Director of Design / UX: skills & capabilities the market requires
Based on 305 real Director of Design / UX job postings, here is what companies actually require for this role today: the capabilities that define it, the hard skills named most often, the scope expected, typical experience and pay. The market leans hardest on Strategic Leadership (75%) and Cross-functional Leadership (55%).
Open the interactive Skill Check to filter by country, industry and company size.
Core capabilities for a Director of Design / UX
- Strategic Leadership — required in 75% of postings
- Cross-functional Leadership — required in 55% of postings
- People Leadership — required in 53% of postings
- Executive Communication — required in 47% of postings
- Stakeholder Management — required in 37% of postings
- Operational Excellence — required in 35% of postings
- Technical Depth — required in 32% of postings
Most-required hard skills
- Design Systems
- Product Design
- User Research
- Prototyping
- Project Management
- Interaction Design
- Ux Design
Leadership & soft skills
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Leadership
- Strategic Thinking
- Communication
Scope, experience & pay
Director of Design / UX roles expect deal / M&A experience in 0% of postings, IPO or capital markets in 0%, and transformation in 16%. Typical stated experience: 10 years. Pay signal from postings (base): $188K–$241K.
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