Senior UX Designer Accessibility Specialist

Job Summary:

The Senior UX Designer/Researcher (Accessibility Specialist) will join the Department of Management Division of Information Technology's digital modernization team. This role focuses on advanced user experience research and accessibility-first design to support high-priority state projects, including the Iowa Department of Education's Student Reporting initiative. The specialist will lead user testing, UI optimization, and collaborate closely with UX architects and cross-agency teams to ensure digital services meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA standards and deliver intuitive, accessible experiences for educators and state employees. Responsibilities:

• Design, plan, and execute formal user experience research to evaluate complex workflows.
• Moderate hands-on usability testing sessions and run usability labs to identify and resolve workflow friction.
• Conduct heuristic evaluations of early layouts and interfaces against usability best practices.
• Translate complex data reporting workflows into clear user journeys and personas.
• Structure large data-heavy reporting categories using information architecture techniques such as card sorting.
• Integrate accessibility requirements from the ground up, ensuring compliance with WCAG 2 Level AA standards.
• Collaborate with lead UX/Accessibility Architect to scale user experience and research practices across multiple state initiatives.
• Communicate design findings and research insights effectively to cross-functional teams and stakeholders.

Required Skills & Certifications:

• Extensive experience in senior UX design, including wireframing, prototyping, and responsive web application interfaces.
• Mastery of UX research methodologies: user testing moderation, usability labs, heuristic evaluation, user journey mapping, and information architecture.
• Practical knowledge of WCAG 2.2 Level AA accessibility standards, including focus management, keyboard navigation, and color contrast.
• Advanced proficiency with Figma for design and prototyping.
• Strong communication skills to articulate research insights and design decisions to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in UX research, design, and accessibility compliance.

Preferred Skills & Certifications:

• Experience with heat map analytics tools such as Crazy Egg or Hotjar.
• Knowledge of card sorting and data-driven user behavior analysis.
• Formal UX or Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) education, especially graduates of ISU's HCI program.
• Training or certification from Nielsen Norman Group or Google UX Certification.
• Front-end engineering skills including semantic HTML5 and responsive CSS/SASS (optional but beneficial).
• Experience integrating designs into Angular or MVC .NET frameworks.
• Familiarity with the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) and its extension.

Special Considerations:

• Immediate start required to support critical modernization projects with tight milestones.
• Position is pure UX research and design; no coding or front-end development is expected.
• Candidates must be able to attend occasional in-office meetings; travel expenses are not reimbursed.
• Compliance with strict absence and disciplinary reporting policies is mandatory.
• Use of AI-generated responses during screening and interviews is strictly prohibited.
• Selected candidates must complete additional background checks, including fingerprinting and waiver forms, prior to starting.

Scheduling:

• Interviews will be conducted on September 14th and 15th; candidates must be available on these dates.
• Work schedule will align with project milestones and agency requirements; flexibility may be required to meet deadlines.