UX Design & Operations Lead

Bravo Communications Services LLC is leading the Identity Credential Access Management Next Gen Single Sign On (ICAM NG SSO) program for the Department of Veterans Affairs. This program aims to modernize the VA's Single Sign-On (SSO) technology to enhance security, user experience, and operational efficiency.

Here on the By Light User Centered Design (UCD) team, we believe that great ideas are driven by your passion, your experiences, your ethics, and your ability to be the note of levity in the face of adversity. You will be welcomed onto a small team with big ideas and work alongside (well...from your home office) deep thinkers and great dreamers. Our team is fun, full of life, tight knit, witty, and collaborative. Though we primarily communicate via gifs and memes, you will quickly discover that we sneeze at being typical and strive to overachieve. We are here to inspire each other, challenge ideas, and work together to find intuitive solutions to real problems.

Our common goal as a team is to work with the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to help empower Veterans to take part in their health care. We ask you to bring your open-minded attitude and collaborative spirit, and in return, you will be part of a team where your unique perspectives are celebrated, and your desire to help is fulfilled.

We are looking for a strategic problem solver and UX leader to help us create the best user experience for our Veterans. While this role does include UI work, it is first and foremost a UX role, and our ideal candidate will understand that. The UX Design and Operations Lead will be responsible for guiding UX efforts and operations across multiple product lines, ensuring user-centered design principles are upheld and fostering collaboration across teams.

Lead UX strategy and design execution across multiple product lines, ensuring alignment with other design leads, product lines, business goals, and user needs.
• Mentor and support UX designers, fostering a collaborative and growth-oriented environment.
• Create both new and iterative mobile-first designs that prioritize UX principles, accessibility, and adherence to the design system.
• Solve complex usability challenges through creative exploration within technical and organizational constraints.
• Maintain a high level of precision in design documentation and ensure consistency across products.
• Advocate for Veteran needs among various stakeholders and champion research-backed UX design.
• Work closely with the accessibility specialist to meet accessibility standards and ensure inclusive designs.
• Collaborate with UX researchers to ensure that designs are backed by qualitative and quantitative data.
• Partner with product managers and engineers, ensuring smooth design-to-development handoffs and conducting quality assurance (QA) work.
• Collaborate closely with the content and information architecture teams to maintain compliance and consistency.
• Represent UX in cross-functional teams, actively contributing to discussions and solving design challenges.
• Present and justify UX decisions to executives, stakeholders, and development teams in a clear and professional manner.
• Work efficiently and effectively within time constraints while maintaining fidelity to UX principles, the design system, and internal quality standards.

• Passion for serving Veterans and ensuring their needs are met through exceptional UX design.
• 5 years of experience in UX design, with a strong portfolio showcasing human-centered design expertise.
• Previous leadership or mentorship experience in UX design teams.
• Deep understanding of human-centered design approaches, methods, principles, and skills.
• Strong understanding of research driven and research informed design, and ability to leverage research insights in design decisions.
• High proficiency in UX design tools such as Figma.
• Strong experience with design systems and component-based design.
• Experience designing for accessibility standards (WCAG, Section 508, ADA).
• Proficiency with presentation tools (PowerPoint, Google Slides) for stakeholder communication.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present work to both small and large audiences.
• Ability to function independently and within a team, with strong collaboration and problem-solving skills.

• Experience leading UX efforts in large-scale digital products or government projects.
• Strong familiarity with visual collaboration platforms like Mural or Miro.
• Experience working in an Agile delivery environment, with knowledge of frameworks like SAFe, Scrum, and Kanban.
• Familiarity with GitHub and writing markup.
• Experience using Jira or similar management tools for tracking UX work.
• Strong ability to balance stakeholder needs with user advocacy, making data-driven design decisions.

• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust

• Candidates should be prepared for a whiteboard challenge during the second interview phase to demonstrate their problem-solving and technical skills in a live setting.

• Travel to a local VA facility will be required for onboarding, obtaining VA-issued equipment, resolving IT-related issues, or renewing VA credentials. This ensures secure access to systems and compliance with VA operational requirements.