Senior Ecommerce UX/UI & CRO Strategist (Shopify/DTC)

Full-Time | Remote | 8:00 AM–4:00 PM Central Time This is a full-time, dedicated position with Forge Digital Marketing. Candidates must be available and actively working during our standard business hours of 8:00 AM–4:00 PM Central Time, Monday–Friday. This position is not compatible with maintaining another full-time role during Forge working hours. We're not looking for a traditional web designer. We're looking for someone who understands how DTC customers shop, why they convert, where ecommerce experiences create friction, and how to translate those insights into exceptional Shopify experiences. Forge Digital Marketing | Full-Time | Remote Working Hours: 8:00 AM–4:00 PM Central Time, Monday–Friday About the Role Forge Digital Marketing is looking for an experienced Senior Ecommerce UX/UI & CRO Strategist to join our growing web team and help create high-performing ecommerce experiences for DTC brands. This is not simply a web design position. We're looking for someone who deeply understands how people shop online—how they discover products, evaluate options, overcome objections, navigate stores, make purchase decisions, and ultimately convert. You'll combine ecommerce strategy, UX/UI design, conversion rate optimization, customer behavior, and data to design Shopify experiences that aren't just beautiful—they're intentionally built to perform. You'll work closely with Forge's strategists, client success team, developers and clients to take projects from discovery and UX strategy through wireframing, high-fidelity design, developer handoff and final implementation review. We're looking for someone senior enough that we can give you a DTC brand, its business objectives, customer information and performance data and trust you to determine: What should this experience be—and why? What You'll Own Ecommerce UX Strategy You'll lead the UX thinking behind ecommerce website projects, including: Understanding the client's business model, customers, products and competitive landscape Mapping customer journeys and identifying friction throughout the buying experience Developing site architecture and information hierarchy Planning navigation and product discovery experiences Determining page structure and content hierarchy Developing mobile-first ecommerce experiences Identifying customer questions and objections that need to be addressed throughout the site Determining how products, collections, offers and merchandising should be presented Translating business goals into thoughtful ecommerce experiences You should be able to explain why every important element exists on the page. UX/UI Design You'll translate strategy into polished ecommerce experiences in Figma, including: Wireframes Homepage design Product detail pages Collection/PLP experiences Navigation and mega menus Search and filtering Cart and mini-cart experiences Landing pages Promotional pages Subscription experiences Bundles Upsells and cross-sells Account/customer experiences Supporting content and educational pages Mobile and desktop responsive states Design systems and reusable components You'll work within existing brand identities when appropriate while also knowing how to extend a brand into a more sophisticated digital experience. Your work should be visually excellent—but visual aesthetics should never come at the expense of usability or conversion. Conversion Rate Optimization CRO is a fundamental part of this position. You'll identify opportunities to improve conversion by analyzing both quantitative and qualitative customer behavior. This may include: Reviewing Shopify performance data GA4 analysis Microsoft Clarity analysis Heatmaps Scroll maps Session recordings Funnel behavior Landing-page performance Device-level behavior Conversion patterns Customer feedback Existing testing results You'll use that information to develop specific hypotheses, rather than simply applying generic ecommerce “best practices.” You should be comfortable distinguishing between: “Most ecommerce sites do this.” and: “The evidence suggests this particular store should do this because…” That's an important distinction at Forge. DTC Ecommerce Strategy You should have a strong understanding of the broader DTC ecosystem and how website experience interacts with: Paid acquisition Meta and Google traffic Organic search Email/SMS Landing pages Promotions Product launches Merchandising Bundling Subscription Loyalty Reviews and social proof AOV Upselling and cross-selling Retention Customer lifetime value We don't expect you to personally manage these channels. We do expect you to understand how they affect the customer's website experience. A visitor arriving from a high-intent Google Shopping ad may need a different experience than someone discovering the brand for the first time through Meta—and you should naturally think about those differences. Shopify Expertise This position requires significant experience designing for Shopify and DTC ecommerce. You don't need to be a Shopify developer, but you need enough technical understanding to design experiences that can actually be built. You should understand concepts such as: Shopify themes Sections and blocks Product and variant structures Collections Metafields/metaobjects Search and filtering Shopify Markets Subscription functionality Shopify apps and integrations Product recommendations Cart functionality Responsive behavior You'll collaborate closely with Forge's development team to determine the best way to translate your designs into production. Developer Handoff & Build Review Your involvement doesn't end when the Figma file is approved. You'll prepare clear, organized designs for development and work closely with developers during implementation. Responsibilities include: Maintaining clean and organized Figma files Creating reusable components and design systems Documenting important interaction behavior Providing responsive/mobile specifications Answering developer questions Reviewing builds against approved designs Identifying discrepancies Evaluating whether