Design Director - Nectarine Group - Downtown Palo Alto

[Murphy Freelen]

YOU: Are someone that loves to drive design and has delivered on all levels.  You’re passionate about solving problems and are generous with your solutions.

US:  We are a group of people that have deliberately chosen to work in a services environment.  We love the variety that this work brings but have lives outside of the studio. Our commitment to quality is unwavering and we work with cool, globally relevant clients.

Job Description

Nectarine Group is looking for a senior team member to lead our user experience practice. The ideal individual is a self-starter with a defined point of view as well as the sensitivity to know how to put it to use.  We expect that this individual will be great at setting the strategic direction for our clients and positioning Nectarine as an expert partner.  On projects, the Design Director will both guide the team and design with the team as a hands-on design contributor while respecting a project budget and achieving the client goals.  

Responsibilities include:

• Provide leadership and expertise for Nectarine’s User Experience practice. This means providing inspiration for our design team and guiding our point of view for current and future clients and their associated projects.

• Champion Nectarine’s user-centered design process throughout the life of every project and improve on the systems that we have in place.  Know and apply UI design best practices confidently.

• Demonstrate empathy for our client’s needs and contribute to their ultimate satisfaction through the delivery of relevant work, productive dialog and unquestionable quality.

• Meet with potential clients to understand their business needs and recommend suitable design initiatives for projects ranging from advanced development, future vision concepts to tactical feature updates and everything in between.

• Contribute to the creation of client proposals, including the scope of work, project plan, and estimate.

• In collaboration with the General Manager, manage the design staff to maximize the growth of both their design skills and overall career goals.

• Be an active member of a project team, which may include the following activities:

• Work with clients to define their design challenge.
• Establish design principles and the associate design plan
• Conduct user research and incorporate findings into design.
• Deliver critical analysis, competitive reviews, scenarios and stories.
• Create practical UI deliverables including system maps, task flows and screen wireframes.
• Work with visual designers to ensure the overall creative solution delivers on user requirements.
• Create low-fidelity prototypes to communicate the design.
• Run usability tests and incorporate user feedback.

• Present yourself and the work well, building client confidence.

• Demonstrate a desire for growth and learning by staying current on the user experience design field and vertical industry segments within our area of focus.

• Help position Nectarine as an expert studio by contributing to its thought leadership in external marketing communication channels and beyond.  Grow the studio’s knowledge base.

• Continuously look for and create opportunities for high billable efficiency.

Job Qualifications

Qualified candidates are stellar designers who are strategic, motivated, collaborative, influential, and fun to be around. They blend strong critical thinking with a soft creative side.  They understand how to balance user AND business needs, technology issues, and can quickly generate a shared solution when called upon. They have lead projects, teams and frequently interact with and guide clients. Qualified candidates have formal training in design and 8+ years of UI design experience for software products, with at least two of those in a leadership position. Consulting firm experience is a MUST for this position. A Master’s degree is preferred.

 

About Nectarine Group

We are a user experience design firm for consumer devices and their connected services.  For over ten years, we’ve been helping our brand-name clients differentiate themselves by designing products and services that their customers love to use.  We are located in downtown Palo Alto, across the street from the CalTrain station, and, as a team, frequently take advantage of all the great restaurants.

Interested in this key position to influence both Nectarine and future consumer products? Please send your resume, cover letter with a portfolio web site and salary history to [e-mail].