Location: Stafford, VA

Summary

The successful candidate will leverage the knowledge of the research approach and design patterns to lead a development team in guiding visual concepts, designs, and layouts across various media, ensuring projects align with established aesthetics and business goals, translating business needs into visually appealing and user-centered designs

Duties, Tasks & Responsibilities

Must have a full understanding of the research approach and design patterns to be used by the contractor’s development team and will be responsible for ensuring that the development team follows that approach. This person will have experience as a user experience researcher or designer.

• Develop and implement a cohesive design vision for projects and products.
• Guide and mentor design team members, providing constructive feedback and professional development.
• Oversee design projects from concept to completion, managing timelines, budgets, and resources.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (marketing, product) to ensure design solutions align with business objectives.
• Review and approve design work to maintain quality standards and ensure brand consistency across all outputs.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and incorporate innovative design practices into projects.

Required Experience, Skills, & Technologies

Experience in collecting end-user feedback and engaging them in product development practices continually Ability to uncover and understand a current system’s design debt and plan to reduce that debt via research and design activities Ability to clearly communicate user-centered methods and their value to the broader team Experience in facilitating collaborative decision-making through stories drawn from research to build shared understanding Experience in guiding product development work by utilizing appropriate design artifacts — this could include wireframes, sitemaps, flowcharts, storyboards, user stories, user journey mapping, or other innovative approaches Experience integrating UX into agile development sprints, coordinating with the cross functional team to achieve a strategic vision Ability to standardize to a design system for product development Accessible design (inclusive design) expertise Experience with developing and maintaining usability research plans Experience with USWDS design system (or comparable design systems) Experience with creating clear, accessible, and concise content in a collaborative and iterative environment. This could include landing pages, interface writing, navigation labels, notifications, research findings, launch materials, and training/support materials Ability to define and manage content information architecture in collaboration with the cross functional team Experience collaborating with cross functional teams in establishing a shared vision for the user experience Experience developing and guiding teams on content strategy and governance best practices Experience using strong content design principles to develop products that serve all humans Experience in the Federal grants management space