UX Designer, GREF Internal Tools

Amazon
Full-time$118k-160k/year (USD)Seattle, United States

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Designer, GREF Internal Tools

Company: Amazon

Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / User Experience (UX) Operations

Date Posted: April 16, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5-10 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

  • This role focuses on designing and delivering net-new technology solutions for Amazon's Global Real Estate and Facilities (GREF) team, enhancing strategic portfolio decisions and global footprint management.

  • The UX Designer will own the end-to-end design process for complex features and products, from concept development through to engineering delivery, ensuring a seamless user experience for both internal GREF operations and the broader employee base.

  • A key aspect involves partnering closely with Product Managers to translate ambiguous problems into clear, compelling experiences, utilizing customer journey mapping, user flows, and high-fidelity prototypes.

  • Collaboration with engineering teams throughout the design lifecycle is crucial to ensure precise implementation, while also contributing to the broader GREF design community by adopting and extending existing design systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the core role is UX Design, the context of "Internal Tools" and "GREF Operations" positions this as a critical function within the broader operational infrastructure of Amazon's Global Real Estate and Facilities. The focus on improving operational efficiency through technology makes it highly relevant to professionals interested in the intersection of design and operational excellence.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

  • Design Strategy & Execution: Own the comprehensive design strategy and end-to-end execution for products supporting GREF internal functions and employee interactions, from initial concept ideation to final product delivery.

  • Customer Insight Integration: Partner with user research teams to identify critical research questions, guide study design, and effectively incorporate customer insights into design decisions to ensure user-centric solutions.

  • Prototyping & Visionary Design: Develop high-fidelity prototypes, journey maps, user flows, and compelling vision pieces to inspire stakeholders and clearly communicate complex user journeys and system interactions.

  • Design System Contribution: Actively collaborate with other designers within the GREF organization to adopt and extend existing design systems, contributing new patterns and best practices to shared design libraries for consistent user experiences.

  • Engineering Partnership: Deliver pixel-perfect designs and detailed specifications to engineering teams, maintaining close collaboration throughout the implementation phase to ensure fidelity and precision in the final product.

  • Visual & Interaction Consistency: Uphold a consistent visual language and interaction patterns across all product touchpoints within the GREF portfolio, ensuring a cohesive and intuitive user experience.

  • Stakeholder Communication: Articulate design concepts, rationale, and project progress to product partners and senior stakeholders, communicating design decisions with confidence and clarity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a holistic approach to UX design, integrating strategic thinking, user research, detailed execution, and cross-functional collaboration, all within an operational context. This requires not only design skills but also an understanding of how design impacts operational workflows and efficiency.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

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

Experience: Minimum of 5 years of professional design experience, with at least 3 years focused on delivering design solutions as a UX Designer or Interaction Designer.

Required Skills:

  • UX Design Expertise: Proven ability in end-to-end UX design, including user research, information architecture, interaction design, and usability testing.

  • Prototyping Proficiency: Demonstrated experience in creating high-fidelity prototypes and mockups using tools such as Figma, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator), or similar industry-standard software.

  • Technical Prototyping Skills: Experience with prototyping technologies including HTML, XHTML, JavaScript, CSS, Flash (or Flash Catalyst), or Axure.

  • Design Systems Acumen: Ability to adopt, extend, and contribute to design systems, ensuring visual and interaction consistency across products.

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven experience working collaboratively with product managers, engineers, researchers, and other stakeholders to bring design concepts to life.

  • Customer Obsession: A strong understanding of customer needs and the ability to translate them into intuitive and effective design solutions.

  • Problem-Solving: Capacity to tackle ambiguous problems and deliver clear, actionable design strategies and solutions.

Preferred Skills:

  • Mass-Market Product Experience: 2+ years of experience designing for mass-market consumer web or mobile products.

  • AI Design Tool Utilization: Experience leveraging AI-powered design tools to enhance design workflows and outcomes.

  • Domain Familiarity: Background or familiarity with corporate real estate, facilities management, or workplace technology sectors.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "3 years of delivering design solutions" implies a need for candidates who can demonstrate measurable impact and a track record of shipping products, not just conceptual work. The inclusion of technical prototyping skills and design systems experience highlights the need for a designer who can bridge the gap between conceptual design and practical implementation within a large organization.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

  • End-to-End Case Studies: Showcase 2-3 detailed case studies demonstrating ownership of the entire design process from problem definition and user research to final design delivery and, if possible, post-launch analysis.

  • Prototyping Examples: Include interactive prototypes or detailed walkthroughs of user flows and interaction designs, highlighting the complexity and solutions developed.

  • Systemic Design Thinking: Demonstrate an understanding of how individual designs fit into a larger system, including contributions to or use of design systems and pattern libraries.

