What is a UX/UI Designer?

A UX/UI Designer at Johnson & Johnson shapes how clinicians, patients, and caregivers safely and confidently interact with MedTech devices, digital therapy tools, and clinical software. In practice, you translate complex clinical workflows into clear, reliable interfaces—whether on an OR console, an ICU monitor, or a mobile app that supports cardiac recovery. Your work directly influences clinical adoption, safety outcomes, training time, and overall product efficacy across our Innovative Medicine and MedTech portfolios.

You will collaborate with R&D, Human Factors Engineering, Clinical Affairs, Regulatory, Quality, and Product teams to define user needs, design intuitive experiences, and validate safety and usability in a regulated environment. Expect to contribute to products such as surgical platforms, advanced energy systems, and cardiac support solutions—where usability isn’t just delightful, it’s critical to patient outcomes. This role is compelling because it requires equal mastery of human-centered design and rigorous design controls, advancing healthcare experiences that clinicians trust and patients depend on.

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Your interview preparation should balance strong UX craft, human factors rigor, and cross-functional collaboration in a clinical context. Make sure your portfolio demonstrates end-to-end thinking—from discovery and research through prototyping, usability testing, risk mitigation, handoff, and iteration—with clear evidence of your decision-making in a regulated healthcare setting (or a clear plan for how you’d work within one).

• Role-related Knowledge (Technical/Domain Skills) - Interviewers will assess your command of UX foundations, usability in medical/critical care contexts, accessibility, and design systems. Demonstrate fluency in Figma, prototyping, and HFE concepts (e.g., formative/summative studies, use-related risk analysis). Show you can integrate feedback from clinical experts and regulatory constraints without losing usability.

• Problem-Solving Ability (How You Approach Challenges) - You’ll be evaluated on how you break down ambiguous clinical workflows and turn them into safe, learnable interaction patterns. Expect scenario-based prompts where you identify risks, prioritize, and iterate. Strong candidates articulate trade-offs, reference standards, and explain how they validated the solution.

• Leadership (How You Influence and Mobilize Others) - Even without formal authority, you should demonstrate how you’ve aligned cross-functional teams, facilitated design reviews, and championed user needs under time and regulatory pressure. Be specific about moments you guided decisions using evidence and earned trust across R&D, Product, and Clinical partners.

• Culture Fit (How You Work and Navigate Ambiguity) - We look for designers who uphold Our Credo, practice inclusive design, and respectfully handle sensitive data and clinical realities. Show that you learn from clinicians, welcome feedback, and adapt to design controls and compliance without sacrificing the user.

This module summarizes current compensation insights for UX/UI roles at Johnson & Johnson, including co-op and early career ranges pulled from active postings. Use it to benchmark expectations; actual compensation will vary by location, skill depth, program year, and business unit within MedTech or Innovative Medicine.

Interview Process Overview

J&J’s UX/UI interview process emphasizes both design excellence and your ability to operate within a regulated, safety-critical environment. The pace is efficient yet thorough: you will move from exploratory conversations into structured assessments that probe your research rigor, interaction design skills, and judgment in high-stakes contexts. Expect to meet cross-functional partners who will test how you collaborate with engineers, clinicians, and program managers.

What sets our process apart is the emphasis on evidence-based design. We will ask you to demonstrate how you derive insights from research, translate user needs into requirements, and validate solutions with formative and summative methods. You will also encounter scenario prompts that mirror real clinical constraints—such as alarm management, labeling, data density in critical care, or OR workflow integration—to assess how you balance clarity, safety, and speed to competence.

This visual outlines the typical sequence—early conversations, portfolio review, design exercise and critique, multi-disciplinary interviews, and final calibration. Use it to plan your preparation cadence: reserve time for a polished portfolio walkthrough and a structured design challenge, and prepare concise narratives for cross-functional panels who will probe collaboration, risk management, and decision-making depth.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

Human-Centered Design in Regulated Healthcare

This area evaluates whether you can turn clinical realities into safe, intuitive experiences. Expect to discuss how you elicit user needs with clinicians, translate them into requirements, and align solutions to risk controls and design controls.

