with design system concepts (e.g., tokens, component patterns, variants).

• Experience embedding in or contributing to a dedicated design system team.

• Background in domains with complex or technical user needs (e.g., enterprise software, developer tools, financial products).

• Familiarity with accessibility research practices and inclusive design principles.

• Experience with unmoderated research platforms (e.g., UserTesting, Maze, Lyssna) and synthesis tools (e.g., Dovetail, EnjoyHQ, Aurelius).

• Mentorship experience or a strong interest in developing junior researchers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The required skills clearly separate this role from a pure UX Designer or Front-End Engineer. The emphasis is on research expertise, with design and coding skills serving as crucial enablers for research execution and communication. Preferred skills point towards candidates who can add extra value through specific domain knowledge or advanced research operations capabilities.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a strong mixed-methods research practice, demonstrating the ability to apply both generative and evaluative techniques to solve complex user problems.

• Include detailed case studies illustrating how your research directly influenced product strategy, design decisions, and ultimately, business outcomes.

• Present examples of actionable research deliverables such as journey maps, synthesis artifacts, storyboards, or opportunity frameworks that clearly translate insights into product direction.

• Demonstrate experience in participant recruitment and management, highlighting strategies for reaching diverse user groups and ensuring representative findings.

Process Documentation:

• Document the end-to-end research process for at least one significant project, detailing how research questions were defined, methodologies selected, execution managed, and findings synthesized and communicated.

• Illustrate your approach to collaborative research, showing how you partnered with product designers, product managers, and engineers throughout the research lifecycle.

• Detail your experience in managing research operations, including any experience with research repositories, participant panels, or vendor management.

• Present a case study that highlights how you used research to validate or invalidate design concepts or product hypotheses, demonstrating a focus on decision-making.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily skewed towards research outcomes and process. Candidates should focus on demonstrating impact through research, not just the design or technical execution. The "Process Documentation" section emphasizes the candidate's ability to articulate their research methodology and collaborative approach.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $180,000 - $200,000 per year

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Healthcare: Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance coverage.

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA): Allows pre-tax dollar allocation for eligible out-of-pocket expenses.

• Stock Options: Opportunity to participate in the company's equity growth.

• Generous Personal Time Off (PTO): "Take-what-you-need" policy promoting work-life balance.

• Flexible Work Arrangements: Accommodates diverse working styles and needs.

• 401K Match: 4% employer match on 401K contributions, with immediate vesting.

• Sabbatical Program: Paid leave for employees after six years of service for recharging, study, or personal passions.

• Employee Recognition Programme: Peer-to-peer recognition for embodying core company values.

Working Hours: Standard 40-hour work week, with flexibility offered through personal time off and flexible work arrangements, supporting effective research and analysis.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is provided, and the note about local cost of living assessments indicates that adjustments may be made based on the specific location of the hired candidate. The benefits package is comprehensive, with specific call-outs for flexibility and long-term incentives like stock options and sabbaticals, which are attractive to experienced professionals.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology / Software (specifically, compliance and risk management for digital communications). Smarsh operates in a regulated industry space, demanding precision and reliability in its technology and services. This context means user needs often involve complex workflows, data security, and regulatory compliance.

Company Size: Over 6500 employees. This indicates a large, established organization with potentially complex internal processes but also significant resources and opportunities for impact.

Founded: Since 2008. Smarsh has a proven track record of sustained growth, evidenced by its consistent appearance on the Inc. 5000 list, suggesting a stable yet dynamic environment focused on innovation and market leadership.

Team Structure:

• The UX team likely operates within a larger Product or Engineering organization, with researchers embedded within specific product squads or a centralized UX research function.

• Reporting structure for this Senior UX Researcher is likely to a Director of UX, Head of Research, or VP of Product, with close collaboration with Product Managers and Design Leads.

Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making: Emphasizes using user insights and data to inform product direction and strategy.

• Agile development: Likely follows agile methodologies, requiring researchers to be adaptable and integrate research into iterative development cycles.

• User-centric design: Focuses on understanding and meeting the needs of users in regulated industries, which often involves complex technical and compliance requirements.

• Continuous innovation: Driven by a need to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving technology landscape and evolving regulatory environments.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Understanding Smarsh's industry (compliance tech for regulated industries) is crucial. This context implies users might be highly specialized, dealing with sensitive data and strict regulations, which significantly influences research approaches and the complexity of the product. The company's size suggests a mature product development process and established design systems.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior UX Researcher. This level implies a significant degree of autonomy, the ability to lead complex research initiatives end-to-end, and a role in mentoring junior team members. It sits at a critical juncture, bridging deep research expertise with strategic product influence.

