Job: Senior UX Positions - MathWorks

Senior User Experience Researchers and Designers at The MathWorks (multiple positions).

Come work at a great, stable company where:

- The development organization understands and supports user centered design

- User centered design happens on our products, our web site, *and* the internal tools our employees use to do their jobs

- You can be part of a dynamic team of other usability specialists.

- The company is profitable, growing, fun, and committed to changing the world with our products

So what will you do?

You will be responsible for providing user centered design activities related to several MathWorks product areas. You will work with teams to understand the user centered design needs of their projects and then develop creative solutions for meeting these needs.

You will make recommendations to team members about what usability methods to use to answer their questions about users and design directions for their projects. You will work closely with the team members to help them develop user profiles and create task lists. You will help them create paper prototypes, and review online prototypes developed by others.  If your skills lie in visual and interaction design, you’ll take on design projects for your teams.

You will run usability tests, conduct interviews, organize surveys, and complete any other usability assessments you think are appropriate. You will help the developers’ record and interpret the results, and you will be responsible for making sure that the project team understands what users’ feedback means. You will help the team decide what to do about feedback, and will provide input for design decisions based on that feedback. You will participate in documenting requirements and functional design specifications.

Qualifications:

- BA or MA in cognitive psychology, human factors, or related field, or equivalent experience

- 4-8 years as a usability engineer in software development, with direct experience with a variety of usability methods

- Knowledge of MathWorks products or Perforce a plus

- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

- Ability to balance needs of a large number of concurrent projects.

All positions are located in Natick, Massachusetts.

For more information or to submit your resume, please contact Amy Kidd, Manager of MathWorks Products Usability at akidd@mathworks.com

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About The MathWorks:

Join us in accelerating the pace of discovery, innovation, and learning in engineering and science. At the MathWorks, we cultivate an enjoyable, participatory, and rational environment that nurtures individual growth, appreciates diversity, encourages initiative, values teamwork, shares success, and rewards excellence.

The MathWorks, creator of MATLAB® and Simulink®, was founded in 1984 and currently employs more than 1,800 people worldwide. The company has been profitable every year since its inception and is privately held. 

Come join us!

ASIS&T Fall 2008 Workshop

PUSHING BOUNDARIES IN INFORMATION VISUALIZATION:
Using Virtual, Immersive and Interactive Technologies in Research & Practice

The Carolinas Chapter of ASIS&T (cc:asis&t) is pleased to announce an upcoming workshop Pushing Boundaries in Information Visualization to be held at the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) in beautiful Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Saturday, September 13, 2008.  The focus of this workshop is on current and developing technologies to enable more effective collaboration within professional and research environments.

PROGRAM GOALS
1)  Showcase some of the innovative uses of technology in terms of virtual and immersive environments for interacting with information

2)  Generate attendee discussion around the use, integration and evaluation of such tools (i.e. how do we evaluate the use of these technologies?  how can research improve practice? how can practice inform research, etc.)

WHEN    Saturday, September 13, 2008
       9:00 am – 4:30 pm

WHERE   Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI)
       UNC Campus – ITS Manning
       211 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599

COST    Free for ASIS&T members
       $50 non-members
       (ASIS&T student membership is only $40)

REGISTER Online at http://www.asis.org/Chapters/carolinas/events/fall2008workshop.html
       Attendance limited to 45
       Payment must be received by Monday, September 8

PARKING Ram’s Head Parking Deck on Ridge Road north of Manning Drive; Dogwood Parking Deck, corner of Manning Drive and Hospital Drive, one block west of ITS Manning http://www.dps.unc.edu/maps/visitor/Visitor.pdf

PROGRAM
A number of researchers will demonstrate the ways in which they have been able to take advantage of current technologies in order to manage their collaborate projects and share research data using RENCI’s facilities, including its high-tech Social Computing Room, an environment providing a full 360-degree display and allowing virtual, immersive, and interactive engagement for groups.  Attendees may also experience haptic environments and multi-user online social environments that offer possibilities for further expanding virtual, immersive, and collaborative work.

The program will feature a colorful mix of research projects ranging from electrical stimulation of the nervous system with cochlear implant, to scalable visualization of genealogy links, experiential look at the death penalty, visualizing activity on a busy website, and comparing human and yeast cell protein interaction networks.  Attendees need not be familiar with the disciplines of these research projects – the program will expose you to the use of immersive and interactive technology across a range of disciplines and then encourage discussion about the possibilities.

