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Experience Design Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

We are seeking an engaging, design-tested leader to become our Experience Design Director. You'll test, iterate, and refine our core offerings and feature set, starting first with the launch of our ...

We are seeking an engaging, design-tested leader to become our Experience Design Director. You'll test, iterate, and refine our core offerings and feature set, starting first with the launch of our ...

UX Design Manager

Chicago, IL · On-site

$88K - $141K/yr

About the Role We're looking for a UX Design Manager to lead and grow a team of designers while driving product-led design maturity. You'll also play a key role in helping the team adopt modern tools ...

Senior Experience Design Lead

Chicago, IL · On-site

$114K - $194K/yr

Summary The senior lead designer guides work in the Experience Design & Research practice, envisioning digital and service experiences for BU products and initiatives. Senior lead designers ...

Senior Experience Design Lead

Chicago, IL · On-site

$114K - $194K/yr

Summary The senior lead designer guides work in the Experience Design & Research practice, envisioning digital and service experiences for BU products and initiatives. Senior lead designers ...

Senior Experience Design Lead

Chicago, IL · On-site

$114K - $194K/yr

Summary The senior lead designer guides work in the Experience Design & Research practice, envisioning digital and service experiences for BU products and initiatives. Senior lead designers ...

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Experience Design information

See Chicago, IL salary details

$55.1K

$119.5K

$154K

How much do experience design jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 12, 2026, the average yearly pay for experience design in Chicago, IL is $119,513.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $120,000.00 and $120,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

How does an experience design professional typically collaborate with cross-functional teams during a project?

Experience Design professionals often work closely with product managers, developers, marketers, and researchers throughout a project’s lifecycle. They facilitate workshops, gather stakeholder input, and ensure user needs remain central to the design process. Effective collaboration involves frequent communication, iterative feedback sessions, and clear documentation to align everyone toward a shared vision. This collaborative structure helps create cohesive, user-centric products that meet both business and user goals.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an experience designer, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Experience Designer, you need a strong grasp of user-centered design principles, visual design, prototyping, and a relevant degree in design or a related field. Proficiency with tools like Sketch, Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and usability testing platforms is commonly required. Exceptional communication, collaboration, and creative problem-solving skills help set standout Experience Designers apart. These skills are crucial for creating engaging, effective user experiences that meet business goals and delight end users.

What is experience design?

Experience design is a multidisciplinary approach focused on creating meaningful and relevant experiences for users when they interact with a product, service, or system. It involves understanding user needs, behaviors, and emotions to design seamless, enjoyable, and effective touchpoints across digital and physical environments. Experience designers use research, prototyping, and testing to ensure that every aspect of the user journey is thoughtful and user-centered, ultimately enhancing satisfaction and engagement.

What is the difference between Experience Design vs User Experience Designer?

AspectExperience DesignUser Experience Designer
FocusHolistic experience, including branding, service, and environmentDigital product usability and interface
SkillsDesign thinking, storytelling, service designUser research, wireframing, interaction design
Work EnvironmentDesign agencies, corporate branding, service industriesTech companies, app and website development
CredentialsDesign degrees, certifications in service or experience designDesign or HCI degrees, UX certifications

Experience Design encompasses creating comprehensive, multi-channel experiences, often involving branding and service elements. User Experience Designer focuses specifically on digital interfaces and usability. While both roles require design skills and user research, Experience Design has a broader scope, integrating physical and digital touchpoints, whereas User Experience Designers primarily optimize digital products.

What are the most commonly searched types of Experience Design jobs in Chicago, IL? The most popular types of Experience Design jobs in Chicago, IL are:
Infographic showing various Experience Design job openings in Chicago, IL as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 76% Full Time, 19% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 93% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $119,607 per year, or $57.5 per hour.

Experience Design Director

blueStone

Chicago, IL • On-site

Contractor

Re-posted 19 days ago


Job description

Company Description

Join a new high tech fitness and wearable device venture devoted to delivering elegant fitness experiences. Our user-centered offerings incorporate a healthy balance of sophistication and approachability coupled with actionable insights that help real people make the most out of their fitness routines. Our mission is to inspire people to achieve the health and fitness goals that matter most to them. 

Job Description

We are seeking an engaging, design-tested leader to become our Experience Design Director. You'll test, iterate, and refine our core offerings and feature set, starting first with the launch of our first product in Fall 2014. As the chief user advocate, you'll be responsible for cross-functional research, analysis, concept development, and execution. Over time you'll grow a team around you to add additional firepower for our efforts. You'll work with our Product Director to continue to continue to build and evolve, but eventually creative control over the entire experience will rest with you and your team.

As with our other senior roles, this opportunity offers you a seat at the table of an exciting, rapidly growing company. You'll help not only set direction for the experience, but for our company as a whole. The role involves significant hands-on collaboration with other team leads to continue to evolve the go-to-market strategy and execution, as well as team recruiting, management, training and mentoring.

Your Responsibilities

  • Guide the team to design and develop a best-in-class physical/digital experience
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with product management, user research, content design, visual design, and engineering to ensure a smooth experience development process
  • Manage the recruiting process for your multi-disciplinary team
  • Formulate and execute user research & synthesis, exploration, storytelling, detailed design, user testing and prototyping
  • Develop an work plan founded in agile principles to update and continuously improve the application and user experience
  • Build a user-centered application and experience for mobile platforms that interacts seamlessly with products
  • Develop and maintain effective specifications and design patterns
  • Scope design initiatives and manage/prioritize work items
Qualifications
  • Degree in interaction or graphic design. While a masters degree is preferred, depth of work experience will also be considered
  • A depth of experience in Interface Design, Interaction Design, or Information Architecture for consumer products. We're looking for someone that has at least five years of experience with significant depth in at least one of these areas.
  • Experience managing cross-disciplinary design teams
  • A portfolio demonstrating past work experience and relevant, user-centered experiences
  • Experience designing interfaces for hardware devices and familiarity with firmware development
  • In-depth knowledge of designing both mobile and web-based applications
  • A passion for (and hopefully some experience in!) improving health and wellness for real people
  • Ability to comfortably dive into designing visual screens and/or prototyping with various tools/software of your choice
  • As a team player with a can-do attitude, you know how to do a lot with a little in our dynamic, fast-paced and entrepreneurial culture