UX Designer, Octopus

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Designer, Octopus

Company: Apex Technology, Inc.

Location: Los Angeles, California, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / Operations Technology

Date Posted: 2026-08-17

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and develop user experiences for Octopus, Apex's proprietary operating system for spacecraft manufacturing at scale.

• Drive UX strategy, research, and innovation for integrated engineering, manufacturing, and operations software.

• Optimize complex workflows for technicians, engineers, planners, and operators to enhance efficiency and reduce errors.

• Collaborate closely with product managers, software engineers, and manufacturing leadership to deliver user-centric solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is focused on internal enterprise software within a manufacturing and aerospace context, requiring a deep understanding of operational efficiency and user workflows under pressure, rather than typical B2C or SaaS product design.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct user research, including contextual inquiry and shadowing on the factory floor, to deeply understand user needs and workflows across diverse roles (technicians, engineers, planners, operators).

• Translate research insights into intuitive and efficient UX designs, including wireframes, user flows, mockups, and high-fidelity prototypes for the Octopus operating system.

• Relentlessly optimize existing workflows within Octopus to minimize clicks, reduce screen complexity, and decrease the potential for errors, with a focus on measurable improvements in task time, error rates, and user adoption.

• Design user interfaces for demanding, high-density operational environments, considering factors like shop-floor terminals, tablets, cleanroom use, and desk-based analytics dashboards.

• Define, build, and maintain the Octopus design system, establishing and advocating for UX standards and guidelines to ensure product consistency and coherence.

• Collaborate effectively with product managers, software engineers, manufacturing engineers, supply chain professionals, and production leadership throughout the entire product development lifecycle.

• Present design concepts, research findings, and finalized designs to stakeholders and senior leadership, articulating the user-centric rationale and business impact.

• Oversee the implementation of designs, reviewing builds, identifying regressions, and ensuring adherence to high standards of visual and interaction quality.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "relentlessly optimize," "fewer clicks, fewer screens," and "prove the improvement in task time, error rate, and adoption" highlights a strong focus on operational efficiency metrics, a key differentiator for internal enterprise tools compared to consumer-facing products.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design or a related field, or a portfolio demonstrating equivalent project experience.

Experience: 5+ years of experience designing interactive applications for web, with a strong emphasis on enterprise, internal, or operational tools.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience in user research methodologies such as contextual inquiry, user shadowing, and usability testing to uncover deep user insights.

• Expertise in creating user-centric design solutions, evidenced by a strong portfolio showcasing excellent design sensibility and compelling user-focused storytelling.

• Demonstrated experience designing and maintaining design systems, defining standards, and ensuring their adoption by other designers and engineers.

• Ability to design for demanding, high-density operating environments, including shop-floor terminals, tablets, and specialized cleanroom conditions.

• Strong command of UX principles, interaction design, information architecture, and visual design.

• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex ideas clearly to diverse audiences.

• Self-motivated and capable of working independently, while also being collaborative and receptive to group critique.

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-intensity iterative design process with minimal supervision. Preferred Skills:

• Prior experience designing for manufacturing execution systems (MES), enterprise resource planning (ERP), logistics, or other operations software.

• Comfort and experience working closely with front-end codebases, such as reading component libraries, prototyping in HTML/CSS, or direct collaboration with front-end developers.

• A genuine interest in hardware, aerospace, or physical production environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Bonus Points" section strongly suggests that experience with manufacturing or operations software is highly valued, indicating a preference for candidates who can quickly grasp the complexities of industrial environments.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A robust portfolio showcasing a deep understanding of user experience principles, with a strong emphasis on user-centric storytelling and problem-solving.

• Case studies demonstrating the design process for enterprise or internal operational tools, highlighting how user needs were identified and translated into effective solutions.

• Examples of designing for complex workflows, detailing the challenges and the specific design decisions made to optimize efficiency, reduce errors, and improve task completion times.

• Evidence of experience in building or contributing to a design system, including examples of design standards, guidelines, and their application across multiple product modules.

• Demonstrations of research methodologies used (e.g., contextual inquiry, usability testing) and how findings directly influenced design outcomes. Process Documentation:

• Documented examples of how user research directly informed design strategy and product direction.

• Detailed walkthroughs of workflow optimization processes, showcasing before-and-after scenarios with quantifiable improvements.

• Examples of design system documentation, including style guides, component libraries, and usage guidelines.