• Be ready to go over:

  • Formative vs. summative usability testing: When to use each, study design basics, success criteria, and how findings change requirements.
  • Use-related risk analysis (URRA): Identifying critical tasks, hazards, mitigations, and linking to UI decisions.
  • Task analysis and workflow mapping: Capturing multi-actor workflows (e.g., surgeon, scrub tech, circulating nurse) and edge cases.
  • Advanced concepts (less common): IEC 62366-1 usability engineering, ISO 14971 risk management, IEC 60601-1-8 alarm principles, labeling/HFE documentation for regulatory submissions.

• Example questions or scenarios:

  • "Walk us through a time you identified a critical-use error and redesigned to mitigate it—how did you validate the fix?"
  • "How would you design and test an alarm acknowledgment workflow in an ICU monitor to minimize alarm fatigue?"
  • "Given conflicting input from a clinician and an engineer, how do you resolve a safety vs. speed trade-off?"

Interaction & Visual Design (Figma, Design Systems, Accessibility)

You will be assessed on your ability to ship clear, consistent, accessible interfaces at scale. Show how you build and evolve design systems, express states, and deliver unambiguous specs for engineers.

• Be ready to go over:

  • Figma proficiency: Components, variants, autolayout, tokens, handoff workflows.
  • Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA color, focus order, contrast in low-light OR environments, iconography for critical states.
  • Information density: Prioritizing data on small screens or high-stakes dashboards.
  • Advanced concepts (less common): Motion for status comprehension, complex tables and trends in critical care, dark mode in clinical settings, hardware/software constraints on embedded UIs.

• Example questions or scenarios:

  • "Redesign an infusion rate control to reduce mis-entry. What patterns and safeguards would you use?"
  • "Show us how you document interaction states for error, warning, and safe conditions."
  • "How do you adapt a component from mobile to an embedded device with hardware buttons?"

Product Thinking & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Success depends on aligning user value, clinical evidence, and technical feasibility. Interviewers will listen for structured prioritization, stakeholder management, and clear problem framing.

• Be ready to go over:

  • Hypothesis-driven design: Linking insights to measurable outcomes.
  • Trade-offs: Speed vs. safety, complexity vs. learnability, release scope vs. validation.
  • Partnering with R&D and Clinical: Integrating constraints early and negotiating acceptance criteria.
  • Advanced concepts (less common): Post-market surveillance inputs to roadmap; translating complaint trends into design backlog.

• Example questions or scenarios:

  • "Describe a time you pushed back on a feature to protect usability or safety. How did you build alignment?"
  • "How do you decide MVP scope for a feature that touches a critical task?"
  • "What metrics would you define for onboarding success in a new OR console?"

Prototyping, Testing, and Evidence

We look for designers who test the right thing at the right fidelity and document evidence that drives decisions.

• Be ready to go over:

  • Prototyping spectrum: Paper to high-fidelity, and when to use each in clinical contexts.
  • Study protocols: Recruiting, consent basics, defining critical tasks, success thresholds.
  • Analysis and reporting: Turning observations into requirements, risk mitigations, and backlog changes.
  • Advanced concepts (less common): IRB considerations, remote vs. in-situ testing, summative traceability to risk controls.

• Example questions or scenarios:

  • "How would you structure a formative study for a new alarm workflow on a cardiac assist device?"
  • "Walk us through a prototype that failed. What did you learn and what changed?"
  • "Show how you turned test findings into actionable updates to a design system."

Execution Under Design Controls

Delivering in MedTech means pairing design excellence with process rigor. We assess how you create artifacts that satisfy 21 CFR 820, internal SOPs, and partner expectations.

• Be ready to go over:

  • Design history file (DHF) contributions: User needs, UI requirements, traceability, verification/validation evidence.
  • Handoff quality: Specs, behaviors, states, accessibility and localization notes, acceptance criteria.
  • Change control: Managing revisions, documenting rationale, and coordinating with QA/RA.
  • Advanced concepts (less common): Software lifecycle touchpoints (IEC 62304), cybersecurity considerations for UI, labeling and IFU alignment.

