Senior UX Writer

Company Description

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily. We continue to operate from a position of strength. Our updated growth strategy is focused on staying ahead of what our customers want and realizing further growth potential. Our relentless ambition is why McDonald’s remains one of the world’s leading corporations after almost 70 years. Joining McDonald's means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonald’s, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centered on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House Charities to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet. We also offer a broad range of outstanding benefits including a sabbatical program, tuition assistance and flexible work arrangements.

We are enjoying the flexibility of a hybrid work model, in which employees spend part of their week connecting with co-workers in our state-of-the-art headquarters. Located in the booming West Loop of downtown Chicago, it's set up to be a global hub that cultivates collaboration:

• Take a class at Hamburger University
• Sample future items in our Test Kitchen
• Utilize the latest technology to connect with your team around the globe

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our crew members, staff, operators, and suppliers. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone.

Job Description

The McDonalds Global Design team is a key part of the Customer Experience team (MCX), which provides user-centered experiences that deliver a cohesive and meaningful experience for customers and crew members around the world.

The position requires proven expertise in solutions with strong design work, UX research, design sensibility, and articulate storytelling. This is a hands-on role focused on both product discovery and design objectives. The position involves participating in the entire design lifecycle - conducting user research, translating research data into actionable user flows, customer journey maps, service blueprints, wireframes, and concept testing. The Director, Experience Design will be a key partner to Product Management and Technology leadership to set strategy.

What will you be doing?

UX Writers at McDonald’s are advocates for the user experience and stewards of one of the world’s most loved brands. You’ll use language to bring to life compelling product experiences, express crystal clear value props, and help users complete the task at hand with ease.

Your fellow team members will rely on you to:

• Craft, write, edit, test and improve content that makes products easier to use and keeps experiences on brand
• Lead content creation throughout the entire user experience writing process, from initial research to final copy
• Apply critical thinking to craft clear, concise, and compelling copy that guides users through intuitive flows and interactions
• Lead collaborative efforts to analyze current content gaps and opportunities, encouraging discussions that enhance team understanding, drive clarity and resolve confusion
• Partner in writing clear content guidelines and ensure they meet accessibility and inclusivity standards
• Implement and refine the voice and tone of content across various user experiences, ensuring consistency, brand alignment, and inclusivity
• Promote a culture of shared ideas and constructive feedback, confidently presenting and sharing copy drafts and iterations
• Facilitate the seamless handoff of content deliverables to teams, complete with supportive documentation and training materials when necessary
• Champion the importance of UX writing in creating substantial user interactions and advocate for its role in design innovation

In this role, you will:

• Develop and maintain the brand narrative inclusive of value propositions and tone of voice across all digital touchpoints, ensuring consistency and alignment with overall brand strategy
• Own the content strategy during the product development process, finding opportunities to improve user experience through text
• Craft clear, concise, and compelling copy that enhances the user experience; including writing for headlines, feature descriptions, buttons, menus, error messages, and instructional text within a product
• Work closely with UX/UI designers, product managers, and developers to ensure UX content complements visual design and functionality
• Participate in user research to understand the needs of the target audience, apply insights to write effective copy, and sometimes assist in usability testing
• Edit and refine copy based on feedback from stakeholders and user testing results
• Ensure all copy is free of errors and meets quality standards
• Apply principles of SEO to enhance copy effectiveness and improve search rankings where relevant

Qualifications

• 5 years of professional experience in product UX Writing (although you might have had a different job title, like “Content Strategist”)
• Strong track record and examples of simplifying and improving experiences
• Ability to work onsite at company headquarters in Chicago three days per week
• Strong understanding of UX principles and how copy contributes to the user experience.
• Excellent writing, editing, and proofreading skills, demonstrated in your portfolio of recent work
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment, communicating work, and giving and receiving feedback
• Ability to independently plan and lead content strategy and copywriting for large-scale projects including future-proof thinking
• Demonstrated interest in advocating for the user and ability to make a business case for content
• Familiarity with SEO best practices
• Proficiency in content management systems and basic understanding of HTML/CSS
• Experience in the avoidance of directional and ableist language
• Experience articulating and incorporating accessibility standards and guidelines into design documents and specifications
• Experience working in an agile product delivery environment
• Penchant to nerd-out on design and emerging trends

It would be a bonus if you had:

• A university degree in Interaction Design, English Literature, Journalism, Human Computer Interaction, or a related design or behavioural science subject area
• Experience working in a variety of organizations (start-up, corporate, agency/consultancy)
• Academic, professional, or life experience from outside the design field that enriches your point of view as a designer and writer

Additional Information

McDonald’s is an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our workforce. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. McDonald’s provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. If you need assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise feel you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact [email protected]. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

McDonald’s provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.