MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS JOB
Collaborative, assertive, flexible, passionate, driven, inspired. These aren’t just nice words, they’re the start of every great Fluidigm career.
We are a growing community of thinkers and creators, dedicated to pursuing the fundamental truths of biology. We seek to empower and inspire our customers and each other to push limits and envision ever more creative answers to “what if…?” As the industry pioneer and leader in revolutionary single-cell technology, we are committed to enabling biological exploration at every level.
And if you’re into all that too, we’re ready to commit to you.
We’re looking for an experienced Senior UX / UI Designer to revamp the user experience of our cutting-edge scientific software products. As our first UX hire, you’ll have the opportunity to build our software UX framework from the ground up. This includes creating a UX vision, conducting customer research, selecting design and prototyping tools, building UI prototypes & mock-ups, implementing feedback processes, and integrating the discipline of design into our development process. This is a greenfield activity, and you’re in the driver’s seat.
This is a 9 months contract with possibility of extension. This position is based in Markham, ON
About You
You are deeply curious about people. You are genuinely interested in interviewing internal stakeholders and customers, conducting usability tests, and sharing important insights with the team. You know how to translate findings into compelling stories and actionable recommendations that stick with teammates. These guideposts help others make decisions, implement features, and greenlight projects that make our products more delightful.
You are a self-starter. As our first UX hire, you will be helping the team define the best practices for integrating UX into a software team, to best enable design and collaboration. You should be comfortable in proactively establishing a UX direction.
You love to collaborate. You understand successful design doesn’t happen in a vacuum or in secret. You believe in sharing work early, openly, and often. You know how to work across functions (software, product management, support and engineering) to create a single, consistent UX vision. You help teams determine the research methods that will best answer their questions. You involve others throughout the research lifecycle and make it easy for them to participate in the process.
You know how design impacts development. You’ve built multiple products before, and you understand the technical complexities a design might introduce, and can work through them with your teammates. You don’t believe in “tossing designs over the wall,” and would dread doing so.
You love the challenge of making complicated things simpler and easier. Fluidigm gives world-class researchers and scientists the tools to make their next medical breakthrough, and we do so with complex products that involve both data acquisition and analysis components. Your work will help directly shape the direction of the product, and you flourish in the mission to give each scientist a simple yet powerful experience that enable and expedite their work.
Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders, both inside and outside Fluidigm, to proactively gather product requirements and create a high-level UX vision for our next gen desktop product
- Work within a team of software developers, testers, scientists and technical writer to create and deliver new software products and features that help advance scientific understanding
- Produce UI designs of various fidelity, ranging from quick sketches to mock-ups to detailed prototypes
- Strive to create an intuitive and engaging user experience with a modern, clean and sophisticated aesthetic sense, one that goes beyond just good design into actually delighting users
- Learn about mass cytometry and how it aids scientists in their quest to better understand cell characteristics and interactions within medical fields such as oncology, immunology and hematology
- Establish and maintain detailed usability and design guidelines for the software development team, based on design trends, industry best practices and competitive benchmarking
- Plan and conduct user research and usability tests, documenting, communicating and acting upon the results
- Build relationships with customers and other functional groups to ensure alignment on UX vision
- During crunch times, be open to participating in software testing, technical writing, and/or software development activities (if you have a development background)
Skills & Experiences:
- 7+ years of hands-on UI and UX design experience, ideally with a mix of desktop and web/mobile products
- A genuine interest in science, and willingness to go out of your comfort zone to learn about concepts of biology, chemistry and physics
- A strong understanding of current design trends in desktop, web and mobile applications
- Proficiency in various research and design techniques such as qualitative research methods, personas, wireframing, task analysis, sketching, prototyping, usability testing, etc.
- Experience with prototyping and workflow tools such as Sketch, InVision, Balsamiq, Adobe XD, etc.
- An eye for nuance and details. You’re often praised for spotting usability issues that no one else can.
- Experience in agile software development using a Scrum, XP or Kanban methodology, and an understand of software development project lifecycles
- Strong negotiation, influencing and communication skills. This is critical as you’ll be interacting with stakeholders and customers who are experts and pioneers in their fields.
- Excellent communications skills. You can distill complex topics into simple discussions.
- A great attitude towards work. You work hard, and enjoy working in a close-knit team environment with a diverse range of personalities.
Nice-to-Haves:
In addition to the basic skills needed for being successful, the following could set you apart from the pack!
- A software development background. Ability to prototype your designs in working C# WPF code.
- Experience designing scientific software products and/or those that interface with scientific instrumentation or hardware equipment
Education Background:
- As our products are of a scientific nature, ideally you have a Science or Engineering degree in Biology, Chemistry or Physics
- Candidates with Visual Design or Computer Science/Engineering degrees with a demonstrated interest in science will be considered
We Will:
- Value your contribution, enlist your feedback, and support you in your ongoing development and contribution both as an employee and a person
- Provide you with a fun, modern, sun-filled work environment in Markham, Ontario, near Rouge River walking trails and just 5 minutes drive off of Highway 404, 407 or highway 7
- Host excellent company-wide events multiple times a year
- Offer onsite yoga classes, espresso and fruits, ping pong and foosball tables, board games, samosa socials, walking and running clubs, an outstanding working environment and, seriously, a lot more
How to Apply:
For this position, please submit:
- Your resume and cover letter
- A portfolio of your best work, so that we can get a sense of your design experience and aesthetic direction
- Answers to the following questions: What are some examples of great UX/UI that you admire today? How do they elevate the user experience? What is one change you’d make about them?
- Anything else that will let us know more about your skills and experiences that you’d be willing to share, ie. your blog, Twitter, Behance, Dribbble, GitHub, etc.
