Senior UX Designer - Digital Learning - UTK

Digital Learning at University of Tennessee, Knoxville is seeking a Senior UX Designer to lead the design, optimization and discoverability for volsonline.utk.edu. This role will support the marketing department''s recruitment and enrollment goals for online students. Reporting to the Director of UX & Experience Design, this position will independently translate user needs, business objectives, and behavioral data into intuitive, accessible, high-converting designs that follow the University''s brand guidelines.

The Senior UX Designer will lead projects from discovery and analysis through information architecture, wireframing, prototyping, high-fidelity designs, testing and QA, implementation, and post-launch optimization. The position requires a strong visual and interaction design skillset combined with the ability to independently analyze quantitative and qualitative data, identify opportunities and areas of friction, develop evidence-based recommendations, and communicate findings to stakeholders. This position will also advance Vols Online digital discoverability across traditional search engines and emerging AI-powered search and answer experiences. The Senior UX Designer will apply user-centered design, content structure, information architecture, and search optimization principles to help ensure digital experiences are accessible, understandable, and discoverable by prospective students and the technologies they use to find information. This includes supporting Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and broader AI Optimization (AIO) initiatives in collaboration with marketing, content, and technical partners.

Working closely with UX leadership, developers, marketing, enrollment, content, and other campus partners, this role will help continuously improve the Vols Online digital experience and other Digital Learning initiatives. The Senior UX Designer will contribute to and maintain scalable design systems, champion accessibility and mobile-first design practices, and use analytics, usability research, A/B testing, and search performance insights to measure and improve user experience and conversion performance.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has shaped leaders, changemakers, and innovative thinkers since its founding in 1794. The university is home to more than 38,000 students and 10,000 statewide employees-the Volunteers-who uphold the university's tradition of lighting the way for others through leadership and service.

UT Knoxville offers over 900 programs of study across 14 degree-granting colleges and schools. As Tennessee's flagship land-grant university, its footprint spans the entire state. The university holds the highest Carnegie classification for research activity and has deep partnerships with industry leaders and the US Department of Energy's largest multidisciplinary laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Knoxville campus serves and recruits for UT Knoxville, including the Institute of Agriculture and the Space Institute, as well as the UT Institute of Public Service.

UT Knoxville considers its employees its number one asset. With values that focus on work-life balance, compensation, and innovation leadership, all Vols are supported to advance professionally. Employees have access to career development and coaching, continued education, and an extensive list of development and training possibilities. The Volunteer employee experience implements structures and practices to attract and retain top-tier talent, fostering a strong staff community and supporting a culture of involvement and engagement for everyone.

The university holds a strong commitment to its land-grant mission of learning and engagement, with a tradition of service and leadership that carries that Volunteer spirit throughout the state and around the world. It has been ranked nationally as "Best Employer for New Graduates," "One of America's Best Large Employers," and "Best Workplace for Women," and has been designated as "Best Place for Working Parents" by Forbes Magazine.

Apply today and join the Tennessee Volunteer community!

Required Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's Degree in Marketing & Communications, Graphic Design, UI/UX Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, and/or Web Design

Experience:

• Minimum 4 years of professional UX/UI, product design, digital experience design, or closely related experience.

• Expert knowledge of UX design principles

• Demonstrated portfolio showing strong visual design, responsive interface design, information architecture, user flows, wireframing, prototyping, and completed digital experiences.

• Demonstrated experience using analytics and/or behavioral data to inform UX decisions and evaluate outcomes.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Expert skill in UX/UI and interaction design, including responsive/mobile-first interface design.

• Strong visual design skill in typography, hierarchy, layout, imagery, and interface composition.

• Advanced skill with Figma, including components, libraries, prototyping, and design systems.

• Demonstrated ability to analyze web and user-behavior data and translate findings into actionable UX recommendations.

• Working knowledge of GA4 and digital measurement concepts including events, conversions, funnels, engagement, segmentation, and user journeys.

• Ability to create and communicate recurring UX performance reports and data-informed recommendations.

• Ability to conduct usability testing and other qualitative UX research, identify patterns in user feedback, and translate findings into actionable design recommendations.

• Ability to define measurable success criteria for UX initiatives and evaluate results after implementation.

• Knowledge of WCAG/accessibility standards.

• Ability to independently identify, prioritize, and advance UX opportunities.

• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects while communicating status, risks, dependencies, and changing priorities.

