Principal UX Strategist

About Patelco Credit Union

Patelco Credit Union is a not-for-profit credit union with a purpose to build financial health and wellbeing for our members. Since 1936, Patelco has grown from $500 in assets to over $9 billion in assets and is the 7th largest credit union in California with branches throughout Northern California.

We are here for our members throughout all their stages of life. Meeting them with the products and services to help them plan purposefully for their futures and to secure our life-long partnership as their trusted financial advocate. As one team, we are all committed to delivering service, empowering financial literacy, creating products, and providing new technology for our members.

We believe that work should be rewarding, challenging, and enjoyable. We're dedicated to creating a positive and supportive culture where our team members can thrive. If you're looking to use your skills and knowledge to make a difference in our members' lives, Patelco could be the perfect fit for you.

Overview

• Patelco is a member-owned, not-for-profit organization where our people-before-profits belief is deeply rooted in our purpose-driven philosophy. It's this higher standard that drives us to make a difference in people's lives as every product and service is developed for the financial well-being of our members, not our bottom line.
• At Patelco, our mission to improve members' financial health guides everything we do. As part of the Digital Experience & Design team, you'll shape simple, intuitive digital experiences that help members confidently manage their financial lives.
• Patelco's Digital Experience & Design team is a small but mighty group of problem-solvers who are passionate about creating digital experiences that delight our members. As the Principal UX Strategist, you will lead both design strategy and execution of end-to-end online banking, mobile app, account open, loan application journeys that balance business goals and member needs.
• We seek someone who excels at solving complex UX problems, turning ambiguity into clear direction, aligning stakeholders and driving outcomes. You are a strong, self-driven implementer and don't hesitate to roll up your sleeves and work directly with product managers and developers.
• You will set the experience bar through strong craft and inclusive design rooted in user research and insights. You will champion responsible use of AI-assisted workflows to improve speed and quality while maintaining high standards for accessibility and accuracy.

Responsibilities

Strategy

• Define, own and evolve Patelco's digital design principles, system and processes
• Champion human-centric design rooted in user feedback, insights and data
• Drive inclusive design and accessibility as a baseline and raise quality through clear standards and coaching
• Promote responsible AI adoption across the design workflow, identifying where improves discovery, synthesis, prototyping and documentation while applying appropriate controls

Day-to-day Execution

• Wear multiple digital design hats (UX, UI, interaction, web and app) and lead the design process from concepting through implementation. Collaborate with digital product managers, business partners, developers and other stakeholders to create simple, seamless and consistent experiences across digital platforms. Translate requirements into design artifacts such journey maps, flows, wireframes, prototypes, production-ready specs that drive alignment and development.
• Ensure design intent holds through build by defining behavior, states and edge cases and partnering with developers on scalable implementation.
• Establish repeatable design workflows and processes (such as design sprints) with Digital Experience team, developers and stakeholders.
• Serve as the team's user research SME, leading and guiding digital product managers in appropriate user testing approach, study set up, data and insight synthesis.
• Moderate usability interviews, teasing out insights to inform design.

Functional Competencies

Tooling

• Proficiency with Figma (including Figma Make and FigJam), Miro, Jira and Confluence to translate member needs and business requirements into journey maps, user flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes and production-ready design specifications.
• Working knowledge of Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Pendo to inform understanding of member behavior and digital journey performance.
• Ability to apply accessibility tools and inclusive design best practices when developing and reviewing digital experiences.
• Experience using user research platforms such as Great Question and Lyssna.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of UX or digital experience design experience in banking, financial services or similarly regulated industry including:

• Experience designing authentication, identity verification and fraud-prevention flows that balance security with a smooth member experience.

• Experience designing within the constraints of vendor or third-party banking platforms.

• Experience with digital banking, onboarding or account-opening products (preferred)

• Portfolio demonstrating how you design to solve customer needs

• Mastery of user-centric design methods, research, usability testing (including moderating user interviews) and a talent for translating insight into direction.

• Deep Figma expertise including Figma Make and mastery of Figma alongside modern AI-assisted prototyping platforms such as Claud Code.

• Advanced technical literacy and strong partnership with engineering, including understanding of APIs, and how system constraints shape experience

• Working knowledge of WCAG 2.2 AA and the ability to apply it in design and review.

• Strong stakeholder management and influence skills, including leading through ambiguity and resolving competing priorities

• Strong data fluency and research-informed decision-making, able to connect insights to strategy and outcomes

• Demonstrated ability to use and govern AI-assisted workflows responsibly, with attention to accuracy, accessibility, and data sensitivity

• A passion for mentoring and shaping design culture, without direct management responsibility.

Physical Activities/Requirements

• This position is based out of the Dublin Headquarters office.

Target Base Pay

$137,485 - $171,866/ yr

Compensation at Patelco

Please note that the salary information is a general guideline only. Patelco Credit Union considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and business considerations when extending an offer. We offer a competitive total rewards package including a Short-Term Incentive (STI) program for all regular positions and a wide range of medical, dental, vision, financial, and other benefits.

We Offer

Physical Health:

• Exceptional Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance benefits
• Rewards for completing wellness related activities

Financial Health:

• Competitive compensation packages with bonus opportunity
• 401(k) with 3% Safe Harbor and 5% employer match
• Discounts on loan products
• Tuition reimbursement

Emotional Health:

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• PTO for part-time and full-time positions
• Paid holidays

Personal Development:

• On-the-job training and skills development
• Internal transfer opportunities for career growth
• Volunteer work

Patelco Credit Union is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans

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