Deputy Director of UX Research and Design

Posting number: 26-20167

Department: MBTA - Technology Innovation Division

Division: 863-Technology Innovation Division

Job classification: Deputy Director of User Experience (UX) Research and Design

Posting type: Open/External and Promotional/Internal

Categories: Management

SummaryThe Deputy Director of UX Research and Design consistently leads a team through ambiguous, cross-functional design and research on complex, less predictable problems that span multiple touchpoints or journeys. The role decides when and why research is needed, surface unknowns, and define approaches that reduce complexity and create clarity for the team. The Deputy Director of UX Research and Design is accountable for UX quality and consistency, shaping how the team works together, including managing and developing its direct reports, to deliver meaningful outcomes for riders and staff. Examples of duties

• Represent UX team leadership in routine forums and decision-making when delegated, such as cross-program consistency reviews, vendor check-ins, and risk triage, ensuring alignment to UX standards and timely escalation of non-user-focused goals with proposed solutions. 
• Support the Director of UX Research and Design in implementing UX standards, principles, and quality frameworks across teams.
• Lead and deliver UX work on complex problems, across multiple touchpoints or journeys, user types, or operational contexts, ensuring quality and consistency.
• Define UX research scope during planning, decide when and why research is needed, surface knowledge gaps, and help teams act on what they learn.
• Shape product direction by advocating for riders and staff while understanding agency priorities and constraints.
• Design information architectures, content systems, reusable patterns, and interactions that are intuitive and accessible. Thoughtfully determining when to extend and apply existing systems versus when new patterns or structures are needed.
• Understand and design for full user contexts across journeys and touchpoints, frame problems around real needs, and champion end-to-end experiences.
• Partner strategically with stakeholders, frame problems together, and align the team around user-centered approaches.
• Lead accessibility work within the team by anticipating risks, ensuring inclusive design across experiences, and coaching others in accessible design practices.
• Guide the team through uncertainty by setting clear priorities, allocating resources towards the highest-impact work, and adapting how work gets done based on problem complexity and balancing learning with delivery.
• Ensure the team defines success, tracks progress towards real impact for users and the organization and actively reduce work that doesn't contribute to priority outcomes.
• Facilitate collaboration within the team, create space for different perspectives, help resolve disagreement, and build alignment in complex situations.
• Follow and improve design practices including alignment frameworks, design system use, file organization, design reviews, research documentation, usability testing, and accessibility reviews.
• Protect data security, compliance, and privacy across all work by following best practices and established industry/MBTA policies, standards, and procedures for secure research, design, documentation, and data handling.
• Perform people management responsibilities including hiring, supporting growth, expectation setting, performance management, and goal setting.
• Perform all other duties and projects that may be assigned. 

Additional responsibilities may include focus on one or more departments or locations.  See applicable addendum for department or location specific functions. 

Supervision

• Directly supervise one to five (1-5) direct reports.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in a design-related field.
• Five (5) years of progressively responsible UX design experience in cross-functional, design-led software development teams with experience synthesizing insights, translating findings into design decisions, and applying best practices to deliver intuitive, inclusive experiences.
• Two (2) years of UX supervisory, managerial, and/or leadership experience in a technically and/or operationally complex problem space.
• Experience scoping and leading UX research, documenting findings, and translating insights into design and product decisions.
• Experience designing experiences that span multiple touchpoints or journeys. 
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience applying UX best practices, service design, usability heuristics, accessibility standards (WCAG), and human-computer interaction.
• Experience working on cross-functional teams with product, engineering, and stakeholder partners.
• Strong communication skills with ability to articulate design rationale, navigate ambiguity, and advocate for users.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex, less predictable design initiatives that require critical thinking and collaboration.
• As part of the selection process, candidates will be asked to complete and pass job-related technical assessments, which may include presenting a UX case study and/or timed whiteboarding exercise. 

Substitutions 

• A high school diploma or GED with an additional seven (7) years of directly related experience substitutes for the bachelor’s degree requirement. 
• An associate’s degree from an accredited institution and an additional three (3) years of directly related experience substitutes for the bachelor’s degree requirement.
• A master’s degree in a related subject substitutes for two (2) years of general experience. 
• A nationally recognized certification, or statewide/professional certification in a related field substitutes for one (1) year of experience.

Supplemental information

• More than five (5) years of progressively responsible UX design experience in cross-functional, design-led software development teams.
• Experience in public sector, transportation agency, and/or civic technology team.
• Experience managing or leading multidisciplinary teams spanning UX design, UX research, and/or service design.