• Documentation of iterative design processes, illustrating how feedback and performance data were used to refine user experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the role's focus on optimizing internal operational tools, the portfolio should heavily emphasize process improvement, efficiency gains, and measurable impact on user productivity and error reduction within complex, high-pressure environments.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $120,000 - $150,000 per year.

Benefits:

• Shared upside through company equity.

• Best-in-class healthcare: 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision for employees and dependents.

• $100k life insurance at no cost.

• Comprehensive Paid Time Off (PTO) package: starting at 15 days vacation, growing to 20+ days annually.

• 10 paid holidays.

• Competitive 401(k) plan with generous matching: 100% match on the first 3% and 50% on the next 2%.

• 8 weeks paid parental leave.

• Childcare reimbursement up to $350/day for work-related travel.

• Daily catered lunch and unlimited snacks.

• World-class office amenities including a vibrant community with monthly socials, run clubs, and gatherings.

• Personalized desk setup and necessary tools for productivity.

Working Hours: Full-time, standard 40-hour work week, with an on-site work arrangement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is competitive for a UX Designer role with 5-10 years of experience in a major metropolitan area like Los Angeles. The comprehensive benefits package, particularly the 100% employer-paid healthcare and generous parental leave, reflects a strong investment in employee well-being common in well-funded tech startups.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Aerospace Manufacturing & Technology. Apex is at the forefront of revolutionizing spacecraft manufacturing by using software, vertical integration, and hardware designed for scale. They produce satellite buses that enable various applications, from earth observation to communications.

Company Size: Apex is a fast-growing startup, having raised over $500M in funding, indicating significant growth and investment. This size suggests a dynamic environment with opportunities for impact, but also a need for robust processes and systems.

Founded: While the founding date is not explicitly stated, the company's funding and growth trajectory suggest it is a relatively young but rapidly scaling organization.

Team Structure:

• The UX team is part of the larger software development organization responsible for Octopus, the internal operating system.

• This role involves close collaboration with product managers, software engineers (likely front-end and back-end), manufacturing engineers, quality engineers, supply chain specialists, and production leadership.

• The reporting structure likely places the UX Designer under a Head of Product, Design Lead, or Engineering Manager, with direct interaction with cross-functional teams. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on researching user workflows, observing operations on the factory floor, and measuring design performance through task times, error rates, and adoption metrics.

• Agile/Iterative Development: The role requires operating in a fast-paced, high-intensity iterative design process, suggesting agile methodologies are employed.

• Design System Centricity: A core responsibility is to define, build, and own the design system, promoting consistency and efficiency across the product.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission to provide humankind access to space, combined with its focus on scalable manufacturing through technology, creates a unique operational challenge. The UX Designer's role in optimizing the "Octopus" system is critical to achieving manufacturing speed and efficiency in this high-stakes industry.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a mid-to-senior level UX Designer (5+ years of experience). It carries significant responsibility for an end-to-end internal product (Octopus), requiring autonomy and strategic input, not just execution. The focus on designing for operational efficiency and a demanding user base aligns with senior-level problem-solving.

Reporting Structure: The designer will report into a product or engineering leadership role but will work in a highly collaborative, cross-functional manner. Direct interaction with manufacturing and operations leadership is expected, providing visibility and influence.

Operations Impact: The UX Designer for Octopus has a direct and profound impact on the speed, efficiency, and quality of spacecraft manufacturing. By optimizing internal software, they reduce operational costs, minimize errors that could lead to costly delays or failures, and empower the workforce to build satellites faster and more effectively. This role is pivotal to Apex's mission of scaling satellite production.

Growth Opportunities:

• Deep Specialization: Opportunity to become an expert in UX for complex manufacturing and aerospace operations, a niche but high-demand area.

• Leadership in Design Systems: Potential to lead the evolution and adoption of the Octopus design system, influencing product strategy and best practices.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Develop strong relationships and influence across engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams, leading to broader product strategy contributions.

• Mentorship: As a senior member, opportunities to mentor junior designers or contribute to design team development.

• Potential for Team Lead/Manager: With proven impact and leadership, potential to move into a Design Lead or UX Manager role as the team grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers a unique opportunity to specialize in a critical but often overlooked area of UX – internal enterprise tools for high-tech manufacturing. Success here could lead to significant career advancement in operations technology design.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: World-class Playa Vista office, emphasizing in-person collaboration and the integration of work and life. This suggests a modern, well-equipped workspace designed to foster creativity and teamwork.

