Google recruiting User Experience Lead for Google TV apps
Google is looking to recruit a new user experience lead, responsible for Google TV apps and the related SDK. According to the job description, the successful candidate will be "asked to pioneer new possibilities for web-based and Android application experiences on the platform and establish the patterns and standards used to develop great interactive experiences on Google TV." The new position follows speculation that Google plans to pull the Android AOSP for Google TV, Gingerbread for phones and Honeycomb for tablets into a single code base.Earlier rumors had suggested that Google plans to combine all its major Android code strands into one, in an attempt to minimize duplication of work when developing bugfixes and feature updates. A side-effect would also be easier application development, with better cross-platform support across the TV, tablet and phone segments. The new user experience lead would be responsible for establishing app best-practice as well as producing templates for third-party Google TV software.
Google is expected to place renewed emphasis on Google TV at Google I/O in May 2011, having seen progress – and products – from the project go quiet since the pre-holiday 2010 push. SlashGear will be there to bring back all the details; the full job-spec is below.
[Thanks Jan!]
User Experience Lead, Google TV Apps and SDK – Mountain View
This position is based in Mountain View, CA.The area: User ExperienceWe follow a simple but vital premise in the User Experience group: "Focus on the user and all else will follow." We're ardently interested in our users and strive to learn everything we can about their behaviors, attitudes and emotions to help define the products and experiences we create. The User Experience team is a critical driving force behind gathering these insights and then using them to inspire and inform design. We are a multi-disciplinary team of interaction designers, visual designers, user researchers, copywriters and Web developers who collaborate closely with each other and with engineering and product management to create innovative, usable, great-looking products that people love to use.The role: User Experience Lead, Google TV Apps and SDKAs the User Experience Lead for Google TV Apps and SDK, your work will guide 3rd party application design and development on Google TV. You will be asked to pioneer new possibilities for web-based and Android application experiences on the platform and establish the patterns and standards used to develop great interactive experiences on Google TV. You will work closely with Engineering and Product Management leadership, serving as lead designer for Google TV SDK and lead design advisor to strategic web and app partners. You will work with Product and User Experience peers to identify and prioritize the team's biggest challenges and key opportunities in the areas of app integration, workflow, innovation and strategic planning. You have led a design organization before, understand the design process, and can interface effectively with internal and external clients.Responsibilities:Define and manage the design resources and developer tools used by 3rd party application developers for building TV optimized experiences.Establish visual and interaction design best practices for building well designed app experiences on Google TV.Create developer friendly templates, guides, and source files used to build web and Android based TV apps.Manage external design agencies and contractors used to develop relevant materials to meet the needs of our developer community.Partner with cross-functional leadership in Android to communicate requirements, needs and escalate to resolve issues as appropriate for the design evolution of the TV platform.Requirements:BS or MS in Design, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), or Computer Science preferred.At least 5 years work experience in a lead design or HCI role.Prior SDK or partner experience is a plus.Excellent leadership, communication and teamwork skills.A deep desire to apply design and technology toward expanding what is possible and improving the world.