Job: User Experience Designer (Contract) at Blue Coat Systems

Job: User Experience Designer (1 Year Contract Position)

Company: Blue Coat Systems Canada, Waterloo, Ontario

The Company

Blue Coat Systems is the technical leader in application delivery networking. Blue Coat offers an application delivery network infrastructure that optimizes and secures the flow of information to any user, on any network, anywhere. Blue Coat offers unmatched visibility into the security and performance of business applications and web traffic running across the networks of the distributed enterprise and provides the comprehensive application and user control required to contain costs, enhance business productivity and respond quickly to changing business requirements. Trusted by many of the world’s largest organizations including 97 of the Fortune 100, Blue Coat has shipped more than 20,000 proxy appliances.

The Products

The Blue Coat Proxy SG™ family of proxy appliances provides total visibility and control of Web communications with wire-speed performance. Based on Blue Coat SGOS™, a custom, object-based operating system with integrated caching, these proxy appliances leverage existing authentication systems to enable flexible policy enforcement down to the individual user. Proxy SG combines comprehensive proxy support of all Web protocols with integrated content filtering, instant messaging control, peer-to-peer (P2P) control, streaming control, pop-up ad blocking and virus scanning. Blue Coat’s end-to-end product portfolio includes powerful reporting, policy and configuration management software – delivering a scalable proxy solution for centralized or distributed enterprise environments.

The Opportunity

The Waterloo User Experience team owns the revitalization of the user interfaces for our products. We are looking for a UX Designer to join our team. You will be responsible for designing rich and engaging user experiences for web and mobile applications and helping to define the user experience across Blue Coat products.

The typical duties for this position would include:

• Create and maintain documentation (typically wireframes) that enables engineers to build software that fosters a delightful user experience
• Collaborate with Subject Matter Experts, Product Management, Documentation teams and Engineers
• Participate in regular brainstorming sessions, design reviews and other team-wide design efforts
• Assist in standardizing design patterns and visual designs in our products
• Conduct user research through the design process to ensure we are meeting customer needs.

The Requirements

• User interface design experience, preferably in complex systems.
• Post secondary education in Psychology, Information Systems, Computer Science or related discipline.
• Understanding of interaction design and experience in applying user-centered design methods.

The following would be a real plus for the position:

• Ability to translate user needs or other engineering analysis to design requirements.
• Background in requirements gathering (interviewing and observation skills)
• Ability to work in cross-functional teams
• Effective communicator who is able to work in teams locally and remotely
• Wireframe design experience
• Graphic design

If you are looking for a challenge in a fast paced company, come and join Blue Coat!

October 2012 event: Pub chat

Our uxWaterloo pub nights are very popular, as there’s plenty of opportunity to meet people, talk about UX, and generally relax in good company. Our October event plays to that popularity, and is a gathering at the Firkin at the Tannery. As usual,  there’s a shared love of user experience on tap, alongside the beer. Come on out and enjoy the fun!

Note that we’re meeting on a Tuesday this month, rather than a Thursday.

Where and when

Tuesday October 23, 2012
5:30 to 7:30 pm
Firkin at the Tannery
151 Charles St. W.
Kitchener, ON N2G 1H6

Sign up now to join the fun!

September 2012 event: Fluxible preview

As exciting as a monthly uxWaterloo event can be, the big user experience event in Waterloo Region in September is going to be Fluxible, which is happening on September 22 & 23. This very first Fluxible event features a great lineup of talks and workshops by UX experts from four continents! You may recognize speakers James Wu, Dan Szuc, and Whitney Quesenbery from uxWaterloo events. There are many more joining them for what organizers Bob Barlow-Busch and Mark Connolly describe as a UX party disguised as a conference. Plus, Fluxible has a theme song — how cool is that?

For this uxWaterloo meeting we’ll have a bit of a preview of Fluxible, with some special Fluxible guests joining us for a discussion around various UX topics. Hope you can make it out, and that you also consider registering for Fluxible.

Register for the uxWaterloo September meeting. Hope to see you there!

Where and when

Thursday September 20, 2012
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, P2P Room
151 Charles St. W.
Kitchener, ON N2G 1H6

Sign up now to join the fun!

One more thing. As a special offer to uxWaterloo folks, you can register for Fluxible and receive a big $200 discount over the regular price. What a bargain! Register now!

August 2012 event: More casual chat in a pub

It’s still summertime and, as I wrote last month, the living is easy. The wireframes are jumping and the prototypes are high. Or something like that.

It’s still the perfect time to enjoy the more relaxed pace of uxWaterloo in the summer! Our August event is, once again, a gathering in a pub, where good conversation and a shared love of user experience are on tap. Come on out and enjoy the fun!

Where and when

Thursday August 16, 2012
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Firkin at the Tannery
151 Charles St. W.
Kitchener, ON N2G 1H6

Sign up now to join the fun!

Help use design to improve rural health care in Guatemala

Last month we held a design workshop to brainstorm designs for a software tool that supports rural healthcare workers. This was in support of Tula Foundation, a Canadian not-for-profit, and an organization it supports named TulaSalud.

Ray Brunsting, our guest from Tula, was quite happy with the design ideas that emerged and would like to go further. If any of you would like to continue with the design work that was started at the workshop, Ray would love to hear from you. Of course, this would be on a voluntary basis, but I can say from my own experience that working on a project like this is quite rewarding.

Can you help Tula on this design project? Please let us know, and we’ll connect you with Ray.

July 2012 Event: Casual chat in a pub

Yes, it’s summertime and, as the song goes, the living is easy. The wireframes are jumping and the prototypes are high. Or something like that.

