At a Glance
- Tasks: Design accessible digital experiences and create user journeys, wireframes, and prototypes.
- Company: Join Pearson, a leader in educational resources and lifelong learning.
- Benefits: Enjoy a hybrid working model, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborate with diverse teams in a dynamic environment focused on continuous improvement.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on learners' lives through innovative design solutions.
- Qualifications: Experience in UX design and a passion for creating user-friendly digital products.
The predicted salary is between 54000 - 66000 £ per year.
This role aligns with positions commonly known in the external market as UX Designer, Product Designer or Interaction Designer.
About Pearson: At Pearson we ‘add life to a lifetime of learning’ so everyone can realise the life they imagine. We do this by creating vibrant and enriching learning experiences designed for real-life impact. Pearson was founded in 1844 and has been built on our ability to grow with and adapt to a constantly evolving market. Our employees are dedicated to creating high-quality, digital-first, accessible and sustainable resources for lifelong learning.
About UK Assessment & Qualifications: We are the UK's largest awarding body and we are regulated by Ofqual (England), CCEA Accreditation (Northern Ireland) and Qualifications Wales (Wales). We offer academic and vocational qualifications that are globally recognised and benchmarked, with educational excellence rooted in names like Edexcel and BTEC. In 2025, we issued 6.5 million grades to candidates worldwide.
About the job: The Experience Designer role operates as a professional individual contributor within product and delivery teams. The role applies strong foundational experience-design knowledge to moderately complex work, creating user journeys, wireframes and interactive prototypes, conducting usability reviews and contributing to the ongoing development of design systems. Working with growing autonomy, the Experience Designer turns external client, customer and operational needs into accessible, usable and consistent digital experiences across products and services.
Working across multidisciplinary teams including Product Owners, Business Analysts, Engineers, Architects, Testers, Service Owners and Scrum Masters, the Experience Designer ensures proposed solutions reflect user needs and remain technically feasible. The role contributes evidence-based design recommendations, incorporates research findings and feedback into design iterations, and identifies usability issues before implementation.
The Experience Designer is responsible for delivering assigned design outcomes to the required quality and timescale, while maintaining design-system integrity and producing clear, accessible documentation to support effective development handover. The role does not include people-management responsibilities.
About you: You can demonstrate experience designing accessible digital products, services or workflows in an agile environment. You are comfortable converting user and business needs into clear user journeys, wireframes and interactive prototypes, and using usability findings to improve proposed solutions. You can manage moderately complex design tasks independently while recognising when additional guidance or escalation is needed.
You bring a customer-focused, collaborative and detail-oriented approach. You can explain design choices clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders, respond constructively to feedback and balance user needs, business outcomes, accessibility and technical constraints. Experience working directly with external clients and users to understand needs, test concepts and communicate design decisions is required.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design accessible and usable experiences for moderately complex product and service initiatives, from early concepts through to development-ready designs.
- Gather and interpret external client, customer, user and operational needs in collaboration with Product Owners, Business Analysts and other stakeholders.
- Create user journeys, task flows, wireframes, interface designs and interactive prototypes appropriate to the stage of delivery.
- Plan and conduct usability reviews and evaluative research activities, documenting findings and translating evidence into practical design improvements.
- Use user feedback, research findings, service insight and product data to inform design decisions and iterations.
- Collaborate with Engineers and Architects to ensure designs are technically feasible, clearly understood and implementable within agreed constraints.
- Work closely with Product Owners and Business Analysts to align designs with product goals, requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria.
- Identify and resolve usability, consistency and accessibility issues before implementation, escalating complex or high-impact decisions where required.
- Apply and contribute to design systems, patterns and standards, proposing improvements where these enhance usability, consistency or efficiency.
- Produce clear design specifications, annotations, assets and supporting documentation for effective development handover.
- Review implemented experiences against approved designs and provide timely feedback to protect design quality and accessibility.
- Present design concepts and recommendations clearly to external clients and internal stakeholders, explaining evidence, options and trade-offs.
- Complete design iterations in line with sprint and delivery plans, communicating progress, risks, dependencies and outstanding decisions.
- Contribute to continuous improvement in design practice, design-system adoption, team collaboration and ways of working.
Key Skills & Experience:
- Professional experience as an Experience Designer, UX Designer, Product Designer or equivalent within digital product or software delivery.
- Experience creating user journeys, task flows, wireframes, interface designs and interactive prototypes for moderately complex digital experiences.
- Demonstrable experience working directly with external clients and users, building trusted relationships and translating feedback into effective design outcomes.
- Experience planning or supporting usability reviews, synthesising findings and integrating research evidence into design iterations.
- Strong working knowledge of user-centred design principles, interaction design and responsive digital design.
- Applied understanding of accessibility standards and inclusive design, with experience incorporating accessibility into design decisions and deliverables.
- Experience working with and contributing to established design systems, reusable components and interaction patterns.
- Ability to produce accurate design specifications and documentation that support efficient development handover.
- Strong communication, presentation, collaboration and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Experience working effectively with Product Owners, Business Analysts, Engineers, Architects and Testers in an agile delivery environment.
- Ability to manage assigned design tasks with growing autonomy and deliver high-quality outputs in line with sprint timescales.
- Proficiency with industry-standard collaborative design and prototyping tools.