Office Location(s): Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California. This location is known for its tech and aerospace presence.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The office is designed for in-person collaboration, with opportunities for spontaneous interactions and structured teamwork.

• Tools & Technology: The company provides "your dream desk setup and all the tools you need to be your most productive self," implying access to high-quality hardware and software.

• Team Interaction: Expect frequent interaction with a diverse group of experts from aerospace, new space, and technology industries, fostering a rich learning and collaborative environment. The role specifically requires spending time on the factory floor.

Work Schedule: Full-time, on-site. While a standard 40-hour week is implied, the fast-paced, iterative nature of the design process and the demanding environment may require flexibility. The emphasis on "integrating work and life" suggests a balance is encouraged, but the intensity of the work is also highlighted.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement and emphasis on factory floor research are crucial. This is not a remote role; success hinges on physical presence and direct engagement with the operational environment and its users.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess experience and alignment with the role's requirements, particularly for enterprise/operational tool design.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: Candidates will likely present their portfolio, focusing on case studies that demonstrate their process for solving complex UX problems, optimizing workflows, and driving measurable results. A design challenge may be given, potentially focusing on a specific aspect of the Octopus system or a related operational scenario.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with product managers, software engineers, and potentially manufacturing/operations stakeholders to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and cultural fit.

• Leadership Interview: Discussion with senior leadership to evaluate strategic thinking, leadership potential, and alignment with Apex's mission and values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Process: Clearly articulate your design process, from research and problem definition to ideation, iteration, and final implementation.

• Quantify Impact: For each case study, highlight the measurable improvements achieved. Use metrics like task completion time, error reduction, user adoption rates, or efficiency gains. For this role, focus on how your designs improved operational efficiency.

• Showcase Enterprise/Operational Design: Prioritize projects that involved designing complex internal tools, B2B software, or systems for users performing critical jobs under pressure.

• Demonstrate Research Skills: Detail how you used research methods (contextual inquiry, usability testing) to uncover user needs and inform your design decisions.

• Highlight Design System Contributions: If applicable, showcase your experience in building or maintaining design systems, explaining the standards you set and how they were implemented.

• Tell a Story: Frame your projects as compelling narratives that explain the problem, your approach, and the successful outcome.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: Research Apex Technology, their mission, and the "Octopus" operating system. Understand the challenges of manufacturing complex hardware like satellites.

• Empathize with Users: Consider the diverse users of Octopus: technicians on the shop floor, engineers, planners, quality control, and leadership. What are their pain points? What information do they need?

• Focus on Efficiency: Anticipate challenges that require optimizing workflows, reducing steps, or improving data clarity for high-volume, critical tasks.

• Prepare to Discuss Metrics: Be ready to discuss how you would measure the success of your designs in an operational context.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "enterprise, internal, or operational tools" and designing for users "doing a job under time pressure" is critical. Candidates should tailor their portfolio and interview responses to showcase experience in these specific areas, rather than general consumer product design.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (or similar industry-standard tools for wireframing, mockups, and prototyping).

• User Research Tools: Tools for conducting and analyzing user interviews, usability testing, and surveys.

• Design System Management: Tools and methodologies for creating and maintaining a comprehensive design system.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as a tool for the UX Designer, understanding how to interpret data from analytics platforms used for the Octopus system will be crucial for iteration and improvement. This might involve familiarity with dashboarding tools used by leadership. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to the UX Designer's primary toolset, but understanding the role of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution systems (MES) in the broader operational context is highly beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools are not listed, proficiency in industry-standard UX/UI design and prototyping software is assumed. The "Bonus Points" mentioning comfort working close to code (HTML/CSS, component libraries) suggests a potential need for front-end awareness or collaboration, implying tools used in modern front-end development workflows might be relevant.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Efficiency & Optimization: A core drive to make processes faster, simpler, and less error-prone. This translates to a user interface that minimizes clicks, provides clear information, and streamlines complex tasks.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Decisions are informed by user research, performance metrics, and an understanding of operational impact. Designs are expected to be validated and improved based on data.

• User-Centricity (within context): While focused on internal users, the principle of understanding and serving user needs remains paramount, ensuring the software empowers them to perform their jobs effectively and safely.

• Collaboration & Trust: A strong emphasis on working together across departments (engineering, manufacturing, operations) and building relationships to achieve common goals.

