Associate R &D UX/UI Specialist

Job Description

Job Description:\n\nAbout ETS:\nETS is a global education and talent solutions organization enabling lifelong learners worldwide to be future-ready. For more than 75 years, we've been advancing the science of measurement to build benchmarks for fair and valid skill assessment across cultures and borders. Our worldwide impact extends through our renowned assessments including TOEFL®, TOEIC®, GRE® and Praxis® tests, serving millions of learners in more than 200 countries and territories. Through strategic acquisitions, we've expanded our global capabilities: PSI strengthens our workforce assessment solutions, while Edusoft, Kira Talent, Pipplet, Vericant, and Wheebox enhance our educational technology and assessment platforms across critical markets worldwide.\nThrough ETS Research Institute and ETS Solutions, we're partnering with educational institutions, governments, and organizations globally to promote skill proficiency, empower upward mobility, and unlock opportunities for everyone, everywhere. With offices and partners across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, we deliver nearly 50 million tests annually. Join us in our journey of measuring progress to power human progress worldwide.\n \nThe Associate R&D UX/UI Specialist works within cross-functional assessment development teams to support the research, design, prototyping, evaluation, and continuous improvement of accessible digital learning and assessment experiences. The role contributes to user interfaces and interaction models that operate effectively across supported devices, operating systems, browsers, screen sizes, orientations, and input modalities, including desktop and mobile computing environments. The specialist applies user-centered design methods to translate assessment, accessibility, technical, client, and user requirements into intuitive and consistent experiences while supporting the integrity of intended assessment constructs. The position collaborates with assessment specialists, researchers, accessibility experts, designers, developers, product and project colleagues, and internal and external partners throughout the development lifecycle.\nPrimary Responsibilities\n• Contribute to UX/UI design for accessible, visually clear, and easy-to-use digital assessment experiences that conform to applicable technical, architectural, accessibility, security, and program requirements.• Support design and evaluation across supported device types, operating systems, browsers, screen sizes, orientations, and input modalities, including keyboard, mouse/trackpad, touch, and assistive-technology interactions.• Contribute to responsive and adaptive interface designs that preserve usability, accessibility, content meaning, intended measurement requirements, and appropriate relationships among stimuli, questions, response areas, tools, and navigation across supported viewport sizes and device configurations.• Collaborate with assessment specialists and technology teams to design and evaluate digital item and task interactions, including navigation, response mechanisms, multimedia, interactive stimuli, assessment tools, accommodations, and emerging assessment experiences.• Apply accessibility and inclusive-design principles throughout research, design, prototyping, and evaluation, considering screen readers, keyboard navigation, magnification and zoom, text-to-speech/read-aloud functionality, color and contrast, focus behavior, touch interaction, and other supported accessibility features.• Assist in eliciting, synthesizing, and representing user, client, assessment, accessibility, and technical needs; translate requirements into annotated wireframes, prototypes, interaction specifications, acceptance criteria, and other implementation-ready design documentation.• Contribute to the development, documentation, evaluation, and maintenance of reusable design patterns, interaction standards, UI components, and design-system guidance that promote consistency and scalability across assessment experiences and platforms.• Design and research functional prototypes to determine whether proposed interactions appropriately balance assessment and learning principles, accessibility, usability, technical feasibility, and visual clarity.• Assist in planning, designing, and conducting user research for digital assessment and learning applications, including interviews, observations, focus groups, usability studies, and other appropriate methods.\n• Support formative and summative usability studies across representative users, devices, platforms, input methods, and accessibility configurations; synthesize findings into actionable recommendations and document evidence supporting design decisions.• Participate in design reviews and UX quality assurance to evaluate whether implemented experiences reflect approved designs, interaction requirements, accessibility expectations, and intended cross-platform behavior; document issues and collaborate with development teams on resolutions.• Work effectively within interdisciplinary and agile teams, communicating design rationale, research findings, tradeoffs, risks, and recommendations to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.• Keep abreast of developments in human-computer interaction, digital accessibility, responsive design, cross-platform interaction, educational technology, and technology-based assessment.• Assist with creating and maintaining high-quality assessment illustrations, graphics, animations and and other multi-media assets by designing, revising, troubleshooting, proofing, and ensuring accuracy of art files while adhering to established style guides, standards, and documented production processes.• Apply advanced graphic design expertise and mentor others through strong skills in graphic design, typography, color theory, art production, Photoshop and Illustrator, while supporting process improvements, training newer designers, and communicating effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.• Assist with estimates of effort, resources, and design/research activities needed to support assessment prototypes and production-oriented digital experiences.• Adhere to applicable ethical standards, laws, regulations, organizational policies, and quality expectations associated with the job function. Required Skills\n• Experience working with software developers and interdisciplinary teams to ensure that implemented designs support usability, accessibility, visual clarity, and intended user interactions.• Experience supporting client or user requirements-gathering sessions, usability testing, design reviews or presentations, storyboarding, wireframing, prototyping, and visual/interface design.• Working knowledge of responsive and adaptive interface-design principles and their application across different screen sizes, device types, orientations, and input modalities.