Principal Designer jobs in Washington, DC

With every journey, travel has the power to shape us and our world. Begin your journey as a Principal Designer at Marriott International, repeatedly voted one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For®. Join our high energy and talented User Experience & Design team creating best-in-class digital experiences for one of the most recognized hospitality companies in the world.
 

This individual contributor is responsible to help shape the design and structured experience of Marriott’s digital 'hotel ecosystem,’ the online experience of over 8,000 hotels and resorts worldwide, and their connection to 30 hospitality brands. Partnering closely with fellow user experience leaders, product management and technology colleagues, the principal designer works to meet needs across our business while advocating for the needs of our leisure, member and non-member customers. This position requires the hands-on ability to produce quality designs and prototypes in order to drive the creative process from the conceptual through successful execution. 
A strong portfolio is critical. Your portfolio should showcase your experience in brands, UX and interaction design in digital solutions, particularly highlighting conversion optimization efforts, simplicity and ease-of-use.


CANDIDATE PROFILE

Education and Experience

•   8 years of relevant experience in hands-on digital product design with demonstrated leadership experience, strong grounding in general usability and transactional design best practices 
•  2 years of relevant experience with large-scale brands, websites or global digital apps/digital products 
•   Experience designing a visual identity and brand in a digital space
•   Experience delivering design concepts, user journeys, prototypes, etc., across platforms (desktop, mobile web, app, etc.) with inclusivity in mind
•   Experience with Agile / SAFE development methodologies
•   Thrives working as an individual contributor in a collaborative and cross-functional environment 

4-year undergraduate degree in relevant discipline or equivalent experience
 

You’re exactly who we’re looking for if you: 
•   Promote UX best practices drawn from a variety of disciplines (within and beyond hospitality) Proactively maintain a keen focus across product areas to ensure cohesiveness Communicate through compelling visuals and deliverables
Showcase strong presentation, negotiation, and persuasion skills 
•   Are experienced with major, large-scale global digital apps, websites, or other digital products within the commerce or travel space
•   Possess superior communication and interpersonal skills, including facilitation, presentation, storytelling

CORE WORK ACTIVITIES

Demonstrating and Applying Discipline Knowledge: 
•   Direct and approve the execution of user experience design
•   Clearly explain design decisions to leadership, your team, and stakeholders
•   Identify future opportunities by keeping up to date with design trends, societal shifts, and new technology
•   Be a thought partner providing recommendations based on research and data for experience enhancements across all digital touchpoints
•   Collaborate with a variety of user experience disciplines within the team (Information Architecture,
Design System/Standards, User Research, Copywriting) to advance your work

Managing Work, Projects, and Policies 
•   Provides accurate estimates as to needed time to complete work to feed project plans (and therefore personal deadlines)
•   Successfully manages multiple tracks of work simultaneously
•   Accepts critique and critiques work of others in a helpful and professional manner

Leadership & Management 
•   Ability to manage one or more direct reports
•   Leads work done by both internal associates and external vendors
•   Attract, hire, develop, and retain top talent
•   Thinks and works at both the strategic and executional levels; sees both the “forest” and the “trees” and guides teams accordingly

Additional Responsibilities 
•   Works and leads independently with minimal supervision, but knows when issues should be escalated to manger
•   Develops relationships with members of other teams, and leverages those relationships to answer questions 
•   Presents work with clarity and confidence; explains complex matters so that others can understand them

MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES

Building Relationships
•   Stakeholders - Partners with key stakeholders to ensure execution across disciplines as needed. 
•   Organizational Alignment - Drives the organizational alignment and accountability for successful outcomes of all related initiatives with the continent and market, and other functional areas; ensures strategies address relevant stakeholder needs and competitive environment; executes accordingly.
•   Customer Relationships - Develops and sustains relationships based on an understanding of customer/stakeholder needs and actions consistent with the company’s service standards.
•   Global Mindset - Supports employees and business partners with diverse styles, abilities, motivations, and/or cultural perspectives; utilizes differences to drive innovation, engagement and enhance business results; and ensures employees are given the opportunity to contribute to their full potential.
•   Strategic Partnerships - Develops collaborative relationships with fellow employees and business partners by making them feel valued, appreciated, and included; explores partnership opportunities with other people in and outside the organization; influences and leverages corporate and continental shared services and/or discipline leaders (e.g., HR, Finance, Legal etc.) to achieve objectives; maintains effective external relations with government, business and industry in respective countries; performs effectively as a liaison between locations, disciplines, and corporate to ensure needed resources are received and corporate strategies are understood and executed.

Leadership
•   Communication - Conveys information and ideas to others in a convincing and engaging manner through a variety of methods.
•   Problem Solving and Decision Making - Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; obtains and compares information from different sources to draw conclusions, develops and evaluates alternatives and solutions, solves problems, and chooses a course of action.
•   Leading Through Vision and Values - Keeps the organization's vision and values at the forefront of decision making and action.
•   Managing Change - Initiates and/or manages the change process and energizes it on an ongoing basis, taking steps to remove barriers or accelerate its pace; serves as role model for how to handle change by maintaining composure and performance level under pressure or when experiencing challenges.
•   Professional Demeanor - Exhibits behavioral styles that convey confidence and command respect from others; makes a good first impression and represents the company in alignment with its values. 
•   Strategy Development - Develops business plans by exploring and systematically evaluating opportunities with the greatest potential for producing positive results; ensures successful preparation and execution of business plans through effective planning, organizing, and on-going evaluation processes.

Managing Execution
•   Driving for Results - Sets high standards of performance for self and/or others; assumes responsibility for work objectives; initiates, focuses, and monitors the efforts of self and/or others toward the accomplishment goals; proactively acts and goes beyond what is required.
•   Strategy Execution – Ensures successful execution across business plans designed to maximize customer satisfaction, profitability, and market share through effective planning, organizing, and on-going evaluation processes.

Generating Talent and Organizational Capability 
•   Organizational Capability - Evaluates and adapts the structure of assignments and work processes to best fit the needs and/or support the goals of an organizational unit.
•   Talent Management - Provides guidance and feedback to help individuals develop and strengthen skills and abilities needed to accomplish work objectives.

Learning and Applying Professional Expertise
•   Technical Acumen - Understands and utilizes professional skills and knowledge in a specific functional area to conduct and manage everyday business operations and generate innovative solutions to approach function-specific work challenges.
o   Strong understanding of hotel operations, deployment, project management, revenue management strategies, etc.
o   Strong understanding of technical reporting tools and their capabilities.
 

Marriott International is an equal opportunity employer. We believe in hiring a diverse workforce and sustaining an inclusive, people-first culture. We are committed to non-discrimination on any protected basis, such as disability and veteran status, or any other basis covered under applicable law.