• Innovation & Purpose: A shared commitment to Apex's mission of advancing space exploration through innovative technology and manufacturing processes.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: High degree of collaboration with engineers, product managers, and operations leads. Regular communication and joint problem-solving are essential.

• Iterative Feedback Loops: Expect a culture of continuous feedback, design reviews, and iterative refinement of solutions.

• Knowledge Sharing: Openness to sharing insights from user research and design explorations across teams to foster collective understanding and drive better outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Why Join Apex?" section highlights a culture that values employee well-being, provides significant upside potential (equity), and fosters a vibrant community. This suggests a company that aims to balance high performance with employee satisfaction.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Diverse, Demanding Users: Balancing the needs of technicians on the factory floor (potentially with limited digital literacy, working in challenging environments) with those of engineers, planners, and leadership requires sophisticated UX strategy.

• Optimizing Complex Industrial Workflows: Re-designing or improving established, high-stakes operational processes within a manufacturing context can be challenging due to existing infrastructure, legacy systems, and the critical nature of each step.

• Balancing Information Density with Usability: Creating interfaces that are information-rich for experienced users while remaining clear and accessible for others, especially on shop-floor terminals.

• Driving Adoption of Design Standards: Ensuring that a newly defined or evolving design system is consistently adopted and utilized by a team of engineers and potentially other designers.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into Manufacturing & Aerospace UX: Gain unparalleled expertise in designing for a cutting-edge, physical production environment.

• Mastery of Enterprise Software Design: Develop advanced skills in optimizing complex internal systems for maximum operational efficiency.

• Design System Leadership: Opportunity to build and own a critical design system that scales with the company's growth.

• Cross-Industry Collaboration: Learn from experts in aerospace, software engineering, and manufacturing, broadening your understanding of complex technological systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenge lies in translating complex operational realities into user-friendly, efficient digital experiences that directly impact the physical production of spacecraft. Success requires a blend of strong UX fundamentals and a deep appreciation for the operational context.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design for users in a high-pressure, operational environment. What were the key challenges, and how did your design address them?" (Focus on process, user empathy, and quantifiable results.)

• "How would you approach researching and defining the UX strategy for an internal operating system like Octopus, considering its full lifecycle from inventory to analytics?" (Emphasize research methodologies, stakeholder engagement, and strategic planning.)

• "Tell us about your experience building or maintaining a design system. What were the challenges, and how did you ensure adoption?" (Highlight your approach to standards, governance, and collaboration.)

• "Walk us through a project where you significantly improved an existing workflow through UX design. What metrics did you use to prove the improvement?" (Prepare a case study focused on efficiency gains and measurable impact.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Apex's mission and the opportunity to work on spacecraft manufacturing software?" (Show genuine interest in the company's vision and industry.)

• "How do you ensure a user-centric approach when designing for internal enterprise tools, where users may have different motivations than B2C customers?" (Demonstrate understanding of the unique user needs in operational contexts.)

• "How do you typically collaborate with engineers and product managers on a daily basis?" (Highlight your communication and teamwork skills.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your presentation logically, with each case study following a clear narrative: Problem -> Research -> Solution -> Impact.

• Focus on Operations: Select projects that best showcase your experience with enterprise tools, workflow optimization, and delivering measurable efficiency gains.

• Quantify Everything: For each project, be prepared to discuss specific metrics that demonstrate the success of your design (e.g., reduction in task time, decrease in errors, improvement in user satisfaction/adoption).

• Articulate Your Process: Clearly explain why you made certain design decisions, linking them back to user research and business objectives.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Expect questions about specific design choices, your research methods, and how you handled trade-offs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to discuss their experience with enterprise software and operational workflows extensively. The ability to demonstrate tangible, quantifiable improvements in efficiency and user productivity will be key differentiators.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects involving enterprise software, internal tools, workflow optimization, and demonstrable efficiency improvements. Prioritize case studies that showcase your process for complex operational environments.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 5+ years of experience in UX design, specifically mentioning experience with operational tools, enterprise software, and user research methodologies. Quantify achievements wherever possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio, focusing on your process, the user problems you solved, and the measurable impact of your designs, especially in terms of operational efficiency. Prepare to discuss your experience with design systems and cross-functional collaboration.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Apex Technology, Inc., their mission, their product ("Octopus"), and their position in the aerospace industry. Understand the challenges of manufacturing spacecraft at scale.

⚠️ 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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