Lead UX Designer

Job Title : Lead UX Designer Location: Washington, DC Job Description seeking an experienced and authoritative Lead UX Designer to join an Agile product team for a major technology client in the Washington, D.C. area, focused on enterprise operations. This role is crucial for designing and delivering intuitive, custom applications that directly enable operations staff to maintain high efficiency and keep critical transportation systems running on time. You will lead the design vision from concept through deployment, collaborating closely with Product Owners, researchers, and engineers while actively championing user-centered principles. This position requires local residency near the Northeast Corridor (DC, NYC, Philly, or Wilmington, DE) and approximately 25% train travel for on-premise workshops, on-train user engagement, and quarterly PI Planning activities. Key Responsibilities Design Leadership & Delivery Oversee and execute the end-to-end design process, creating high-fidelity, interactive Figma designs that are user-friendly, accessible, and aligned with technical requirements. Act as the primary design advocate, confidently presenting, defending, and socializing design decisions and user-centric processes to cross-functional teams and stakeholders. Lead quarterly PI Planning design activities and ensure design tasks are accurately scoped and delivered in alignment with the Agile project timeline and sprint goals. Collaborate with engineering teams to create detailed design principles and specifications, ensuring accurate and high-quality implementation of designs (Design QA). User Experience & Collaboration Work in deep partnership with Product Owners, Researchers, Developers, and Product Managers to gather requirements, understand complex operational user needs, and deliver visually comprehensive, ready-to-develop solutions. Incorporate user feedback and testing results (including usability and accessibility testing) into design iterations to continuously enhance the overall user experience for internal applications. Actively participate in all Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives, maintaining consistent communication on design progress with the Product Owner. Design System Contribution Play a critical role in the ongoing development and governance of our enterprise design system by creating new, reusable components and patterns. Ensure consistency, reusability, and scalability of design elements across all digital products within the operational suite. Qualifications Basic Qualifications Experience: 5+ years of demonstrated experience in UX design, with a strong portfolio showcasing user-centered, high-fidelity designs for complex, custom enterprise applications. Design Systems: Proven experience working with and designing components and templates within a comprehensive design system to ensure product consistency and efficiency. Agile Expertise: Extensive experience working in and leading design within fast-paced Agile environments and adhering to core Agile methodologies. Tool Proficiency: Expert-level proficiency in design and collaboration tools including Figma, FigJam, Jira, and Confluence, as well as prototyping tools. Communication: Must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, including a strong, confident voice to advocate for and defend design strategy. Location/Travel: Must be local to the Northeast Corridor (Wilmington, DE, NYC, D.C., or Philadelphia) and able to travel approximately 25% (via train) to support local workshops and mandatory quarterly PI Planning events. Preferred Qualifications Familiarity with the rail industry, complex operational environments, or back-end systems. Experience designing processes, software, or applications specifically for internal audiences within large enterprise organizations. Knowledge of usability testing processes and tools such as dScout, Maze, UserTesting, or UserZoom. Strong understanding of accessibility standards (WCAG) and best practices for inclusive design.