Freelance Junior Web Developer Jobs in Springfield, OH

Title:
UI Engineer Belong. Connect. Grow. with KBR! KBR's National Security Solutions team provides high-end engineering and advanced technology solutions to our customers in the intelligence and national security communities. In this position, your work will have a profound impact on the country's most critical role - protecting our national security. Why Join Us? * Innovative Projects: At KBR, you'll be working on cutting-edge projects that support the Department of the Air Force's most mission-critical operations. Our team is pushing the boundaries of open-source development, DevSecOps with state-of-the-art CI/CD pipelines, containerization, Kubernetes, Terraform, Zarf, and innovative API management and database design. You'll be contributing to systems designed for a modeling and simulation SaaS platform that provides dynamic compute power, access to tools, and collaboration capability through a model that will revolutionize the future of military research and development.
* Collaborative Environment: Our team thrives in a dynamic, mission-driven environment where our employees work shoulder-to-shoulder with software engineers, DevSecOps architects, product leads, mission experts, and defense specialists. We embrace Agile methodologies and secure development practices to ensure rapid iteration, compliance alignment, and seamless integration across modular systems. Our culture prioritizes clarity, precision, and innovation-fostering open communication, iterative refinement, and deep collaboration to deliver software and documentation that's not only compliant, but strategic and impactful across DoD.
* Impactful Work: Your work here will directly support the Department of the Air Force in advancing defense technology. You'll be at the forefront of innovations, creating new paradigms for providing access to compute power, modeling and simulation tools, and data sharing across organizations to the Department of the Air Force and broader Department of Defense. Position Summary KBR is seeking an experienced Senior UI/UX Designer & Front-End Developer to work with our product owner to lead user-experience design for the GEMSTONE platform. The successful candidate will drive the design vision for a complex cloud-native platform supporting modeling and simulation, digital engineering, AI/ML workflows, data management, collaboration, and platform administration. This role will work closely with software engineers, product leads, platform architects, mission users, and government stakeholders to design intuitive, modern experiences that simplify highly technical workflows. The ideal candidate combines strong user-centered design skills with practical React development experience and can translate mission needs into scalable, accessible, and visually compelling software experiences. Key Responsibilities * Lead the user experience design across GEMSTONE applications and platform services.
* Conduct stakeholder interviews, workflow analysis, and user research to understand mission needs and pain points.
* Create user journeys, wireframes, mockups, prototypes, and interaction designs for new platform capabilities.
* Establish and maintain a consistent GEMSTONE design language, component library, and design system.
* Design intuitive workflows for modeling & simulation, digital engineering, AI/ML, data management, and platform administration.
* Conduct usability studies and translate findings into actionable design improvements.
* Collaborate with software engineers to ensure designs are implemented accurately and efficiently.
* Develop and maintain React-based user interfaces for key GEMSTONE capabilities.
* Design dashboards, analytics views, and administrative experiences that support operational decision-making.
* Champion accessibility, responsiveness, and usability best practices across the platform.
* Mentor junior developers and provide guidance on UX, visual design, and front-end implementation.
* Participate in Agile planning, design reviews, architecture discussions, demonstrations, and user engagements.
* Create and maintain design standards, UX documentation, style guides, and user-facing guidance.
* Work closely with product leadership to prioritize user needs and improve overall product quality. Qualifications Required * Ability to obtain a DoD Secret security clearance.
* Bachelor's degree in Human Computer Interaction, UX Design, Graphic Design, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
* Ability to submit a strong portfolio with examples of previous work.
* 5+ years of professional experience in UI/UX design, product design, or front-end development.
* Demonstrated experience leading UX efforts for complex web-based software platforms.
* Strong portfolio showcasing user-centered design, wireframes, mockups, prototypes, and shipped products.
* Strong experience with Figma, Sketch, Balsamiq, Marvel, Axure, Adobe, or similar design tools to facilitate collaboration, prototyping, developer handoff, and design system management.
* Experience creating design systems, component libraries, and visual design standards.
* Experience conducting user research, usability testing, and translating feedback into designs.
* Experience developing web applications using React and TypeScript.
* Strong understanding of accessibility requirements, including Section 508 and WCAG.
* Experience designing responsive applications across desktop and mobile form factors.
* Familiarity with REST APIs and modern web application architectures.
* Experience using Git-based source control systems.
* Excellent communication and collaboration skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Desired * Experience serving as lead designer for a large enterprise, SaaS, platform, or government application.
* Experience designing workflows for engineering, analytics, digital engineering, AI/ML, or modeling & simulation users.
* Experience with React, TypeScript, ShadCN, Radix UI, Tailwind CSS, and Material UI.
* Experience in simplifying complicated user interfaces and designing dashboards, operational views, and data visualization interfaces.
* Familiarity with authentication workflows, RBAC, and identity management systems.
* Experience working within Agile software development environments.
* Familiarity with Kubernetes-hosted applications and cloud-native platforms.
* Experience supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, defense, engineering, or research programs.
* Experience simplifying highly technical workflows into intuitive user experiences.
* Interest in helping shape the long-term user experience vision for a next-generation digital engineering and modeling & simulation platform. Ready to Make a Difference? If you're excited about making a significant impact in the field of space defense and working on projects that matter, we encourage you to apply and join our team at KBR. Let's shape the future together. KBR Benefits KBR offers a selection of competitive lifestyle benefits which could include 401K plan with company match, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, AD&D, flexible spending account, disability, paid time off, or flexible work schedule. We support career advancement through professional training and development. Belong, Connect and Grow at KBR At KBR, we are passionate about our people and our Zero Harm culture. These inform all that we do and are at the heart of our commitment to, and ongoing journey toward being a People First company. That commitment is central to our team of team's philosophy and fosters an environment where everyone can Belong, Connect and Grow. We Deliver - Together. KBR is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.