UX UI Lead Designer

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Full Time Professional New York, NY, US

$95,000.00 To $ Annually

This role is subject to a flexible hybrid work arrangement requiring a minimum of 1-2 pre-determined days per week in our mid-town office.

The UX/UI Lead Designer is responsible for leading the strategy, design, and continuous improvement of intuitive, visually compelling, user-centered, and accessible digital experiences across CRF websites, mobile-responsive experiences, web applications, digital products, and email marketing communications (eBlasts).

This senior individual-contributor role serves as CRF Digital’s lead UX/UI design subject-matter expert. The position establishes and advances UX/UI standards, accessible design practices, reusable design systems, and digital experience patterns across CRF Digital properties. The UX/UI Lead Designer partners closely with Digital Leads (Online News & Editorial, Business Development, Digital Development, Digital Marketing), AD of Creative Services & team, and other Marketing stakeholders across different CRF divisions to translate organizational objectives, audience needs, content requirements, and brand standards into high-quality digital solutions.

The role leads design discovery, information architecture, interaction design, wire framing, prototyping, visual design, usability evaluation, and design quality assurance. The UX/UI Lead Designer is expected to provide strategic design direction, influence cross-functional decision-making, and ensure that accessibility is embedded throughout the design and delivery lifecycle.

• Serve as the lead UX/UI design authority for CRF Digital, setting standards for user experience, interface design, interaction patterns, visual consistency, responsive design, and accessible digital experiences.
• Lead and champion digital accessibility across CRF Digital properties. Ensure that UX/UI designs, reusable components, web experiences, and email communications are designed to meet or exceed WCAG 2.1/2.2 Level AA requirements and applicable ADA-related digital accessibility standards.
• Establish, maintain, and evolve a scalable design system and component library, including design tokens, reusable components, interaction patterns, accessibility requirements, documentation, and governance processes.
• Embed accessibility requirements into design systems, design specifications, prototypes, acceptance criteria, and quality‑assurance processes, including requirements for color contrast, typography, keyboard navigation, focus states, semantic structure, headings, form controls, error handling, alternative text, captions, and screen-reader usability.
• Provide strategic design direction and hands‑on execution from discovery through launch, ensuring that digital solutions align with CRF brand standards, business objectives, user needs, and technical constraints.
• Lead the UX/UI design process for complex and high-priority initiatives, including stakeholder discovery, requirements definition, user flows, journey maps, information architecture, wireframes, interactive prototypes, high-fidelity visual design, and developer handoff.
• Serve as a resource to internal teams on accessibility standards, inclusive-design principles, and practical approaches for creating accessible digital content and experiences.
• Partner with AD of Creative Services to ensure consistent application and evolution of CRF brand standards across websites, digital products, email communications, campaigns, and other digital touchpoints.
• Define and promote effective design workflows, review processes, file‑management standards, design documentation, and quality‑control practices that improve consistency, scalability, efficiency, and on‑time delivery.
• Provide design critique, constructive feedback, and subject‑matter guidance to internal colleagues, contractors, agencies, and other project contributors.
• Collaborate with project stakeholders to identify design risks, define success criteria, prioritize work, manage…