User Experience Contractor Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Design. Disrupt. Repeat.  

Be an agent of change on a team committed to achieving client-focused, mission-driven excellence. Steampunk is the explosive collision of human-centered design and traditional government contracting. We are an employee-owned company with a startup mindset and time-tested approaches tailored for the federal government. We’re passionate about creating solutions that are impactful, practical, and scalable while meeting our clients’ ever-changing needs. We believe in empowering our people to find creative solutions to intractable problems. We believe the best environment in which to grow and thrive is outside our comfort zone. We believe that while good design makes for a good product, human-centered design makes for an excellent one.  

As a UI/UX Designer, you will be responsible for guiding government clients through our Design Intelligence™ framework, incorporating human-centered methods to solve complex user experience challenges. You will plan and execute UX initiatives from discovery through interface design; research, prototyping, iteration, visual design, user, usability, and accessibility testing. You will serve as the voice of the customer and make sure their needs are considered and met within a proposed solution.    

Responsibilities:  

• Participate in all aspects of the discovery process to understand: client mission and goals; stakeholders, users and their ecosystems; current state journeys; user segments; program and project objectives 
• Conduct workshops and interviews to help frame pain points and opportunities, define insights, validate hypothesis, and create a compelling experience vision  
• Understand the relevance of and how artifacts like journey maps, service blueprints, personas, ecosystem and experience maps fit into crafting the user experience   
• Conduct user research and testing and effectively translate user needs into an implementable digital experience  
• Collaborate and communicate stakeholder and user needs on a cross functional team within an agile environment 
• Understand and embrace the specifications and constraints of a given technology, platform and/or operational environment 
• Design intuitive, elegant, and accessible interfaces supported through a test and learn process  
• Ensure all deliverables across a variety of projects are produced at the highest quality  

• Ability to obtain a U.S. government Public Trust Security Clearance  
• 4+ years of professional UX and UI experience designing viable solutions for multi-platform digital products  
• Current portfolio demonstrating ideology, methods, tools, skills, and craft 
• Demonstrated experience conducting primary and secondary user-research including user-interviews, discovery and co-creation workshops, heuristic evaluation, and card sorting (for example), and applying those insights to personas, journey maps, site maps, ecosystem maps, information architecture, and interface design 
• Demonstrated experience in UI design including wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, moderated and unmoderated user testing, and accessibility testing 
• Knowledge and experience with 508 compliance requirements 
• Experience working on a scrum team within the Agile delivery framework and experience integrating research and design into technical sprints including writing user stories and story pointing 
• Proficiency in tools like Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch, Figma, Zeplin and other prototyping tools   
• Desire to keep pace with ever-changing industry tools and best practices with the ability to make recommendations as needed for the best outcome  
• Experience collaborating within a multi-disciplinary delivery team including service designers, technologists, data scientists, engineers, solution architects, and change managers 
• A natural curiosity for solving problems coupled with strong analytical skills  
• A collaborative nature with excellent written communication and presentation skills  
• Experience working in a project-based environment  
• Degree or equivalent experience in HCD, HCI, and/or UX design   

Bonus Points 

• Previous work experience in or with the federal government 
• Previous work experience as a consultant 

About Steampunk  

Steampunk relies on several factors to determine salary, including but not limited to geographic location, contractual requirements, education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience. The projected compensation range for this position is $75,000 to $140,000.  The estimate displayed represents a typical annual salary range for this position. Annual salary is just one aspect of Steampunk’s total compensation package for employees. Learn more about additional Steampunk benefits here. 

Identity Statement

As part of the application process, you are expected to be on camera during interviews and assessments. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud.

Steampunk is a Change Agent in the Federal contracting industry, bringing new thinking to clients in the Homeland, Federal Civilian, Health and DoD sectors.  Through our Design Intelligence™ process, we are fundamentally changing the expectations our Federal clients have for true shared accountability in solving their toughest mission challenges.  As an employee owned company, we focus on investing in our employees to enable them to do the greatest work of their careers – and rewarding them for outstanding contributions to our growth. If you want to learn more about our story, visit http://www.steampunk.com.   

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Steampunk participates in the E-Verify program.