Posted over 2 years ago

Minerva Project's mission is to change the world by improving education everywhere. 

We partner with high schools, higher education institutions, and corporations to create transformational learning programs based on the science of learning, all of which are taught on our flagship Forum software. By emphasizing active class participation, deliberate practice, and other empirically-proven methods, our system helps teach students critical skills, as well as the ability to apply those skills to diverse and changing contexts.

As a Product Designer on Minerva's Product team, you will help ensure that we retain category leadership in:

• Using technology to make virtual classroom learning fun, effective, and engaging
• Data-driven feedback for students, faculty and administrators
• Developing tools that make it easy to create syllabi and lesson plans that employ the latest understanding of the science of learning

You'll be part of a small team that works in close consultation with other teams—including admissions, marketing, academic, and company leadership. You'll collaborate with developers and product management to help shape the future of our online classroom, Minerva Forum, as well as our curriculum development and grading tools. 

Your typical week will include researching, designing, and getting feedback on new and improved features. We're big on collaboration and knowledge-sharing, and we start every week with a retrospective, so if something's not working for us, we fix it. 

Minerva is special because it is more than a job. It's a chance to build something long-lasting, to leave a legacy and add meaning to your career. Our first class of Minerva Schools at KGI students graduated in 2019, and we have already started the next chapter of bringing the Minerva system to the world, with partnerships in higher education, high school, and corporate leadership. We take a long term view and, in our mission to nurture critical wisdom for the sake of the world, we've only just begun. This is an opportunity to do interesting and important work, and to do it right. We hope you join us!

Learn more about our team culture and key values: https://www.keyvalues.com/minerva

You set a high bar with everything you deliver. You feel comfortable working on ambiguous projects because you can distill complex problems into simple solutions. You focus on details and obsess over ways to improve the user's experience. You have big ideas and aren't afraid to experiment, because you know failure is an important part of innovation. You have a growth mindset and great product sense. You can clearly articulate your process which includes research, IA, problem definition, testing, designing, and prototyping.

1. Own design projects of all scopes from beginning to end – from long-term design goals to small, tactical adjustments.
2. Research the problem via analytics review, stakeholder interviews and user testing.
3. Analyze the feedback and develop assets that communicate your solutions most effectively, including but not limited to wireframes, user flows, low- and high-fidelity mockups, prototypes, animations, HTML/CSS, or written instructions.
4. Work closely with PMs to determine project goals and timelines.
5. Communicate design goals and deliver assets to developers that set them up for success. Closely collaborate with them during the production process.
6. Post-production, evaluate the new design or feature and ensure it's performing as intended. 
7. Help develop and document best practices and processes for UX and design activities.

• 2+ years experience as a designer working on digital experiences.
• Experience or interest in Figma or similar design and prototyping tools. HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript skills are a plus.
• Extensive experience in using UX design best practices to design solutions.
• A solid grasp of user-centered design, planning and conducting user research, user testing, A/B testing, rapid prototyping, heuristic analysis, usability and accessibility concerns.
• Ability to iterate designs and solutions efficiently and intelligently.
• Ability to clearly and effectively communicate design processes, ideas, and solutions to teams and clients.
• Be passionate about resolving user pain points through great design.
• Be open to receiving feedback and constructive criticism.

• Mission-oriented team and organization
• The spirit of a non-profit university, the focus of a startup
• Sustainable working pace
• Unlimited vacation policy
• Health, dental, vision, commuter checks, and 401K
• Paid parental leave: 12 weeks for moms and 6 weeks for dads
• Competitive salary and stock compensation
• Professional development budget with 1:1 matching

We are a globally distributed organization, with an office in San Francisco, CA.

We welcome 100% remote employees as well as those who prefer to work from the office.

Interested? We make applying quick and easy. Just send the following:

• A copy of your resume or a link to something resume-like (e.g., your website, LinkedIn)
• A copy of or link to a portfolio of projects you've worked on in the past that shows your thought process around UX challenges
• A brief description of why you are excited for this opportunity to join Minerva. This description replaces the traditional cover letter.

To build a university for the 21st century leaders and creators, our team should be representative of our diverse student body. Minerva values a diverse workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQIA individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply. Minerva is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of any characteristic irrelevant to creating great software, including: race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.