Breakfast, lunch and a delightful reception are included in the program – so please join us for this immersive and engaging program.

asis&t is the Carolinas Chapter of the American Society for Information Science & Technology
http://www.asis.org/Chapters/carolinas/ Join us on Facebook too

Job: UX designer

USER EXPERIENCE DESIGNER

Who we are:

iContact is a five-year old venture-backed 100 person company based in Durham, NC. The iContact product is the leading email marketing and online communications platform used by over 20,000 companies worldwide. Our clients range from small businesses to blue chip clients like International Paper, Ford, Bank of America, Super 8 Motel, Symantec, Re/Max, United Colors of Benetton, Nissan, and LG Electronics.

 

Who we need:

The company is looking for a highly creative User Experience Designer to bring new meaning to the phrase, “delight the customer.” A successful candidate will have experience designing complex interactions in a web frame work. Superior audience analysis skills are an absolute must. You will be communicating your ideas using visual compositions, work flows, rapid prototypes, wireframes and written specifications to team members of varying technical knowledge levels. Experience using Jesse James Garrett’s visual vocabulary or are capable of explaining complex workflows with some other deliverable are a plus. You must have the ability to accept constructive criticism for your work and defend your ideas with quality information.

 

The ideal candidate will bring 2 to 4 years of experience to our User Experience department, and will be expected to work closely with designers, engineers, product management, marketing and customer support.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide expert advice and assistance in areas such as Information Architecture, User Experience, Interaction Design and Visual Design.
• Anticipating and refining user stories (customer requirements).
• Ensuring high quality and consistency throughout the company’s product line.
• Creating workflow diagrams using the Jesse James Garrett visual vocabulary.
• Constructing visual design compositions. These compositions might be small elements that include buttons or labels. Alternatively, they could be complete high-fidelity wireframes that communicate complex workflows.
• Help define guidelines for information architecture, navigation, interaction design and user experience.

Minimum Hiring Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree – Computer Science, Human Factors or related software design degree.
• Two to four years experience in information architecture/usability engineering or user experience design.
• Demonstrated knowledge of user experience design. (a portfolio for example)
• Knowledge of industry standards and trends, platform standards and software development.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, collaboration, facilitation, interpersonal and communication skills.
• Experience or detailed understanding of Agile and Scrum.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively.
• Able to work individually or in a team.
• Must be self-disciplined, flexible and innovative.

 Send resume and portfolio to jobs@icontact.com

Document your code for free

I am looking for two small software applications or modules to use in graduate and advanced undergraduate courses. Students will write documentation and online help for the applications and then test them. Of course, I can always look around for freeware or shareware utilities that have minimal or no documentation, but I would prefer to find “real world” applications where students’ docs, help, and tests could actually prove valuable to someone. These assignment will occur in October or November. If you have a small piece of code for which you would like user documentation and some testing, please let me know.

Thanks,
Stan Dicks stan_dicks@ncsu.edu

TriUPA Training Series #1: Todd Warfel presents “Effective Prototyping”

We are excited to announced the first event in TriUPA’s new training series!  These events will provide cutting-edge, industrial-strength, knock-your-socks-off UX training in TriUPA’s four focus areas: usability testing, user research, interaction design, and information architecture.

What: Effective Prototyping: full-day workshop

When: 9am - 5pm — Monday, September 15th 2008

Where: Council for Entrepreneurial Development

Cost:  $125 (TriUPA members) / $100 (TriUPA sponsors) / $ 50 students

How: Register here: http://triupa.org/ EffectivePrototyping

About this Presentation
Are you interested in making prototyping a key part of your design prcess?  Or do you currently practice prototyping and need some fresh ideas?

This highly detailed, practical, and hands on workshop will provide a framework for creating and testing prototypes. We’ll discuss what prototyping is, when to use it, when to use other methods, and what to expect.

Todd will present eight guiding principles for prototyping and will perform a hands-on demonstration of several techniques. In addition to an overview of how and when to use prototyping in the IA/UX process Todd will also provide some techniques for the more seasoned veteran.

About the Speaker
Todd Zaki Warfel is a Principal and Founder of Messagefirst, a Philadelphia-based design research consultancy, where he blends research and design to evolve products in innovative and beautiful ways. Todd is a dynamic speaker and storyteller by nature. He is an active speaker and member of a number of industry communities and organizations, including the Information Architecture Institute, Interaction Design Association and Usability Professionals’ Association.

Todd’s clients have included Albertsons, AT&T Wireless, Bankrate, Bank of America, Citi, Comcast, Cornell University, IntraLinks, The Hartford, LA Times, Motorola, Palm and SBC.

Todd currently lives in Philadelphia and blogs at toddwarfel.com. His upcoming book, Practical Prototyping: A Practitioner’s Guide to Prototyping from Rosenfeld Media, will take a hands-on approach, enabling you to develop prototypes with minimal muss and fuss. The book will discuss how prototypes are more than just a design tool by demonstrating how they can help you market a product, gain internal buy-in and test feasibility with your development team. It is anticipated to be available later this year.