Desirable Skills, Qualifications & Experience:
- Experience in assessment, education technology, public-sector services or another regulated digital environment.
- Experience designing large-scale technology products, platforms or services used by external clients and operational teams.
- Working knowledge of front-end development considerations and the design constraints of responsive web applications.
- Experience supporting accessibility reviews, design assurance or validation of implemented designs.
- Relevant qualification or certification in user experience, interaction design, service design, human-computer interaction or a related discipline.
Key Performance Indicators:
- Interactive prototypes are accurate, usable and appropriate for validating proposed experiences.
- Design iterations and supporting outputs are completed on time and aligned with sprint and delivery milestones.
- Research findings and user feedback are integrated effectively into design decisions and deliverables.
- Design-system components and patterns are applied consistently, with appropriate contributions to system improvements.
- Design specifications and documentation provide sufficient clarity for effective development handover.
- Usability and accessibility issues are identified and resolved before implementation wherever practicable.
- Implemented experiences align with approved designs and agreed user needs with minimal avoidable rework.
Behavioural Expectations:
- Customer Centricity: prioritise external client and user feedback in design decisions and maintain focus on genuine user needs.
- Raise the Performance Bar: introduce practical improvements that enhance usability, accessibility, consistency and efficiency.
- Exceptional Collaboration for Value: engage proactively with cross-functional teams to resolve design challenges and deliver feasible solutions.
- Our Leaders Inspire: take ownership of assigned tasks, respond positively to feedback and remain committed to high-quality outcomes.
Job Location and Hours: The role is based in the United Kingdom and operates under Pearson’s hybrid working model. Occasional out-of-hours support may be required during business-critical delivery periods.
Specialist, Experience Design employer: Pearson
Pearson Edexcel is an excellent employer that values the expertise of its staff, offering a flexible ad-hoc role that allows for a balanced work-life dynamic. With a strong commitment to professional development, employees have access to resources and training that enhance their skills while contributing to the educational success of students in the North East. The supportive work culture fosters collaboration and innovation, making it a rewarding environment for those passionate about education.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Specialist, Experience Design
✨Show Off Your Portfolio
In the world of UX/UI design, your portfolio speaks volumes! Make sure it's packed with your best work and showcases your process, not just the final product. We want to see how you tackle design challenges, so consider adding case studies that reflect your thought process and user-centric approach.
✨Get Involved in Design Communities
Jump into local or online design meetups and workshops! Places like UXPA or local design events can be goldmines for networking and learning. Plus, mingling with fellow designers can introduce you to potential job openings that might not be listed elsewhere.
✨Tailor Your Applications
When you find a role that excites you, like the one at Pearson for a Specialist, Experience Design, make your application count! Highlight specific projects and skills that directly relate to the job description. Hiring managers are looking for candidates who fit into their specific team, so show them you’re the one!
✨Leverage Social Media
Don't underestimate the power of social media in finding a UX/UI design job! Follow design leaders on platforms like Twitter or Instagram, share your work, and engage in conversations. It’s a great way to get noticed by recruiters and even catch wind of openings at companies like Pearson before they go live!
We think you need these skills to ace Specialist, Experience Design
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Design Process:When you're applying for a UX/UI Design role like Specialist, Experience Design at Pearson, make sure to include examples that clearly highlight your design process. We want to see not just the final product but also the journey that led you there—wireframes, user personas, and iterations demonstrate your thought process and user-centric approach!
Tailor Your Portfolio:A tailor-made portfolio is crucial for a full-time design role! Curate your best projects that align with the kind of work Pearson does. We suggest including 3-5 case studies that showcase a variety of skills such as wireframing, prototyping, and user testing to really make your application pop.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Your cover letter should not just be a summary of your CV. Use it to express why you’re excited about UX/UI Design and what draws you specifically to Pearson. Mention any relevant experience, tools you’re proficient in (like Sketch or Figma), and how you can contribute to their projects.
Highlight Collaboration Skills:In the world of UX/UI Design, teamwork is crucial. Make sure to highlight any past experiences where you worked in cross-functional teams. Illustrate how you communicated design decisions and listened to feedback, as this will resonate well with the culture at Pearson.
How to prepare for a job interview at Pearson
✨Show Off Your Portfolio
When you're gunning for a full-time UX/UI design role, your portfolio is your best friend! Make sure you've got a solid selection of your work, showcasing not just the final designs, but the process behind them—think wireframes, user flows, and any user research you've conducted. During the interview with Pearson, be prepared to discuss your design decisions and how they solve specific user problems.
✨Prepare for Design Challenges
Expect to face some practical design tasks during your interview. Pearson might ask you to tackle a quick design challenge or critique an existing interface. Brush up on your problem-solving skills and try to articulate your thought process as you work through these scenarios. Showing how you approach a design problem is just as important as the final output!
✨Know the Tools of the Trade
Familiarise yourself with the tools commonly used in the industry—figma, Adobe XD, or Sketch should be second nature to you. Be ready to discuss your preferred tools during the interview and how they've shaped your design process at previous positions. This knowledge could give you an edge at Pearson!
✨Show Passion for User Experience
In a full-time UX/UI design role, having a genuine passion for improving user interactions can set you apart. Be prepared to share instances when you went above and beyond to ensure a great user experience in your previous projects. This will demonstrate that you’re not just a designer, but a user advocate, which is exactly what Pearson is looking for.
