Senior UX Designer / Researcher, Labs

Position Summary:

The Senior UX Designer/Researcher at Pax8 Labs designs the interfaces and experiences that will fundamentally change how small businesses operate through autonomous AI agents. This is largely uncharted territory: we're pioneering new approaches to agent configuration, multi-system orchestration interfaces, and real-world AI deployment at scale. They research SMB operational needs and translate complex business workflows into intuitive user experiences, helping to define both the user experience patterns and the design culture as we scale. This role requires comfort with rapid experimentation, learning from failure, and iterating quickly in an ambiguous problem space. You should have a portfolio demonstrating your designs and be willing to discuss some examples.

Work Environment:

Pax8 Labs operates with a hybrid model requiring 2-3 days per week in our Denver office to foster creative collaboration and team synergy.

Essential Responsibilities:

User Research & Interface Design - Conduct studies of small business operations and channel partners to identify AI enhancement opportunities. Lead exploratory research into emerging use cases, user mental models for AI agents, and novel interaction patterns. Design intuitive interfaces for agent configuration, orchestration, business process optimization, and new ideas as we develop them together. Work tribally with Pax8's UX and UXR teams to share knowledge and contribute AI agent research insights to the broader design organization, while leveraging established UX practices and research methodologies

Team Building & Leadership Development - Establish design operations, team processes, and foster user-centered culture. Partner with VP of UX and VP of User Research on design strategy.

Development Opportunities - Attract and evaluate top design and research talent with the Labs Team. As Pax8 Labs scales over the next few years, take a leadership role in shaping the growth of the UX Research team by helping to define roles, onboard new hires, mentor junior researchers/designers, and establish scalable research practices and operations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration - Partner closely with Engineering Manager, Product Lead, and Technical Fellow on user experience requirements and technical constraints. Present insights to executive leadership and interface with core Pax8 teams.

Ideal Skills, Experience, and Competencies:

• At least 7+ years of UX design experience with 3+ years in team leadership or senior IC roles.
• Expert-level proficiency in design tools such as Figma, v0, or other prototyping platforms, with design system experience.
• Experience designing for AI-powered products, business intelligence platforms, or workflow optimization tools preferred.
• Active use of AI tools in design workflow (design assistance, prototyping, research analysis) and curiosity about emerging AI capabilities.
• Demonstrated experience researching and designing for b2b SaaS, business intelligence, workflow optimization, or similar SMB products
• Experience with UXR processes including panel recruitment, participant management, and research operations.
• Skilled in mixed-methods research, combining interviews, surveys, usability testing, and data querying and analysis to deliver actionable insights.
• Proven ability to design intuitive prototypes for complex workflows, multi-step business processes, and AI-powered tools.
• Experience building and scaling design teams, establishing design operations, and collaborating with executive leadership.
• Deep familiarity with SaaS platform design patterns, marketplace interfaces, and multi-tenant applications.
• Comfortable with rapid experimentation, hypothesis-driven design, and learning from failed experiments in fast-moving environments.
• Strong business acumen with understanding of SMB market dynamics or B2B2B business models preferred.
• Startup or scale-up experience, comfortable with ambiguity, rapid iteration, and picking up new skills to meet team needs
• Curiosity about AI capabilities, and excitement about establishing a novel interaction/design language for the AI use cases.

Labs Culture & Work Style:

• Practical Modern Design: Embrace AI tools where they add genuine value, but also rapidly visual ideation with hand sketching and whiteboarding
• Async-First Communication: Thoughtful documentation (Slack, Notion), with focused in-person collaboration 2-3 days per week in our Denver office
• Build-Measure-Learn: Rapid prototyping with early validation, comfortable failing fast and iterating
• Technical Excellence: High standards for code quality balanced with speed of delivery

What Success Looks Like

First 90 Days:

• Conduct foundational research into SMB operational workflows and AI agent interaction patterns
• Design and validate core interface concepts for agent configuration and orchestration
• Establish experimental hypothesis-driven design culture and research methodologies for the Labs team
• Build strong collaborative relationships with engineering, product, and executive stakeholders

First Year:

• Deliver intuitive, validated user experiences for the AI agent platform that demonstrably improve SMB operational efficiency
• Establish Labs as a destination for top design and research talent in AI/agent UX
• Build scalable design systems and research practices that support team growth from 1 to 3+ designers/researchers
• Contribute foundational insights about AI agent UX patterns that influence broader Pax8 design strategy

Why Join Pax8 Labs ?

• Design Challenge: Pioneer user experiences for autonomous AI agents, solving novel problems in human-AI interaction and workflow orchestration
• Uncharted Territory: Work at the forefront of AI agent UX in a rapidly evolving space where design patterns are still being established
• Massive Impact: Your designs will empower thousands of small businesses through Pax8's established marketplace platform
• Greenfield Design: Create user experiences from scratch with modern design tools and no legacy constraints
• Culture Building: Define design practices and user-centered culture for a team scaling from 0 to 40+ people
• Strong Backing: Executive support and autonomy to build breakthrough user experiences
• Exceptional Team: Work directly with the GM, alongside our Technical Fellow and experienced product and engineering professionals

.Required Education & Certifications:

• B.A./B.S. in a related field or equivalent work experience.