User Experience Designer

Job Description and Duties

THIS POSITION MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR A HYBRID WORK SCHEDULE. THE AMOUNT OF TELEWORK IS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE DEPARTMENT AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS BUSINESS NEEDS ARISE.

Are you passionate about user experience and user interface design? Do you want to improve the user experience for millions of Californians? 

The Employment Development Department (EDD) is looking for a highly motivated and qualified User Experience (UX) Designer to join our team. We are responsible for designing and improving solutions across our public-facing web applications. 

As an advocate for EDD customers, you have a strong understanding of user-centered design, user interface design, and user research. You will support complex projects throughout the full Software Development Life Cycle, including planning, researching, designing, testing, implementing, and validating solutions. 

To be successful in this role, you should have:

• Strong understanding of usability principles, user-centered design, and plain language communication.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with technical teams, business partners, and diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to take initiative with minimal guidance, demonstrating proactive problem-solving and sound judgment.
• High attention to detail and commitment to delivering customer-focused, accessible, and intuitive digital experiences.
• Experience presenting ideas, facilitating meetings, and resolving disagreements with diplomacy and openness.
• Foundational knowledge of modern web technologies (HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript) to support collaboration with development teams (recommended but not required).

Find more information about this job in the Duty Statement.

Position located at 1416 9th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.

This position is headquartered at the New Labor Agency Building (NLAB), a newly remodeled high-rise building. Located in the heart of Downtown Sacramento and in close proximity of the State Capitol and the Golden1 Center, this beautiful and modern building provides the following amenities: Break areas, wellness/lactation rooms, coffee points, a fitness center with private showers, a Career Center for EDD Employees, a micro market, building-wide WiFi, an outdoor terrace, bike storage, nearby public transit options, and much more.

Apply today for the opportunity to work in this state-of-the-art building!

Effective July 1, 2025, specific Bargaining Units and associated Excluded State employees are subject to a salary reduction between 2% - 4.62% in exchange for hours in the Personal Leave Program 2025 (PLP 2025) per month. For more details, please click here to visit the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) website.

You will find additional information about the job in the .

Working Conditions

Visa Sponsorship

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must be authorized to work in the US without the need for visa sponsorship by the start date of employment.

The selected candidate must be available to work a 40-hour week, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Schedules may be flexible. This is a hybrid position, and the employee must be able to report to the EDD office in downtown Sacramento.

Special Requirements

It is strongly encouraged to apply through your CalCareer Account at .

Please only submit ONE application. Electronic applications submitted through your CalCareer Account are highly recommended and will be received/processed faster than other methods of filing.

If you are unable to apply electronically through your CalCareer account, please mail a completed and signed State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 and application package to the mailing address provided in the “Application Instructions’ section below and ensure the following:

• Clearly indicate the Job Code #, Position Number and the Classification Title of this position in the “Examination or Job Title(s) For Which You Are Applying” section located on Page 3 of your State Examination/Employment STD Form 678.

• Clearly indicate the basis of your eligibility (list, transfer, reinstatement, etc.) in the “Explanations” section located on Page 3 of your State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678.

• Remove and do not submit the “Equal Employment Opportunity” questionnaire (Page 10) with your completed State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678. This page is for examination use only.

• Do not include your full Social Security Number on your documents and/or do not provide any LEAP information.

Examination/Assessment

If selected for hire , you must obtain list eligibility by taking and passing the examination. If you already have list eligibility for this classification, you do not need to retake the examination unless your list eligibility has expired.

Click the examination link below for more information and to take the exam:

For more information about the State hiring process, click here . To watch tutorials on how to apply for a State job, click here .

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Experience conducting usability testing, heuristic evaluations, and end-to-end user research initiatives.
• Ability to create user flows, wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes using modern design tools such as Figma, FigJam, Adobe Creative Suite, and similar applications.
• Practical knowledge of information architecture principles, responsive and mobile-first design, and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
• Experience analyzing and improving user interfaces for web and mobile applications, applying industry-standard UX best practices.
• Skill in writing and editing user-facing content that is clear, concise, inclusive, and aligned with plain language standards.
• Familiarity with structuring and evaluating customer journeys, identifying pain points, and translating insights into design improvements.
• Certification in UX or a closely related field (recommended but not required).

Benefits

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website, , and the CalPERS website, .

Statement of Qualifications Requirements

In addition to the State application (STD 678), a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) is required. The SOQ is a narrative discussion of how your education, training, experience, and skills qualify you for this position. Your SOQ must be typed in 12-point font and be no more than two pages in length.
Important: Applications without an SOQ or that do not respond to statements below will not be considered. Resumes or cover letters do not take the place of an SOQ.

In your SOQ, provide the following information:

1. Using the Duty Statement listed on this job posting, please describe the education, training, and work experience that has prepared you to perform the responsibilities for the User Experience Designer position. Provide specific examples of your experience and knowledge in delivering positive user experiences.
2. Describe your experience working on complex projects with various stakeholders and include examples of how you've balanced business and policy needs with user needs. 
3. Describe your strong ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others, including internal and external partners, as well as how you help build consensus to accomplish the organization's goals and objectives.

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is required and must be included.
• Statement of Qualifications - A Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) is Required. Please see “Statement of Qualifications Requirements” section for more information about the SOQ.