Freelance Senior UX Designer

At AKQA (part of WPP), we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and applications that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients.

Creatives at AKQA apply artistry and craftsmanship to strategic insight to create and bring to life beautiful ideas that move the world. Skilled storytellers and conceptors, they work in a multidisciplinary environment to develop labors of love that delight customers and deliver results for clients. Senior UX Designers play essential roles in the execution of beautiful ideas, products and services. They bring exceptional creative thought and craft output, developing and delivering from brief to end user, and are inspired by technology and driven to use it in service of genuinely better human experiences.

We are seeking an experienced Freelance Senior UX Designer to support one of the most recognized and trusted names in financial services, a brand with deep roots in helping people plan, protect, and secure their futures. We are doing transformative digital product work with this client, shaping the ways that millions of people engage with their financial lives. This is a meaningful, high-visibility engagement where strong UX thinking, systems fluency, and thoughtful interaction design have a direct impact on real people at pivotal moments. This is a freelance role running from June 15 through August 31, 2026.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• A solid understanding and demonstration of user-centered design principles across complex digital product ecosystems
• Lead the design of large and complex systems of interactions, bringing clarity and coherence to multi-step, multi-lane experiences
• Extensive experience in the creation, maintenance, and application of design systems, contributing meaningfully to both the UX and UI dimensions of a system
• Develop and deliver high-fidelity wireframes, flows, and interactive prototypes primarily utilizing Figma, with expert-level command of components, variants, auto layout, libraries, and prototyping capabilities
• Demonstrate advanced proficiency in leveraging AI tools to drive innovation and efficiency across all stages of the UX lifecycle
• Work with team members to develop and refine streamlined UX processes, setting new standards for quality and delivery
• Proactively pursue opportunities to improve strategy and approach in order to better address client and user objectives
• Define consumers, processes, and ideas from an objective point of view grounded in research and insight, and effectively communicate that point of view to senior stakeholders on both the agency and client sides
• Lead and support designers across multiple projects, taking responsibility for the quality and consistency of all team documentation and deliverables
• Contribute to thought leadership activities within the UX and product design discipline

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• A compelling portfolio of distinctive work showing both product and service design, with clear evidence of strong UX craft and systems thinking across complex digital platforms
• Able to develop simple and elegant design solutions to complex design problems
• Expert-level Figma skills and strong proficiency with leading industry-standard UX design and prototyping tools
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with the ability to present and advocate for design decisions to technical and non-technical audiences
• Expertise in cross-functional collaboration across design, product, strategy, and engineering
• Assists and guides other designers in their professional development, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement
• Fosters progressive and limitless thinking

Location & Commitment

• Must be local to New York City for periodic onsite client meetings
• June 15, 2026 through August 31, 2026
• 40 hours/week
• Expected weekly compensation: 3,800 to 4,200 USD