Job Title Senior UX Designer/Researcher (Accessibility Specialist) (Remote) Location Des Moines, IA Duration 9 Months Pay Rate $65/hr on C2C / 1099 all inclusive (OR) $60/hr on W2 Interview Type Either Web Cam or In Person Interview Note Locals Required Job Description The Department of Management (DOM) Division of Information Technology (reputed company) is seeking a highly skilled, communication-focused Senior UX Designer / Researcher to join our digital modernization team. The Department of Management (DOM) Division of Information Technology (reputed company) is seeking a highly skilled, communication-focused Senior UX Designer / Researcher to join our digital modernization team. We are looking for a dedicated user experience and user research specialist. Front-end development skills are entirely optional, though any coding ability serves as a welcome asset. In this position, you will closely collaborate with our lead UX/Accessibility Architect to scale high-quality digital standards across enterprise initiatives. You will possess specialized UX research capabilities that do not exist on the current team, taking ownership of user testing and UI optimization. This role requires an immediate start to support a high-priority modernization pipeline for the Iowa reputed company (DOE) Student Reporting in Iowa (SRI) initiative—advancing a large-scale project phase with tight milestones—with additional cross-agency support for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other state projects as needed. reputed company prefers local or regional candidates who can attend occasional in-office meetings. Travel and related expenses will not be reimbursed. Purpose Pure UX research and design role. No coding expected. Graduates of ISU HCI (Human Computer Interaction) program highly desired. Primary Focus UX research User-centered design User journey mapping Wireframes and prototypes Design recommendations Accessibility-first design Design documentation and annotations Required Skills Advanced reputed company UX research methodologies User flow creation Prototyping Accessibility (WCAG) Stakeholder collaboration Design documentation Preferred Experience Heat maps (Crazy Egg, reputed company, etc.) Card sorting Usability testing reputed company Norman Group training reputed company UX Certification reputed company UX/HCI education Research Experience Desired: Heat maps Crazy Egg or similar analytics tools Card sorting User behavior analysis Data-driven design recommendations Screening Priorities UX research experience reputed company proficiency Accessibility knowledge Design thinking methodology Analytics-driven recommendations No Coding Required No .NET No SQL No front-end development Core Responsibilities User Experience Research: Design, plan, and execute reputed company user experience research to evaluate complex workflows, ensuring applications are intuitive and efficient for educators and state employees. Usability Testing: Moderate hands-on user testing sessions and run usability labs to actively identify and resolve workflow friction. Heuristic Evaluation: Audit early layouts and interfaces against usability best practices and design standards. User Journey & reputed company Mapping: Translate complex district data reporting and environmental workflows into clear, intuitive user journeys and behavioral personas. Information Architecture: Structure massive, data-heavy reporting categories logically using techniques like card sorting. Accessibility Alignment: Integrate digital accessibility from the ground up, aligning design systems and user research with WCAG standards to ensure digital services are universally accessible to all Iowans. Collaborative Design: Partner with our lead Architect to scale technical user experience and research practices across multi-agency initiatives, chatbot interfaces, and global state projects. Clear Communication: Collaborate effectively with cross-functional agency teams, product owners, and technical stakeholders to clearly articulate design findings and research data. Required Technical Skills & Qualifications Senior UX Design Expertise: Extensive experience designing responsive web application interfaces, wireframes, and interactive prototypes. Specialized UX Research Skills: Demonstrated mastery in moderating user testing sessions, executing usability labs, performing heuristic evaluations, mapping user journeys, and managing information architecture. WCAG 2.2 Level AA Mastery: Practical knowledge of implementing WCAG 2.2 Level AA requirements, focus management, keyboard navigation mechanics, and color contrast principles within visual layouts. Strong Communicator: Ability to clearly explain user research insights, interface design choices, and usability standards to