We believe in the power and joy of learning

At Cengage Group, our employees have a direct impact on helping students around the world discover the power and joy of learning. We are bonded by our shared purpose – driving innovation that helps millions of learners improve their lives and achieve their dreams through education.

Our culture values inclusion, engagement, and discovery

Our business is driven by our strong culture, and we know that crafting an inclusive work environment is absolutely essential to the success of our company and our learners, as well as our individual well-being. We recognize the value of diverse perspectives in everything we do, and strive to ensure employees of all levels and backgrounds feel empowered to voice their ideas and bring their authentic selves to work. We achieve these priorities through programs, benefits, and initiatives that are integrated into the fabric of how we work every day. To learn more, please see https://www.cengagegroup.com/about/inclusion-and-belonging/.

What makes this opportunity outstanding

As a UX Manager, AI-Designer-Builder at Cengage, you will have the rare chance to lead a team driving the future of education technology. Your influence will span from developing initial concepts to implementing groundbreaking products that impact learners worldwide. You’ll work with a team that values innovation, collaboration, and the power of AI, providing you the platform to excel and create flawless, world-class experiences.

What You’ll Do

Lead and Develop a High-Performing Build Team

• Manage and mentor a team of 5+ UX designers, supporting their growth, performance, and career development.

• Mentor designers on product thinking, design craft, storytelling, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Provide regular feedback, mentorship, and development plans that help designers grow their skills and impact.

• Compose a strong UX culture built on collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement.

Drive Product Build and Innovation

• Lead 0→1 product build efforts, helping define new products, platforms, and capabilities from concept to launch.

• Partner closely with Product and Engineering to build product strategy and prioritize the highest-impact opportunities.

• Translate ambiguous problems, user needs, and business goals into clear product direction and elegant build solutions.

• Guide teams through discovery, experimentation, and iterative product development.

Build and Deliver Outstanding Product Experiences

• Contribute hands-on to product development, including workflows, interactions, prototypes, and product frameworks.

• Drive clarity and momentum in fast-paced environments with evolving requirements.

• Influence product direction through strong user insight, product thinking, and build leadership.

• Ensure experiences are accessible, intuitive, and scalable across platforms.

Advance Modern Build Practices

• Encourage the use of AI-enabled workflows to accelerate research, concept exploration, prototyping, and iteration.

• Contribute to evolving build systems and scalable frameworks that support speed and consistency across products.

• Promote guidelines in building quality, accessibility, and usability.

Partner Across the Organization

• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Research, and Content teams to deliver meaningful product outcomes.

• Communicate build vision, priorities, and tradeoffs clearly with leadership and cross-functional partners.

• Help teams align around shared goals and measurable outcomes.

What You Bring

Required

• 8+ years of UX experience

• 5+ years managing and developing teams that build creative solutions of 5 or more designers

• Proven experience building 0→1 products or major new product capabilities

• Strong product approach — you think like a product owner, not just a designer

• Demonstrated ability to lead teams through ambiguity and build clarity

• Experience mentoring designers and developing talent

• Expertise in interaction build, systems thinking, and end-to-end product build

• Experience using AI tools to accelerate UX workflows, such as:

• Strong portfolio showing shipped products and your role in crafting them

• Solid experience in using up-to-date tools for interface development (Figma preferred)

• Ability to influence senior collaborators and build product direction

Strongly Preferred

• Experience building products in startup environments or innovation teams

• Experience scaling teams or contributing to build culture

• Experience crafting AI-enabled or data-intensive products

• Experience crafting complex platforms or ecosystem-level products

Who You Are

You are someone who:

• Leads with clarity, empathy, and high standards

• Enjoys developing people as much as building products

• Thinks like a builder, not an order-taker

• Moves fast, experiments, and iterates

• Applies AI and modern tools to perform tasks more efficiently and rapidly

• Thrives in ambiguity and helps teams find direction

• Improves the standard for those around you

Cengage Group is committed to working with broad talent pools to attract and hire strong and most qualified individuals. Our job applicants are considered regardless of race, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, veteran status, and any other classification protected by applicable federal, state, provincial or local laws.

Cengage is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities including during our job application process. If you are an applicant with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in our job application process, please contact us at accommodations.ta@cengage.com or at +1 (617) 289-7917.

About Cengage Group

Cengage Group, a global education technology company serving millions of learners, provides affordable, quality digital products and services that equip students with the skills and competencies needed to be job ready. For more than 100 years, we have enabled the power and joy of learning with trusted, engaging content, and now, integrated digital platforms. We serve the higher education, workforce skills, secondary education, English language teaching and research markets worldwide. Through our scalable technology, including MindTap and Cengage Unlimited, we support all learners who seek to improve their lives and achieve their dreams through education.

Compensation

At Cengage Group, we take great pride in our commitment to providing a comprehensive and rewarding Total Rewards package designed to support and empower our employees. Click here to learn more about our Total Rewards Philosophy.

The full base pay range has been provided for this position. Individual base pay will vary based on work schedule, qualifications, experience, internal equity, and geographic location. Sales roles often incorporate a significant incentive compensation program beyond this base pay range.

In this position, you will be eligible to participate in the company’s discretionary incentive bonus program. This position's bonus target amount, which is not guaranteed and is dependent on individual performance and overall company results among other factors, is provided below.