• Working knowledge of accessibility and inclusive-design principles for digital experiences, including interaction with assistive technologies and keyboard-, touch-, and pointer-based interfaces.\n• Ability to translate user, assessment, accessibility, business, and technical requirements into clear design artifacts and implementation specifications.• Ability to conduct or support user-centered research and usability studies, synthesize qualitative and quantitative findings, and translate evidence into design recommendations.• Strong verbal, written, visual, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to explain interaction sequences, design rationale, tradeoffs, and research findings to varied audiences.• Advanced graphic design expertise with strong knowledge of graphic design principles, art production, typography, color theory, information design, and print production, along with the ability to independently create high-quality graphics and media assets.• Strong organizational and technical learning skills, with the ability to adapt to changing tools, platforms, requirements, policies, and development processes.• Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional team and contribute constructively to decisions involving assessment, research, accessibility, design, and technology.\nRelevant Years of Experience Required:\n• 2+ years of professional experience supporting the design and/or research of technology-based user experiences is required.• Experience participating in user/client requirements gathering and usability testing is required.• Experience designing or evaluating experiences across multiple operating systems or platforms, including Windows, macOS, and iOS/iPadOS environments, is preferred.• Experience with responsive web applications, cross-browser/platform evaluation, or mobile/tablet interaction design is preferred.• Experience developing or contributing to wireframes, interactive prototypes, design specifications, storyboards, and visual/interface designs is required.• Experience with complex interactive content, technology-based assessment items, simulations, multimedia, or similar task-based experiences is preferred.• Experience contributing to or applying a design system, component library, or reusable interaction-pattern framework is preferred.• Experience evaluating accessibility with assistive technologies such as screen readers, magnification/zoom, keyboard navigation, and read-aloud or text-to-speech tools across platforms is strongly preferred.• Experience working with programmers or software development teams is desirable• One (1) to two (2) years of experience in learning, assessment, educational research, educational technology, or a related field is desirable.\nOther Requirements\n • A portfolio review will be conducted as part of the interview process. Candidates should be prepared to explain complex user interactions, research and design decisions, constraints, tradeoffs, accessibility considerations, and lessons learned, and to critique their own work.\n• Ability to consider how interface and interaction decisions may affect user behavior, accessibility, content presentation, and the intended assessment experience.• Understanding of the stages, principles, terminology, artifacts, and tools associated with digital product and assessment development is preferred.• Proficiency in AI-accelerated workflows for rapid ideation, data analysis, and prototyping (e.g. Claude Code, Codex). Candidates should provide evidence of AI utilization to create interactive prototypes that are not limited by traditional design software.• Proficiency with industry-standard design software, including working knowledge of Figma, Adobe Creative Cloud applications, including Photoshop and Illustrator, and the tools and techniques used to create and manipulate graphics and media.• Facility with project management, work organization, collaboration tools, and Microsoft Office applications is preferred.• Experience in education research and/or assessment development and current knowledge of relevant industry practices is preferred.• Ability to apply prior experience, learn from subject-matter experts, and develop sound recommendations in new or ambiguous situations.• Ability to collaborate with research scientists, assessment specialists, accessibility specialists, designers, developers, project leaders, clients, and external partners.\nPreferred Domain Knowledge for Digital Assessment:\n The following knowledge areas are desirable and may be developed further on the job:\n• User-centered and evidence-informed approaches to technology-based assessment design.• Potential implications of device, viewport, orientation, scrolling, navigation, and interaction differences for the consistency of assessment experiences.• Design considerations for presenting passages, tables, graphs, maps, multimedia, interactive stimuli, response areas, and embedded tools across different configurations.• Accessibility, universal design, and accommodations in digital assessment contexts.• Approaches for documenting design decisions and maintaining traceability from requirements through prototype, implementation, usability evaluation, and refinement\nEducation, Certifications, or Special Licenses: \nA Bachelor’s degree or higher in a technology- or design-related field such as computer science, information technology, educational technology, human-computer interaction (HCI), UX/UI or interaction design, web/graphic design, cognitive science, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired, is required. Additional coursework, training, or certification in accessibility, human-computer interaction, user research, interaction design, cognitive science, educational measurement, or related areas is desirable.\n#LI-NK1\nETS is mission driven and action oriented\n\nWe are passionate about hiring innovative thinkers who believe in the promise of education and lifelong learning.\nWe are energized by cultivating growth, innovation, and continuous transformation for the next generation of rising professionals as leaders. Â In support of this ETS offers multiple Business Resource Groups (BRG) for you to learn and advance your career growth!\nAs a not-for-profit organization we will encourage you to lean in to your passion for volunteering. Â At ETS you may qualify for up to an additional 8 hours of PTO for volunteer work on causes that are important to you!\nThe base salary range advertised represents the low and high end of the anticipated salary range for this position. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. The base pay is only one aspect of the Total Rewards Package that will be offered to the successful candidate.\n\n ETS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by law. We believe in creating a work environment where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity.