Principal UX Designer

 

Principal UX Designer 

 

About Upshop 

Upshop is the market leader in Total Store Operations solutions for the Grocery and C-Store markets. We offer an AI-powered, SaaS platform connecting Fresh, Center, eCommerce, and DSD department operations to deliver a simplified, smarter, more connected store experience. Customers running Upshop realize significant improvements in sales, shrink, food safety and sustainability across the entire store. 450+ retail chain accounts trust our software in over 55k+ stores, 35 countries, and 3 continents. 

 

Role Summary 

As a Principal UX Designer at Upshop, you will own the evolution of our Design Platform and Design System while acting as both a senior craft practitioner and mentor to the design organization. In this role, you will have the opportunity to be a platform-minded design leader, partnering with other PMs to shape and operationalize Upshop 360 platform across all product suites. You will shape direction through hands-on contribution and thoughtful influence, helping the team make decisions confidently in ambiguity and complexity.  

  

You are a player-coach: a strategic thinker who leads by doing, builds with your hands, and elevates others’ work through mentorship and example. You will help define the future of Upshop’s design ecosystem — from foundational components to interaction patterns and scalable UX paradigms — ensuring consistency, coherence, and quality across products.  

  

This role requires a strong blend of senior UX craft, systems thinking, advanced prototyping, cross-functional influence, and coaching experience. 

What You’ll Do 

Design Platform & System Leadership 

• Own and evolve the Upshop Design Platform and System: components, guidelines, interaction language, motion principles, and shared patterns.  

• Partner with engineering to ensure consistency, scalability, performance, and technical feasibility at platform scale.  

• Define and document standards for how design is expressed across products — from tokens to complex state behaviors.  

• Advocate for accessibility, performance, and inclusive design across the system. 

 

Hands-On UX & Interaction Craft 

• Create and iterate high-fidelity prototypes, interaction models, and design artifacts that clarify intent and drive alignment. 

• Use prototypes as a primary language for exploration, communication, and decision-making. 

• Translate research insights, user data, and business goals into elegant, scalable solutions.  

Player-Coach Leadership 

• Serve as a mentor and coach: provide regular design critique, career guidance, and hands-on support for more junior designers. 

• Lead and facilitate cross-disciplinary workshops to solve complex UX challenges collaboratively 

• Elevate team craft through shared best practices, tooling improvements, and patterns for reuse. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration 

• Partner deeply with Product, Engineering, and Brand teams to shape outcomes that balance user needs with business strategy. 

• Influence product direction through strategic reasoning and exceptional design judgment 

• Represent design decisions to senior leadership and stakeholders with clarity and confidence. 

Working in Ambiguity & Evolving Practice 

• Thrive in exploratory environments where problems are undefined and outcomes are emerging. 

• Define and refine processes that help teams navigate ambiguity while maintaining velocity and quality. 

 

 

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