Director, UX Design & Engineering

What We Do

At Leading Educators (LE) , we know that excellent teaching is the most important driver of student success. The moment a student steps foot in the classroom, their opportunity to learn depends on how prepared their teacher is to translate complex content knowledge, standards, and their knowledge of that student into lessons that help them learn deeply and apply their thinking to the real world.

That’s a big lift, and it often happens alone. As a national nonprofit, we partner with school systems to overcome persistent instructional challenges, foster intentional collaboration and adult learning by design, and ignite new possibilities through systemic solutions at the intersection of teaching, talent, and technology.

We work shoulder-to-shoulder with educators at every level of the education system to strengthen their instructional and leadership practices, bring a vision for excellent instruction to life with consistency, and ensure every student reaches their full potential.

Through direct support, strategic advising, innovation pilots, and best-in-class research, we help educators work toward a future where every student is ready to thrive. Learn more about our work at leadingeducators.org .

Internal Candidate Application Deadline: Oct 5, 2026

External Candidate Application Deadline: Oct 5, 2026

Position

Leading Educators is seeking a Director, UX Design & Engineering to lead the design and front-end development of AI-enabled product experiences across our innovation portfolio. In this role, you'll close the critical gap between product vision and usable, working tools—translating product requirements, user research, and emerging ideas into clear, coherent, testable front-end experiences that educators and students will actually use. This is your opportunity to shape the future of educational technology by designing interfaces and experiences that make a tangible difference in how teachers teach and students learn.

You'll operate as a thought partner to product leaders, directors, and user researchers, helping teams make stronger product decisions by clarifying front-end possibilities, identifying design tradeoffs, and translating ambiguous concepts into tangible experiences. Your work will have particular impact across MAIN, LEAP, and emerging initiatives, where you'll help LE move beyond current platform limitations by designing and building high-fidelity prototypes, shaping reusable interface patterns, and strengthening the quality and consistency of product experiences across tools.

This is a highly independent Director role for someone who thrives in ambiguity and can move fluidly between structured product requirements and early-stage concepting. As LE's first internal technical hire in this space, you'll bring strong initiative, sound judgment, and the ability to recommend a path forward without waiting for fully defined processes. You'll also work closely with external development partners, representing LE's product priorities clearly while navigating shared dependencies with professionalism and clarity. Reporting to the Senior Director, AI Enabled Instruction, Math, you'll have the autonomy and influence to shape how our products serve educators and students.

Do you have expertise in…

UX/UI design, including interaction design, visual design, information architecture, and usability-centered product thinking that puts users at the center of every decision

Building high-fidelity prototypes and functional front-end experiences using modern technologies such as React, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Translating both detailed product requirements and ambiguous early-stage concepts into usable front-end designs that teams can test, refine, and implement

Interpreting user research and usability-testing findings and translating them into prioritized design improvements that strengthen product outcomes

Do you enjoy…

Working independently across multiple initiatives, exercising strong judgment about priorities and advancing work in emerging environments where processes are still being built

Cross-functional collaboration with product leaders, researchers, and external development partners to align on vision and move decisions forward

Designing for clarity, usability, and consistency by developing reusable interface components and patterns that reduce friction across tools

Prototyping and iterating quickly—adjusting as product direction changes and using repeated cycles of design, feedback, and revision to maintain momentum

If you've answered affirmatively to these questions and meet the following prerequisites, we urge you to seize this opportunity. This role calls for the following:

8+ years of professional experience in UX design, product design, front-end development, UX engineering, or a closely related field

Demonstrated strength in UX/UI design, including interaction design, visual design, information architecture, and usability-centered product thinking

Demonstrated ability to build high-fidelity prototypes and functional front-end experiences

Professional experience using front-end technologies such as React, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Ability to translate both detailed product requirements and ambiguous early-stage concepts into usable front-end designs and prototypes

Demonstrated success interpreting user research or usability-testing findings and translating them into design improvements

Experience working across cross-functional teams and managing multiple projects or priorities simultaneously

Ability to make sound independent recommendations about user experience direction, prototype design, and front-end tradeoffs

Comfort working in an environment where processes, pathways, and technical structures are still being built

Strongly Preferred:

Experience designing and prototyping AI-enabled products

Experience conducting or closely supporting user testing for digital tools

Education or education technology experience

Familiarity with accessibility standards, including ADA and WCAG guidelines

Portfolio evidence demonstrating shipped interfaces and/or functional prototypes, along with the ability to explain design and technical decisions

Travel Requirements

This is a remote position that requires moderate travel. You'll work from a home office located anywhere within the U.S., with national travel expected for:

Org retreats, programming, job related travel, or professional development

Questions? We’re here to help.

If you have questions about this role or about our hiring process at any point, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected]. This inbox is monitored regularly, and we aim to respond within two business days. To ensure your question receives a thoughtful and timely response, we kindly ask that you refrain from emailing individual staff members or members of our HR team directly. The best way to connect with us is always through [email protected].

Why Work at Leading Educators?

Imagine being part of an organization where your ideas and perspectives are highly valued. At Leading Educators, we believe in fostering individual strengths, encouraging personal growth, and embracing innovative ideas. If you thrive in a remote working environment, with the added excitement of travel, we're the perfect fit for you. By joining us, you become part of a powerful community of peers nationwide. Regardless of your location, you possess the power to make a significant impact on both students and teachers who rely on us daily. Join Leading Educators and become an integral part of driving progress in education.

Learn About Our Mission & Values:

Mission: Leading Educators partners with school systems to sustain the teaching, leadership, and conditions for every student to succeed in school and in life.

Values:

Build on strengths: We affirm and begin with the unique and collective talents, experiences, an