• Example questions or scenarios:

  • "Which artifacts do you produce for a summative-ready design, and how are they consumed by QA/RA?"
  • "Describe your process to ensure the UI spec remains the single source of truth through development."
  • "How do you trace a usability risk to a specific UI requirement and test case?"

Use this visualization to spot emphasis areas for UX interviews at J&J: expect concentration around human factors, clinical workflows, prototyping, research, design systems, accessibility, and evidence. Let it guide your preparation depth—ensure your portfolio and stories map directly to the most prominent topics.

Key Responsibilities

You will own user experience outcomes across discovery, design, validation, and delivery, while complying with internal procedures and regulatory expectations. Day to day, you’ll collaborate closely with engineers, clinical partners, and product owners to create safe, efficient, and delightful experiences that scale across devices and platforms.

• Drive end-to-end design: research planning, synthesis, user flows, wireframes, high-fidelity designs, interactive prototypes, and design reviews.
• Conduct or partner on formative studies, contribute to summative planning, and translate findings into requirements and mitigations.
• Build and maintain design systems that support speed, consistency, accessibility, and efficient developer handoff.
• Produce clear, testable UI specifications, behavior docs, and acceptance criteria aligned with design controls and quality processes.
• Partner with Human Factors, Clinical, and Regulatory to ensure usability engineering deliverables support submissions and audits.
• Track impact with measurable outcomes (e.g., critical task success rates, time-on-task, error reductions, onboarding time).

You will also contribute to cross-business initiatives—such as unifying patterns across embedded systems and mobile apps—to ensure consistency, safety, and brand coherence throughout the MedTech portfolio.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

To succeed, you should bring a strong foundation in UX craft, a working knowledge of human factors in healthcare, and the ability to operate within design controls.

• Must-have technical skills

  • Figma expertise: components/variants, tokens, responsive patterns, and developer handoff
  • Prototyping: low-to-high fidelity; ability to choose the right fidelity for the research question
  • Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA practices and documentation
  • Usability research: heuristic reviews, task analysis, study planning, and insight synthesis

• Must-have experience

  • Demonstrated end-to-end case studies with measurable impact
  • Collaboration with engineers and product managers; evidence of design artifacts consumed by development and QA
  • Exposure to regulated contexts or a clear framework for working with HFE and RA/QA partners

• Soft skills that distinguish strong candidates

  • Evidence-driven storytelling and crisp decision rationales
  • Stakeholder facilitation and comfort navigating ambiguity
  • Clinical empathy and respect for data privacy and safety

• Nice-to-have (differentiators)

  • Familiarity with IEC 62366-1, ISO 14971, IEC 60601-1-8, or FDA HFE guidance
  • Experience on embedded/medical devices or critical care software
  • Design system governance at scale; token-based systems
  • Understanding of post-market surveillance and feedback loops

Common Interview Questions

Expect a mix of portfolio walkthroughs, scenario prompts, and deep dives into how you make decisions under constraints. Prepare concise, structured answers that emphasize the problem, your approach, the evidence you gathered, decisions you made, and the impact.

Human Factors & Clinical UX

These questions assess your ability to design for safety, learnability, and clinical realities.

• How would you identify and prioritize critical tasks for a new ICU device interface?
• Describe a study you ran (or would run) to validate mitigation of a high-severity use error.
• Tell us about a time a clinician’s feedback changed your design direction. What changed and why?
• How do you document use-related risks and trace them to UI requirements?
• What’s your approach to alarm hierarchy and acknowledgment to reduce alarm fatigue?

Interaction & Visual Design

We will probe your craft, patterns, and documentation quality.

• Walk us through the most complex component you’ve designed in Figma and how you handed it off.
• How do you ensure sufficient contrast and focus order in dark environments like the OR?
• Show how you visualize dense clinical data without overwhelming the user.
• How do you express error, warning, and safe states in specs for engineers?
• Redesign this input control to minimize mis-entry. Explain patterns and validation.

