Executive Design Engineer Jobs in Ames, IA (NOW HIRING)

Our customers-CFOs, ESG controllers, and Risk leads-rely on us for mission-critical reporting in an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. You will take our existing collection of individual components and transform them into a unified, intelligent "map" for how design is executed at Workiva, specifically anchoring your work within our Sustainability Management product suite. We need a visionary who can navigate the intricacies of enterprise B2B workflows while aggressively implementing hands-on AI strategies (LLMs, Agents, and Insights) to reduce the manual burden on our users.

What You'll Do

Strategic Design Leadership & Architecture

• Define and socialize the long-term UXstrategy that aligns design initiatives with core business objectives, such as user retention, AI-driven automation, conversion, and market differentiation

• Transform individual components into a unified, intelligent design "map," evolving our global Design System to ensure a directional foundation that is scalable across the platform

• Integrate and apply qualitative user research and quantitative data into every stage of the product lifecycle

• Establish and refine the processes, tools, and workflows that allow the team to scale. This includes contributing to the evolution of the global Design System to ensure consistency across all platforms

• Contribute to driving design transformation of how we operate and co-create with AI

• Lead the hands-on implementation of agentic AI and predictive insights into the core product. You will design the patterns for how AI-assisted workflows (like automated disclosures and outlier detection) feel intuitive and trustworthy for enterprise users.

• Drive design direction with careful consideration to craft of the interaction design, usability and intelligent automation

• Ensure design decisions across multiple product areas are well-coordinated and aligned with the "Single Source of Truth" philosophy that defines the Workiva platform

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with executive leadership (Product and Engineering) to ensure foundational design is not just beautiful, but deeply functional and integrated into the software's engine

• Connect design to outcome-based measurement frameworks for UX (SUS, Adoption, SOLSAT etc.)

• Act as the primary design voice in high-level strategy sessions, synthesizing complex technical and business requirements into clear, actionable recommendations

• Shape roadmaps collaboratively and influence prioritization for user experience needs of the product

People & Operations Management

• Scale a world-class design organization by providing coaching and development to UX managers and individual contributors, fostering a culture of continuous learning and high performance

• Lead design reviews and critiques to ensure a high bar for craft, usability, and accessibility. You ensure that every release feels like it belongs to the same family of products

• Implement processes that optimize design efficiency. Translate company strategy into measurable design goals and metrics that align with our 2026 growth targets

• Upskill team in AI-enabled design tools, workflows and processes

What You'll Need

Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in product design, with at least 5 years in a leadership role within a complex, B2B enterprise software environment

• B.A./B.S. degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Psychology, Computer Science, or a related field

• Portfolio of work that demonstrates not just high-quality UI but also your ability to solve complex strategic problems and lead teams through successful product launches

• Proven track record of designing complex, data-heavy enterprise software or professional-grade productivity tools

• Deep experience architecting complex Information Architecture and navigation systems for platforms with high data density and diverse user roles

• Hands-on experience implementing Generative AI, LLMs, or Agentic workflows into a live product (not just conceptual fluency)

• Demonstrated approaches to evolving legacy design methods into AI-enabled, engineering-integrated creation models that accelerate user insights and delivery

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep experience working with enterprise-level composable design systems at scale

• Prior experience in a high-growth "scale-up" environment or a major digital transformation within a legacy enterprise

• Familiarity with the regulatory, financial reporting, or ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) landscape is a nice to have

• Master's degree is preferred

Working Conditions & Travel Requirements

• Up to 25% travel

• Reliable internet access for any period of time working remotely, not in a Workiva office