For more information about Messagefirst, visit http://www.messagefirst.com

Job: UI Design Analyst

There are 2 direct perm position for UI Design Analysts. Candidate must have experience designing commercial products that are sold to external clients. Must have excellent interpersonal skills as they will be working heavily with the external clients determining what they like and do not like about the applications. Prefer candidate that have healthcare experience, Must have 4 years of experience as a UI Designer. Will travel up to 20%. Will use user centered design to gather requirements and translate them into design models. Will refine product feature as they evolve. Need someone who is a “There has to be a better way to do this” kind of individual.

Will identify business needs, will visit prospective customers to determine environment, will review product functionality requirements, will assist with roll-out activities, and participate in development and improvement of processes.

 

If interested please contact Kristin Redd at Kristin.Redd@sapphire.com

Job: Manager UI Design

This is a direct perm position for a Manager UI Design.

We are seeking a candidate that started off as a UI Designer and moved into Management. Must have 3 or more years as a Manager and 10 total years in IT including 3 years of experience as a UI Designer. Looking for candidates that have experience with commercial software products. Candidates must be excellent with customer service as they will be a liaison between the software engineers and the external clients. We use an Agile Development methodology, so this candidate will work with our clients to determine what they like and do not like about each application. Will manager 6 UI designers including all employee related activities (hires, trains, appraises). Provides input to product strategy. Assigns staff to project teams. Evaluates internal processes. Coordinate client focus groups. Develops implementation of processes. Must have Bachelors Degree.

 

If interested please contact Kristin Redd at Kristin.Redd@sapphire.com

Job: HCI faculty at Carnegie Mellon

Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) opens search for teaching track faculty to head the Professional Masters Program in Human Computer Interaction

The Professional Masters Program in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University invites applications for a teaching-track position as Director beginning in the spring term of 2009 or earlier. This job is a career-oriented renewable appointment for program management and teaching in the field of human computer interaction at the professional master’s level. The job will entail administering the current masters and combined masters/undergrad programs, recruiting students and communicating with the public and with graduates, developing new and/or expanded programs, acting as liaison to the faculty and other programs and units, and teaching and mentoring students to prepare them for various roles in the human computer interaction field, such as design, user evaluation, application developer, and team leader.

Applicants for the position must have an M.H.C.I., M.F.A., M.S., or Ph.D. in one of the main disciplines of HCI (psychology, computer science, design, or a social science) or a related field, have demonstrated excellence in teaching human computer interaction or related courses, familiarity with methods, user-centered design, and research in human computer interaction, and have administrative and leadership experience. Candidates with broad professional experience in HCI or design will be preferred.

Applications should include a letter of application, curriculum vitae, a statement of teaching philosophy, and letters of reference from three or more individuals. Applicants should arrange for reference letters to be sent directly to the contact below. Send materials, letters, and questions to Hiring Committee by email to hcii-mhci-search@cs.cmu.edu. Hard copy applications can be sent via postal mail to:

Hiring Committee
c/o MHCI Program Director Search
Human-Computer Interaction Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412) 268-2593

Carnegie Mellon is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer; we invite and encourage applications from women and minorities.

Job: Information Architect (a.k.a. UX Designer)

Does maneuvering through the lousy design and archaic site architecture found on the average Web site make you crazy? Do you deconstruct the menu’s labeling metaphor at dinner? Do you believe that responsible web design goes beyond just pretty pictures and incorporates concepts like usefulness, findability, usability, accessibility, and progressive enhancement?

If you answered yes, then join the hesketh.com team!

Occupational Summary

You will be responsible for developing user-centered workflows, information architectures, user interfaces, and information designs, balancing usability and cultural factors with strategic goals and objectives. You will also collaborate with the programming and visual design teams to ensure your vision isn’t lost when the functionality is developed and the window dressing (branding) is applied.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Information architecture & User Expreience Design . Structure and label information in a usable, intuitive fashion; this involves determining site navigation, interaction, workflow, and overall user experience for Internet, intranet and extranet sites as well as web-based applications.
2. Research. Participate in user-centered design processes, especially conducting user research, competitive research, and usability testing.
3. Specifiction. Write specifications that define the user experience architecture (sitemaps, workflows), wireframes, and use cases of new Web sites and applications.
4. Collaboration. Collaborate with a diverse, user-centered design team made of Information Architects, Web Designers, Application Developers, and Account Managers for full life cycle web design and development.
5. Client presentations & training. Facilitate transfer of information to clients, including writing documentation and effectively communicating complex, abstract ideas to Web laymen.
6. Lead. Assess new methodologies, standards, technologies and trends, and formulate strategies and plans for the future of your discipline.

Qualifications

Education

BA or BS degree or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.

