UX Designer - Contingent

Public Trust Eligibility RequiredThis is a contingent position, meaning employment is dependent upon the successful award of the associated contract to Aretum and completion of any required background investigation or security clearance verification. About AretumAretum is a mission-driven organization committed to delivering innovative, technology-enabled solutions to our customers across defense, civilian, and homeland security sectors. Our teams work at the intersection of strategy, technology, and transformation, helping agencies solve their most critical challenges. We believe in investing in our people and creating a culture where collaboration, inclusion, and professional growth are at the forefront.Job Summary Aretum is seeking a highly skilled and motivated UX Designer to join our team. As a UX Designer, you'll employ user-centered design principles to complete the end-to-end design process. The focus for this position is creating wireframes and prototypes working within a design system. Additionally, you will perform usability testing and accessibility audits to ensure that the end products meet user needs and expectations.  Due to the nature of our work as a federal consulting organization, employees may be expected to handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and must adhere to applicable safeguarding and compliance requirements. ResponsibilitiesConduct user research through interviews, surveys, and data analysis to gather insights from end-users, stakeholders, and existing dataIdentify opportunities, requirements, and constraints to inform design decisions, following a user-centered design (UCD) processCreate wireframes, storyboards, process flows, and interactive prototypes to visualize solutions for applications/system featuresCoordinate, define, design and maintain Design System components, libraries, utilities, and patternsEnsure consistency across projects by implementing shared UX templates and global componentsWork closely with SCRUM teams, federal Product Owners, developers, and other stakeholders to ideate solutions, address pain points, and refine designs through iterative feedbackParticipate in Agile ceremonies like sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectivesPerform usability testing, accessibility audits, and validation sessions to evaluate designs, iterating based on user feedbackEnsure all deliverables comply with Section 508 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794d) and WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards for intuitive, efficient user experiencesMaintain robust documentation, demos, and the Design System website/Figma toolkit libraryAdvise teams on best practices for using design system components and enterprise featuresSupport cross-functional agile development in a SAFe framework, contributing to program increments, roadmaps, and velocity goalsMentor SCRUM teams on UX-related topics, promote user-centered principles, and contribute to continuous improvement in DesignOps processesRequirements5 years of applicable experienceBachelor's degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, Computer Science, or a related field (or 3 years of additional experience)Proficiency in UX design tools, including Figma (preferred), Sketch, Adobe XD, or similar, with hands-on experience in creating wireframes, prototypes, and design systemsStrong expertise in user-centered design (UCD) processes, including discovery (e.g., user research, stakeholder interviews, competitive analysis), definition (e.g., personas, journey maps, problem statements), ideation (e.g., workshops, brainstorming), prototyping, and validation (e.g., usability testing)Expertise with accessibility standards, particularly Section 508 compliance and WCAG guidelines, with experience conducting accessibility audits and ensuring inclusive designsFamiliarity with front-end technologies such as HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Angular, and Bootstrap for implementing and integrating designs into development workflowsExperience collaborating in cross-functional teams, including developers, architects, and federal stakeholders, with excellent communication skills for presenting designs, facilitating workshops, and documenting processesSolid understanding of agile methodologies (SCRUM, SAFe) and tools like Jira and Confluence, with the ability to participate in sprint ceremonies and adapt to iterative developmentAbility to create and maintain design documentation, such as user research reports, summary docs for UCD phases, and design system librariesPreferred Qualifications Experience with federal government contracts, including compliance with FAR regulations, ATO processes, and working on mission-critical systems or regulatory platformsCertification in UX/UI design (e.g., Nielsen Norman Group), Agile (e.g., Certified ScrumMaster), or accessibility (e.g., IAAP CPACC)Certification, coursework, or workshops in UX accessibility Background in content-heavy enterprise systems, with skills in advanced prototyping tools or DesignOp