Organization Overview

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research in the areas of race and ethnicity, U.S. politics and policy views; media and journalism; internet and technology; science and society; religion and public life; global attitudes and U.S. social and demographic trends. Pew Research does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Pew Research Center’s work is carried out by a staff of 180.

Position Summary:

The Associate UX Specialist is a member of Pew Research Center’s digital team. One of the main goals of this position will be to enhance the way our more highly engaged website visitors log in, create accounts, and access personalized features and preferences. The Associate UX specialist will help with other projects on an as-needed basis.

This is a term-limited, grant-funded position expected to extend 18 months.

The Associate UX specialist’s responsibilities include planning, conducting, and analyzing user research and offering feedback on designs (wireframes or sketches) of web pages and other user interfaces. This role may need to document user flows, and create wireframes or mockups. The Associate UX specialist will analyze user needs carefully and add a valuable perspective to the design process. This role reports to the User Experience Manager.

Pew Research Center’s digital team produces, designs and develops all of the Center’s digital products and interactive features for both public and internal audiences, including pewresearch.org. The Associate User Experience Specialist works with digital and communications team members and the Center’s research staff to ensure the Center’s research is presented online in ways that best meet the needs of the Center’s diverse audiences.

Primary Responsibilities

• Planning, conducting, analyzing and presenting results from user research such as usability testing and user interviews.

• Making information architecture and design recommendations based on findings from user research as well as published HCI research and UX design principles.

• Creating wireframes (low or high-fidelity depending on the project) or interactive prototypes as needed.

• Consulting with digital team on a variety of interactive data visualizations, web pages, navigation menus and other user interfaces.

• Gathering and distributing user interaction data from our published reports.

• Possibly assisting with taxonomy terms and ensuring they are properly applied to content.

• Collaborating with team members (designers, developers, producers, communications managers) as well as project stakeholders in a positive and productive way that encourages the open exchange of ideas.

Education/Training/Experience

• 1-3 years of work experience requiring user research (planning, conducting, analyzing) and/or UX design as one of the primary responsibilities. Candidates with 3+ years of experience may be considered as UX Specialist level.

• A bachelor's degree or higher with primary area of study in Human Computer Interaction, Cognitive Psychology, Information Design/Architecture, Interaction Design, User-Centered Design, or a similar discipline.

• Strong portfolio of design and/or research projects demonstrating careful thought and in-depth knowledge of human factors and user experience design principles.

Knowledge, Skill and Workplace

• Must have solid understanding of human factors, usability heuristics, user experience design principles and best practices.

• Must understand and consistently apply the principles and best practices of accessibility and universal usability.

• Must know how to research specific audience types and adapt design for specific needs, goals, traits and preferences.

• Maturity and excellent communication skills (especially listening) required.

• Knowledge of prototyping tools, like Figma, is a plus.

• Knowledge of basic SEO principles and techniques (for example, optimizing page titles) is a plus.

• Knowledge of Adobe products including Illustrator and Photoshop is also a plus.

FLSA Status: Exempt

Typical starting salary: $83,000

Location

Pew Research Center staff are required to be present in the Center’s Washington, D.C., office two core days weekly (Tuesday, Wednesday). Staff may work virtually from remote locations on other days in a typical work week.

Application Procedure

Click on the Apply button, and complete required fields. Both cover letter and resume are required.

When requested, please upload a copy of your resume/cv, as well as a copy of your cover letter in the section labeled Resume/Cover Letter. If the documents have successfully uploaded, you should see 2 attached files beneath the “Drop files here” box. Please make sure you have uploaded a resume AND a cover letter before moving on to the next page.