Senior Accessibility UX Designer Researcher

Senior Accessibility UX Designer Researcher

Job Location:

Des Moines, IA, USA

Work Model:
Hybrid Work Model Details:
Attend occasional in-office meetings

Shift: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

Employment Type:

Temporary

Min Hourly Rate: $55.00 Max Hourly Rate: $55.00

Must Have Skills/Attributes: CSS, Design, FIGMA, HTML5, Usability Testing, UX Research Experience Desired:
Practical knowledge of implementing WCAG 2.2 Level AA requirements, focus management (8 yrs);
Experience integrating interface designs into Angular or  framework environments (8 yrs);
User Experience Research, Usability testing, Usability labs, Heuristic evaluation, Journey mapping (8 yrs);
Keyboard navigation mechanics, Color contrast requirements, Accessibility auditing (8 yrs)

Required Minimum Education:

High School Diploma or equivalent Preferred License/Certification:
Google UX Certification

Required Qualifications /Skills/

Experience:

Advanced Figma proficiency UX research methodologies User-centered design User flow creation Prototyping Accessibility-first design Design documentation and annotations Stakeholder collaboration UX research experience UX research, usability testing, usability labs, heuristic evaluation, user journey mapping, persona development, information architecture, card sorting, wire framing, interactive prototyping, and UX design Demonstrated mastery in moderating user testing sessions Demonstrated experience executing usability labs Demonstrated experience performing heuristic evaluations Demonstrated experience mapping user journeys Demonstrated experience managing information architecture Practical mastery of WCAG 2.2 Level AA requirements Practical knowledge of focus management Practical knowledge of keyboard navigation mechanics Practical knowledge of color contrast principles within visual layouts Accessibility auditing experience Design thinking methodology Analytics-driven recommendations Heat map experience Experience with Crazy Egg or similar analytics tools Card sorting experience User behavior analysis Ability to develop data-driven design recommendations Extensive experience designing responsive web application interfaces, wireframes, and interactive prototypes Strong communication skills with the ability to clearly explain user research insights, interface design choices, and usability standards to technical team members, developers, and agency stakeholders Ability to collaborate with cross-functional agency teams, product owners, and technical stakeholders Ability to translate complex workflows into intuitive and efficient user experiences No coding required  required No SQL required No front-end development required

Preferred Qualifications /Skills/

Experience:

Front-end engineering experience writing semantic HTML5 and modern, responsive CSS/SASS Experience integrating interface designs into Angular or  framework environments Experience utilizing or extending the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) Any coding ability is a welcome asset Heat map experience with Crazy Egg, Hotjar, or similar tools

Senior UX Designer / Researcher Overview:
The Department of Management Division of Information Technology is seeking a highly skilled, communication-focused Senior UX Designer / Researcher to join a digital modernization team. This position is for a dedicated user experience and user research specialist, with a pure UX research and design focus and no coding expected. The Senior UX Designer / Researcher will closely collaborate with a lead UX/Accessibility Architect to scale high-quality digital standards across enterprise initiatives.

The position requires specialized UX research capabilities, with ownership of user testing and UI optimization. The role supports a high-priority modernization pipeline involving a large-scale student reporting initiative with tight project milestones, with additional cross-agency support for environmental and other state projects as needed. The primary focus areas include UX research, user-centered design, user journey mapping, wireframes and prototypes, design recommendations, accessibility-first design, and design documentation and annotations.

The successful candidate will bring advanced Figma proficiency, strong UX research methodologies, usability testing experience, information architecture capabilities, and practical WCAG 2.2 Level AA knowledge. The role requires the ability to communicate research findings, design decisions, usability standards, and data-driven recommendations clearly to technical and agency stakeholders. The client prefers local or regional candidates who can attend occasional in-office meetings.

Travel and related expenses will not be reimbursed.