Senior User Experience Designer Jobs in Santa Rosa, CA

The Apple Health Special Projects team is looking for a rare kind of designer - someone who operates at the intersection of deep craft, strategic vision, and cross-functional influence.
You'll help shape the next generation of health and health research experiences - from working on the Research app and Apple Health Study to designing new, consumer-facing features that give people meaningful ways to participate in, understand, and act on their own health.
Working alongside clinicians, engineers, researchers, and data scientists, you'll solve problems that genuinely matter to people's lives.
Description
As a Principal Designer on the Health Special Projects team, you'll operate as an architect - shaping product direction, establishing design standards, and driving impact well beyond your immediate projects. You'll be a go-to voice across the division: the kind of designer other teams seek out for perspective, guidance, and creative problem-solving.
You'll work fluidly from early-stage concept through final implementation, partnering with engineers, visual and service designers, researchers, clinicians, and data scientists to turn genuinely complex health concepts into experiences that feel simple, considered, and human. Your influence will be felt not just in what you design, but in how the team designs - raising the bar through your judgment, your critique, and your ability to bring people along.
The ideal candidate has strong opinions, holds them loosely, and communicates with precision and clarity. They're as comfortable presenting to senior leadership as they are rolling up their sleeves in a design review. They move through ambiguity without losing momentum, and they make the people around them better.","responsibilities":"Serve as a design lead across the full product development cycle - from early problem framing through shipping.
Act as a cross-functional leader and trusted facilitator: partnering with and influencing engineering, clinical, research, and product teams.
Define and drive design direction across major initiatives, influencing product strategy and technical decisions.
Establish and evolve design standards, patterns, and principles that elevate the broader team's output.
Lead through critique - giving feedback that sharpens thinking, not just execution, and creating space for others to do their best work.
Navigate and resolve complex, ambiguous problems that cross organizational and functional boundaries.
Identify opportunities to bring emerging technologies - AI, ML, conversational interfaces - into the design process in ways that are genuinely useful, not just novel.
Mentor and develop designers at earlier career stages, investing in the team's long-term capability.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience designing for health, wellness, or other high-stakes, complex, data-rich domains.
Deep familiarity with emerging technologies: AI/ML, LLMs, computer vision, and conversational UI.
Experience mentoring designers and contributing to team culture and craft standards.
Expertise in prototyping, motion, or data visualization.
Proficiency in Sketch, Figma, Keynote, and related tools.
Minimum Qualifications
12+ years of experience in UX design, with a portfolio that demonstrates both exceptional craft and strategic impact.
A track record of leading complex, cross-functional projects from concept to launch with minimal oversight.
Exceptional communication and presentation skills - able to articulate design rationale to any audience, from engineers to executives.
Demonstrated ability to influence product direction beyond your direct work.
Passion for Apple, its products, and the people who use them.
Pay & Benefits
At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $184,700 and $324,800, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.
Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple's discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple's Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You'll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses - including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits
Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.