UX Lead (Contract)

*We are currently only considering local candidates in Austin, TX

About the Company

Founded in 2012, Austin-based consultancy IQumulus (IQ) partners with Heavy Asset Industries to unlock the full potential of complex, multi-modal industrial data. We work with some of the world’s leading organizations, combining deep domain expertise in Data Science and AI/ML with Human-Centered Design.

Our work bridges the gap between advanced analytics and Executive Decision Intelligence. With decades of experience in AI and ML, and a strong commitment to human-centered practice, we design intelligent systems that are not only accurate and powerful, but usable, meaningful, and empowering for the people who rely on them to do highly complex and high stakes work.

About the Job

IQumulus is seeking an experienced UX Lead to join our Austin-based team, supporting global clients across Heavy Asset Industries. You will work alongside world-class subject matter experts and industrial data science professionals, applying our proprietary methodology that integrates Human-Centered Design with modern AI.

This role is ideal for an experienced UX professional who thrives at the intersection of user experience, advanced analytics, and complex systems. We are pioneers in an emerging field with a long runway for impact and growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct generative user research within complex industrial environments spanning IoT, operations, and executive decision support, such as corporate finance
• Map current-state workflows, team structures, organizational and cultural insights based on direct user research to find strategic data science, AI/ML opportunities
• Analyze user and organizational data using AI-assisted workflows to rapidly synthesize interviews and observations into actionable insights
• Partner with IQ leadership and technical teams to develop strategic recommendations for Data Science and AI/ML solutions tied to measurable client outcomes
• Define and visualize ideas, solutions, vision, concepts, and cross-functional workflows that enable meaningful business transformation through sketches, diagrams, wireframes and prototypes, providing appropriate documentation for engagement and implementation
• Maintain the highest design standards through primary design activities, deliverable creation, and quality assurance
• Strategically listen to feedback, guiding the delivery of user-centric solutions
• Maintain a collaborative and cooperative spirit, demonstrating openness to new information
• Champion the team's mission and the needs of partners and users with enthusiasm for UX design.
• Foster strong relationships and collaborate effectively with all partners.
• Engage directly with Fortune 500 and 1000 client teams, including executives, sponsors, operators, and skeptics, with empathy, clarity, and confidence
• Work closely with a UI designer and the technical team to present final solution recommendations to client
• Deliver and communicate functional specifications to client and technical teams
• Learn, adapt, and apply IQ’s integrated Human-Centered Design + Data Science methodology
• Collaborate closely with data scientists and AI/ML specialists working at the forefront of industrial AI in an agile setting

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of UX experience, ideally with experience in industrial, enterprise, or deeply technical environments
• 5+ years of project leadership role in high-stakes complex product development environments
• Proven expertise in all facets of the human-centered design process, including user research, developing user flows, creating wireframes, conducting usability tests, crafting and managing design specifications
• Proven experience working within a collaborative multidisciplinary team, particularly working with domain experts and advanced AI and ML researchers
• Experience with AI-assisted design tools
• 5+ years of client services experience—either within a consultancy, agency, or centralized enterprise UX organization, serving external or internal client partners
• Demonstrable ability to communicate clearly and navigate complex organizational dynamics
• Exceptional relationship-building skills, with the ability to partner cross-functionally and work effectively with various levels of the organization and diverse personality types

Preferred Qualifications

• A strong focus on delivery and outcomes, with awareness of scope, SOWs, and business parameters
• Attention to detail with the ability to get up to speed quickly on a large number of complex industry-specific nomenclatures and data analytics associated with those concepts
• Comfortably learning and adapting to proprietary frameworks, processes, and new ways of thinking
• Curiosity and comfort working at the intersection of UX, data science, and AI
• A positive attitude, solid work ethic, and comfort in a project-oriented work environment

Engagement Details

• Location: Austin, TX. We are currently only considering local candidates. While this is a remote-first position. We are currently only considering local candidates in Austin, TX in order to accommodate periodic and ad hoc in-person team meetings here in Austin and travel to client sites in Houston for user research and milestone checkins
• Contract: Contract role with potential for long-term W2 conversion based on performance and mutual fit
• Compensation: Competitive contract rates, continuously adjusted to market

Interview Process

While this is a contract position, we hold a high bar for both work quality and client experience. Interviews will assess technical expertise and cultural alignment. Initial conversations will be virtual, with final candidates invited to meet in person.

Portfolio Requirements

Please include a portfolio link (PDF or website) at the top of your resume, and if it’s password-protected, please put the password next to the URL. Only candidates who have submitted a portfolio will be considered. We are especially interested in work that demonstrates experience with:

• Generative UX research
• Research synthesis, presentations, and strategic recommendations
• Current-state analysis: current user flows, communicating opportunities, stakeholder maps
• Future state presentation: storyboards, sketches, wireframes, and any other artifact to communicate compelling future workflows and solutions
• UX work within AI, data science, or ML-driven contexts

Apply here