At the Technology Innovation Department (TID), our mission is to apply modern principles of research, design, and technology to make our transit system easy for all riders to use. Effective and equitable public transit is essential to the social, economic, and environmental progress of Greater Boston.
The MBTA Technology Innovation team is working to transform how people get around the Boston area.
We are a team of designers, engineers, product and content specialists charged with bringing novel ideas, modern standards and a user-centered approach to technology at the T. As the MBTA works to reinvent itself, we have a rare opportunity to craft the future of transportation for Boston and communities all around Eastern Massachusetts, as well as pioneer innovations for other transit agencies around the country.
Do you want to improve the daily transportation experience for 4.7 million people in the Boston region? Ready for the challenge? Then read on.
TID is looking for a Senior User Experience Designer to join our team. You will help develop useful, usable, and delightful digital products that support MBTA operations teams - the people who keep Boston's transit system running every day. You will be part of the UX Design, Research, and Content Strategy team reporting to the Director of Product Design.
You will join the Skate team - a product group dedicated to improving tools for bus operations. Skate is an internal tool, designed and developed by TID, that delivers critical bus routing and real-time information to our bus operations colleagues. You will focus on understanding both day to day and long-term needs of teams that perform some of the most critical functions in the MBTA.
We are seeking someone who is comfortable working across the UX spectrum but has demonstrated expertise in interaction design for enterprise or operations power users. In this role, you design and refine digital workflows and information presentation.
You will work in partnership with Skate's cross-functional team. You will collaborate with the other UX designer on the team to ensure Skate is easy to use and accomplishes the tasks at hand. You will work closely with engineers at all phases of design and implementation to make sure that design concepts can be implemented, and that design handoff is effective and efficient.
Day to day, you will:

• Work with the product, engineering, and design team in an agile environment; understand current and near-future needs, plan work, and execute against that plan.
• Design new user flows that become the foundation for user experiences and solutions.
• Plan and execute user research to evaluate designs, such as usability testing and concept testing.
• Redesign existing features and flows that meet the needs of Bus Operations and Skate users and are rooted in a larger understanding of the service that is being delivered.
• Use existing Bootstrap components or design new components for implementation by engineering.
• Collaborate with engineering to create and maintain a Bootstrap-based shared component library.
• Create interactive prototypes and design concepts for both mobile and desktopfor evaluation.
• Participate in Design, Research, and Content team activities, including operations meetings, knowledge shares, and work reviews.
• This role has a secondary focus on improving communications about service to riders (like arrival predictions, service alerts, and more) using MBTA data systems. You will contribute expertise in the operations domain to big picture discussions about service improvements that include rider facing tools.

What you can expect from your first 90 days at TID:

• Dive into the MBTA system: We certainly don't expect team members joining TID to understand the operational details of the MBTA. From Day 1, you will begin learning the details of how the MBTA's network of vehicles moves our riders around Greater Boston every day.
• Dive into the world of Skate: Get to know the bus operations world at the MBTA. You'll meet with bus operations stakeholders and Skate users, review the existing product roadmap, absorb the existing research base, ask many questions, and begin executing work that helps you ground in the Skate world.

About you:

• You are empathetic: You know how to build trust by centering users. You see users as experts in their field and in their own experience. You seek to collaborate with and empower users in the design process.
• You are a systems-oriented Designer who brings experience, frameworks, and repeatable approaches to new problem spaces. You understand the value of bespoke design solutions, but you seek to exhaust existing knowledge and options first.
• You are comfortable with complexity: The MBTA is a 120-year old transit agency with a huge number of moving parts. To design the right solutions, our team needs to understand the complexities of running transit services, the business operations of the MBTA, and how riders and staff interact with the system.
• You believe in collaboration across disciplines. TID teams are generally interdisciplinary, so you're able to work closely with Product Management, Engineering, data specialists, and Content in an agile environment. As a Designer, you'll help communicate design and content intent to your team members to ensure rider-facing information is rendered consistently.
• You are communicative: TID is an interdisciplinary team sitting within a large public agency. You're able to take design prototypes, feature ideas, research and testing results, and other design outputs, and communicate them to internal stakeholders clearly and effectively.
• You are outcome oriented: TID works for riders and operations staff. All of the work we do intends to achieve a positive outcome for our primary users. You spend the most of your time and efforts working towards or defining outcomes.

Work experience:

• Although we're mostly interested in your ability to do the work listed above as demonstrated in your portfolio, here are some guidelines on the capabilities and experience we think might be most suited for this role. Please keep in mind that these are advisory, and not required.
• 3-5 years of professional experience in user experience, UX research, interface design, visual design, interaction design, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience in interaction design
• Experience designing enterprise software or internal tools
• Familiarity with UX research and demonstrated ability to make design decisions rooted in findings from UX research
• Proficiency in industry standard design tools like Sketch, Figma, or Adobe Creative Suite.
• Experience working in an agile development environment
• Experience using online collaboration tools (e.g. Slack, Asana, etc.)
• Working familiarity with HTML, CSS and/or Bootstrap
• Understanding of accessible design principles for mobile and desktop
• Ability to design and lead usability tests and concept evaluations
• Familiarity with the MBTA transit system as a rider
• Formal education in design, usability, fine art, writing, or a related field (This could be a college degree, a bootcamp, a certificate program, or something else entirely)

Location:
This role is hybrid. While many activities can be accomplished remotely, we are expecting this person to be local in order to come in person 2-3 times per month (on average). Your in person schedule will fluctuate based on research needs at various MBTA stations, stops, buses, trains, and garages.
As a contracted role for the MBTA, we are unable to hire candidates who would perform their work in California, Connecticut, Washington DC, Hawaii, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico.
At this time, we are only able to hire US residents who will reside in the US for the duration of their employment
Compensation:
Pay rate range is $66 - $88 per hour (W-2), up to 1880 hours per year.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
TID is dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive environment-it's essential to the work we do. In order to effectively partner with MBTA departments and do our best work for riders, our team must reflect the wide variety of people who use the MBTA's services. We welcome people with different strengths, experiences, and backgrounds who share a passion for improving people's lives. Our team is deeply committed to diversity, inclusion, and continual learning. We strive to foster an environment where each individual is valued, feels a sense of belonging, and is welcomed to bring their best self to work.
Here at TID, we provide equal opportunity for all employees and applicants. We recruit, hire, train, promote, compensate, and manage all personnel without regard to race, color, national origin, cultural identification or expression, socioeconomic background, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, family status, marital status, learning style, neurodiversity, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other non-merit based or legally protected grounds.
Research has shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for roles unless they believe they meet all qualifications. We strongly encourage candidates from marginalized groups to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every one of the job qualifications listed. We're committed to maximizing the diversity of our team and want to hear from anyone who is passionate about our efforts and interested in supporting our work for riders.