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David Careers

Senior UX Designer - Contractor

Posted 2 days ago

variateDenver (CO)
Web and Digital Interface DesignersCustom Computer Programming Services

SENIORITY

Senior

SALARY

$70–$85hr

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About the role

Remote: US-based / Flexible ET hours
Lead complex experience design work from strategy through execution, shaping products and journeys that remove friction, build trust, and drive measurable outcomes for our clients. Extraordinary brands are built by extraordinary designers. Variate is looking for a Senior Product Experience Designer to lead high-impact digital experiences for ambitious global brands. This is not a generalist UX role. You will own outcomes, turn complexity into clarity, and design experiences that customers feel and businesses can measure. If you have mastered your craft, operate with high accountability, and want your work judged by real-world impact, we want to meet you. This is a hybrid, US-based role with collaboration during Eastern Time working hours. You will report to a Design Director who values speed, clarity, and measurable results.
What You Will Do:
  • Own the outcome - Lead major design initiatives from discovery to delivery. Define what success looks like, align teams around it, and deliver against clear business and customer metrics.
  • Raise the bar - Set design standards that elevate entire teams. Every flow, component, and presentation reflects purpose, precision, and intent.
  • Design for growth - Create experiences that convert, retain, and inspire. You measure your work in adoption, lift, and outcomes, not aesthetics.
  • Collaborate as a peer - Work directly with senior strategists, product leaders, engineers, founders, and executives. No layers of account management. Mastery is expected, not coached.
  • Move fast with discipline - Use AI as a force multiplier to accelerate exploration, synthesize insight, and compress delivery timelines without sacrificing quality.
  • What You BringProven excellence - 5+ years in UX or product design with clear, measurable business impact.
  • Master-level Figma - Deep expertise in systems, tokens, prototyping, and clean, scalable file architecture.
  • Strategic insight - A strong understanding of user motivation, business context, and how decisions actually get made.
  • Executive presence - Clear, confident, and persuasive communication with senior stakeholders. You can defend decisions and lead the room.
  • Uncompromising standards - You expect excellence from yourself and others and hold yourself accountable for outcomes.
  • What Sets You ApartYou have built or scaled a design system that improved speed, consistency, or adoption.
  • You have led workshops that shaped product or business strategy.
  • You have mentored other designers to operate at a higher level.
  • You have partnered with a well-known national brand, global brand, or respected design agency to drive measurable impact.
  • What Success Looks Like in the First 90 DaysLead at least one end-to-end client engagement with clear, measurable lift.
  • Present work directly to senior client stakeholders with confidence and authority.
  • Improve an existing system, flow, or design process with visible, documented impact.
  • Who Should Not ApplyThis role is not for everyone. Do not apply if:
  • You cannot demonstrate every prerequisite listed above.
  • You need heavy direction before acting.
  • Your portfolio focuses on visual polish without proof of impact.
  • Your portfolio focuses on UX rigor without visual polish.
  • You have never owned a measurable outcome such as conversion, adoption, or retention.
  • Your case studies rely on templates or end at "we improved the experience."Your portfolio opens with wireframes or generic dashboards.
  • You prefer comfort over challenge or feedback over accountability.
  • You are still learning the fundamentals. Variate is where experts come to perform.
Why Variate: Variate designs customer experiences that remove hesitation and create confident decisions. We partner with ambitious brands such as Marriott, Carnival, Stanley Black & Decker, and Amerant Bank to transform complexity into clarity and decisions into measurable growth. We care deeply about the people we work with. Our culture balances high standards with genuine support, creating an environment where designers grow faster, perform stronger, and feel seen for their mastery. This is an opportunity to work with a deeply experienced team that partners directly with visionary leaders across startups, growth-stage innovators, and Fortune 500 brands. Our clients choose Variate for our precision, pace, and partnership. We operate as an extension of their teams—trusted, embedded, and focused on outcomes that matter. Every engagement demands excellence and rewards it in equal measure.
Interview Selection Criteria: We hire one designer for every thousand who apply because excellence requires focus. If you are that one, we want to hear from you.1. Portfolio quality Your portfolio is the primary signal. We are looking for clear evidence of ownership, decision-making, and measurable impact. Work should demonstrate both UX rigor and strong visual execution, with outcomes clearly articulated.2. Background experience Your professional background matters, particularly experience operating at a senior level in high-expectation environments. Prior experience at a respected design agency or consultancy is highly valued, as it demonstrates comfort with pace, accountability, and complex client work. We review portfolios first. Experience reinforces the signal. Neither compensates for the absence of the other. We created a cheat sheet to help your portfolio stand out.
Compensation: Contract: $70–$85hrConsistent long-term contract work with contract-to-hire possibilityNO RECRUITERS!

Before you apply

Applying takes about a minute. These four things decide how fast it moves after that.

Your profile is current

It's what we read first. Occupations, seniority and locations matter more than a long history.

Two examples you can talk through

Not a portfolio — just two pieces of work where you can explain the decisions and what you'd change.

A number in mind

What you're on now and what would make you move. We negotiate better when we know both.

Your notice period

Employers plan around it, and it's the question that stalls offers most often.

Once you apply, someone reads it and calls you before anything reaches the employer — usually within two working days.

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