Human-Centered Design Specialist IV - Technical Design

Overview

[REDACTED] is seeking an experienced Human-Centered Design (HCD) Specialist IV - Technical Design to support the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) portfolio. This role will apply human-centered design methods to the design and modernization of technical products, platforms, workflows, dashboards, and digital experiences supporting VA stakeholders and end users.

The successful candidate will combine strong HCD expertise with technical fluency, enabling them to understand business and user needs, work effectively with technical teams, and translate research findings into designs that can be implemented within enterprise technology environments. This individual will lead design efforts for solutions such as [REDACTED] Power Platform applications and dashboards, SharePoint experiences, data visualization products, workflow tools, and other digital solutions.

This is a design-focused role rather than a software development position. The HCD Specialist will develop the user experience, information architecture, workflows, wireframes, prototypes, and design specifications and partner closely with developers and technical teams for implementation.

As a Level IV individual contributor, this position is expected to independently lead complex HCD workstreams, solve ambiguous design challenges, develop advanced design solutions, and deliver high-quality work with limited oversight. The individual will also collaborate with [REDACTED]'s broader HCD community of practice to promote consistent methods, standards, and lessons learned

[REDACTED] is a new breed of digital solutions provider dedicated to accelerating government impact with innovation and speed. Investing in technology and prototypes ahead of need, [REDACTED] brings commercial-grade platforms and mission-ready AI to federal agencies at commercial speed.

Leveraging our mission-ready technology and solutions, proven expertise in federal deployment, and strategic relationships, we enhance outcomes for the government, efficiently and effectively. With a focus on agility and collaboration, [REDACTED] serves the defense, space, healthcare, and energy sectors—helping agencies navigate complexity and outpace change. Headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, [REDACTED] is committed to delivering impactful results that strengthen missions and drive lasting value.

Responsibilities

Human-Centered Technical Design

• Lead end-to-end HCD activities for new technical solutions, major enhancements, and redesign efforts.
• Translate stakeholder and user needs into intuitive, usable, accessible, and technically feasible digital experiences.
• Design experiences for solutions that may include [REDACTED] Power Platform applications and dashboards, SharePoint sites and solutions, analytics products, workflow tools, and other enterprise digital platforms.
• Develop information architectures, navigation structures, user flows, task flows, process flows, and interaction models.
• Create low-, medium-, and high-fidelity wireframes, mockups, clickable prototypes, and design concepts.
• Develop clear design specifications and developer handoff materials that enable technical teams to implement approved designs.
• Partner with developers, solution architects, analysts, product owners, and technical leads to understand platform capabilities and constraints and ensure designs are feasible for implementation.
• Review implemented solutions against approved designs and user experience requirements and recommend refinements when appropriate.

HCD Discovery and Research

• Plan and conduct stakeholder interviews, user interviews, discovery sessions, contextual inquiry, workshops, usability testing, and other qualitative research activities.
• Identify user needs, pain points, goals, workflows, constraints, and opportunities through structured HCD research.
• Synthesize qualitative findings into themes, insights, design principles, user needs, and actionable recommendations.
• Develop personas, journey maps, experience maps, service blueprints, workflows, and other HCD artifacts as appropriate.
• Validate design concepts through stakeholder feedback, prototype testing, and usability testing.
• Iterate designs based on research findings, technical considerations, accessibility requirements, and user feedback.

Magnify Reports and HCD Documentation

• Contribute to and, when assigned, lead development of Magnify Reports, the formal HCD deliverable produced for each SBIR contract.
• Translate research and design activities into clear documentation of stakeholder needs, user insights, findings, opportunities, recommendations, and proposed design approaches.
• Create executive-ready presentations and visual artifacts that communicate HCD findings and design recommendations to VA and [REDACTED] stakeholders.
• Maintain clear documentation connecting research findings to design decisions.

Accessibility and Inclusive Design

• Incorporate Section 508, WCAG, accessibility, and inclusive-design principles throughout the design process.
• Design experiences that account for users with varying levels of technical proficiency, accessibility needs, roles, and work environments.
• Partner with development and testing teams to identify potential accessibility concerns early in the solution lifecycle.

Collaboration and HCD Practice

• Work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams that may include developers, analysts, data scientists, program evaluators, healthcare subject matter experts, product owners, and program leadership.
• Facilitate collaborative design sessions, design reviews, and working sessions with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Clearly communicate design rationale, research findings, tradeoffs, and recommendations.
• Participate in [REDACTED]'s HCD community of practice, sharing methods, templates, design approaches, lessons learned, and reusable assets.
• Promote practical application of HCD throughout technical delivery without serving as a formal people manager.
• Work within Agile, Scrum, Kanban, or hybrid delivery environments and incorporate HCD activities into iterative development cycles.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Human-Centered Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction Design, UX Design, Information Design, Psychology, Information Systems, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in human-centered design, UX design, product design, service design, interaction design, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience independently leading complex digital product or enterprise-technology design efforts.
• Strong experience conducting stakeholder and user research and translating findings into actionable design recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to develop wireframes, user flows, information architectures, journey maps, interactive prototypes, and detailed design specifications.
• Proficiency with modern design and prototyping tools such as [REDACTED], [REDACTED] XD, [REDACTED], [REDACTED], [REDACTED], or comparable tools.
• Experience working collaboratively with software developers, architects, analysts, and technical teams.
• Technical fluency sufficient to design solutions within enterprise platforms and communicate effectively with development teams.
• Understanding of [REDACTED] Power Platform, SharePoint, enterprise dashboards, data visualization, workflow systems, or comparable technologies.
• Knowledge of Section 508, WCAG, accessibility, and inclusive-design principles.
• Excellent stakeholder interviewing, facilitation, presentation, and communication skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to operate independently in ambiguous environments.
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple concurrent design and research activities.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.

Desired

• Master's degree in Human-Centered Design, Human-Computer Interaction, UX Design, Design, Psychology, Information Systems, or a related field.
• Portfolio demonstrating HCD methodology, UX research, wireframes, prototypes, enterprise application design, dashboard design, or other digital product work.
• Prior experience supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, or other federal healthcare organizations.
• Experience designing Power Platform, Power BI, SharePoint, or other [REDACTED] 365-based experiences.
• Experience supporting federal digital modernization or enterprise technology programs.
• Experience with service design, systems thinking, Lean UX, Design Thinking, or Agile product development.
• Experience developing formal research reports, executive-level recommendations, or HCD deliverables for government clients.
• Relevant HCD, UX, accessibility, Agile, or [REDACTED] certifications.

Target salary range: $100,000 - $150,000.

The salary range displayed represents the typical salary range for this position and is not a guarantee of compensation. Individual salaries are determined by various factors including, but not limited to location, internal equity, business considerations, client contract requirements, and candidate qualifications, such as education, experience, skills, and security clearances.

Job Locations

US-Remote

Originally posted on [REDACTED]