Careers at User Centric

Immediate Openings    |    Interviewing Tip

User Centric Named as a Top Employer in Chicago for Generation Y!

"We are looking for talented people..."

It seems that every third job posting for user interface design or user research starts with this statement. User Centric is looking for talented people. But instead of posting a traditional job listing, we want to take a different perspective and write about what it is like to work at a company like User Centric and hopefully you’ll realize it is where you want to go with your career.

Our goal is to affect positive change in the user experience.

User Centric is a company that is privileged to have projects where the outcomes can influence the lives of millions - or sometimes just a handful. What we do has meaning and it begins with a desire to understand how people interact with technology.

In any given month at User Centric, you might work on a project that will make daily tasks easier for 40 million users…and then switch gears to then work on a different project where a user will thank you because this product will “change the way my kids will look at their mother”. This doesn't happen every day, but many days are truly great.

Opportunities like these frequently emerge at User Centric because we work on a diverse set of experiences and technologies. We apply our knowledge, methodologies, and skills toward many different types of products across different environments. At User Centric, you will find yourself applying design and user experience techniques to small screen interfaces, mobile devices, in-vehicle applications, health care products, voice interfaces, business applications, and consumer products. Technology is converging, so the domains we work on are also converging.

When it comes to understanding user experience, there is no perfect approach in design or single way to capture and measure the experience. We continue to evolve our practices and techniques with each and every project. and encourage our team members to learn and educate their colleagues.

Ultimately what allows us to enjoy our work the most is our team. Our team at User Centric makes all the difference. We have found we’re more insightful and creative practitioners when we can leverage the experience and intellect of a team.

We have fun together!

There is a tremendous energy that comes out when our teams work on user research and interface design projects.

User Centric is looking for people who want to make this kind of difference - people who want to work on more than just one type of product and learn about multiple knowledge domains. You will never be bored at User Centric because projects are so diverse.

We are looking for smart, passionate, articulate, and dedicated individuals who:

• Get really excited when working with new technologies
• Look forward to contributing to insightful, creative teams
• Think that the ideal job would let them learn something new almost every day

If you are a user experience researcher, human factors engineer, ethnographer, user interaction or interface designer, cognitive engineer, information architect, usability specialist or something similar, contact us to learn more about opportunities at User Centric.

Immediate Openings

All positions are located in the suburbs of Chicago with potential to move to our downtown offices in a year.

We are currently seeking candidates with skills in the following areas:

• User Interface Design (Information Architecture)

• User Experience Researcher (Usability Testing, Interviewing, Evaluations)

• Chinese-Speaking Researcher (User Experience, Beijing)

• Human Factors in Health IT Researcher (Ph.D.)

Other skills necessary include:

• Positive energy
• Desire to learn something new every day
• Plays well with others (i.e., we work in teams)
• Communicates well (i.e., inability to communicate in writing and speech mitigates our value in affecting positive change to user experiences)
• Smart (e.g., please be a quick learner with good clock speed ;)

I do not jest about the latter list. It is what really makes UC click!

To help your candidacy, please be ready or answer the following in your email/cover letter:

1. How comfortable are you interviewing study participants in English (e.g., during a usability test)?
2. Please describe your experience in moderating these types of sessions.
3. How comfortable are you with design, especially information architecture and wireframing?
4. Do you have other strong experience (for example, graphic design or Web technology) that you'd like us to know about?
5. How did you learn about User Centric? If from the job posting, what do you know about User Centric?
6. What do you want to do in a job?
7. Are there any VISA considerations for employment? For reference, User Centric has supported US VISAs for its employees (from J-1s to H1-Bs to Green Cards), however, we have had previous experience with these individuals. We tend to not apply for work VISAs for those with whom we have no experience…
8. What are your salary expectations and/or hourly contract expectations? Please do not simply state “negotiable” as we would like to know what you expect to properly set your resume with our existing salary slots. Please understand the importance of this question.
9. What is your availability?

Thank you in advance for your diligence and care to these questions.

Please email a cover letter and resume to Gavin Lew at glew[at]usercentric.com

Job Description for Human Factors in Health IT Researcher (Ph.D.)

User Centric, Inc. based in Oakbrook Terrace and Chicago Illinois has an immediate opening for a Ph.D. to work on human factors and usability of health information technologies (HIT). Recent events in government and industry have created a strong focus on the human factors of HIT. In the past, there has been little attention paid to usability of HIT. We now find ourselves at the inflection point where usability is positioned to contribute substantially to HIT applications.

You will have the opportunity to shape and deliver on a key program of research as relates to human factors issues in adoption (or failure of adoption) of HIT technologies in physician’s (and possibly hospital’s) clinical practices. What are the underlying reasons for success and failure? How do we increase patient safety, increase clinical efficiencies, and ensure data integrity? How do we evaluate enterprise software applications? You will also have the opportunity to help shape techniques for evaluation HIT, and possibly be involved in design of new HIT applications. If these problems interest and excite you, please contact us. You will be expected to produce multiple research papers.

You will work directly with leaders at major medical facilities, government and non-profit entities, and corporate sponsors. You have the opportunity to join with us as thought leaders making the changes that will empower practitioners and support healthier patients. User Centric is a leader in HIT usability. We are associated with the Chicago Health IT Regional Extension Center (www.chitrec.org), hold a position on the National Research Council’s Committee on Human Factors and Home Healthcare, have published multiple papers in the area, and are actively involved in usability programs with several medical device manufacturers.

The successful candidate will have:

• PhD in Cognitive Psychology, Human Factors, Industrial Engineering (w/ emphasis in Human Performance)
• 0-5 years professional experience
• Demonstrated research interest or experience in enterprise software usability/human factors (preferably healthcare)

Background

The position is likely (but not guaranteed) to receive a part-time post-doc appointment at a prominent local university. Together User Centric and this university will provide a full-time a nine- to twelve-month appointment with benefits. It is possible that the successful candidate will be offered full-time employment at the end of the contract period. We are open to other employment models (including full time employment with User Centric).

Start date: Immediate

Salary: Negotiable

Contact: Submit a CV with research history and interests to Robert Schumacher at rschumacher[at]usercentric.com; no phone calls please.

Interviewing Tip from UX Consultancies

FAQ: When presenting a portfolio at an interview, what does the interviewer look for in a candidates' portfolio (ie. expert evaluation type, commentary, call outs)?

Honestly, we look for two things:

1. Attention to detail 
2. Thought process

All too often, there are many people that contribute to portfolio elements--including client or business requirements that might limit or restrict the design. So, what we look for is the details. Even with rough wireframes or sketches, sloppy designs can introduce artifacts that can negatively influence design. Attention to detail matters. This is the initial or first impression that you should consider whenever you show a portfolio.

Then we also expect that the candidate can talk through the design process for a design that we pick to be of interest. We want the approach. The thinking. Is there passion around the design? Do they really care about it? Or was this a bland answer about the design, which might suggest that this was a group project where the candidate had little details or knowledge. We want to go deep. We want to learn how they approach tasks and think deeply when engaged.

As you can tell by my response, it is often not about the individual designs, but how the candidate thinks. Consider your portfolio to be a medium to reveal this aspect of your skills.

Successful interviews are memorable. Be memorable because of your attention to detail and smart thinking. Discuss tradeoffs made and decision making process. We want to know how you will be on a project.