Product Strategy & Collaboration

We want to see prioritization, stakeholder alignment, and trade-off decisions.

• Describe a difficult trade-off between safety and speed. How did you reach agreement?
• How do you define success metrics for onboarding a new clinical workflow?
• Give an example of pushback you offered to protect usability. What evidence did you use?
• How do you integrate Engineering constraints early to avoid rework?
• Tell us about driving a cross-team design decision across multiple products.

Research & Testing Cases

These assess your approach to evidence and iteration.

• Outline a formative test plan for a new device setup flow. What are your success criteria?
• How do you select fidelity for prototyping at each research stage?
• Share a time your test invalidated a favored approach. How did you respond?
• What are your methods for remote vs. in-situ testing in clinical contexts?
• How do you turn qualitative insights into testable requirements?

Execution Under Design Controls

We’ll explore your operational rigor and documentation discipline.

• Which artifacts do you contribute to the DHF and when?
• How do you maintain traceability from user needs to UI requirements and tests?
• What is your process for change control when a late usability issue emerges?
• How do you collaborate with QA/RA during summative readiness?
• Walk us through how you ensure developers implement the intended behavior.

Use this interactive module to practice questions and refine your narratives on Dataford. Focus on structured, evidence-based responses that map to the competencies highlighted above, and iterate your answers until they are concise, specific, and outcome-oriented.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How difficult is the UX/UI interview at J&J, and how much prep time do I need?
Expect a rigorous but fair process. Most candidates benefit from 2–3 weeks of focused preparation on portfolio storytelling, clinical/HFE fundamentals, and a timed design challenge.

Q: What makes successful candidates stand out?
Clear evidence of end-to-end ownership, data-informed decisions, and the ability to balance usability with safety and regulatory constraints. Strong collaboration stories with R&D, Clinical, and Product also differentiate.

Q: What’s unique about designing at J&J in MedTech?
You design for safety-critical environments where clarity and reliability are non-negotiable. You’ll pair UX excellence with design controls, human factors rigor, and cross-functional execution.

Q: How quickly will I hear back after interviews?
Timelines vary by team and role. Many processes move within a few weeks; stay responsive, share requested artifacts promptly, and keep your availability clear to maintain momentum.

Q: Can I work remotely?
Flexibility depends on team and product stage. Roles tied to hardware, clinical testing, or lab access may require on-site presence for usability sessions and hardware interaction.

Other General Tips

• Lead with outcomes: Quantify impact (e.g., reduced time-to-complete by 32%, eliminated a critical use error, improved onboarding NPS).
• Show your traceability: Map user needs → requirements → designs → tests → evidence. This mirrors how teams operate under design controls.
• Design for the worst day: Highlight how your UI supports edge cases, stress conditions, and error recovery in clinical settings.
• Spec with intent: Bring sample specs that show states, thresholds, accessibility notes, and acceptance criteria developers can implement.
• Facilitate like a pro: Be ready to whiteboard workflows, run mini-crits, and reconcile conflicting feedback in real time.
• Mind the environment: Discuss how lighting, PPE, gloves, noise, or motion affect interaction choices and error rates.

Summary & Next Steps

As a UX/UI Designer at Johnson & Johnson, you will craft experiences that directly influence patient safety, clinician confidence, and care delivery across our MedTech portfolio. This role rewards designers who combine human-centered craft with operational rigor, translating complex clinical workflows into clear, validated interfaces that scale.

Center your preparation on five areas: human factors in healthcare, interaction and visual design excellence, product thinking and cross-functional leadership, prototyping and usability testing, and execution under design controls. Build concise, evidence-backed narratives, and ensure your portfolio showcases end-to-end ownership and measurable outcomes.

Use the practice modules on Dataford to sharpen your answers and pressure-test your case studies. Approach your interviews with confidence: you’re preparing to design tools that clinicians trust on their most critical days—and that patients rely on for better outcomes. Bring your best work, your clearest thinking, and your strongest evidence. We look forward to meeting you.