Northern Trust

Principal Designer

Northern Trust$137K — $233K *
Enterprise Technology
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 12+ years of experience in delivering digital experiences
  • Educated in design or related field
  • Strong portfolio showcasing design thinking and UI/UX best practices
  • Experience with agile methodology in a cross-functional team setting
  • Expertise in diverse design methods including usability testing and research planning

Responsibilities

  • Lead design experience and maturity of the product design system
  • Enhance product delivery through reusable and production-ready design components
  • Standardize interactions to improve consistency across client and advisor experiences
  • Reduce technical and design debt from past project deliveries
  • Increase operational efficiency by minimizing duplicate design efforts
  • Enhance scalability of the platform with extensible architectures
  • Foster continuous accessibility improvements aligned with evolving standards

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health and welfare benefits including medical, dental, and vision
  • Retirement benefits including a 401k and pension plan
  • Paid time off and parental/caregiver leave
  • Life and accidental death insurance
  • Discretionary bonus program with potential equity component
Full Job Description

Overview

Northern Trust is seeking a Principal Product Designer to lead strategic design efforts on our flagship client facing wealth management platform at Northern Trust. A key contributor on our design team that’s transforming the way wealth management clients engage with our advice and financial services. Join us in collaborating with cross-functional product teams, facilitation of human centric design methodologies, ensuring agile delivery of high-quality financial service solutions and seamless experiences for high-net-worth clients and their advisors. Enjoy a culture of design excellence, continuous learning, and career growth opportunities. This is a full time, hybrid role in Chicago, IL.

As a key member of the design team, your primary role and responsibly is leading the design experience and maturity of our product design system, Storybook components, and Figma Library that support the design and agile teams. To improve client trust and perception of the firm's digital sophistication through a cohesive, polished, and premium user experience. And ensure that design assets, components, and experience standards continue to evolve with ever changing environment of digital products and services.

Working Model: Hybrid

We have a balanced hybrid working model to ensure you get the flexibility you need, and the successful candidate will spend their time between working in the office and working from home.

Objectivesand Responsibilities:

  • Accelerate product delivery by increasing the availability of reusable, production-ready components, templates, patterns, and page frameworks.

  • Improve consistency across advisor, client, prospect, and operational experiences through standardized interaction and visual patterns.

  • Strengthen alignment between future-state experience vision, product roadmaps, and implementation through continuous Storybook enhancement.

  • Reduce long-term technical and design debt created by delivery-driven compromises that were necessary to support near-term roadmap commitments.

  • Increase operational efficiency by reducing duplicate component development and fragmented experience patterns across domains.

  • Improve scalability of the platform by creating extensible component architectures that support future products, channels, and business capabilities.

  • Increase development efficiency through improved component documentation, implementation guidance, governance, and code reuse.

  • Expand enterprise design system integration to ensure greater consistency across platforms, business domains, and delivery teams.

  • Continuous accessibility maturity by systematically remediating gaps and aligning digital experiences with evolving accessibility standards and best practices.

Summary

A Principal Designer ensures that the design of a new or existing product or offering exceeds the needs of the people who these experiences serve.The principal design is a subject matter expert, with deep experience, who leads and collaboratesto create truly differentiating experiences reflective of Northern Trusts capabilities and business objectives as well as client and partner needs and behaviors.

Principaldesignerswork withleadership to craft, refine, implement, and communicatedesignvision and strategy acrossteams, business units, and the larger organization.

Principal designers take ownership for complexdesign initiatives, delivering solutions that are driven by deep design and business experience.Theyact as a resource for colleagues with lessexperience andwill run point on specific design activities.They are a master storyteller, systems thinker, and have high levels of influence withinbusiness,and technology teams.

MajorDuties

  • Helps to establish an open culture of optimism, experimentation, curiosity, and rapid prototyping

  • Leads multidisciplinaryteamsto work together with a shared purpose to deliver great designthat addressesusersneeds.