Experience

• Minimum four or more years of experience in Web design and development.
• Strong portfolio required, including wireframes, page layout, and information architecture.
• Experience with large, complex, and dynamic Web sites.
• Agency experience preferred.

Skills

Must-haves

• Ability to translate theory into exceptional reality.
• Expertise in user experience architecture (sitemaps, workflows) and wireframes.
• Familiarity with the core principles of information design and theories of navigation.
• Experience with usability testing, ethonographic research, personas, and other user-centered design methodologies.
• Thoroughness and an eye for detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to analyze, define, and complete tasks with minimal direction/supervision.
• Eagerness to learn, share, and apply new skills and trends.
• Integrity, courtesy, and professionalism.
• Sense of humor.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience providing accurate and realistic project estimates and exercising the discipline required to meet them.
• Ability to write and edit Web marketing copy.
• Familiarity with, or interest in, ethical search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.
• Experience in coding browser-independent, standards-compliant XHTML and CSS.
• Foosball skills.

Location

In-house, Raleigh, NC.

Relocation

Not covered.

Send resumes and salary history to…
hesketh.com/inc.
ATTN: Personnel
5400 Glenwood Avenue
Suite G11
Raleigh, NC 27612

fax: 919.834.2553
email: careers@hesketh.com

hesketh.com/inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, veteran status, or disability.

Job: UX consultant & IA

User Experience Consultant & Information Architect

Ironworks Consulting is seeking an experienced well-rounded User Experience Consultant to participate in the delivery and sales process of User Experience consulting engagements at our Cary, NC office. Engagements broadly fall within the category of:

• Web and E-Commerce Strategy
• Web Site and Intranet Design & Development (including CMS and Portal solutions)
• Usability Testing
• Online Marketing
• Information Architecture

Core Duties/Responsibilities include the following:

• Scopes and participates in the selling of consulting engagements
• Consults with and delivers results to clients within tight time constraints that consistently meet or exceed client expectations
• Collaborates with clients and internal teams to identify solutions that enable clients to achieve business and marketing objectives
• Interviews and interacts with senior level client executives and sponsors, linking these key stakeholders’ objectives to project efforts
• Works closely with Creative, Technology and Project Management groups to provide input and ensure business objectives are met
• Leads the delivery of client-specific deliverables such as:  Target Audience Analyses, Competitive Analyses, Expert Site Reviews, Web Strategies, Implementation Plans
• Works with clients to develop sites that attract, engage, and retain customers
• Facilitates and coordinates primary research, including focus groups, usability testing and surveys
• Contributes to the growth of the User Experience team by identifying opportunities and new service areas
• Participating in hands-on development of Information Architecture and Usability testing processes

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong understanding of the Web, the role of User Experience and the relationship between User Experience and Technology
• Familiarity with online business and what makes sites successful
• Familiarity with marketing and branding principles
• Solid writing and interpersonal communication skills in both raising questions and describing and clarifying findings
• Demonstrated experience in developing and leading presentations at multiple levels of management
• Strong project management and time management skills

·         Minimum of 3 years experience designing and developing Information Architecture for web sites and/or applications

·         Minimum of 3 years experience designing and developing Information Architecture for web sites and/or applications

·         Minimum of 5 years experience working with Web content, information analysis, and copywriting.

·         Solid understanding of information architecture and user interface design concepts and techniques

·         Strong conceptual and strategic thinking skills

·         Excellent group facilitation skills

·         Strong requirements gathering skills in interviewing, surveying and leveraging focus group results

·         Excellent communication skills (both verbal and written)

·         Keen sense of customer experience and target audience analysis

·         Familiarity with use case specification, user scenarios and usability testing

If this sounds like you, please send your resume to Candace Nicolls at cnicolls@ironworks.com.

The work, the people, the experience

Ironworks has a unique corporate culture built by people who love what they do, respect the people they work with and enjoy the experience of working closely with customers to achieve measurable results.  What you will find at Ironworks are smart, honest people who have one mission: never fail a client.

Ironworks specializes in the use of Web technologies to solve business problems through the combination of strategy, technology and design.  Ironworks has earned a reputation for delivering on what it promises, deploying a team of experts on every engagement and completing projects on time and on budget.  The firm offers expertise to clients nationwide in the practice areas of IT Strategy, Program Management, User Experience, Content Management and Portal Development, Business Intelligence, and Custom Application Development.  Ironworks operates from offices in Glen Allen, VA, McLean, VA and Cary, NC.  For more information on Ironworks, visit www.ironworks.com.

Ironworks Consulting is an equal employment opportunity employer. We adhere to a policy of making employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age or disability. We assure you that your opportunity for employment with Ironworks depends solely on your qualifications.