implementation preserves the intended UX Collaborating with developers when technical limitations require alternative solutions We're looking for someone who treats the live website as the finished product—not the Figma file. Client & Team Collaboration This is a senior position, and you'll sometimes need to explain and defend your recommendations. You should be comfortable: Participating in client discovery Asking thoughtful questions about the client's customers and business Presenting UX concepts Explaining design decisions Receiving client feedback without blindly implementing every request Distinguishing between preference and genuine UX concerns Collaborating with strategists, developers and Client Success Managers Clearly documenting decisions and requirements You don't need to dominate a meeting. You do need to be able to confidently explain: “Here's what we're recommending, here's why, and here's the evidence or reasoning behind it.” What We're Looking For Strong candidates will have: 5+ years of professional UX/UI or digital product design experience Significant experience designing DTC ecommerce websites Deep understanding of Shopify Advanced Figma proficiency Strong understanding of ecommerce CRO Excellent visual/UI design ability Strong UX and information architecture skills Mobile-first design expertise Experience designing PDPs, PLPs, navigation, cart and other core ecommerce experiences Experience using behavioral analytics tools such as Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar or similar Understanding of GA4 and ecommerce analytics Experience developing CRO hypotheses from data and customer behavior Experience designing landing pages for paid acquisition Understanding of A/B testing methodology Strong developer handoff experience Experience reviewing implemented websites against approved designs Excellent written and verbal English communication Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously Agency experience is strongly preferred. Experience working across multiple DTC verticals is a major plus. What We Care About More Than Years of Experience We're looking for someone with judgment. A beautiful portfolio is not enough for this position. During our interview process, we'll ask you to explain the customer behavior, business objective, data and conversion rationale behind your design decisions. We want someone who can look at a PDP and think beyond: “I'd make this section cleaner.” We want someone thinking: “The customer doesn't understand the primary differentiator before reaching the purchase decision. Session recordings show repeated interaction with this section, the existing hierarchy buries the information, and I'd test bringing that decision-making information closer to the buy box.” That's the level of thinking we're looking for. You'll Probably Love This Role If... You're fascinated by why people buy things online. You notice friction that other people don't. You can spend an unreasonable amount of time debating the hierarchy of a product page—and actually enjoy it. You love beautiful design but don't believe “beautiful” automatically means “effective.” You watch session recordings and immediately start forming hypotheses. You want access to the data before redesigning something. You think about mobile before someone reminds you to. You're comfortable challenging an assumption when customer behavior tells you something different. You enjoy collaborating with developers and understanding what's technically possible. And you're capable of taking a project from: “Here's the brand and the problem we're trying to solve.” to: “Here's exactly how I believe the ecommerce experience should work—and here's why.” This Role Probably Isn't For You If... This probably isn't the right position if: Your experience is primarily graphic design or brand design Your portfolio consists primarily of marketing sites rather than ecommerce You need detailed wireframes before you can begin designing You primarily design based on visual inspiration rather than customer behavior You haven't designed complex Shopify/DTC experiences You're uncomfortable working with analytics or behavioral data You consider CRO primarily changing button colors or copying competitor patterns You prefer handing off a Figma file and moving immediately to the next project You aren't comfortable explaining your design decisions to clients You're looking for freelance work alongside several other full-time clients Schedule & Availability This is a full-time position. Candidates must be available and actively working during Forge Digital Marketing's standard working hours: 8:00 AM–4:00 PM Central Time, Monday–Friday Because this role collaborates closely with our Client Success, strategy and development teams, consistent overlap during these hours is required. This position is not intended to be combined with another full-time position during Forge working hours. Application Requirements Along with your resume or LinkedIn profile, please submit: 1. Your ecommerce UX/UI portfolio. Please identify which projects you personally owned and what portions of each project you were responsible for. 2. Show us the strongest DTC ecommerce experience you've designed. Briefly explain the business/customer problem, your role, what you changed and why you made those decisions. 3. Tell us about a design decision you made based on customer behavior or analytics. What data did you have? What did you observe? What hypothesis did you develop? What did you change? 4. Tell us about your Shopify experience. Approximately how many Shopify stores have you designed, and what types of projects were they? 5. Tell us about your CRO experience. Which analytics, behavioral analysis and testing tools have you personally used? 6. You've been asked to redesign a Shopify product page that's converting poorly. Before opening Figma, what would you want to investigate? 7. Tell us about a time you disagreed with client feedback on a UX decision. How did you handle it? 8. Are you able to work full-time from 8:00 AM–4:00 PM Central Time, Monday–Friday?