  • Achieves success through trial and experimentation, recognizes that prototyping can be done at various levels of fidelity, and has experience doing and leading work

  • Comfortable synthesizing multiple and sometimes conflicting inputs into a common point-of-view

  • Designs and specifies user interfaces and information architecture using human-centered techniques including observational studies, client and partner interviews, and usability testing

  • Has a passion for developing others and will help to identify talent and build teams with a lens to how different personalities and capabilities could fit together on a project to create real impact

  • Looks outside for inspiration around new approaches and tools and has a desire to build bridgestocorporate innovation initiativesand the broader design community

Knowledge/Skills

  • Ability to put Human-Centered Design and UI/UX best practices to work within a professional setting

  • Ability to recognize, predict and incorporate use cases and user interactions into design

  • Expertisein a range of relevant design methods and concepts, which mayincludelow-fidelity sketching, information architecture, wireframe development, usability testing, research planning, competitive analysis

  • Exceptionalpresentation and storytelling skills, leading teams to a common vision.

  • Highly flexible, adaptable to change and comfortable with ambiguity

  • Exceptionaluse of collaborative/communication tools, able to present work and decisions effectively within EDR team, through presentation and storytelling skills

  • Clear growth mindset, looking for opportunities to learn and motivated to approach challenges proactively

  • #LI-Hybrid

  • #LI-GG1

Experience Required

  • 12+years demonstrated work experience delivering digital experiences

  • Educated in design or related field, formally or though comparable training

  • Design thinking and UI/UX best practices, as demonstrated in a portfolio of professional work.

  • Experience working with a cross-functional team or large-scale software development lifecycle, preferably in an agile environment

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa)

Salary Range:

$137,400 - 233,600 USD

Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension), health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability), paid time off, parental and caregiver leave, life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well-being benefits. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust is a global leader in delivering innovative investment management, asset and fund administration, and fiduciary and banking solutions to corporations, institutions, and affluent individuals. They have evolved with the changing needs of their clients and their world.

Northern Trust Careers

Joining Northern Trust means becoming part of a global financial services institution that is dedicated to providing expert guidance and innovative solutions to its clients. At Northern Trust, we pride ourselves on fostering a culture of leadership, diversity, and innovation, which makes us a premier destination for career growth in the financial industry.

Work You’ll Do

At Northern Trust, you will collaborate with some of the most talented professionals in the financial sector. Our team is committed to excellence and equipped with a diverse range of skills that contribute to our dynamic environment. Here, you will have the opportunity to lead projects that transform our services and drive significant value for our clients across the globe.

Explore Job Opportunities and Internships

Whether you are starting your career or looking to make a significant impact in the financial industry, Northern Trust offers a variety of job opportunities and internships that will help you achieve your professional goals. From entry-level positions to leadership roles, our company is actively hiring individuals who are passionate, curious, and driven to excel.

Innovative Work

Northern Trust is at the forefront of financial innovation. Our employees are encouraged to think creatively and leverage cutting-edge technologies to solve complex problems. By joining our team, you will work on pioneering solutions that redefine the standards of financial services.

Be Part of a Great Team

Our team at Northern Trust is more than just a group of employees – we are a community. We value collaboration, and our culture is built on mutual respect and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Working with us, you will experience a supportive network that is passionate about sharing knowledge and ideas.

Future-Proof Your Career

Northern Trust is dedicated to your professional development. We offer comprehensive benefits, diversity training, and numerous resources to help you grow your career. With our support, you can expand your skills, gain valuable experience, and achieve professional certifications that will enhance your career trajectory.

Stay Connected

Join Our Team

Discover the perfect role for you at Northern Trust by exploring our current job openings that match your skills and interests. We are looking for professionals who are solution-driven and eager to contribute to our legacy of financial excellence.

Keep Up to Date

Stay informed with the latest career tips, industry insights, and professional growth opportunities—all available through our careers blog. At Northern Trust, we ensure that our team members are always ahead in the industry.

Job Alert Emails

Customize your experience by subscribing to job alerts and insider tips tailored to your preferences. At Northern Trust, exciting and rewarding opportunities are always on the horizon, and we are eager to see where your talents can take us. Join Northern Trust today and be part of a company that values innovation, leadership, and a diverse and inclusive workplace. Here, every position is a chance to contribute to something bigger and to turn your job into a meaningful career.
Learn more about Northern Trust
Size
21,100 employees
Market Cap
$18.1 billion
Industry
Net Income
$1.2 billion
Founded
1889
5 Year Trend
+4.9%
Revenue
$6.1 billion
NASDAQ

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