Senior Service Designer

Senior Service Designer

The Senior Service Designer will lead human-centered design initiatives that help federal government agencies modernize complex systems and deliver better digital services. This role focuses on understanding how people, processes, technology, and organizations interact to identify opportunities for meaningful and measurable improvements. You will lead discovery and service design engagements, translate research insights into actionable strategies, and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams spanning product, engineering, data, and research. Working initially with programs supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs, you will help solve complex challenges in mission-driven environments. As a senior individual contributor, you will influence client decisions, establish design best practices, and contribute to organizational growth without formal people management responsibilities. This fully remote opportunity combines strategic thinking, service design expertise, responsible AI innovation, and the chance to make a lasting impact on public services.

Accountabilities

• Service Design and Delivery: Lead complex, cross-functional service design engagements, ensuring high-quality and timely delivery aligned with client objectives, stakeholder priorities, and end-user outcomes.
• Research and Discovery: Apply mixed-method research and discovery approaches to understand user needs, organizational challenges, business processes, and technology ecosystems. Translate findings into actionable insights, service improvements, and opportunities for innovation.
• Systems Thinking and Strategic Design: Map complex relationships between people, processes, technologies, and organizations to develop a holistic understanding of service challenges and identify opportunities for sustainable improvement.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with product managers, engineers, data scientists, researchers, and other specialists to define problems, align priorities, develop solutions, and ensure service design initiatives contribute to measurable business and mission outcomes.
• Client Engagement and Influence: Build trusted relationships with key client stakeholders, facilitate collaborative discussions, validate assumptions, communicate research findings, and present and defend service design recommendations. Serve as the primary service design contact within assigned engagements.
• Delivery Quality and Risk Management: Identify and address project risks, dependencies, and delivery challenges proactively. Maintain high standards of quality while ensuring service design activities remain aligned with program objectives and stakeholder expectations.
• AI-Enabled Innovation: Explore and implement responsible AI tools and emerging technologies to accelerate discovery, improve decision-making, reduce manual effort, and enhance the quality and effectiveness of services.
• Organizational Development: Contribute to internal initiatives, strategic projects, and growth opportunities that extend beyond assigned programs. Share knowledge, insights, and emerging practices to strengthen the organization's service design capabilities.
• Business Development Support: Apply service design expertise to proposals and new business opportunities, translating customer challenges into compelling solutions. Help strengthen client relationships, expand existing engagements, and identify opportunities for future growth.
• Team Culture and Best Practices: Help establish service design methodologies and quality standards, support colleagues in addressing challenges, and encourage inclusive, constructive, curious, and innovative ways of working.

Requirements

• Professional Experience: At least 5 years of experience in service design, UX design, user research, or a related discipline, including demonstrated leadership of complex service design engagements.
• Service Design Expertise: Strong command of service design methods, research and discovery techniques, systems thinking, and strategic problem-solving, with the ability to turn complex and ambiguous challenges into actionable recommendations.
• Demonstrated Impact: A proven track record of delivering high-impact projects that generate measurable value for clients, stakeholders, and end users.
• Research and Analytical Skills: Ability to synthesize qualitative and quantitative insights, understand complex service ecosystems, identify patterns, and develop evidence-based recommendations.
• Client Relationship Management: Strong communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trust, understand client priorities, and influence senior stakeholders without relying on formal authority.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Experience working effectively with product, engineering, data, research, and other multidisciplinary teams, particularly in agile or similarly collaborative environments.
• Strategic and Business Acumen: Ability to connect service design decisions to broader organizational priorities, client outcomes, business objectives, and growth opportunities.
• AI and Emerging Technologies: Demonstrated ability to identify and apply responsible AI-enabled approaches that improve productivity, decision-making, service quality, or customer outcomes.
• Project and Delivery Management: Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, navigate ambiguity, anticipate risks, and maintain quality under changing conditions.
• Leadership and Accountability: Ability to establish high standards, address difficult issues constructively, encourage collaboration, and contribute to a supportive and inclusive team culture.
• Curiosity and Continuous Learning: A proactive mindset, openness to diverse perspectives, and a commitment to understanding customer needs, mission contexts, emerging practices, and evolving technologies.
• Preferred Qualifications: Experience supporting federal government agencies, particularly the Department of Veterans Affairs, is highly desirable. Familiarity with data science and data engineering principles is also beneficial.
• Location and Work Authorization: Must currently reside in one of the following eligible states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, or Wisconsin. U.S. citizenship is required for the supported government contract.
• Travel Requirements: Willingness to travel occasionally for client engagements and industry events, with travel potentially reaching 10% depending on location.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary: Annual compensation ranging from $120,000 to $139,500, plus benefits. Placement within the published range depends on demonstrated competencies, experience, and the responsibilities the candidate can assume.
• Comprehensive Healthcare: Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) plan with company matching.
• Flexible Time Off: Unlimited paid time off (PTO).
• Income Protection: Company-sponsored short-term and long-term disability insurance, along with life insurance.
• Parental Support: Company-sponsored parental leave.
• Remote Work: Fully remote work environment, with a preference for candidates located in the Washington, D.C. area. Occasional travel may be required for those based elsewhere.
• Professional Development: Meaningful opportunities for career growth, continuous learning, and development of advanced service design capabilities.
• Mission-Driven Work: The opportunity to contribute to modernizing federal government services and improving outcomes for the people and communities those agencies serve.
• Collaborative Culture: Work alongside a diverse, multidisciplinary team that values integrity, excellence, courage, curiosity, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Technology and Innovation: Opportunities to explore responsible AI, modern software practices, data-driven solutions, and emerging technologies to solve complex public-sector challenges.