SVP of Design - UX and Documentation
Phoenix
Product – Design /
Full-Time /
Hybrid
About Cognite
Embark on a transformative journey with Cognite, a global SaaS forerunner in leveraging AI and data to unravel complex business challenges through our cutting-edge offerings including Cognite Atlas AI, an industrial agent workbench, and the Cognite Data Fusion (CDF) platform. We were awarded the 2022 Technology Innovation Leader for Global Digital Industrial Platforms & Cognite was recognized as 2024 Microsoft Energy and Resources Partner of the Year . In the realm of industrial digital transformation, we stand at the forefront, reshaping the future of Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Pharma and other Manufacturing and Energy sectors. Join us in this venture where AI and data meet ingenuity, and together, we forge the path to a smarter, more connected industrial future.
Learn more about Cognite here
Our values
Impact: Cogniters strive to make an impact in all that they do. We are result-oriented, always asking ourselves.
Ownership: Cogniters embrace a culture of ownership. We go beyond our comfort zones to contribute to the greater good, fostering inclusivity and sharing responsibilities for challenges and success.
Relentless: Cogniters are relentless in their pursuit of innovation. We are determined and deliverable (never ruthless or reckless), facing challenges head-on and viewing setbacks as opportunities for growth.
We are seeking an exceptional and visionary SVP of Design - UX and Documentation to lead our global design organization. This is a critical leadership role that will shape the end-to-end user experience of our cutting-edge products, from intuitive user interfaces to comprehensive technical documentation, ensuring a seamless and empowering journey for our industrial users. You will be instrumental in defining and driving our design strategy, building and mentoring a world-class team, and fostering a culture of user-centricity across the entire organization.
As a global leader, you will be responsible for harmonizing design principles and practices across multiple products, platforms, and geographies. You will champion the voice of the user at all levels of the company, translating complex technical concepts into accessible and impactful experiences.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic Design Leadership:
- Define and articulate the overarching UX and documentation vision and strategy for Cognite's product portfolio, aligning with company goals and market needs.
- Drive the evolution of our design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and efficiency across all products and platforms.
- Establish and champion best practices for user research, interaction design, visual design, content strategy, and technical documentation.
- Partner closely with Product Management, Engineering, and Sales/Services leadership to integrate design thinking throughout the product lifecycle.
- Advocate for user-centered design principles and the importance of high-quality documentation at the executive level.
- Build, inspire, and mentor a high-performing global team of UX designers, content designers, technical writers, and researchers.
- Foster a collaborative and innovative design culture, promoting continuous learning, skill development, and knowledge sharing.
- Define career paths and growth opportunities for the design organization, attracting and retaining top talent.
- Oversee the end-to-end UX design process, from discovery and research to wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and final implementation.
- Ensure all product designs are intuitive, efficient, and delightful for technical and non-technical users in complex industrial environments.
- Champion accessibility and inclusivity in all design decisions.
- Drive continuous improvement based on user feedback, analytics, and industry trends.
- Define the strategy for Cognite's technical documentation, ensuring it is comprehensive, accurate, easy to understand, and easily discoverable.
- Lead the development of innovative documentation solutions, leveraging AI and other technologies to enhance the user's ability to learn and succeed with our products.
- Establish standards and processes for content creation, review, and publishing, ensuring consistency and quality across all documentation assets (e.g., API docs, user guides, tutorials).
- Collaborate with product and engineering teams to ensure documentation is tightly integrated with product releases and features.
- Act as a key liaison between design and other departments, fostering strong relationships and ensuring seamless communication and alignment.
- Represent the design organization in executive leadership discussions, presenting strategy, progress, and impact.
- Drive the adoption of a user-centric mindset across the entire organization.
Team Building and Mentorship:
User Experience (UX) Excellence:
Documentation Leadership:
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
Required Qualifications:
- 15+ years of progressive experience in UX design, product design, or a related field, with at least 8 years in a senior leadership role managing global teams.
- Proven track record of defining and executing successful design strategies for complex enterprise software products, preferably in B2B SaaS, industrial tech, AI/ML, or data platforms.
- Extensive experience leading and scaling multi-disciplinary design teams, including UX designers, content designers, technical writers, and researchers.
- Deep understanding of user-centered design principles, information architecture, interaction design, and visual design.
- Demonstrated expertise in building and evolving robust design systems.
- Strong understanding of technical documentation best practices, content strategy, and modern documentation tools and technologies (e.g., docs-as-code).
- Exceptional communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and inspire at all levels of an organization.
- Experience working in an agile development environment.
- A strong portfolio demonstrating leadership in design strategy, successful product launches, and impactful user experiences.
- Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field; Master's degree preferred.
- Experience with generative AI and its application in product design and content creation.
- Familiarity with industrial domains (e.g., oil & gas, manufacturing, utilities).
- Experience leading design teams in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
Preferred Qualifications:
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
A snapshot of our many perks and benefits as a Cogniter
* Competitive Compensation including base plus bonus
* 401(k) with 4% employer matching
* Health, Dental, Vision & Disability Coverages with premiums fully covered for employees and all dependents
* Unlimited PTO + flexibility to enjoy it
* 18 Company Holidays including the week between Christmas & New Years
* Paid Parental Leave Program
* Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP)
* Employee Referral Program
* In office catered lunches 3x per week via Colorfull Catering + Fully Stocked Fridges in the offices
* Join a team of 70 different nationalities 🌐 with Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) in focus 🤝.
* A highly modern and fun working environment with sublime culture across the organization, follow us on Instagram @cognitedata 📷 to know more
* Opportunity to work with and learn from some of the best people on some of the most ambitious projects found anywhere, across industries
* Join our HUB 🗣️ to be part of the conversation directly with Cogniters and our partners.
* Paid mobile phone and WiFI
*A pet lover? Get the chance to meet Spot 🐶!
Why choose Cognite? 🏆 🚀
* Join us in making a real and lasting impact in one of the most exciting and fastest-growing new software companies in the world.
* We have repeatedly demonstrated that digital transformation, when anchored on strong DataOps, drives business value and sustainability for clients and allows front-line workers, as well as domain experts, to make better decisions every single day.
* Built In 2024 Best Places to Work in Austin, TX and Houston, TX
Apply today!
If you're excited about the opportunity to work at Cognite and make a difference in the tech industry, we encourage you to apply today! We welcome candidates of all backgrounds and identities to join our team.
We encourage you to follow us on Cognite LinkedIn; we post all our openings there.
Equal Opportunity
Cognite is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment at work and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive the same level of consideration for employment; everyone we hire will receive the same level of consideration for training, compensation, and promotion.
We ask for gender as part of our application because we want to ensure equal assessment in the recruitment process. Your answer will help us reach this commitment! However, the question about gender is optional and your choice not to answer will not affect the assessment of your application in any way.
