UX Designer, Conversational Interfaces

<p>At CBC, we are exploring voice-activated interactions as a new way to connect our audience with the content they want to hear. &nbsp;This is a 12-month contract opportunity as the first UX Designer working on our Conversational Interface Platform. This is one of our most innovative endeavors&mdash;one that promises to truly redefine how Canadians experience the CBC.</p>

Toronto, ON

CBC

<p>CBC Digital Operations is the country&rsquo;s biggest digital startup, taking on the challenges of innovating how media is made, sent and received. We are also part of Canada&rsquo;s oldest and truest broadcasting company. We are trying new things. We are growing. As an entity of our own. As a voice for our country. As a team.</p> <p>Digital is a part of our present and all of our future. CBC&rsquo;s strategy is focused on becoming a digital-first organization that provides a digital platform for storytellers. Our mission is to engage our audience with stories they care about.</p> http://www.cbc.ca

keywords: who we are,what we do,who you are,what's in it for you?,design,communicate,research,experiment,the education,the passion,the desire to learn,the communication skills,the confidence and the humility,the creativity,the technical knowledge,the agile experience

Entry Level

Overview: <p>CBC Digital Operations is the country&rsquo;s biggest digital startup, taking on the challenges of innovating how media is made, sent and received. We are also part of Canada&rsquo;s oldest and truest broadcasting company. We are trying new things. We are growing. As an entity of our own. As a voice for our country. As a team.</p> <p>Digital is a part of our present and all of our future. CBC&rsquo;s strategy is focused on becoming a digital-first organization that provides a digital platform for storytellers. Our mission is to engage our audience with stories they care about.</p> <p><strong>The opportunity</strong></p> <p>At CBC, we are exploring voice-activated interactions as a new way to connect our audience with the content they want to hear. &nbsp;This is a 12-month contract opportunity as the first UX Designer working on our Conversational Interface Platform. This is one of our most innovative endeavors&mdash;one that promises to truly redefine how Canadians experience the CBC.</p> <p>From Amazon&rsquo;s Alexa to Google Home. From emerging players to the Apple&rsquo;s Siri-hosting HomePod. The future is in conversational interfaces and the Internet of Things. As the original Radio broadcaster for Canada, we are getting ready to step into this brand new space and lead the way Canadians engage with the CBC.</p> <p>Our new UX Designer will define and validate the parameters and points of interaction of this new space. Someone with the vision and ambition to translate the needs of our audience and the vernacular they use to truly innovate a voice-activated user interface (VUI) in an uncharted territory. &nbsp;With a prominent linguistics aspect, we need a UX Designer who can explore and understand the language and conversational expectations, key phrases and common terms used by people across Canada. Direct experience with&mdash;or university education focused on Machine Learning or Human-Centred Design in Digital Communication&mdash;is ideal, as is the passion for research, experimentation, trial and error.</p> <p>If you're passionate about Canada and you love technology, learning and bringing out the best in others, you&rsquo;ll love working at CBC.</p> <p><strong>Who you are and where are you now?</strong></p> <p>You are passionate about cutting-edge technology and the Internet of Things. You want to be part of a group breaking ground and leading the way in voice-activation technology. You are seeking an opportunity to do something no one else is doing right now. As a newer grad, you want to work for an organization is committed to growing its people with continuous on-the-job learning and mentoring. &nbsp;A CBC listener, you want a chance to join us on our mandate to engage, entertain and inform Canadians across the country&mdash;in a completely new and innovative way.</p> <p><strong>What&rsquo;s in it for you?</strong></p> <p><u>C</u>utting edge tech. CBC has more than 25 digital sites, all of which are mandated to reach Canadians online everywhere and every way, with a high emphasis on mobile devices. To achieve that goal, with no down-time, takes a robust infrastructure, powerful technologies, reliable solutions and rewarding work. Java, React and Node are just part of our rich technology landscape.</p> <p><u>B</u>elonging. CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian institution. By joining our dynamic Digital Operations team, you will be exposed to the best of all worlds. Corporate. Public. Startup. You will be part of a team that embraces diversity and at its core, truly cares about the country and the world.</p> <p><u>C</u>areer growth. CBC is fully invested in our people. Whatever it is you want to pursue whether it&rsquo;s a new programming language or a technical solution, whether it&rsquo;s expanding your Agile knowledge or building an audience-facing platform. We will provide you with the time, resources and championing that you need to keep your career here rewarding.</p>