Reporting Structure: Likely reports to a UX Research Manager/Director or Head of Product Design. The role requires close collaboration with Product Managers, UX Designers, and Engineering Leads, acting as a key advisor on user understanding.

Operations Impact: Directly impacts product strategy by providing evidence-based user insights that inform roadmap decisions, feature prioritization, and overall product direction. The role aims to reduce risk, improve user adoption, and enhance the overall user experience for regulated industries, thereby contributing to Smarsh's market leadership and customer retention.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Opportunity to lead major research initiatives, mentor junior researchers, and contribute to the strategic direction of the UX function.

• Skill Specialization: Potential to deepen expertise in specific research methodologies (e.g., advanced qualitative techniques, quantitative analysis, behavioral science) or domain areas (e.g., compliance technology, enterprise software).

• Design System Contribution: Further involvement in design system development, potentially leading to more specialized roles in design operations or research operations.

• Cross-functional Leadership: Opportunity to influence broader product development processes and collaborate on strategic initiatives across departments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title and the explicit mention of mentoring suggest a path towards leadership within the research function. The blend of research, design, and light technical contribution offers a unique growth trajectory, potentially leading towards roles in research operations, design systems, or senior product strategy.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Smarsh offers a hybrid work environment, with options for both in-office presence in Atlanta and remote work across the US. This suggests a flexible approach to work, balancing in-person collaboration with the benefits of remote productivity.

Office Location(s): While Atlanta is listed as a primary location, the "US - Remote" designation indicates that successful candidates outside of Atlanta may also be considered, provided they are based within the United States.

Workspace Context:

• The environment is described as collaborative, with a focus on innovation, purpose, humility, and humor. This suggests a culture that values teamwork and open communication.

• Access to modern tools and technology is implied, given the company's focus on AI/ML and cloud infrastructure. Researchers will likely have access to standard UX research tools, design software, and development environments.

• Opportunities for interaction with a global team are present, fostering diverse perspectives and cross-cultural collaboration.

Work Schedule: While a standard 40-hour work week is implied, the "take-what-you-need" PTO policy and flexible work arrangements suggest a focus on outcomes and employee well-being rather than strict adherence to hours. This flexibility is beneficial for deep work required in research and analysis.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid and remote options provide significant flexibility. The company culture emphasizes collaboration and a positive work environment, which is attractive for roles requiring close team interaction, even if distributed.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will likely review applications and conduct an initial screening call to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

• Portfolio Presentation: A key stage will involve presenting a portfolio that showcases research expertise, mixed-methods application, and impact on product decisions. This will likely include detailing research processes, methodologies, and outcomes.

• Technical/Design Exercise: Candidates may be asked to complete a take-home exercise or participate in a live session to demonstrate their research planning, synthesis, or light prototyping skills. This could involve outlining a research plan for a given problem or creating a simple interactive prototype.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers, UX Designers, and Engineering Leads to assess collaboration skills, research communication effectiveness, and ability to influence cross-functional partners.

• Final Round: Potentially an interview with senior leadership (e.g., VP of Product, Head of Design) to discuss strategic thinking, leadership potential, and overall fit with Smarsh's culture and goals.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Research Impact: Clearly articulate the problem, your research approach, your specific contributions, and the tangible impact of your research on product strategy and outcomes. Quantify impact where possible.

• Showcase Mixed Methods: Present projects that demonstrate a balanced application of generative and evaluative research techniques. Explain why specific methods were chosen.

• Detail Your Process: Walk through your research process from defining research questions to synthesizing findings and communicating them. Highlight how you translated insights into actionable recommendations.

• Demonstrate Technical Prototyping: Include examples of research prototypes or interactive stimuli you've created using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Explain how these supported your research objectives.

• Tailor to Smarsh: Research Smarsh's products and target industries. Frame your experience and portfolio examples to highlight relevance to enterprise software, compliance, or regulated industries.

Challenge Preparation:

• Research Plan Development: Be prepared to outline a research plan for a hypothetical product problem, including defining research objectives, selecting appropriate methodologies, identifying target participants, and outlining key deliverables.

• Synthesis and Communication: Practice synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data into clear, concise insights and recommendations. Prepare to present these findings in a compelling narrative.

• Design System Awareness: Understand basic design system principles and how research can inform component design and iteration. Be ready to discuss how you'd use HTML/CSS/JS for research prototypes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is heavily research-centric. Candidates must be prepared to demonstrate deep research expertise and a strong portfolio that showcases their ability to drive product decisions through evidence. The light technical contribution will likely be assessed through a practical exercise or portfolio review.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (required), potentially other tools for creating synthesis artifacts.

• Research Platforms (Preferred): UserTesting, Maze, Lyssna (for unmoderated studies), specialized tools for participant recruitment and management.