  • Problem/Solution Framing: Clearly articulate the business problem or user need addressed, the design process undertaken, and the measurable impact or intended impact of the design solutions.

Process Documentation:

  • Workflow Design & Optimization: Evidence of designing or optimizing complex workflows, illustrating how user interface and interaction design contributed to improved efficiency or user satisfaction within an operational context.

  • System Implementation Focus: Showcase how designs were translated into implemented features, detailing collaboration with engineering and attention to technical constraints and possibilities.

  • Metrics & Measurement: Present how design success was measured, including the use of UX metrics, A/B testing results, or qualitative feedback to iterate and improve designs.

📝 Enhancement Note: For an internal tools role at Amazon, the portfolio should emphasize how the candidate's design work directly contributes to operational efficiency, process improvement, and the overall productivity of internal teams. Demonstrating an ability to design for multiple discrete customer types (e.g., GREF internal operations vs. general employees) is crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The base salary range for this position in Seattle, WA is approximately $117,800 - $160,000 USD annually.

Benefits:

  • Comprehensive Health Coverage: Includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, prescription drug coverage, basic life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, with options for supplemental life plans.

  • Wellness & Support: Access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), mental health support services, and a medical advice line.

  • Financial Well-being: Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) for healthcare and dependent care, and 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching.

  • Family Support: Reimbursement for adoption and surrogacy expenses, and paid parental leave.

  • Paid Time Off: Generous paid time off (PTO) for vacation, sick days, and personal needs.

  • Equity: Includes sign-on payments and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), reflecting Amazon's long-term incentive structure.

Working Hours: Standard full-time work hours are expected, typically around 40 hours per week, with potential for additional hours during peak project phases.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is based on the data available for Seattle, WA, and reflects a mid-to-senior level UX Designer role within a major tech company. The comprehensive benefits package underscores Amazon's commitment to employee well-being and financial security, which are important considerations for operations-focused roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: E-commerce, Cloud Computing, Digital Streaming, Artificial Intelligence, and increasingly, Enterprise Solutions through internal tools and services. Amazon's scale and innovation drive its culture.

Company Size: Amazon is a massive global corporation with over 1.5 million employees worldwide, operating across diverse business units. This scale offers significant resources and opportunities but also requires navigating complex organizational structures.

Founded: Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, initially as an online bookstore, and has since grown into a diversified technology and retail giant. Its history is marked by relentless customer focus and a drive for innovation.

Team Structure:

  • GREF Product Team: This team likely consists of Product Managers, UX Designers, Researchers, and potentially Business Analysts, all focused on developing technology solutions for Global Real Estate and Facilities.

  • Reporting Structure: The UX Designer will report to a Design Lead or Product Manager within the GREF Product team. There will be close collaboration with engineering teams and potentially product leadership across different GREF functions.

  • Cross-functional Collaboration: The role necessitates strong partnerships with GREF operations specialists, real estate portfolio managers, facilities managers, and potentially IT infrastructure teams, as well as other design and product teams within Amazon.

Methodology:

  • Data-Driven Decision Making: Amazon's culture emphasizes using data and metrics to inform decisions. This applies to product development, user research, and operational efficiency.

  • Customer Obsession: The core principle guiding all Amazon operations and product development. Designs must deeply consider and serve the needs of the target users.

  • Iterative Development: Agile methodologies are likely employed, involving rapid prototyping, testing, and iteration to refine products and features based on feedback.

  • Scale and Efficiency: A constant focus on how to operate at scale and drive efficiency through technology and optimized processes.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Understanding Amazon's "Customer Obsession" principle is paramount. For internal tools, the "customer" is the GREF team member or employee using the tool. The scale of Amazon means that even incremental efficiency gains through well-designed tools can have a significant impact on overall operational costs and productivity.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a Mid-to-Senior level, requiring significant autonomy and the ability to lead design initiatives for complex products. It involves owning design strategy and execution for critical internal tools that directly impact operational efficiency.

Reporting Structure: The UX Designer will report to a manager within the GREF Product organization, likely a Design Manager or Senior Product Manager. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads, forming a core product triad.

Operations Impact: The work directly influences how GREF manages its global real estate footprint, drives strategic portfolio decisions, and executes capital investment programs. Effective UX design in this role can lead to significant cost savings, improved resource allocation, and enhanced operational effectiveness across Amazon's global facilities.

Growth Opportunities:

  • Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing for enterprise-level internal tools, focusing on complex data visualization, workflow automation, and strategic decision-support systems.

  • Leadership: Progress into senior or principal UX designer roles, leading design strategy for larger product areas, mentoring junior designers, and influencing product roadmaps.

  • Cross-functional Mobility: Opportunities to move into related roles such as Product Management, User Research, or program management within Amazon's broader technology and operations divisions.

  • Skill Development: Access to Amazon's extensive internal training resources, workshops, and opportunities to learn about emerging technologies like AI design tools and advanced prototyping techniques.