• Excellent written, verbal communication, and interpersonal relationship building skills

• Excellent content organizational skills

Sponsorship Not Available

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Preferred Qualifications

Education: Master's Degree in Marketing & Communications, Graphic Design, UI/UX Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, and/or Web Design

Experience:

• 6+ years FTE as UX Designer

• 2-3 years higher education experience

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Working Knowledge of front-end development (html, SCSS, JS)

• Higher education, enrollment, marketing, or similarly complex customer-journey experience.

• Experience with hosting focus groups and preforming usability tests

• Experience developing dashboards or recurring UX performance reports.

• Ability to design motion graphics, animation and video editing

• Ability to design for email and other digital touchpoints

• Experience working with SEMRush, GA4, CrazyEgg, Wordpress or similar platforms

Work Location

• Location: Knoxville, TN

• Onsite and Hybrid

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range: MR 10

• Anticipated hiring range: $70-$75k

• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here

• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest and for full consideration, please apply with the noted below attachments:

• Resume

• Cover Letter

• Sample portfolio of your work. The portfolio could include PDFs, hyperlinks, and/or image files. When uploading images or work samples, please include clear labeling that includes your first and last name.

About The College/Department/Division

Digital Learning at UT, is a unit charged with advancing UT's commitment to discovery, creativity, learning, and engagement, specifically for online learners. Using advanced and innovative technologies, Digital Learning at UT will provide scalable solutions that enhance the online learning experience and reduce barriers to student access and success, providing a tremendous impact to online learners across the state and the nation. At Digital Learning, we want to be bold and impactful, transforming the future of online education through innovative thinking and collaborative problem-solving. Join our dynamic and inclusive Digital Learning team where we take pride in teamwork, excellence, and a shared commitment to shaping the future through education and innovation.

With over 225 years dedicated to education and research, and as one of the 100 largest employers in Tennessee, there is endless potential to discover at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. This advanced academic center comprises 17 degree-granting colleges and schools, 900+ programs of study, 547 graduate programs, and is home to over 7,500 employees statewide who support the continued growth of the state's flagship land-grant university. The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Anthropological Research Facility, Space Institute, and the UT Institute of Public Service are acclaimed entities of the UT system and with nearby affiliate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Rocky Top is a university on the rise. UT Knoxville considers its employees its number one asset and with values that focus on work-life balance, compensation, and innovative leadership, all Vols are supported to advance professionally. Employees have access to career development and coaching, continued education, and an extensive list of development and training possibilities. The Volunteer employee experience implements structures and practices that attract and retain a diverse community and that support a culture where everyone matters and belongs. Apply today and join the Vol Family for life!

Ranked nationally as "Best Employer for New Graduates", "One of America's Best Large Employers", "Best Workplace for Women," and has been designated as "Best Place for Working Parents" by Forbes Magazine.

UX, Interaction & Visual Design

• Lead UX design projects from discovery and concept development through wireframes, prototypes, visual design, implementation, and optimization.
• Translate user needs, behavioral data, business objectives, enrollment goals into intuitive, visually compelling, data-driven designs.
• Develop information architecture, user flows, site maps, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity interface designs.
• Create responsive, mobile-first experiences across program pages, landing pages, forms, search and exploration experiences, and other conversion-focused digital touchpoints.
• Apply strong visual design principles including typography, hierarchy, layout, imagery, interaction design, and content presentation.
• Develop, maintain, and evolve reusable components and design systems that improve consistency, accessibility, scalability, and development efficiency.
• Partner with developers throughout implementation to ensure design intent, usability, responsiveness, and accessibility are maintained.
• Evaluate front-end implementations and communicate actionable recommendations for semantic markup, accessibility, responsive behavior, and design fidelity.
• Ensure digital experiences adhere to university brand standards and accessibility requirements, including appropriate semantic structure, accessible interactive elements, and responsive design practices.

UX Research, Analytics & Performance Optimization

• Independently analyze quantitative and qualitative user data to identify behavioral patterns, friction points, conversion barriers, and opportunities for experience improvement.
• Manage tools such as GA4, Looker Studio, SEMRush, Crazy Egg or similar analytics and behavioral-analysis platforms to evaluate user journeys, traffic patterns, engagement, conversion performance, and interaction behavior.
• Proactively identify opportunities for optimization rather than relying solely on assigned research or design requests.
• Develop recurring UX performance reporting that translates data into clear findings, recommendations, and prioritized opportunities for improvement.
• Establish appropriate UX success measures and KPIs for projects and evaluate performance before and after implementation.
• Conduct and synthesize usability testing, user interviews, surveys, heatmaps, session recordings, and other research methods as appropriate.
• Develop hypotheses and support A/B or multivariate testing to evaluate design and content decisions.
• Present findings to UX leadership and cross-functional stakeholders in a clear, actionable format.

