User Experience Vision Lead (Supervisor)

At Ford, we go further to make our cars better, our employees happier and our planet a better place to be. Learn more about the work that makes Ford a company that we’re proud to be a part of. People working together as a lean, global enterprise to make people’s lives better through automotive and mobility leadership.

From our Palo Alto Research and Innovation Center, we are looking for a seasoned UX practitioner and strategic project leader to guide multidisciplinary UX team members to envision and design future experiences. You will partner with UX researchers to frame the right questions and design research programs that lead us to new insights. With your creative and analytical mind, you will use key insights to frame new opportunity spaces and guide the experience vision for our future global customers. You will relentlessly advocate a human centric perspective through all stages of the design process. As a team player, you will create impact by collaborating across the UX organization and with key work partners across product, marketing, engineering, and technology teams.

* Collaborate with UX research team to design research programs that will inform primary * project track. * • For key project track, facilitate and lead research, design, and technology teams through * visioning and concepting (design thinking) exercises/workshops. * • Guide and oversee holistic experience vision and design solutions from research to * design delivery. * • Develop scenarios and sketches / communicate vision through tangible artifacts * (storyboards, movies, prototypes) from early to late stage concept development. * • Ensure overall quality of project solutions throughout the design process. * • Share trends, strategic perspectives, concepts with the Global UX team and key work * partners to further develop consumer-centered strategies that align with Ford’s vision, goals, * vehicles, services and markets.

**Vital Skills:** * Expertise in user-centered design process. * Experience leading design thinking workshops and brainstorming sessions. * Experience collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams across all aspects of UX design processes. * Ability to mentor and grow team members into future specialists and leaders. * Creative problem solving and strong communication skills. * Experienced leader who knows how to manage time and proactively facilitates * cross-team collaboration. * Strong self-direction and sense of responsibility; exhibiting a high-level of professionalism * and attention to detail. * Knowledge of various prototyping tools. * Experience guiding scenario development as a platform for storytelling. * Knowledge of Visio, Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office apps. **Minimum Requirements:** * Bachelor’s Degree in Interaction Design, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Anthropology, * Psychology, or related field. * 5+ years’ experience as hands-on UX practitioner (e.g. interaction designer, researcher, * strategist) creating user experiences for digital and/or product – mobile, web, software, * physical + digital, automotive. * 2+ years’ experience managing and leading UX design teams that resulted in * creating world-class experiences and/or services. * Proven track record of setting UX vision and managing a UX team in dynamic, diverse, * fast paced environments across multiple projects on schedule and with quality. * Experience leading and/or contributing to user research (ethnographic research, * contextual inquiry, participatory design, concept testing, usability testing) * High energy and passion for understanding consumer technology trends, safety, * mobile technology enablers, autonomous vehicles **Preferred Qualifications:** * Masters in Interaction Design, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Design, Anthropology, * Psychology, or related field. * At least ten years experience as an interaction / user experience designer. * Ability to teach design research methods, prototyping, and other aspects of Interaction/UX design.