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Apex manufactures satellite buses (spacecraft platforms) at scale, combining software, vertical integration, and hardware design for manufacturing. The company is seeking an exceptional UX Designer to research and create the future of Octopus, Apex's proprietary operating system for building spacecraft. Octopus is an integrated suite of engineering, manufacturing, and operations software developed entirely in-house, linking inventory management, production scheduling, quality, and assembly work instructions into a single environment that adjusts dynamically to changing demand.
You will be responsible for researching, designing, innovating, and prototyping experiences that technicians, engineers, planners, and operators depend on daily to build satellites. Octopus spans the full production lifecycle: part and inventory management, build planning and scheduling, shop-floor work instructions, non-conformance and quality workflows, supply chain and purchasing, integration and test, and analytics for factory leadership. You will own these internal enterprise tools end-to-end, delivering design mockups, experience flows, prototypes, design presentations, high-fidelity visuals, and implementation oversight.
Key responsibilities include: researching and defining UX strategy for Octopus; spending time on the factory floor observing real workflows and translating insights into design solutions; relentlessly optimizing existing workflows to reduce clicks, screens, and errors; designing for demanding, high-density operating environments including shop-floor terminals, tablets, cleanroom use, and desk-based planning tools; measuring design performance and iterating based on user feedback; defining and owning the Octopus design system and UX standards; collaborating with engineers and stakeholders; presenting work regularly; and following work through implementation to ensure quality.
Required qualifications: Bachelor's degree in design or equivalent portfolio experience; 5+ years designing interactive web applications; excellent portfolio demonstrating user experience and design sensibility; experience designing enterprise, internal, or operational tools where users work under time pressure; user-focused approach with design research methods (contextual inquiry, shadowing, usability testing); experience building and maintaining design systems; strong written and verbal communication; self-motivated and collaborative; ability to perform in fast-paced, iterative design processes.
Bonus qualifications include prior experience designing for manufacturing, MES, ERP, or logistics software; comfort working close to code (component libraries, HTML/CSS prototyping, front-end collaboration); and interest in hardware, aerospace, or physical production environments.
