Staff UX/UI Designer

Company Overview 

Robots & Pencils is an applied AI engineering firm building the next frontier of business architecture. We design and ship AI co-workers that integrate into enterprise operations and deliver measurable results for our clients. We're all in on AWS, combining deep UX capability with senior engineering talent to get AI into production fast and keep it there. 
We’ve earned the trust of leaders across Consumer Products and Retail, Education, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Manufacturing and more, and earned a reputation as the nimble alternative to traditional global systems integrators. Founded in 2009, with delivery centers in Canada, the United States, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, we are smaller, faster, and more senior by design. Our teams average 15+ years of experience. We move fast, sweat the details, and build things that actually ship. 

Position Overview 

We’re looking for a Staff UX/UI Designer to define design strategy and lead quality across major client engagements. This role is ideal for an experienced designer who can own end-to-end design for complex, multi-platform products, lead UX research strategy, and partner with leadership and clients to shape product direction. 

In this role, you will work as a key design leader on a cross-functional team, owning design system architecture, driving research strategy, and mentoring designers at multiple levels. You’ll champion AI-powered design workflows, contribute to design operations, and help shape how the Experience team grows and works. 

Why This Role Matters 

At Robots & Pencils, we design AI systems for a human world. Our name says it all. Robots and pencils means engineering paired with creativity, because every agent we ship has to work for real people in real workflows. That balance is baked into how we operate. 
 
Every role here contributes directly to that mission. Here, you shape how AI systems integrate into enterprise operations, how teams move at real velocity, and how products create measurable impact for clients and the people they serve. We ship production-ready AI in 30 to 45 days. That pace demands people who take ownership, lead with craft, and care deeply about what they put their name on. 

What You’ll Do 

Craft & Delivery 

• Define design strategy and direction for major engagements, leading end-to-end design across complex, multi-platform products 
• Own design system architecture and governance, ensuring consistency, scalability, and flexibility across products and teams 
• Lead UX research strategy — selecting methodologies, embedding research into the delivery process, and ensuring insights influence product direction 
• Champion AI-powered design workflows and lead their adoption on engagements, driving efficiency and creative quality (e.g., Figma AI, Claude) 
• Drive design operations and process improvements that improve how the Experience team delivers and collaborates 
• Lead internal initiatives including marketing, business development, and the evolution of the design practice 

Collaboration & Communication 

• Partner with leadership and clients on design direction, serving as a senior design voice at the engagement level 
• Collaborate closely with engineers, strategists, and delivery leads to align design decisions with technical and business realities 
• Lead workshops, design sprints, and collaborative sessions with clients and cross-functional teams 

Leadership & Influence 

• Mentor junior and mid-level designers, helping them grow their craft, confidence, and professional practice 
• Establish design quality standards and critique culture that lift the team’s collective craft 
• Make design decisions with thoughtful consideration of tradeoffs across usability, business goals, and technical constraints 

What You’ll Bring 

• 6+ years of professional UX/UI design experience with a strong product background 
• Expert Figma proficiency with design system architecture experience 
• Deep experience leading design systems at scale, including architecture, governance, and cross-team adoption 
• Deep UX research experience including research strategy, methodology selection, and translating insights into product direction 
• Experience defining design strategy for complex products or engagements 
• Experience presenting and influencing at the leadership and client level 
• Track record of mentoring designers and lifting team craft 
• Strong experience with AI-assisted design tools and leading their adoption within a team (e.g., Figma AI, Claude) 
• Experience facilitating workshops, design sprints, and collaborative sessions with clients and cross-functional teams 
• Service design experience, design ops leadership, or multi-platform design depth is a plus 

Helpful Extras and Unique Skills 

You’ll Do Well Here if You Are 

• A doer. You see something broken and fix it. You'd rather move on clarity than wait for certainty. 
• A fast learner who knows you don't know everything. The AI landscape changes weekly. You're senior enough to know better and curious enough to keep learning anyway. 
• Direct in a way that makes the work better. You give honest feedback. You'd rather have the hard conversation than blow smoke. 
• Obsessed with craft. You know genius is in the details. You ship exceptional, not perfect, and you don't put your name on work you wouldn't stand behind. 
• Built for ownership. You honor commitments, admit mistakes fast, and back your teammates when a decision costs something. No handoffs, no finger-pointing. 
• All in. You treat clients' businesses like your own. You take the work seriously without taking yourself seriously. 
• Resourceful when the budget, timeline, or team is tight. Constraints don't slow you down. They sharpen you. 
• Glad to be in the room with people who care as much as you do. Our teams average fifteen-plus years of experience. We hire people who push each other to do better work. 

 
 
The below range reflects the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, any collective bargaining agreements, and business or organizational needs. The salary range for this role is $ USD - $ USD.  We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees. 
 
An offer of employment may be conditional upon successful completion of a background check in accordance with local legislation and our candidate privacy notice. Your current employer will not be contacted without your permission.  We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.