Senior Product Designer - UX Research

Job Description

Job Summary

At Walt Disney Animation Studios we have a deep commitment to the philosophy that creativity inspires technology, and technology inspires creativity. Our Senior Product Designer - UX Research partners with domain experts in Production and Technology to deliver workflow informed product designs that meaningfully advance both creativity and productivity of animated film production at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
We're looking for a senior-level designer focused on UX research to join our Technology team, and help us elevate the way our users engage with our custom suite of software. This designer will help lead projects through the full lifecycle of concept to launch and refinement, championing their discipline throughout the Studio and greater Walt Disney Company.
The ideal candidate will enjoy working with a broad range of stakeholders and internal technologies. Critical to success will be the ability to build relationships with technical and non-technical users to understand their needs, delivering relevant solutions by leveraging a variety of user-research methodologies, design tools, and prototyping techniques

Responsibilities:

Projects Include:
• Partnering with domain experts to develop a deep understanding of workflows in the context of overall film production, gathering requirements through user interviews, observation, and surveys.
• Prototyping new workflows that enhance our craft and productivity, based on current and emerging technologies.
• Creating design mock-ups which validate proposed workflows and feasibility of implementation based on developer feedback (techniques could include user personas and journey maps, emphasizing visual communication of complex ideas).
• Facilitating discussions with product users (e.g. artists), engineers, and key stakeholders to gather requirements, validate conceptual designs, and drive resolution on proposed features and functionality.
• Designing data visualizations for presenting complex internal data structures to technical and non-technical users.

You will succeed in this role if you have:
• Strong problem solving and analytical abilities through independent analysis and judgment.
• An inquisitive nature with effective listening abilities: being able to actively engage engineers and artists to understand their requirements, and infer practical solutions that balance ease-of-use with implementation costs.
• Exemplary communication, team working, and problem-solving skills.
• The ability to balance timeliness of solutions with the needs of the studio, prioritizing competing demands based on business value
• Understanding and championing of design guidelines and recommended practices, while also supporting agility and timeliness of solutions
• A pulse on industry design trends, including those associated with emerging technologies like AI and VR, and the initiative to suggest new directions when relevant.

Key Qualifications:
• 5+ years of experience in a UX Research role.
• At least 2 years associated with designing workflows in a highly technical and specialized desktop/workstation environment, rather than web/mobile.
• Experience in effectively articulating design rationale visually, orally, and in writing.
• Technical acumen, with the ability to understand technically complex workflows and data, creating prototypes of implementable solutions
• Experience in prototyping and visualizing designs, showing versatility in the tools used (such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD)

Bonus Qualifications:
• Masters in Design, HCI, Computer Science or related field. • Interest/experience in the animated movie business, media or games production.

Required Education
• BS/BA in Human Computer Interaction, Media Design, Computer Science, or equivalent experience.

This role is considered hybrid, which means the employee will work a portion of their time on-site from a Company designated location and the remainder of their time remotely.

WDAS continues to build on its rich legacy of innovation and creativity, from the first fully-animated feature film, 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to 2019's Frozen 2, the biggest animated film of all time, to our 60th animated feature, Encanto, releasing November 2021. Among the studio's timeless creations are Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-d9x6nk-18-223-125-219-42 in your application.