Character Designer Jobs in Reston, VA (NOW HIRING)

PrishanTek, Inc, a boutique strategy, recruiting and consulting firm. 
We were recently awarded a contract for the Digital Defense Services and are part of a pilot program to support a division in the Pentagon that uses experienced recruiting firms to support some mission-critical roles to take the Digital Services group to the next level.  

The Defense Digital Service (DDS) was established in November 2015 to transform technology within the DoD by applying industry best practices to high-impact national security missions and some of DoD's most complex IT challenges. DDS is an agency team of the U.S. Digital Service.

TheTeam: DDS functions like a SWAT Team of tech experts on one-to-two-year tours of duty as government employees. The team is comprised of world-class software developers, engineers, designers, product managers, and expert problem solvers. Team members' roles can include developing new code, managing technical projects, advising on development processes and product releases, and hacking or rewriting outdated policies or processes to make way for more effective, modern IT approaches.

The Projects: DDS focuses on projects that advance DoD's most important initiatives that are critical to the well- being of Service members, civilians, and core operations of the Department. Projects include reforming digital services that provide military families access to critical benefits, running bug bounty programs to identify vulnerabilities and better secure defense systems; developing drone detection technologies; hunting adversaries on defense networks; and rethinking training for cyber soldiers

Evidence of Interaction Design
Modern applications have moved past filling out a one-page form and pressing the submit button. Instead, they are now complex interactions, combining business requirements with easy-to-follow user flow.
Interaction design skills include knowing when to utilize different application structures, such as hub-and-spoke designs versus interview flows; which design elements are best for certain types of information, such as when to use radio buttons versus drop-down menus; and creating design deliverables such as wireframes and design priority descriptions.

Master: Led a variety of sophisticated projects on multiple platforms at multiple organizations. Trained non-designer team members on the basics of interaction design, so they could produce reasonable initial work.

Evidence of Visual Design
Master: Oversaw the design language for a large set of projects. Provided the design direction for a team of designers. Worked on a variety of very different projects. Trained non-designer team members on the basics of visual design, so they could produce reasonable initial work.

Evidence of Information Architecture
Master: Oversaw the information architecture strategy for very large repositories. Provided information architecture leadership for a team of designers. Worked on a variety of very different projects. Trained non-designer team members on the basics of information architecture, so they could produce reasonable initial work.

Evidence of User Research 
As we create designs, we need to ensure they meet the needs of the user. User research helps us collect information about who our users are, what they are trying to accomplish, what frustrates them, and what will delight them.
Skills include identifying user population; techniques for evaluating design ideas, such as usability testing; and passing that information on to rest of the team members, so they can make informed decisions.

Master: Integrated user research into the basic practice of a large organization. Provided active research for extensive needs discovery. Used research to feed into a multiple-release product strategy. Trained non-designer team members on the basics of user research, so they could produce reasonable initial work.

Evidence of Information Design (Data Viz) 
Presenting complex information for easy interpretation is key for a successful design. Knowing when to use specific table or graph types and using novel approaches for exploring detailed data sets, whether it's pricing information, product comparison tables, or trend charts, makes solid information design a core component of the design process.
Skills include knowing when to apply the variety of chart and table formats, such as pie charts, hi-low diagrams, and cluster treemaps; how to create interactive data explorers, such as star fields and drill-down pivot tables; and working with combining multiple data sources, such as data-mining techniques.

Master: Created reusable visualization pattern library for sophisticated storytelling and data analysis applications. Trained non-designer team members on the basics of information design, so they could produce reasonable initial work.

Evidence of Design Process Management
Today's best organizations are constantly learning from their designs. Instead of projects taking months or years, they now go from concept to implementation in weeks. Design process management helps us learn to break designs into small, bite-sized implementations and to collect data from each deployment to inform the decisions in the next iteration.
Skills include schedule planning, change management, low-fidelity prototyping techniques, and usage-data collection, to help the team move quickly.

Master: Introduced and managed iterative design processes in multiple organizations and cultures. Demonstrated that they have shifted the culture of design thinking in an organization.

Evidence of Copywriting 
Nobody likes using a design whose on-screen text reads like a 1950's Army instruction manual. The best user experiences have copy that excites and compels, making the user feel comfortable and secure about the design. 
Copywriting skills include identifying the style of voice and tone that matches the organization's brand, creating persuasive copy that motivates users to explore the design, and clearly stating benefit statements, to help the user understand the value of using new capabilities and functions.

Master: Oversaw copy strategy and execution in multiple organizations and cultures. Trained non-designer team members on the basics of copywriting, so they could produce reasonable initial work.

Evidence of Content Strategy 
What brings users to the design is the content that helps them achieve their goal. The best user experiences have up-to-date and relevant content for what the user needs. 
Content strategy skills include creating inventories of existing content, creating content models to help demonstrate the design needs across different platforms and contexts, content management system (CMS) planning, planning a governance approach, and laying out an editorial schedule.

Master: Oversaw content strategy initiatives in multiple organizations and cultures. Trained non-designer team members on the basics of content strategy, so they could produce reasonable initial work.

Evidence of Front-end Development 
Rendering the design ideas throughout the project is an essential skill for designers. Using front-end tools to quickly represent the designer team's intent helps stakeholders and subject matter experts see what the team intends and the experience the user will have. 
Skills include basic coding techniques in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Use of JavaScript libraries, such as jQuery or YUI. Use of frameworks, such as Bootstrap or Foundation.

Master: Created prototypes and front-end code in multiple environments. Built project-specific modules or plugins for libraries. Trained non-coding team members on the basics of front-end development, so they could produce reasonable initial prototypes.

Evidence of Design Facilitation and Leadership 
Designers drive the user experience discussion by helping the team develop a shared understanding of the users, the objectives, and the necessary outcomes. They are prepared to lead the team through exercises to gather requirements, visual outcomes, ensure everybody focuses on what it means to deliver a great experience. 
Design facilitation and leadership skills include using an affinity or KJ diagram to set priorities, running a design studio, creating meaningful personas and scenarios, establishing overarching design principles, leading a design presentation and critique, and conducting design retrospective sessions.

Master: Trained non-designers to lead teams through the facilitated design leadership activities. Teams continued with using activities after the candidate moved on.

Evidence of Service Design 
People engage with organizations over time in different places, and through different channels. A well-designed service accounts for this to provide a comprehensive and cohesive end-to-end experience.
Service design skills include the ability to visualize the intangible either through established conceptual mapping tools, such as a service blueprint or journey maps, or using formats that meet the project needs as well as facilitating ways for a team to experience and understand the different stages of a service -- from start to finish.

Master: Lead projects of multidisciplinary teams through multi-channel service design projects; matured ideas on service design tools, how and when to use them and personal techniques for how to adapt them; Helped restructure the approach of teams to projects; well-versed in bringing non-designers and those unfamiliar with HCD through a service project; has created and taught coursework on service design; has written about the practice, theory and impact of service design for multiple publications

Design experience - 5+ years
Bachelor's Degree 
Active clearance (preferred but not required) 

Please note:
**You will be a direct employee of the government and will not be a PrishanTek employee.** 

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.