User Experience Designer

User Experience Designer (Temporary-to-Permanent Staff Opening)
ETS
Princeton, New Jersey, USA

General

Educational Testing Service (ETS), makers of the GRE� test, TOEFL� test, SAT�, Advanced Placement� tests and other educational products, is looking for an experienced and self-motivated User Experience Designer with impeccable application design skills and attention to detail to create wireframes for web applications, websites and other digital products. As a member of the Creative Services & Digital Strategy unit in the Marketing and Public Affairs division, this individual will help shape the user experience for customers worldwide, while helping to advance quality and equity in education.

Responsibilities include:

• Translating client goals into user-centered designs
• Creating and presenting wireframes, mock-ups, process flows, information architecture, site maps and prototypes for complex web applications and websites
• Writing user-friendly copy for on-screen instructions, headings, button labels, link text and other content elements that affect a user�s experience
• Documenting high-level annotations and functional and design specifications
• Working closely with writers, graphic designers, web developers, business analysts and software engineers
• Reviewing and testing websites and applications to ensure that the designs are implemented according to the wireframes
• Analyzing audiences, tasks, user data and web analytics to inform the designs
• Conducting heuristic evaluations or usability reviews and providing recommendations for improving a website
• Conducting or coordinating usability tests, user walk-through sessions and other ways to test the designs and gather user feedback
• Creating design guidelines and sharing best practices.

Experience and Skills

This individual must have:

• Bachelor�s degree in human-computer interaction, cognitive science, computer science, graphic design or equivalent work experience
• 3+ years of experience as a user experience designer, interaction designer, information architect or similar role
• Demonstrated experience creating wireframes, designing user interfaces and defining information architecture and navigation for complex web applications and websites
• In-depth knowledge of user-centered design techniques and best practices
• Strong visual design skills, demonstrating attention to layout, composition, typography, color and content/information design
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to understand, design and communicate a cohesive and consistent end-to-end user experience, beyond just the creation of wireframes
• The ability to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of specific design elements and articulate why a particular approach is best
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and experience interacting with clients, writers, designers, business analysts and developers
• Experience conducting user research and/or analyzing user data to inform design decisions
• Proficiency in Visio and Microsoft Office
• Portfolio of wireframes, site maps or other user experience design work, including examples of on-screen copy and annotations or specifications.

In addition, the following skills are considered a plus:

• Usability testing experience and familiarity with Morae or similar usability testing software
• Experience creating interactive prototypes (using Axure, iRise, Dreamweaver or similar software) that are suitable for demos, usability testing or adaptation by software engineers
• Knowledge of Photoshop, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Flash, AJAX, Microsoft Project, Vignette Content Management System, Tealeaf and WebTrends
• Knowledge of Section 508/accessibility requirements
• Experience designing within waterfall and agile development environments
• Copywriting and/or editing experience for websites and web applications
• Experience creating and documenting design standards for large organizations or for a wide range of sites
• Project management experience
• Knowledge of, or experience with, educational testing programs.

Length of Position

• This is a temporary contract position that is expected to transition to a permanent full-time employee position within a few months, if the candidate�s skills meet the needs of the company. Only those interested in an eventual full-time position should apply.
• Headquartered on a beautiful, 350-acre campus in Princeton, New Jersey, ETS offers its employees a broad range of benefits � ETS Total Rewards � that comprise not only compensation, medical and retirement benefits, but also work-life balance support, performance awards and recognition, and professional development and career opportunities.

Contact

Monica Ortiz
[email protected]

www.ets.org

Received: 16-Mar-11

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