About The Company
Zearn is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to inspiring all children to develop a love for learning mathematics. Our mission-driven approach centers on providing high-quality, engaging, and effective math learning experiences through our top-rated digital platform. Recognized for its efficacy, Zearn’s platform has been proven through large-scale research to significantly improve math proficiency, especially for students who start multiple grade levels behind. As a nonprofit, our focus remains steadfast on what is best for children, leveraging innovative technology and evidence-based teaching strategies to close achievement gaps and foster a positive attitude towards math.

Operating at the intersection of education and technology, Zearn functions as a dynamic and fast-moving organization that addresses complex problems across multiple disciplines, including teaching science, learning science, software development, design, and media production. Our team comprises passionate problem solvers committed to creating scalable solutions that impact current and future generations. We believe that every individual at Zearn owns mission-critical work, contributing to a shared vision of educational equity and excellence.

About The Role
The Principal UX Designer at Zearn plays a pivotal role in shaping the onboarding experience for educators, directly influencing how thousands of teachers adopt and utilize Zearn’s platform to improve student learning outcomes. This leadership position involves owning the end-to-end design strategy for educator onboarding and engagement, transforming complex challenges into simple, intuitive experiences. The role requires a strategic thinker with deep research expertise and a talent for distilling multifaceted educational content and platform capabilities into user-friendly interfaces.

The Principal UX Designer will collaborate closely with Product Management, Design, Engineering, and Academic teams to clarify ambiguous requirements, translate educator pain points into innovative design solutions, and ensure the delivery of high-impact UX projects. A core focus will be on creating onboarding journeys that help teachers quickly master Zearn’s instructional approach within limited prep time, encouraging consistent usage and long-term engagement. This role involves conducting strategic user research, usability testing, and competitive analysis to inform product decisions and prioritize features that enhance educator success.

Additionally, the role emphasizes maintaining design excellence, fostering collaboration across teams, and continuously improving internal design processes and systems. The ideal candidate will be adept at managing multiple complex projects simultaneously, balancing big-picture systems thinking with detailed UI design. They will also contribute to building and maintaining a cohesive design system, ensuring consistency and quality across all educator-facing experiences. Ultimately, this role is about creating scalable, elegant solutions that meet educators where they are and support their journey to help students love math.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience as a UX Designer with a strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end design leadership
• Proven experience leading major UX initiatives, particularly in onboarding or engagement-focused projects
• Deep expertise in conducting user research, usability testing, and competitive analysis that informs strategic product decisions
• Experience designing for educators, complex enterprise users, or similar audiences requiring quick mastery of sophisticated systems
• Strong ability to simplify complex systems, educational content, and data into intuitive user experiences
• Exceptional prototyping skills, capable of rapid iteration and high-fidelity demonstrations
• Excellent communication skills, including active listening, storytelling, and cross-functional collaboration
• Experience advocating for and contributing to design systems, templates, and libraries
• Passion for educational technology, mathematics, and improving educational equity
• Ability to navigate ambiguous problem spaces and develop clear, strategic design solutions

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic design for the educator onboarding experience, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and educator needs
• Own the end-to-end design process, from research and strategy to implementation and iteration
• Partner with Product Management to clarify requirements and translate market challenges into innovative design solutions
• Collaborate with Design Directors, Engineers, and Product Managers to deliver high-quality, impactful user experiences
• Conduct user research, usability testing, and competitive analysis to uncover core challenges and opportunities
• Synthesize research insights into clear, actionable recommendations for cross-functional teams
• Develop and maintain design systems, templates, and libraries to ensure consistency across the platform
• Drive design excellence and elevate the organization’s overall design craft and strategic thinking
• Manage multiple complex projects simultaneously, maintaining quality and meeting deadlines
• Continuously identify opportunities for process improvement and increased design efficiency
• Build relationships across teams to foster shared understanding of educator needs and platform usage
• Address key challenges such as simplifying complex data, designing scalable onboarding journeys, and improving long-term engagement

Benefits

• Competitive salary range of $150,000 - $180,000 annually
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Life insurance benefits
• 401(k) retirement plan with company matching
• Paid parental leave
• Generous holiday and flexible PTO policies
• Remote work flexibility within specified states
• Opportunity to contribute to meaningful educational impact at scale
• Collaborative, inclusive, and mission-driven work environment

Equal Opportunity

We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.