Collaboration, Communication & UX Strategy

• Collaborate with UX leadership, developers, marketing, enrollment, and content teams to define problems, requirements, priorities, and measures of success.
• Clearly communicate the rationale behind design recommendations using user research, analytics, accessibility standards, UX principles, and business objectives.
• Present concepts, findings, prototypes, and recommendations to stakeholders at varying levels of UX and technical expertise.
• Facilitate productive conversations around competing user, technical, and business requirements and recommend appropriate solutions.
• Partner closely with developers throughout implementation and participate in design QA.
• Contribute to UX planning and prioritization by identifying high-impact opportunities and recommending next steps.
• Build productive relationships with campus partners while advocating for user needs and established UX standards.

UX Standards, Training & Professional Development

• Stay up-to-date on design systems, trends, and technologies in user experience design and discoverability
• Complete mandatory trainings and continuing education requirements set forth by the university.
• Train and educate co-workers, staff and student workers on UX guidelines and design patterns

UX, Interaction & Visual Design

• Lead UX design projects from discovery and concept development through wireframes, prototypes, visual design, implementation, and optimization.
• Translate user needs, behavioral data, business objectives, enrollment goals into intuitive, visually compelling, data-driven designs.
• Develop information architecture, user flows, site maps, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity interface designs.
• Create responsive, mobile-first experiences across program pages, landing pages, forms, search and exploration experiences, and other conversion-focused digital touchpoints.
• Apply strong visual design principles including typography, hierarchy, layout, imagery, interaction design, and content presentation.
• Develop, maintain, and evolve reusable components and design systems that improve consistency, accessibility, scalability, and development efficiency.
• Partner with developers throughout implementation to ensure design intent, usability, responsiveness, and accessibility are maintained.
• Evaluate front-end implementations and communicate actionable recommendations for semantic markup, accessibility, responsive behavior, and design fidelity.
• Ensure digital experiences adhere to university brand standards and accessibility requirements, including appropriate semantic structure, accessible interactive elements, and responsive design practices.

UX Research, Analytics & Performance Optimization

• Independently analyze quantitative and qualitative user data to identify behavioral patterns, friction points, conversion barriers, and opportunities for experience improvement.
• Manage tools such as GA4, Looker Studio, SEMRush, Crazy Egg or similar analytics and behavioral-analysis platforms to evaluate user journeys, traffic patterns, engagement, conversion performance, and interaction behavior.
• Proactively identify opportunities for optimization rather than relying solely on assigned research or design requests.
• Develop recurring UX performance reporting that translates data into clear findings, recommendations, and prioritized opportunities for improvement.
• Establish appropriate UX success measures and KPIs for projects and evaluate performance before and after implementation.
• Conduct and synthesize usability testing, user interviews, surveys, heatmaps, session recordings, and other research methods as appropriate.
• Develop hypotheses and support A/B or multivariate testing to evaluate design and content decisions.
• Present findings to UX leadership and cross-functional stakeholders in a clear, actionable format.

Collaboration, Communication & UX Strategy

• Collaborate with UX leadership, developers, marketing, enrollment, and content teams to define problems, requirements, priorities, and measures of success.
• Clearly communicate the rationale behind design recommendations using user research, analytics, accessibility standards, UX principles, and business objectives.
• Present concepts, findings, prototypes, and recommendations to stakeholders at varying levels of UX and technical expertise.
• Facilitate productive conversations around competing user, technical, and business requirements and recommend appropriate solutions.
• Partner closely with developers throughout implementation and participate in design QA.
• Contribute to UX planning and prioritization by identifying high-impact opportunities and recommending next steps.
• Build productive relationships with campus partners while advocating for user needs and established UX standards.

UX Standards, Training & Professional Development

• Stay up-to-date on design systems, trends, and technologies in user experience design and discoverability
• Complete mandatory trainings and continuing education requirements set forth by the university.
• Train and educate co-workers, staff and student workers on UX guidelines and design patterns