Lead UX Designer

The Role

MarketAxess is seeking an experienced and visionary User Experience (UX) Design Lead to spearhead our UX strategy, driving innovation and excellence across our digital trading platforms in the fixed-income and fintech space. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of financial markets, particularly in electronic trading and fixed-income securities, and a proven track record in creating user-centric designs that meet the complex needs of institutional investors, dealers, and regulators.  

As the UX Design Lead, you will oversee a multidisciplinary team, working closely with Product Management, Engineering, and other key stakeholders to deliver world-class user experiences that enhance customer satisfaction and drive business growth. You should be passionate about technology, architecture, software engineering, data, quality, and innovatively addressing business problems. You will work with the team to collaborate on software solutions and architecture and ensure exceptional software engineering practices, quality, and good documentation. It's essential to be willing to take on new skills to meet the shifting demands of accelerating our modernization efforts to the public cloud and Kubernetes world.  

 Feedback from your users should be something that you look forward to, as you will work closely with the Product and Engineering teams users to incorporate their needs into the team's roadmap and use it as a measure of success using OKR’s. A critical success factor is being viewed as a trusted partner and collaborator, including business and technology stakeholders. 

We embrace a culture of collaboration and experimentation while striving to encourage all team members to focus on continuous improvement and learning. We openly welcome diverse perspectives and people who are not afraid to challenge assumptions and prior ways of working. 

How You'll Help Take Us There

UX Strategy & Vision: 

• Develop and execute a comprehensive UX strategy tailored to the unique needs of MarketAxess's clients, including institutional investors and fixed-income dealers. 
• Design and manage the buildout of the MarketAxess Design System – Align branding and User Experience patterns across all MarketAxess HTML5 Apps. 
• Champion user-centered design principles with a specific focus on financial market dynamics, ensuring our trading platforms are intuitive, efficient, and secure. 
• Continuously evaluate and improve UX processes and methodologies to keep pace with the rapidly evolving fintech landscape. 

Leadership & Team Management:

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of UX designers, researchers, and UI specialists with a focus on fintech and trading platforms. 
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive team culture, promoting continuous learning and professional development specific to the complexities of financial markets. 
• Set clear goals and performance expectations for the UX team, ensuring alignment with MarketAxess’s strategic objectives. 

Collaboration & Communication:

• Partner closely with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Engineering, Compliance, and Sales, to ensure seamless integration of UX design across all MarketAxess platforms. 
• Communicate UX vision, strategies, and designs to stakeholders, including senior leadership and clients, securing buy-in and support. 
• Represent the voice of the user—whether institutional investors, traders, or dealers—in strategic discussions, advocating for designs that meet both user needs and business goals in the context of financial markets. 

User Research & Insights:

• Oversee user research initiatives specific to the fintech industry, gaining deep insights into the behaviors, needs, and pain points of institutional investors and dealers. 
• Translate complex research findings into actionable design recommendations that address the nuances of trading platforms and regulatory environments. 
• Ensure all product decisions are informed by data-driven insights and industry best practices. 

Design & Innovation:

• Lead the design and development of innovative, user-friendly interfaces and experiences across MarketAxess’s digital products, ensuring they meet the highest standards of usability and security required by the fintech industry. 
• Stay up-to-date with the latest UX trends, tools, and technologies in fintech, integrating best practices into the design process. 
• Encourage experimentation and creative problem-solving within the team, fostering a culture of innovation in a highly regulated environment. 

Quality Assurance and Observability:

• Ensure high standards of UX quality are maintained across all MarketAxess products and platforms, with a focus on usability, performance, and security. 
• Define requirements for usability testing, Performance Testing, Observability metrics and user feedback loops tailored to the financial industry to continuously improve the user experience. 
• Address UX issues and opportunities promptly, ensuring a consistent and cohesive user experience across MarketAxess’s trading platforms. 

What We’re Looking for  

• 10+ years of experience in UX design, with at least 5 years in a leadership role, preferably in the fintech or financial services industry. 
• Proven track record of leading UX teams and delivering successful user-centered design projects for complex, data-driven platforms. 
• Extensive experience in user research, usability testing, and data-driven design within the context of financial markets.  
• Strong leadership and team management skills, with sith the ability to inspire and motivate a multidisciplinary team. 
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas to both technical and non-technical audiences, including financial professionals. 
• Deep understanding of UX design principles, methodologies, and best practices, with a focus on fintech and trading platforms. 
• Proficiency in UX design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or similar, with experience in designing for complex, data-intensive applications. 
• Experience with Agile methodologies and working in a fast-paced, highly regulated environment. 
• Ability to balance user needs with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and technical constraints.

What You Can Expect from Us

• Hybrid Environment: Our employees enjoy a mix of working in the office and from home
• Free Food: We provide free lunch for employees when they are working in the office. Plus, our offices are stocked with snacks
• Paid Time Off: Competitive PTO package including vacation and personal days, sick leave and charity days
• Generous Parental Leave: Up to 20 weeks fully paid leave
• 401(k): Dollar-for-dollar employer match up to $17,500
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan: Employees can purchase MarketAxess common stock at a discount
• Wellness Stipend: We provide employees with up to $1K annually towards gym memberships, home office equipment and more
• Onsite Healthcare: We offer convenient access to world-class care through Mount Sinai at our Hudson Yards location
• Tuition Assistance and Professional Development: Benefit from live and on-demand learning, role-specific training, employee-led Lunch and Learns and guest speakers
• Core benefits: Highly competitive medical, dental, and vision programs

For job positions in NYC, NY, and other locations where required, the estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is $200,000 USD to $275,000 USD. Actual salary may vary depending on job-related factors, which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. You may also be eligible for annual cash incentives, equity, and other benefit programs.

MarketAxess Corporation and its affiliates provide equal employment opportunities to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic in the location in which the candidate is applying.

All of your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.