Principal UX Designer

Cowbell is signaling a new era in cyber insurance by harnessing technology and data to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with advanced warning of cyber risk exposures bundled with cyber insurance coverage adaptable to the threats of today and tomorrow. Championing adaptive insurance, Cowbell follows policyholders’ cyber risk exposures as they evolve through continuous risk assessment and continuous underwriting. In its unique AI-based approach to risk selection and pricing, Cowbell’s underwriting platform, powered by Cowbell Factors, compresses the insurance process from submission to issue to less than 5 minutes. Founded in 2019, Cowbell is based in the San Francisco Bay Area with employees across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. and is backed by over 15 A.M. Best A- or higher rated reinsurance partners. In support of our rapid growth, we are actively looking for ambitious people, who are not afraid of hard-work and never shy away from taking calculated risks and embracing ambiguity as it comes. Here, the opportunities are limitless for those who dare to pursue bold ideas that exist beyond the boundaries of possibilities.Join our team and be part of a growing institution where you can hone your skills and develop new ones in a fun, challenging and dynamic environment. If that sounds like you, we want to hear from you! As part of a product-driven organization, you'll play a big part in a small but mighty team of Designers and Researchers owning core developments of the product: from inception to post-launch reflection. The Cowbell Design & Research team is a tight-knit, collaborative group that love combining research, data insights, and feedback into a user-centered design process. Aside from becoming a member of the Design & Research Team, you'll work alongside Subject Matter Experts in Cyber Insurance and Sales, Product Managers, Product Owners, and Developers to align everybody in a common design direction. Cowbell Cyber is hiring for a Principal UX Designer to join our Design Team. Essential Functions of the Job Plan & Prioritize  - Ability to independently plan, prioritize, and manage special projects Discover & Define - Leverage tactics to help define the problem/opportunity in order to know how the designs you create will be solve a consumer problem that in turn affects the business goals. Customer: journey maps, user flows, baseline tests, heuristic evaluations, voice of consumer (VOC), deep dive, etc. Industry: competitive analysis, industry best practice analysis, etc. Stakeholder and business: stakeholder interviews, analytics deep dive, business walkthrough, etc. Design -  Through an iterative process of designing and gaining feedback (from customers, developers and stakeholders) you will create design artifacts that serve the goal of communicating the design intent with various team members. Design artifacts will vary but include sketches, user flows, prototypes, html/CSS and PDF artefacts etc. Leverage the existing components within the Design System to ensure a consistent user interface across the site. Design new components to add into the Design System that are consistent with the established user interface style and that have been tested by users to ensure their usability. As needed, establishing (in partnership with SME’s and UX Researcher) new user interface design to refresh the Design System. Chalk out a user testing plan in conjunction with UX Researcher to conduct usability testing, A/B testing, first click testing, etc. Deliver - Through ongoing work in the development process, you will partner with Subject Matter Experts in Cyber Insurance and Sales, Product Managers, Product Owners, and Developers to ensure the intent of designs are met. Measurement & Optimization - Evaluate current experiences to understand customer pain points in order to provide holistic recommendations for optimizations. Contribute to internal team standards and processes: design system, prototyping toolkits, templates, process development, team metrics. Advocate for the customer experience within a multi-functional team. Daily partners include development, product owners and business stakeholders. You will also regularly communicate with external partners, creative teams and leadership. Skills Needed to Perform the Job Understanding of the array of technical constraints, user goals, and business requirements that shape current and future products. You will lead and/or contribute to each facet of the design system process: information architecture; interaction design; visual design, research and usability; rapid prototyping; brand integration, design templates, and beyond. Demonstrate a deep knowledge of best practices and industry trends, while identifying unique, forward-thinking, and innovative design opportunities. Lead and facilitate design, brainstorming and network group sessions. Outstanding interpersonal communication skills - excellent written, presentation and verbal communication skills. Ability to deliver information in a clear, concise way, ensuring the organization makes rapid and informed decisions. Strong teamwork and people skills - ability to work collaboratively and effectively across discipline, role, department and leadership level. Growth mindset - willingness to learn about disciplines and skills that are related to the experience discipline in order to broaden their understanding. Self-starter who takes full ownership of their work, all the way through the process. Delivers work on time with a high attention to detail. Solid understanding of user-centered design principles with the ability to propose design solutions based on best practices and usability principles. Experience conducting user testing using various research methodologies. Education Needed to Perform the Job Bachelors or master's degree in the study of design including one of the following: Design, Web Design, Interaction Design, UI/UX Design, Service Design, Information Architecture, HCI, Human Factors, or a portfolio that shows equivalent project experience Minimum of 5 years of professional work experience in user experience design. Experience Needed to Perform the Job (Must-haves) Strong iterative user experience design skills and thought process as demonstrated in an online portfolio Experience managing and mentoring junior UX and UI Designer. Experience building and leveraging Design Systems. Complete understanding of building component libraries in Adobe XD using Atomic Design methodology High proficiency in designing high-fidelity mocks in Adobe XD. Proficiency in Zeplin, Adobe Creative Suite, etc. What Cowbell brings to the table: Winner of Inc. Magazine’s Annual List of Best Workplaces for 2022 Nationwide medical, dental and vision coverage plus life insurance, long term disability and flexible spending accounts Employee equity plan for all and wealth enablement plan for select customer facing roles Comprehensive wellness program including unlimited PTO, company-wide wellness days, wellness app subscriptions, lunch & learn, book club, get-togethers, lunch & communication stipends, happy hours and much more Professional development and the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of cyber insurance, cyber security as well as continuing to build your professional skills in a team environment