• Synthesis Tools (Preferred): Dovetail, EnjoyHQ, Aurelius (for managing research data and insights).

• Front-End Technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript (for research prototypes and design system contributions).

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• While not the primary focus, understanding how user data and research insights integrate into broader CRM and product workflows is advantageous.

📝 Enhancement Note: The stated tools (Figma, HTML, CSS, JS) are essential. Preferred tools like UserTesting, Maze, Dovetail, and EnjoyHQ indicate the company's investment in a robust research operations infrastructure. Candidates should be comfortable navigating and contributing to these types of environments.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Innovation with Purpose: A drive to create meaningful solutions that address significant customer needs, particularly in regulated industries.

• Humility and Humor: An approachable and collaborative team environment where learning from mistakes and maintaining a positive attitude are valued.

• Collaboration: A strong emphasis on working together across disciplines (Product, Design, Engineering) to achieve shared goals.

• Lifelong Learning: A commitment to continuous improvement, skill development, and staying updated with the latest technologies and research methodologies.

• Data-Driven: A belief in using evidence and insights to guide decisions and measure impact.

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and advocating for the user in all product development efforts.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Researchers are expected to work closely with product managers and designers from ideation through development, acting as a key partner in shaping product strategy.

• Iterative Feedback Loops: A culture that encourages continuous feedback on research plans, findings, and design iterations.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouragement to share insights and best practices across teams, potentially through research repositories, presentations, or internal documentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Smarsh values a combination of technical prowess, intellectual curiosity, and strong interpersonal skills. The emphasis on "humility and humor" suggests a culture that is supportive and less hierarchical, encouraging open communication and learning.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complexity of Regulated Industries: Navigating the intricate needs, compliance requirements, and technical sophistication of users in regulated environments can be challenging.

• Balancing Research Depth with Development Speed: Integrating deep research insights into fast-paced agile development cycles requires effective prioritization and communication.

• Influencing Product Strategy: Effectively translating research findings into actionable product decisions requires strong advocacy and stakeholder management skills.

• Light Technical Contribution: While not a primary engineering role, maintaining proficiency in HTML/CSS/JS for prototyping and design system support requires continuous learning and practice.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Research Techniques: Opportunities to explore and apply more advanced qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.

• Domain Expertise: Deepen understanding of the compliance and risk management technology space.

• Design System Involvement: Gain experience contributing to and understanding the principles of established design systems.

• Mentorship and Leadership: Develop leadership skills by mentoring junior researchers and leading research initiatives.

• Industry Conferences & Training: Potential for participation in industry events and specialized training programs to enhance research and technical skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are directly tied to the unique aspects of Smarsh's industry and the hybrid nature of the role. Growth opportunities are tailored towards enhancing research leadership, domain expertise, and practical technical application.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time your research uncovered a significant unmet user need. How did you translate that into product recommendations, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on generative research, impact, and advocacy).

• "Walk me through a complex research project where you employed mixed methods. What were your research questions, what methods did you choose, and why? How did you synthesize your findings?" (Focus on methodological rigor and synthesis).

• "How would you approach researching a new feature for our compliance monitoring platform? What are the key user groups and potential research challenges?" (Focus on domain understanding and strategic research planning).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Smarsh and our mission to manage risk in digital communications?" (Demonstrate research into Smarsh's business and industry).

• "How do you approach collaboration with product managers and engineers? Describe a time you had to influence a stakeholder who disagreed with your research findings." (Assess collaboration and communication skills).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your portfolio by project, clearly outlining the problem, your role, the research methods used, your key contributions, the insights gained, and the resulting impact.

• Tell a Story: For each project, narrate the journey from problem discovery to solution validation, highlighting your critical thinking and decision-making at each step.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (screenshots, diagrams, prototypes) to illustrate your process and findings. Include examples of your research deliverables.

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

• Highlight Technical Prototypes: Clearly showcase any interactive prototypes or stimuli you've built for research, explaining their purpose and how they supported your study.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating deep research expertise, strategic thinking, and the ability to translate insights into tangible product improvements. Candidates should be ready to discuss their research process, collaboration, and any technical contributions with specific examples.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Researcher position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on jobs.lever.co.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight your experience in mixed-methods UX research, generative and evaluative studies, and your ability to drive product decisions. Emphasize any experience relevant to enterprise software or regulated industries.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly outlines your years of experience, specific research methodologies employed, key tools used (Figma, HTML/CSS/JS, etc.), and impactful outcomes from your research projects. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your research process, key learnings, and the impact of your work. Be ready to discuss your approach to collaboration and how you handle ambiguity. Prepare specific examples for behavioral questions.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Smarsh, its products, its industry (compliance technology for regulated industries), and its company culture. Understand their mission and how your UX research skills can contribute to their success.

⚠️ 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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