Enterprise Practice Lead; Service Design; Remote From In Colorado

Overview

The Governor's Office of Information Technology (OIT) partners with Colorado agencies to design and deliver innovative, user‑centered services that improve the lives of all Coloradans. OIT is building cross‑functional pod teams and a professional community to advance service design across the state. OIT is hiring an Enterprise Practice Lead, Service Design to shape the practice and standards for service design across the organization.

• Define research method standards, including appropriate methods, rigorous synthesis, and research artifacts such as journey maps, service blueprints, and problem statements.
• Establish journey mapping and service blueprinting standards for discovery and live service, calibrating depth to the decision at hand.
• Build and maintain design system literacy standards, covering accessibility requirements and GDS design principles.
• Identify and address systemic gaps in research and design quality across the portfolio.
• Lead a service design guild: critique sessions, shared research repositories, peer learning, and community building for dispersed practitioners.
• Develop a career pathway for service designers, distinguishing research‑depth from design‑depth profiles and recognizing GDS‑aligned skills.
• Build and deliver training on research in limited‑resources contexts, facilitation in resistant environments, and translating findings into actionable language for leadership.
• Create and maintain shared resources such as research guides, synthesis templates, and example artifacts.
• Advise IT directors and product directors on service design best practices and provide feedback mechanisms.
• Distinguish practitioner skill gaps, pod structural issues, and agency partnership problems, advising accordingly.
• Diagnose weak research practice patterns across pods, recommending training or standards improvements.

• Deep knowledge of service design methods: journey mapping, service blueprinting, future state mapping, co‑design facilitation, and method selection.
• Proficiency in user research methods: qualitative interviews, contextual inquiry, usability testing, survey design, and actionable insight generation.
• Expertise in problem framing and maintaining problem space clarity under stakeholder pressure.
• Knowledge of accessibility and equity in design: WCAG 2.1/2.2, Section 508, and inclusive design practices for diverse populations.
• Understanding of EA accessibility and UX standards applicable to OIT services.
• Understanding of the relationship between service design, product backlog, engineering, and delivery management.
• Familiarity with government design practice and relevant frameworks such as GDS, 18F, and USDR.
• Ability to defend discovery against delivery pressure and to translate standards into practical tools.
• Capacity to educate non‑designers (IT directors, product directors, program leadership) on service design value and standards.
• Commitment to embed accessibility and equity as baseline requirements, not optional add‑ons.
• Skill in building community within a distributed structure.

• Five (5) years of experience in human‑centered design & user research, including leading or working in cross‑functional, iterative teams.
• A working track record across disciplines (design, engineering, policy, operations) to deliver solutions that serve real people.

• Experience designing services in government or highly regulated environments with complex policy constraints.
• Experience mentoring junior designers and developing organizational service design standards.
• Advanced inclusive design knowledge and experience designing for diverse populations, including those with disabilities or limited digital literacy.
• Direct experience designing service workflows that integrate AI and automation, ensuring user control, transparency, and ethical considerations.

OIT employees must comply with screening procedures at state entity locations. A pre‑employment background check and, for certain agencies such as the Department of Corrections and the Department of Public Safety, a pre‑employment drug test will be required. The position may…