📝 Enhancement Note: For operations-minded professionals, this role offers a clear path to influence business outcomes through design. The growth potential lies not just in design leadership but also in understanding the operational intricacies of a global real estate portfolio, which can be a valuable specialization within a large corporation.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is an on-site role, implying a traditional office environment within Amazon's Seattle campus. This fosters direct collaboration, spontaneous interactions, and a strong team presence.

Office Location(s): The role is based in Seattle, Washington, likely within one of Amazon's main corporate office buildings. This location offers a vibrant tech hub environment with access to amenities and a large professional network.

Workspace Context:

  • Collaborative Environment: Expect an open-plan office setup or dedicated team spaces designed to encourage collaboration and communication among designers, product managers, and engineers.

  • Tools & Technology: Access to standard corporate IT infrastructure, high-performance workstations, and a suite of design and productivity software, including the tools mentioned in the requirements.

  • Team Interaction: Frequent team meetings, design critiques, brainstorming sessions, and cross-functional sync-ups are integral to the daily workflow.

Work Schedule: The role adheres to a standard full-time schedule, typically Monday through Friday. While the core hours are fixed, Amazon often offers some flexibility in daily start and end times, provided core collaboration hours are maintained and work is delivered effectively.

📝 Enhancement Note: An on-site role at a company like Amazon typically means being immersed in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. For operations-focused individuals, the adjacency to other operational teams and the ability for in-person collaboration can accelerate problem-solving and foster a deeper understanding of the business context.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

  • Initial Screening: A recruiter will likely conduct an initial phone screen to assess basic qualifications, interest, and cultural fit.

  • Portfolio Review & Design Challenge: Candidates will be asked to present their online portfolio, discussing specific case studies that highlight their design process, problem-solving skills, and impact. A design challenge, potentially a take-home assignment or an in-interview exercise, may be given to assess practical design skills and strategic thinking.

  • Hiring Manager Interview: A conversation with the hiring manager to delve deeper into experience, leadership potential, and alignment with team goals.

  • Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with key stakeholders, including Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other Designers, to assess collaboration skills and domain understanding.

  • "Bar Raiser" Interview: A standard Amazon practice where a designated interviewer focuses on evaluating candidates against Amazon's Leadership Principles and ensuring the hire raises the bar for the team.

Portfolio Review Tips:

  • Curate for Impact: Select case studies that best represent your ability to solve complex problems and deliver tangible results relevant to internal tools or operational efficiency.

  • Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role and process, the solutions you designed, and the outcomes or intended outcomes. Use visuals effectively.

  • Highlight Collaboration: Demonstrate how you partnered with product managers, engineers, and researchers. Showcase your ability to incorporate feedback and navigate trade-offs.

  • Showcase Design Systems Thinking: If applicable, present how you utilized or contributed to design systems, emphasizing consistency and scalability.

  • Quantify Where Possible: If you have metrics on user engagement, efficiency gains, or cost savings attributable to your designs, present them clearly.

Challenge Preparation:

  • Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with the basics of real estate portfolio management, facilities operations, and the types of challenges faced by internal operations teams.

  • Focus on User Needs: For any design challenge, prioritize understanding the user's goals and pain points within the given context.

  • Articulate Your Rationale: Be prepared to clearly explain the "why" behind your design decisions, linking them back to user needs and business objectives.

  • Consider Scalability and Constraints: Think about how your solutions would scale within a large organization like Amazon and what technical or operational constraints might exist.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Bar Raiser" interview is a critical component of Amazon's hiring process. Candidates should prepare to discuss how they embody Amazon's 16 Leadership Principles (e.g., Customer Obsession, Ownership, Bias for Action, Dive Deep, Invent and Simplify) with specific examples from their experience.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

  • Prototyping & Design: Figma (primary), Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator), potentially Sketch.

  • Technical Prototyping: HTML, XHTML, JavaScript, CSS, Axure.

  • Collaboration & Documentation: Confluence, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Analytics & Reporting:

  • Data Visualization: Tableau, Amazon QuickSight (potentially), or custom internal dashboards.

  • User Feedback Tools: Tools for surveys, usability testing feedback aggregation, and potentially A/B testing platforms.

CRM & Automation:

  • Internal Systems: While not a traditional CRM role, understanding how data flows between different internal tools and systems is important. This could involve familiarity with enterprise resource planning (ERP) concepts or custom-built internal platforms.

  • Workflow Automation: Awareness of how design can enable or improve automated workflows within operational processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is almost a de facto standard for modern UX roles. However, the specific mention of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, alongside tools like Axure, suggests a need for a designer who can either prototype interactively at a higher fidelity or has a strong enough technical understanding to collaborate effectively with engineers on implementation details.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

  • Customer Obsession: A fundamental Amazon principle, applied to internal users, ensuring their needs drive all design decisions.

