Our Mission:

LearnVest and Northwestern Mutual are dedicated to redefining the American approach to personal finance. Since launching in 2010, LearnVest has been one of the premier financial technology companies in the country, helping people make progress towards their financial goals. In 2015, LearnVest was acquired by Northwestern Mutual and is now leading a major digital transformation of their products and platforms to help millions of people by modernizing the financial planning, insurance and investments industries.

Description:

The Senior Creative Technologist is a hybrid designer drawing upon UX, Visual, and Technology skills. This role is a combination of researcher, educator, and practitioner, and has 3 main areas of focus—systems design, data visualization, and prototyping. The Senior CT draws upon their technology skills and robust prototyping background to constantly experiment with, test, and iterate on potential design solutions. This person works on a mix of near-term, production-ready design solutions, and future-vision experimental design possibilities. The Senior CT is self-motivated and driven by difficult problems and excited about the process of solving them.

Responsibilities:

Systems design

• Help to establish a well-defined and systematic design language, focusing on design decisions related to data visualization, interaction details, motion and animation
• Partner with other members of the design team to create and maintain design system
• Partner with UI Toolkit and Engineering teams to make sure the design system is implemented correctly and efficiently. This may also involve researching and implementing new tools, systems, and processes for improved workflow between Design & Technology.

Data visualization

• Be an evangelist for data, and a data visualization junky, constantly staying up-to-date on data visualization best practices, trends, and technologies
• Educate the design team, and other teams, on data visualization best practices, emerging trends, and technologies
• Audit all data visualization across Cx and Fx experiences
• Create new ways to pass real data from analytics and engineering into live design prototypes so that the design team can experiment with new, data-accurate design solutions

Prototyping

• Collaborate with project teams to create complex prototypes that require advanced data inputs, visualizations, or complex animations and transitions
• Demonstrate value of prototyping as an integral and regular step in design process of conceptualizing, refining, and finalizing inventive design solutions
• Help teams develop prototyping skills, and find new ways for all designers to prototype according to their technical expertise and skillsets
• Construct and develop on a technology stack that meets the needs of rapid prototyping, while also serving as the foundation for future development

Collaboration and support

• Partner across the design team with everyone working on systems design, data visualization, and advanced prototyping
• Partner across disciplines, especially with tech to find new ways to leverage data for both experimental design and production ready experiences
• Partner with tech on new technologies for improving the workflow from design concepting, through prototyping, through production-ready code

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience (digital agency experience is a plus)
• A self-starter who is user-focused, detailed, and solutions-oriented
• Basic knowledge of the fundamentals—user-centered design, visual design, brand development, and how products are put together
• Passion for understanding the user, and a strong communicator and the ability to make code out of concepts
• Passion for new platforms and technologies, and figuring out how they relate to the task at hand
• Experience creating systematic designs and working independently
• Proficiency in a variety of prototyping tools
• An undergraduate degree in Computer Science, HCI, Design or related work experience

 Link to work or an online portfolio is a must

Things that we value:

• A curious minds and an appetite for learning
• A strong point of view with a healthy dose of humility
• A collaborative mindset, thick skin and a great sense of humor
• A belief in our vision
• A personality that thrives in a agile/nimble environments
• Passion for the craft
• Willingness to take risks and fail (And fail again. And again)

Benefits:

• Fully stocked snacks, beer fridge, cold brew kegs, frequent catered lunches, and whiskey hours
• Dog-friendly office environment
• Tuition reimbursement, commuter plans, and paid time off
• Highly competitive compensation that includes base salary plus bonus
• Medical/Dental/Vision plans, Matching 401(k), pension program