Responsibilities: <p><strong>How you will make a difference on a daily basis:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Design. You will create user flows, wireframes, prototypes.</li> <li>Communicate. You will work closely with your team members and be prepared to explain your design choices.</li> <li>Research. You will explore the market to gain a deep understanding of what the leaders in audio delivery systems are doing and how their audiences are using them. &nbsp;</li> <li>Experiment. You will build and test possible solutions.</li> </ul>
Requirements: <p><strong>What you bring:</strong></p> <ul> <li>The education. A university degree with a focus on machine learning, digital design and interaction is preferred, but we know not everyone gains their programming skills this way. An understanding of automatic speech recognition (ASR), natural language understanding (NLU), and audio signal processing would be a bonus.</li> <li>The passion. You have a passion for innovation and the Internet of Things. You are an early adopter of new technology for home or work.</li> <li>The desire to learn. You can quickly pick up new tools and respond to change by learning and adapting.</li> <li>The communication skills. You know how to listen and relay empathy and understanding for diverse perspectives.</li> <li>The confidence and the humility. Your powers of observation help you understand your audience and communicate with the right level of detail. You are open to the ideas of others.</li> <li>The creativity. You can interpret the needs of our audience and innovate flexible user interface solutions to optimize their experience of CBC content. &nbsp;</li> <li>The technical knowledge. You can use available tools to create user flows, wireframes and prototype user experiences. You have an understanding of speech and language technologies. Nice to have hands-on experience includes &nbsp;use of CSS and HTML.</li> <li>The Agile experience. You believe in the Agile and Lean methodologies deeply, but you are flexible and open to the real world twists and turns.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Why join us?</strong></p> <p>CBC/Radio-Canada reflects the Canadian identity and promotes democracy. We are rooted in the communities we serve and committed to sharing stories as Canadians live them, each and every day. We strive to speak in the voices of the country and support social and economic innovation. We live these external values. They are the foundation of our employee culture. A diverse culture of collaboration, learning and continuous improvement.</p> <p>Collaboration. We follow lean startup principles, and use an Agile approach. Our dedicated people managers work closely with every individual to ensure we are leveraging their strengths, championing their ideas and supporting their pursuit of new skills and career progression. Our team members are given opportunities to collaborate cross-functionally across multiple projects.</p> <p>Learning. From simply buying a book or recommending a course to one-on ones, our leadership team is focused on creating an atmosphere where people feel fulfilled. We embrace experimentation as a means to learn.</p> <p>Continuous improvement. What can you innovate in 8 hours a week? Our Digital department at CBC recognizes just how smart, creative and inventive our team members are. Everyone is given the opportunity to choose personal projects on which to spend 20% of their time. From prototyping new UI/UX for our content to setting up dev environments to experiment on. From reviewing Apple Developer videos and learning new programming languages to creating improved search functions for our media. From updating old code to building unit testing tools. Your 20% time is yours to allocate in a productive and professionally gratifying way.</p> <p><strong>To Apply:</strong></p> <p>Think this job is meant for you but worried you don&rsquo;t have it all? At CBC we know that not everyone takes the same path when it comes to building their skills. Hands-on experience, intelligence, innovation, a passion for learning and a team-focused approach can combine to form the best set of qualifications. If you feel you meet all or most of the qualifications we are seeking; and you are excited by the possibility of growing our company, take a chance and express your interest here.</p> <p>In becoming the leader in expressing Canadian culture and enriching democratic life, we need to be as diverse in every way as the country we serve, both within our workforce and on air. As an employer, we value equal opportunity and nurture an inclusive workplace where our individual differences are not only recognized and valued, but also extend to and pervade all the services we provide as Canada's public broadcaster.</p>