Principal Information Architect

Job Details

Principal Information Architect
Department: University Communications
Appointment Type and Duration: Regular,
Ongoing
Salary: $110,000 - $125,000 per year
Compensation Band: OS-OA10-Fiscal Year
2025-2026
FTE: 1.0
Application Review Begins
June 8, 2026; position open until filled
Special Instructions to Applicants
To be considered for this position, applicants must submit a
complete application. Complete applications must include a
resume.
*Candidates who are selected for interview may be requested to
provide a portfolio of relevant work.
We are interested in finding the best candidate for this position.
We encourage you to apply, even if you don't think you meet every
one of our preferred qualifications - use your application to let
us know what is meaningful to you about the role and what
transferable skills or other qualities you would bring to the
position.
If you have questions about the application process or the
position, please reach out to fass@uoregon.edu.
Department Summary
University Communications supports the University of Oregon's
strategic goals through comprehensive communications and marketing
programs. The division oversees brand and marketing strategy, news
and content, earned media and issues management, digital strategy,
social media, executive and internal communications, and licensing.
Reporting to the president, the division supports key initiatives,
manages and strengthens reputation, drives revenue through
licensing, builds brand value, and oversees the universities major
channels including social, web, paid and earned media and content
products.
Position Summary
The Principal Information Architect (PIA) will lead the strategic
organization of the university's web ecosystems. This is a
high-level individual contributor role reporting to the Assistant
Vice President for Digital Strategy. The PIA will make
institution-wide decisions about how millions of users find,
navigate, and understand information across UO's digital presence
and will directly shape how the university presents itself to the
world.
This role plays a key part in advancing the university's
information architecture through the development of a phased
subdomain strategy that guides progress from current to future
state. The position designs scalable navigation systems across
global, local, and contextual levels, and establishes taxonomies,
controlled vocabularies, and labeling systems to support consistent
information organization. Through content inventories and audits,
the role informs strategic decision-making and helps define
guidelines for the appropriate placement of public versus internal
content.
Working in partnership with stakeholders across academic and
administrative units, this position provides consultation on
information architecture best practices and contributes to the
evolution of university web governance policies.
Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and
  experience
• Five years of experience in information architecture or related
  field
• Experience designing information architecture for complex
  digital environments

Professional Competencies

• Ability to facilitate alignment among multiple stakeholders
  with competing priorities
• Proficiency in navigation design across multiple levels
  (global, local, contextual)
• Proficiency in sitemap development, documentation, and content
  inventory methodology
• Ability to map user journeys and task flows
• Skill in structural wireframing (distinct from visual/UI
  design)
• Ability to interpret analytics to inform architecture
  decisions
• Experience developing controlled vocabularies and labeling
  systems

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in information science, library science, or
  related field
• Experience with subdomain strategy in large
  organizations
• CMS experience, particularly Drupal
• Experience with user research methods, including card sorting
  and tree testing
• Accessibility expertise
• Experience with search strategy and findability
  optimization
• Experience synthesizing mental models and user research