Location
Waterloo or Mississauga, ON

About the Company
Analysts recommend them, investors buy them, and if you’re Canadian – you brag about them. With a history of developing breakthrough wireless email devices and connected enterprise solutions, Research in Motion is a world leader in mobile communications. As a global technology powerhouse, they continue to enjoy explosive growth.

The Opportunity
Lead and shape a high performance team for an elite technology brand. You’ll influence a spectrum of BlackBerry products and services, translating research findings into concrete product recommendations, and championing a user-centric design philosophy throughout the development process. This is an opportunity to impact a global brand from concept to commercialization.

This role leans toward the personnel side of leading a team of usability professionals, but there will be plenty of opportunity to involve yourself technically and in a hands-on capacity. In addition to directing your team, you’ll lend technical and project oversight, and continuously improve planning, execution and best practices. Your team’s portfolio includes the majority of RIM’s products and services.

Team Responsibilities:
• Conduct user and task analysis
• Develop use cases and personas
• Create and evaluate design prototypes
• Conduct user research and usability testing
• Translate research findings into concrete product requirements and recommendations

Your Responsibilities:
• Develop and maintain relationships at all levels of the organization and with external contacts
• Assign projects and provide appropriate direction and support to team members
• Collaborate across functional areas to set priorities and streamline processes
• Package, present and ‘sell’ ideas and recommendations to other teams and to senior management

This is a rare legacy opportunity with an A-list technology company, a role that offers a blend of technical, personal and team leadership. Your contribution here will affect and improve devices that impact millions of users and consumers.

Who Should Apply
• Post-secondary education in human computer interaction, systems design engineering, or a related field
• 10+ years experience working in a professional environment on user experience research, design, and testing
• Proven ability to develop, lead, and motivate high performing teams
• Experience managing user experience activities throughout the software development lifecycle
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects at once in collaborative, fast-paced environments
• Strong research and quantitative skills, including statistics and data analysis
• Excellent problem-solving skills to translate research into practical recommendations
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to present ideas effectively to both technical and business audiences
• Experience planning and facilitating usability testing, focus groups, and customer interviews
• Solid understanding of user interface design principles and practices
• Must be passionate about user-centered design
• Prior exposure to quality management methodologies (such as Six Sigma) is an asset

Contact
To make an inquiry or to submit a resume, please contact: Penny Curtis