UI​/UX Designer

Lynker is seeking a detail-oriented UI/UX Front-End Designer to lead the user experience overhaul and interface design for the website for the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), space weather.gov. SWPC operates 24/7, monitoring space weather conditions that impact national security, satellite operations, aviation, power grids, and emergency management.

This role focuses entirely on user experience design, research, visual communication, and design system management. You will bridge the gap between complex space science—geomagnetic storms, solar flares, radio blackouts—and accessible visual products used by aviation controllers, power grid operators, satellite technicians, and the public. You will create production-ready UI designs, visual assets, wireframes, and design specs for our software engineering team to implement.

The ideal web designer selected will be local to the Boulder, CO area, and able to support a hybrid office and home work environment.

Duties of the UI/UX Designer will include the following:

UI/UX Design & Scientific Visualization

• Design intuitive, audience-centered navigation, content organization, and user journeys that provide rapid access to authoritative space weather information. Create differentiated experiences for the public, critical infrastructure operators, government decision makers, and scientific users, prioritizing the information most relevant to their needs and decisions.

• Transform complex scientific information, including evolving space weather severity scales, into clear, understandable, and actionable digital experiences. Develop visual approaches that communicate hazard severity, potential impacts, geographic relevance, timing, forecast confidence, and uncertainty, helping users understand what is happening, what it means to them, and when action may be warranted.

• Design interactive dashboards, maps, timelines, charts, and other visual tools that translate real-time observations, forecasts, and probabilistic guidance into meaningful information. Emphasize sector-specific risks, geographic and temporal context, anticipated conditions, and evolving hazards while preserving scientific accuracy and supporting rapid interpretation during significant space weather events.

• Develop wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity designs using Figma or comparable tools to explore, communicate, and validate new digital services. Support the progression of emerging capabilities from experimental concepts and user evaluation to reliable, operationally suitable interfaces.

User Research & Testing

• Engage forecasters, scientists, critical infrastructure operators, aviation and space-sector stakeholders, emergency managers, and public users to understand their information needs, operational workflows, decision thresholds, and time-sensitive requirements. Translate research findings into design priorities that improve the relevance, usability, and effectiveness of SWPC services.

• Evaluate how users interpret space weather severity, potential impacts, probabilities, uncertainty, and recommended actions. Apply usability testing, behavioral research, and risk communication principles to develop clear, consistent, and scientifically credible presentations that reduce ambiguity and support appropriate decision-making.

• Use stakeholder feedback, usability testing, website analytics, and measurable user-experience outcomes to continually refine interfaces and communication approaches. Prioritize improvements that reduce cognitive burden, accelerate access to decision-relevant information, and strengthen performance during rapidly evolving events.

Design System & Accessibility

• Develop and maintain a scalable, reusable design system aligned with the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS), NOAA branding, and federal digital service standards. Establish consistent components, design tokens, interaction patterns, and visualization conventions across public-facing websites, dashboards, and emerging digital services.

• Integrate Section 508 compliance, contemporary WCAG accessibility practices, mobile responsiveness, and plain-language principles throughout the design process. Ensure critical information, including severity levels, warnings, probabilities, and scientific visualizations, remains understandable and accessible across devices, abilities, and levels of scientific expertise, without relying solely on color or specialized…