Senior UX Specialist (SWY-PACS)

GovCIO is seeking a Senior UX Specialist to support mission-critical software modernization programs for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). This position will serve as a key user experience authority, working directly with the Product Delivery division within the C5I / Software Yard. The successful candidate will help develop and document standardized processes for User Experience (UX) research, journey mapping, and requirements definition to ensure mission outcomes are at the forefront of software development. This position will be located in Kearneysville, WV and will be a hybrid position.

Responsibilities

As a Senior UX Specialist / User Experience Analyst, you will lead user experience support activities, design recommendations, requirements gathering, and cross-functional collaboration with product leadership. You will bring advanced human-centered design principles to the Product Delivery team, ensuring software solutions are empathetic and highly usable for the fleet. Key responsibilities include:

• Apply UX, CX, and digital strategy principles using human-centered design to implement robust research plans supporting enterprise application design.
• Conduct extensive user research, interview stakeholders, and build comprehensive user personas to guide agile software development teams toward user-centered solutions.
• Design, map, and document end-to-end user journey maps to identify operational pain points and translate them into actionable software requirements.
• Perform rigorous usability testing via actual or prototype systems, analyzing user feedback to refine interface layouts and workflow mechanics.
• Develop, standardize, and document formal processes for UX research, journey mapping, and requirements definition to scale design rigor across the Software Yard.
• Optimize, research, and streamline digital products to ensure universal accessibility, strictly aligning designs with Section 508 compliance and federal accessibility mandates.
• Collaborate actively with cross-functional software delivery teams, product owners, and engineers to ensure user-centric designs are executed accurately during development cycles.
• Advocate for the end-user by translating complex mission workflows into clean, intuitive, and highly functional digital interfaces.

Qualifications

High School with 6 - 9 years (or commensurate experience)

Required Skills & Experience

• Dedicated UX design, user research, and digital strategy experience, preferably within a federal contract or enterprise software environment.
• Proven experience building user personas, conducting user interviews/surveys, and mapping complex user journeys.
• Demonstrated expertise planning and executing usability testing protocols on live software applications or high-fidelity prototypes.
• Deep understanding of human-centered design (HCD) principles and experience integrating UX workflows within Agile/Scrum development methodologies.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with experience documenting standardized design frameworks and presenting UX recommendations to product leadership.

Clearance Required: Must be able to attaing and maintain a USCG Public Trust

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Direct experience supporting U.S. Coast Guard missions, specifically within the C5I Software Yard or similar technical directorates.
• Strong working knowledge of Section 508 compliance guidelines, WCAG accessibility standards, and federal digital strategy playbooks.
• Proficiency with modern UX/UI prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Adobe XD, Axure) and research repository platforms.
• Experience collaborating closely with backend engineers, system architects, and capability developers to balance technical feasibility with user needs.
• Familiarity with federal software pathways, military operational environments, or disconnected/low-bandwidth user interfaces.

Posted Salary Range

USD $100,000.00 - USD $125,000.00 /Yr.