UX UI Lead Designer

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. Summary 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, wireframing, 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.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• 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 or coordinate accessibility reviews, document findings and remediation recommendations, and partner with development teams to validate accessible implementation through automated tools, keyboard testing, browser accessibility inspectors, and assistive-technology testing.
• 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 competing project needs, and recommend practical solutions.
• Use qualitative and quantitative inputs—including user feedback, usability findings, web analytics, conversion data, and accessibility audits—to…