Search Engine Architect Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Important Notice for Applicants:
At Bixal, we want to ensure a transparent and secure application process for all candidates. Official communication will come from an email address ending in @bixal.com or from @bixal.na.teamtailor-mail.com. Messages from other sources may be fraudulent, and you should exercise care to avoid any links or attachments included.
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Why Bixal?
Bixal is a consulting company headquartered in Fairfax, VA, working alongside governments and organizations to help them deliver better services and experiences to the communities they serve. Using evidence-based knowledge and technology, Bixal empowers clients to deliver on their missions more effectively by fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
Our values:

• People-First: Emphasizing the importance of people in all aspects of work.
• Collaboration and Transparency: Valuing teamwork and open communication.
• Growth Mindset: Encouraging innovation and continuous improvement.
• Creating Lasting Impact: Focusing on meaningful outcomes and positive change.

About the role:
Bixal is seeking an SEO (Search Engine Optimization)/GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) Specialist to conduct recurring technical SEO assessments and strengthen the technical health of a large, multi-property federal digital enterprise. In addition to core technical SEO, this role will help the organization adapt its content and information architecture for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), ensuring content is structured, discoverable, and citable across AI-powered answer surfaces (e.g., AI Overviews, conversational assistants, and voice-activated search) as well as traditional search engines. You'll dive into site speed, indexing, structured data, and schema markup work, and partner closely with content, UX, and engineering teams to build SEO/GEO best practices into every stage of the content lifecycle.
This project supports a large-scale outreach and engagement effort, delivering strategic communications, content and creative services, digital strategy, and audience engagement across public-facing websites, applications, and social media platforms. The work is paired with the IT, cybersecurity, and data operations needed to keep that digital presence secure, reliable, and available around the clock. The program's mission is to ensure the intended audience receives timely, accurate, and accessible information about the programs, services, and policies that affect them with content and platforms built to scale, adapt to changing needs, and hold up to federal compliance and security standards.
This is a full-time position contingent on contract award by our client, with a defined performance period of one year with two one-year option periods. This role offers you a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact on a project that aligns with Bixal's mission of delivering innovative, human-centered solutions. While the role has a fixed duration, we are committed to transparency and collaboration, keeping you informed about contract updates and new opportunities. At Bixal, we support your professional journey, ensuring your experience reflects our inclusive, purpose-driven culture and prepares you for future success.
Location
This role can work remotely from anywhere in the USA. You must be legally authorized to work in the US.Bixal does not provide visa sponsorship.
Compensation:
The salary range for this role is $75,000 - $85,000. In the spirit of transparency, most offers tend to land near the midpoint of the range. We make compensation decisions thoughtfully, considering your experience, the skills you bring, and our commitment to internal equity. Fairness and transparency are core to how we operate.
Responsibilities:

• Conduct monthly technical SEO audits across the client's digital properties, identifying issues such as broken links, indexation errors, slow-loading pages, and content delivery problems.
• Optimize content for generative/AI answer engines (e.g., Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, ChatGPT search, Copilot) by structuring content for extractability and monitoring how the client's content is surfaced or cited in AI-generated answers.
• Coordinate organic SEO/GEO strategy with the media messaging team to align keyword targeting and messaging across paid search (SEM), programmatic advertising, and owned-channel content (websites, blogs, newsletters).
• Include on-site search functionality as part of daily monitoring of key pages and functions, and support quarterly content certification reviews to ensure content stays accurate, relevant, and discoverable.
• Perform page speed optimization, address Core Web Vitals gaps, and recommend enhancements to reduce load time and improve mobile responsiveness.
• Maintain and optimize XML sitemaps, robots.txt configurations, and crawlability settings.
• Implement schema markup (JSON-LD), structured metadata, and microdata patterns to improve search visibility and content classification.
• Enhance internal linking strategies and ensure taxonomy alignment for improved information architecture.
• Support voice-search readiness through structured content improvements and search-friendly page architecture.
• Validate search behavior, indexing patterns, and crawl logs to improve visibility and user discoverability.
• Collaborate with developers, content teams, and UX staff to ensure technical SEO requirements are incorporated into releases.
• Create and deliver SEO training materials, workshops, documentation, and best-practice guides to support workforce adoption.
• Track key technical SEO KPIs and produce actionable insights for leadership.
• Monitor algorithm updates and assess impacts to the client's digital properties.
• Ensure technical SEO improvements align with federal, DoD, and accessibility requirements.
• Establish and monitor goals, objectives, performance requirements, standards, and accountability with metrics to meet project requirements as well as Bixal standards.
• Other relevant duties as qualified/trained to perform

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree (BA/BS) in Computer Science, Web Development, Information Technology, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience performing technical SEO for enterprise websites, or equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
• This position must hold an active Secret clearance or higher, in support of a federal government contract.
• Experience conducting technical audits using tools such as Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, SEMrush, or equivalent.
• Experience optimizing page speed, improving site structure, and applying schema markup.
• Experience optimizing email/newsletter platforms (e.g., GovDelivery or similar) and subscription-based content for search visibility and discoverability.
• Working knowledge of generative/AI search behavior (e.g., how Google AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, ChatGPT search, and Perplexity source and cite web content) and how to optimize content for LLM-based retrieval, in addition to traditional SEO tools.
• Experience authoring structured content and FAQs for conversational and voice interfaces.
• Understanding of search engine marketing (SEM) and paid media concepts
• Experience collaborating with content, UX, and development teams on cross-functional SEO initiatives.
• Experience developing documentation, training materials, or workshops for internal stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of SEO diagnostics, indexing signals, structured data, canonical rules, and website performance tuning.
• Proficiency with SEO tools including Google Search Console, Lighthouse, SEMrush, Screaming Frog, and PageSpeed Insights.
• Understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript behavior, and CMS-driven platforms.
• Knowledge of accessibility and mobile optimization best practices.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex data.
• Excellent oral and written communication and training abilities with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Attention to detail and commitment to precision in site diagnostics and documentation.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent SEO initiatives and deadlines.
• Collaborative mindset for working across content, UX, engineering, and PMO teams.

Nice to Have Skills and Experience:

• Experience supporting federal, DoD, or large enterprise content ecosystems.
• Familiarity with API-driven search services, metadata governance, and taxonomy standards.
• Understanding of headless CMS or component-based content architectures.

How We Support Our Team:

• Flex hours
• 401K with matching incentive
• Parental Leave
• Medical/dental/vision benefits
• Flex Spending Account
• Company provided short-term disability and life insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 11 Paid holidays

Our company is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all individuals and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and business needs.
Department Client Delivery Role Human Experience (HX) Locations Remote within United States Remote status Fully Remote