UX Research & Design Lead at Grantstreet

Are you an experienced UX practitioner who loves both research and design, thrives on solving complex problems, and has a strong track record of leading UX teams? Do you enjoy helping others deepen their craft, improve processes, and build healthy collaborations with other teams/departments, leads/managers, and stakeholders? Do you want to play a part in meaningfully improving the digital experience of public servants and the people they serve? If so, Grant Street Group may be the perfect fit for you.   About Grant Street Group & Our UX Team Grant Street Group builds cloud‑based software for public sector clients, including platforms for tax collection, electronic payments, and related government workflows. Our products are used by millions of taxpayers and thousands of government staff each year.   Our User Experience (UX) Research & Design team members are embedded within our product teams, developing expertise in their assigned product and its users, and working with Product Leads/Managers to ensure they are involved in the right projects at the right time. They also stay connected as a whole UX Team; meeting regularly to discuss standards and best practices, and ensure we're advancing UX Research & Design in a clear & consistent manner across our organization. We’re investing in: Raising the overall UX bar across products Building intuitive, accessible, and consistent experiences Thoughtfully incorporating AI as a design and research partner where it adds real value   About the Role We’re hiring a UX Research & Design Lead to lead and grow our UX team while also staying engaged enough with the work to be a credible “player‑coach.” This is a highly collaborative role with significant ownership over day‑to‑day UX operations and how this team contributes to our long‑term product strategy. You’ll start by working alongside our existing UX Researchers & Designers to learn our products, users, and ways of working, then gradually take on operations & strategic leadership for a growing team. You’ll also help us continue to shift from historically reactive, “band‑aid” UX work toward more research‑informed, strategic improvements.  Then you’ll help us continue to refine our operations and build a shared vision of our future, in which the UX team & principles are an integrated and integral part of our software development practices. Lead and grow the UX team • Serve as the operations lead, who the UX Researcher & Design team members report to, with a focus on performance assessment, feedback, coaching, and career growth. • Own building and shaping the team, including staffing planning, hiring and onboarding new UX team members, refining team structure and roles over time, and ensuring our teams have the mix of skills and experience they need. Strengthen UX operations • Design and refine practical, lightweight UX processes that fit GSG’s culture and product lifecycles (e.g., intake, triage/prioritization across products, research planning, design reviews, documentation). • Clarify how UX partners with Product team members throughout the life of development projects; from problem framing and research through design, development, testing, and iteration. Raise the quality and consistency of our products • Set and uphold a practical bar for UX quality, including usability, accessibility, consistency, and clear design rationale—especially as we modernize legacy experiences and extend newer ones. • Partner with the team to evolve our design systems and shared UI components, and move toward a more centralized approach where changes can be rolled out reliably across products. • Work with Product and Tech leaders to embed accessibility expectations into our everyday work—so compliance is a shared responsibility that is built into our software development practices. Help the team navigate AI and new tools • Encourage the team to experiment thoughtfully with AI‑assisted tools (e.g., for research synthesis, content exploration, design exploration) while keeping work grounded in user needs and sound judgment. • Identify a few concrete, low‑risk ways to pilot AI in our UX practice, measure outcomes, and share what we learn across the organization. What we're looking for: Experience 5+ years of experience in UX Research & Design for complex software products, ideally including B2B/B2G or enterprise SaaS applications. 2+ years in a leadership capacity, (can overlap the 5 years above) which may include: Direct people leadership of UX professionals Leading UX practices or process changes across teams Partnering with other leads and managers to evolve how UX fits into product development Skills and capabilities Strong practitioner background across both research and design, including: Planning and running user research and usability testing Translating insights into flows, wireframes, prototypes, and high‑fidelity designs Collaborating closely with product and engineering during implementation Comfortable with modern UX tools such as Figma and common research platforms (e.g., Lyssna, similar tools). Working knowledge of WCAG accessibility standards and how to incorporate them into everyday design and review practices. Proven ability to: Prioritize UX work across multiple products and stakeholders Influence without relying on formal authority Communicate clearly with a wide range of audiences (from engineers to executives) Mindset Enjoys coaching and mentoring others and takes satisfaction in seeing the team level up. Values incremental, sustainable change—willing to start small, learn, and expand rather than imposing rigid processes overnight. Curious about AI and other emerging tools, and eager to explore where they can extend the value of our UX team. Aligned with our culture of ownership, collaboration, and continuous learning. Nice to have Experience in government technology, payments, tax systems, or similarly regulated, high‑complexity domains. Experience formalizing or maintaining a design system or shared component library. Prior experimentation with AI‑assisted design or research workflows. How we work (location & travel) We are a remote‑friendly company, and the UX team is fully remote, working across U.S. time zones. There is some travel required to meet face‑to‑face with clients and colleagues: applicants should be comfortable with up to 10% travel for occasional team gatherings, company meetings, and select client or project visits. Expected Salary Range: $110,000–$170,000/year