It’s time to enjoy the more relaxed pace of uxWaterloo in the summer! Our July event is a gathering in a pub, where good conversation and a shared love of user experience are on tap. Come on out and enjoy the fun!

Where and when

Thursday July 19, 2012
5:30 to 7:30 pm
Firkin at the Tannery
151 Charles St. W.
Kitchener, ON N2G 1H6

Sign up now to join the fun!

June 2012 bonus event: REAP project demos and design feedback

June has turned into a rare, but not unheard of, a two-event month for uxWaterloo. In addition to our previously-announced design workshop with Tula Foundation as our regular event, we have this second bouns event to look forward to!

Back in March we visited the Felt lab to see what REAP students were creating and provide them with feedback on their work. The session worked so well that REAP has asked uxWaterloo for a return visit.

Come out and share your insights and design expertise with the next generation of UX practitioners and researchers, while learning more about exciting new technologies. The discussions are sure to be enlightening all around.

Wednesday June 13, 2012
5:30 to 7:00 pm
FELT Lab at Quarry Integrated Communications
1440 King Street North, St. Jacobs, Ontario
[Map]
Sign up now, as space is limited!

June 2012 event: Design workshop with Tula Foundation

Last October we ran a successful design workshop event with REEP, a Waterloo Region not-for-profit devoted to improving the energy efficiency of homes.

For our June event we have another design workshop, this time in conjunction with Tula Foundation, a Canadian not-for-profit, and an organization it supports named TulaSalud. TulaSalud is a Guatemalan non-governmental organization that assists the Ministry of Health and partner institutions with improving the health of the country’s rural population through e-health initiatives.

Our goal for this workshop will be to brainstorm designs for a software tool that supports rural healthcare workers. This will be a chance to dig into a real world problem and make a difference through design.

Details

Thursday June 21, 2012
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub
151 Charles Street West, Suite 100, Kitchener

Sign up now, as space is limited!

Job: Interactive Designer in Kitchener-Waterloo

Location: Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario

• Industry: Professional Services
• Status: Contract
• Contract Pay Rate: $28.00 to $30.00 / Hour

Our client in Kitchener/Waterloo is actively recruiting for an Interactive Designer to work with its firm in support of multiple projects.

Taking on this contract-based opportunity, the Interactive Designer will be responsible for executing a wide range of interactive, mixed media design projects for a variety of clients and diverse applications. The projects involved are to include eLearning modules, instructional video and interactive Flash presentations with SCORM compliant comprehension testing. The Interactive Designer will be required to create website designs and other web-based communication devices such as ad banners and Flash video / animation interfaces. He/she will use a wide range of applications including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Presenter and Soundbooth.

Reporting to the Creative Director, the Interactive Designer will work on a team, assisting with some high profile clients derived from various industries such as Retail, Tourism and Professional Services. He/she will work closely with a team of Graphic Designers, Writers and Program Managers and will assist in the creation and delivery of projects on a tight timeline.

The Interactive Designer is expected to make creative decisions regarding the editing of projects based on written scripts or input from the Creative Director, ensuring quality control and consistency of the final product. He/she will perform technical editorial functions including audio recording and editing, colour correction, graphic design and integration.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate must have 3+ years of proven work experience in graphic / web designing supported by a post-secondary Diploma / Degree in Graphic / Web / Multimedia Design. Candidates will have proven moderate knowledge of Actionscript and any experience with video (Adobe Premier or Final Cut) is an asset (although not mandatory).

Candidates must be fluent in the use of Adobe Media Encoder for video encoding solutions and compression in addition to being able to demonstrate an understanding of branding and marketing strategies and implementation. Candidates must also be presented as a strong team player, as an eager collaborator and active contributor to the creative team; a creative, highly organized self starter who works well independently.

The Interactive Designer must have a keen eye for detail, ability to handle multiple assignments, a strong work ethic and the drive and determination to get the job done.

To Apply

To learn more about this role or to find out about other exciting opportunities available through The Creative Group, please visit our website www.creativegroup.com or contact Malcolm Jasumani at 416.365.2010.

About Us

The Creative Group, a division of Robert Half International, specializes in placing highly skilled marketing, advertising, creative, web and public relations professionals on a project and full-time basis with advertising and public relations agencies, Fortune 500 companies and small to mid-sized firms. We are faster at finding you work because of our strong network – we reach out to over 12,000 creative and marketing hiring managers each week. In addition to our free job search services, we provide our candidates with access to competitive skills training, benefits and compensation packages. We encourage you to work with us to find out why Robert Half International again was named to FORTUNE® magazine’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” list, ranking #1 in our industry. (March 19, 2012)

To learn more, visit us at www.creativegroup.com or call 1-888-846-1668.

The Creative Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

May 2012 event: A UX Q&A

Wow, could we have gotten fewer actual words into the theme for this month’s event? I think not!

This month’s Q&A session is, surprisingly, a format that we haven’t explicitly done before.

Do you have questions about some aspect of UX, but haven’t had a chance to find answers? Now’s your chance. Whether you’re wondering how to quantify the usability of a product, or curious about what card-sorting is, there’s bound to be someone in our extended family of UX practitioners and researchers who can shed some light.

Why use a pencil and paper to create prototypes? How does multi-variate testing work? What’s the difference between a wireframe and a prototype? What is it you want to know?

Bring your questions, your answers, and your willingness to engage in a group discussion with the uxWaterloo crew.

Details

Thursday May 17, 2012
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub
151 Charles Street West, Suite 100, Kitchener

Sign up now, as space is limited!