“UX Developer” IS a Real Job

Your organization’s leadership is gathered around a conference table, and the conversation turns to the need for a digital presence. A website, definitely. Maybe even an app.

“We definitely need a good developer for that,” someone says. “Maybe two or three.” There is a general sage nodding around the table.

“I read that user experience design is important now,” another pipes in. “We need to have a great user experience.”

“Yes, I heard that too. Like Apple. We should get a UX Designer.”

Hums and murmurs of assent. A long moment of silence as the budget for new hires is considered.

“What if one of the developers were just really good at user experience?” Someone proposes tentatively.

“Yeah, maybe like a UX…Developer!”

General consensus. Congratulatory back-slapping.

This is how I imagine a lot of the job postings for UX Developers or Front-End Developer/Designers are born. They’re generally a well-intentioned but overly-optimistic attempt at gaming the system, at hunting the biggest and most dangerous game of all: the Designer/Developer Unicorn.

The job descriptions usually include the following in the “required” section:

• Expert knowledge of HTML/CSS/Javascript
• 3–5 years experience developing and deploying web applications using Angular.js/Node.js/[insert trendy library here]
• Expert knowledge of modern design tools, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketch, InVision, Axure, etc.
• Expertise with designing and conducting usability tests and analyzing testing results
• Expertise with user experience techniques such as journey mapping, storyboarding, and personas

I think it’s fair to say any one or two of those can be a job in and of itself. Asking for all of them is flat-out unrealistic, and more importantly represents a lack of understanding of the intensive, deep knowledge required to be either a great developer or a great designer.

The other thing that’s undeniably true about this job posting is this; the designer half of the work will always be de-prioritized when put up against a development deadline, because everyone will always expect the final, finished product from this role.

What it really says is “We see UX as the ability to slap an acceptable coat of paint on development.”

What any experienced applicant will read is “We don’t value UX.”

So the UX Designer/Developer Unicorn isn’t really a job so much as it is a wish on a star by a hiring manager. Then what is a UX Developer?

I would argue that a UX Developer is actually just a UX Designer who uses different tools to present their work.

In their excellent book Org Design for Design Orgs, Kristin Skinner and Peter Merholz describe the role of “Creative Technologist,” a member of the design team who uses code to build interactive prototypes and can bridge the communication gap between designers and developers. They can write code, but the code is not expected to be production-ready or particularly elegant from a developer’s perspective. The emphasis is on quick iteration and communication of design ideas. They also ideate in the same way as a normal designer— through sketching and diagramming.

That’s what I see as the true UX Developer role. Rather than being a person who can replace a designer and a developer, they’re someone who can supplement a designer and a developer to improve the output of the team as a whole. You could also call them a Prototyper, or maybe an Interactive Designer. The point is, it’s a distinct role that’s not just two jobs rolled into one.

So does your 8-person start-up need a UX Developer? Probably not. But you may want one a little ways down the road, and when you do, please be careful when writing the job description.