Senior UX Designer/Researcher Job at Toyota Research Institute in Los Altos

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we’re on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We’re developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we’ve built a world-class team in Human-Centered AI, Human Interactive Driving, Energy and Materials, Machine Learning, and Robotics!

The Team

The Robotics UX team comprises UX designers, researchers, and engineers and is based in TRI’s Los Altos, CA office. We research and design robot interfaces for the manufacturing environment and contribute directly to the design of robot prototypes for both research and applied projects.

The Role

We are looking for a Hybrid UX Designer/Researcher to join our team! The ideal candidate has interaction design experience as well as experience in UX research, conducting generative and evaluative research. This role will require flexibility and the desire to work equally in the UX research and design spaces.

You will focus on our factory robotics initiative in both a research and design capacity. Depending on the project, you will design both screen-based interfaces and in-person, tangible interactions between robots and users and conduct user research to assess the system’s usability and intuitiveness.

TRI’s Robotics division builds exciting, groundbreaking robotics capabilities. In this role, you will help translate user needs into impactful robotics applications and craft the future of human-robot interaction design.

• Undergraduate or graduate degree in HCI, Interaction Design, or a related field, and 4–7 years of industry experience.
• Able to work independently with some guidance from senior design staff; demonstrates a solid understanding of best practices in both design and research methodologies.
• Portfolio that demonstrates the user-centered design process and includes UI prototypes of varying fidelity, along with documentation of complementary research.
• Proficient in Figma, with a solid understanding of industry standards and features. Able to design a variety of UX artifacts, including personas, user journeys, prototypes, presentations, and visual design specs for development.
• Experience conducting evaluative research on UI prototypes and making updates to the design based on the results.
• Experience conducting generative research in a broadly scoped subject area, distilling insights and user needs, and conveying the results and recommendations in a clear and concise manner.
• Proficiency in working closely and harmoniously with engineers; able to advocate for the best design approach while remaining open to discussion and compromise when needed.
• Comfortable in a collaborative, interdisciplinary team environment with excellent visual, verbal, and written communication skills; comfortable receiving and incorporating constructive feedback.
• Able to travel domestically 4-6 times per year. Occasional international travel may be required.

• Experience designing interfaces for a physical device, such as a robot.
• Experience facilitating design sprints, workshops, and brainstorming sessions with interdisciplinary teams.

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $170,240 and $255,360/year for California-based roles; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Note that TRI offers a generous benefits package (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave) and an annual cash bonus structure. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

TRI is fueled by a diverse and inclusive community of people with unique backgrounds, education, and life experiences. We are dedicated to fostering an innovative and collaborative environment by living the values that are an essential part of our culture. We believe diversity makes us stronger and are proud to provide Equal Employment Opportunity for all, without regard to an applicant’s race, color, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, religion, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state or local laws.

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology
• Research Services