Strategic Experience Design Lead (UX/UI/Brand)

Strategic Experience Design Lead (UX/UI/Brand)

Remote | US-Based | Contractor | 9+ Years Experience

We're looking for a designer who can lead the thinking, lead the room, and lead the work.

Variate is seeking an exceptional strategic design leader who connects business strategy, customer behavior, and design execution to drive measurable results.

This role requires more than exceptional design skills. You'll be expected to understand complex business challenges, establish a compelling strategic vision, lead executive conversations and workshops, and personally translate that thinking into outstanding digital experiences.

You must be equally comfortable advising business leaders, challenging assumptions, directing UX/UI projects, and executing sophisticated design work.

We need someone who thinks like a strategist, leads like a trusted advisor, and designs with exceptional precision.

At Variate, success isn't measured by what we produce. It's measured by the decisions we influence, the behaviors we change, and the business outcomes we create.

What You'll Lead

Strategy & Business Impact

• Translate complex business challenges into clear experience strategies that drive measurable results.


• Connect customer behavior, business objectives, and design decisions to conversion, adoption, retention, and growth.


• Bring original thinking, challenge assumptions, and help clients recognize opportunities they may have overlooked.


• Establish compelling strategic perspectives that influence business and experience decisions.

Experience Strategy & Creative Direction

• Own the strategic and creative direction of UX/UI projects from discovery through execution.


• Define experience visions that connect brand, product, customer behavior, and business objectives.


• Lead customer journey design, experience frameworks, digital product concepts, and design systems.


• Maintain exceptional strategic alignment, visual quality, and design consistency throughout every engagement.

Client Leadership & Facilitation

• Independently lead client meetings, discovery sessions, strategic workshops, and executive presentations.


• Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders through strategic guidance and clear communication.


• Challenge conventional thinking, defend recommendations, and align stakeholders around confident decisions.


• Navigate ambiguity and complex stakeholder dynamics while maintaining project momentum.

Hands-On Design & Project Ownership

• Personally execute exceptional UX/UI designs, including user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity interfaces.


• Demonstrate outstanding visual design judgment, interaction design expertise, and attention to detail.


• Independently lead complex engagements from initial business discovery through final execution.


• Guide other designers while maintaining ownership of critical design decisions and overall quality.

What We're Looking For

• 9+ years of experience in UX/UI, digital product, or customer experience design.


• Proven ability to independently lead complex design projects from strategy through execution.


• Strong business acumen and experience connecting design decisions to measurable business outcomes.


• Exceptional hands-on UX/UI and visual design capabilities, including advanced Figma proficiency.


• Experience leading client workshops, executive presentations, and strategic conversations.


• Ability to establish and communicate compelling experience strategies and creative direction.


• Strong understanding of customer behavior, decision-making, and experience design.


• Experience working across UX, UI, brand, and customer experience strategy.


• Confidence challenging assumptions, navigating ambiguity, and aligning stakeholders.


• A portfolio demonstrating strategic thinking, exceptional design craft, personal ownership, and measurable impact.

We're looking for someone who thinks like a strategist, communicates like a consultant, and executes like an exceptional designer.

Who Should Not Apply

This is not a traditional senior UX production role. We're looking for proven strategic leaders who take ownership and deliver exceptional work.

This position is not the right fit if:

• Your experience is primarily executing design requirements established by others.


• You cannot demonstrate how your design decisions influenced business outcomes.


• Your portfolio lacks either strategic depth or exceptional visual design quality.


• You have limited experience independently leading clients, workshops, or executive conversations.


• You require significant creative direction or task-level oversight.


• Your case studies focus on process and deliverables without demonstrating your personal contributions or results.

We expect strategic intelligence, exceptional craft, and the confidence to lead.

Why Variate

Variate is a strategic design firm built for how people make decisions.

Through our proprietary Decision Design™ approach, we create brands and experiences that remove hesitation, build trust, and drive measurable business growth.

We've partnered with organizations including Marriott International, Carnival Cruise Line, Stanley Black & Decker, and Amerant Bank, helping shape more than 1 billion customer decisions and unlock over $16 billion in growth.

You'll work alongside experienced strategists, designers, and business leaders on meaningful challenges for startups, growth-stage companies, and Fortune 500 organizations.

We value independent thinking, exceptional craft, strong relationships, and measurable outcomes. Our team operates as an extension of our clients' businesses, bringing strategic guidance and hands-on expertise to the moments that matter most.

At Variate, we don't just design experiences. We design the decisions that move businesses forward.

Portfolio & Selection Criteria

We're highly selective. Your portfolio is the primary signal of your capabilities.

We're looking for case studies that clearly demonstrate:

1. Strategic Thinking: How you identified the business challenge, established a direction, and influenced important decisions.


2. Design Excellence: Exceptional UX/UI execution, visual design judgment, and attention to detail.


3. Leadership: Evidence of independently leading clients, workshops, stakeholders, and complex projects.


4. Business Impact: Measurable results and clear ownership of the decisions that contributed to them.

Prior experience at a respected design agency or consultancy is highly valued, but demonstrated ability matters most.

Show us how you think, how you lead, what you personally designed, and what changed because of your work.

We've created a guide to help your portfolio stand out:

https://variate.com/perspective/1000-portfolios-1-designer

Compensation

Contract Rate: $90-$105 USD/hour, based on experience.

Location: Remote, US-based.

Engagement: Consistent long-term contract work with potential for contract-to-hire.

NO RECRUITERS. Direct applicants only.

LinkedIn Screening Questions

1. How many years of professional UX/UI or product design experience do you have?

Question Type: Numeric

Ideal Answer: 9+

2. Have you independently led UX/UI projects from business discovery and strategy through hands-on execution?

Question Type: Yes/No

Ideal Answer: Yes

3. Does your portfolio demonstrate projects where your design decisions contributed to measurable business outcomes?

Question Type: Yes/No

Ideal Answer: Yes

4. Have you personally led strategic workshops or discovery sessions with clients?

Question Type: Yes/No

Ideal Answer: Yes

5. Have you presented and defended strategic design recommendations directly to senior executives?

Question Type: Yes/No

Ideal Answer: Yes

6. Have you owned the overall strategic and creative direction of complex UX/UI projects?

Question Type: Yes/No

Ideal Answer: Yes

7. How many years of professional experience do you have using Figma?

Question Type: Numeric

Ideal Answer: 5+

8. Have you worked directly with clients at a design agency or consultancy?

Question Type: Yes/No

Ideal Answer: Yes (Preferred, not required)

9. Have you independently owned both the strategy and hands-on design execution of a complex project?

Question Type: Yes/No

Ideal Answer: Yes

10. Is a direct link to your portfolio included in your LinkedIn profile or application?

Question Type: Yes/No

Ideal Answer: Yes

11. Do you understand this is a remote, US-based contract position paying $90-$105/hour?

Question Type: Yes/No

Ideal Answer: Yes

12. Are you available to begin contract work within the next 30 days?

Question Type: Yes/No

Ideal Answer: Yes

Recommended Knockout Questions: 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, and 11.

Use the remaining questions to prioritize candidates rather than automatically disqualifying them.

Source: 2026 Variate Brand Intelligence v4.1.