  • Ownership: Taking full responsibility for design outcomes, from conception through to successful implementation and iteration.

  • Bias for Action: Moving forward quickly with appropriate decisiveness, even in ambiguity, and making progress through prototypes and MVPs.

  • Invent and Simplify: Constantly seeking innovative solutions and simplifying complex problems to create elegant and effective user experiences.

  • Dive Deep: Understanding the intricacies of GREF operations and user workflows to create truly impactful solutions.

  • Deliver Results: Focusing on achieving measurable outcomes that improve operational efficiency and strategic decision-making.

Collaboration Style:

  • Cross-Functional Integration: A highly collaborative approach, working intimately with Product Managers and Engineers to ensure designs are technically feasible, strategically aligned, and meet user needs.

  • Feedback Loop Culture: Openness to receiving and providing constructive feedback through design critiques, user testing debriefs, and regular team syncs.

  • Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of best practices, learnings, and design patterns across the team and broader GREF design community.

📝 Enhancement Note: Amazon's Leadership Principles are not just values; they are actively used in hiring and performance evaluations. Candidates must be able to demonstrate how they embody these principles in their daily work and decision-making, particularly in the context of building and improving internal operational tools.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

  • Ambiguity & Scale: Navigating complex, often ambiguous business requirements within a massive, global organization. Designing solutions that are scalable and adaptable to diverse global needs.

  • Balancing Needs: Designing for multiple discrete customer types simultaneously (e.g., portfolio managers, facility operators, general employees) with potentially conflicting needs and priorities.

  • Technical Constraints: Working within the specific technical architecture and limitations of Amazon's internal systems, which may differ from consumer-facing products.

  • Driving Adoption: Ensuring that new tools and features are effectively adopted by internal users, which may require change management and extensive user training/support.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

  • Domain Expertise: Gaining deep knowledge of corporate real estate strategy, portfolio management, capital investment, and facilities operations.

  • Advanced Design Techniques: Opportunities to explore and implement cutting-edge design concepts, including AI-assisted design, advanced data visualization, and complex workflow automation.

  • Leadership Development: Access to Amazon's leadership development programs, mentorship opportunities, and pathways to senior design or management roles.

  • Industry Exposure: Potential to attend industry conferences or workshops related to enterprise UX, workplace technology, or real estate management.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Invent and Simplify" principle is particularly relevant here. The challenge is to simplify complex operational processes through thoughtful design, making them more intuitive and efficient, rather than just adding more features.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

  • "Describe a time you had to design for a complex internal tool or enterprise system. What were the key challenges, and how did you approach them?" (Focus on process, user research, and collaboration.)

  • "How do you balance competing needs from different user groups (e.g., operational teams vs. strategic decision-makers) when designing a single product?" (Assess ability to synthesize requirements and prioritize.)

Company & Culture Questions:

  • "How do you embody Amazon's 'Customer Obsession' principle when designing for internal users?" (Connect your design philosophy to Amazon's core tenet.)

  • "Discuss a time you had to 'Invent and Simplify' a complex process or user experience." (Provide a concrete example of innovation and efficiency.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

  • Tell a Story: For each case study, frame it as a narrative: the challenge, your journey, the solution, and the impact.

  • Focus on Your Role: Clearly define your contributions, especially in team projects.

  • Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals, prototypes, and mockups to illustrate your design thinking and execution.

  • Be Ready for Deep Dives: Prepare to answer detailed questions about your design decisions, the rationale behind them, and how you handled feedback or constraints.

  • Connect to GREF: If possible, draw parallels between your past work and the potential impact on GREF operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: Be prepared to discuss how your work has contributed to measurable business outcomes, such as increased efficiency, reduced errors, cost savings, or improved decision-making speed, even if these were estimates or projections.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Designer position at Amazon:

  • Submit Your Application: Apply directly through the Amazon Jobs portal using the provided link.

  • Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience in UX design, interaction design, prototyping, design systems, and collaboration with engineering teams. Use keywords from the job description.

  • Curate Your Portfolio: Ensure your online portfolio is up-to-date, showcases relevant case studies (especially internal tools or complex systems), and clearly articulates your process and impact. Make sure it's easily accessible.

  • Prepare for Interviews: Review Amazon's Leadership Principles and prepare specific examples from your experience that demonstrate how you embody them. Practice discussing your portfolio and potential design challenge responses.

  • Research GREF: Gain a basic understanding of Amazon's Global Real Estate and Facilities operations to better contextualize your skills and demonstrate your interest in the specific domain.

⚠️ 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.

Application Requirements

Candidates must have at least 5 years of design experience, including 3 years specifically in UX or interaction design, and a strong online portfolio. Proficiency in prototyping tools like Figma or Adobe Creative Cloud and experience working directly with engineering teams are required.