The web designer within the Enrollment Management and Marketing unit is a talented and experienced design professional with strong visual skills and demonstrated critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The web designer executes creatively and effectively while working on deadline-driven projects. They approach all work with a focus on expanding brand awareness and improving the user experience through creative, impactful design solutions that meet strategic and organizational goals.

The web designer is responsible for designing appealing and accessible mobile-responsive web solutions using web publishing tools/applications (including WordPress), current standards-based web design practices, user-centered design principles, and Excelsior’s brand guide. They will produce interactive mock-ups, graphics, and wireframe prototypes for complex, interactive web properties and be responsible for creating and maintaining the design system. The web designer has a broad range of skills and abilities that include strong knowledge of UX/UI (gathering user requirements, conducting user research, and user testing) and interactive components.

This position reports to the art director. This position is based out of the university’s home office in Albany, NY with the option of considering remote candidates. Remote employees will have mandatory occasional travel for meetings, conferences, and professional development opportunities. Remote employees are expected to be available during work hours 8:30am – 5:00pm Eastern time. The University will supply necessary equipment to perform the essential functions of this job (e.g., laptop, docking station). Employees are responsible for having a workspace where they can participate in virtual meetings without multiple interruptions and noise.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Gather and evaluate user requirements in collaboration with marketing managers, developers, and other stakeholders.
• Communicate design ideas using wireframes, process flows, and sitemaps.
• Create and maintain design systems, including user interface elements like menus, tabs, buttons, and widgets.
• Regularly review and update design kit and site styles.
• Develop UI mockups and prototypes that clearly illustrate how sites function and appear, and support decisions with clear, detailed evidence and rationale.
• Create and resize raster and vector graphics.
• Prepare and present rough drafts to internal teams and key stakeholders. Conduct layout adjustments based on user feedback.
• Prioritize usability and accessibility.
• Collaborate with team members to ensure compliance with policies and brand standards around identity graphics, fonts, colors, web content, and online accessibility.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on current design concepts and solutions and usability best practices for all web devices.
• Provide thought leadership on usability and user-centered design principles.
• Conduct quality assurance testing and implement changes to ensure proper display across browsers and mobile devices.

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• A bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of experience or combination of education and relevant experience.
• 3+ years of designing web solutions or products with a strong design portfolio.
• Knowledge of design and wireframing software like Figma and Adobe Creative Suite.
• Understanding of how decisions impact user experience in terms of browser and device compatibility, accessibility, internationalization, and performance.
• Knowledge of mobile responsive web design, HTML, and CSS.
• Knowledge of design software like Adobe Creative Suite as well as wireframing tools.
• Familiarity with JavaScript and JavaScript libraries, WordPress and Bootstrap.
• Knowledge of web analytics tools and related analyses and reporting.
• Understanding of how to incorporate user research and data into the design process.
• Be collaborative and articulate. Be able to clearly explain design choices and respond to customer and team feedback.

The hiring salary range for this position is $63,000.00 - $70,000.00. The hiring salary range above represents the University's good faith estimate at the time of posting.