Who we are:

Raft (https://TeamRaft.com) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional small business with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development, with headquarters in McLean, VA. Our range of clients includes innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting-edge tech stack, and cloud-native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.

We're looking for an experienced Senior UX Designer to support our customers and join our passionate team of high-impact problem solvers.

About the role:

The Senior User Experience Designer seamlessly integrates Human-Centered Design principles into the core of our product development and advocates for the manifestation of our user-centric ethos in all design phases. Within the agile framework, they adeptly use Lean UX principles to forge MVPs through strategic prototyping and testing, ever focusing on impact and success metrics and steering research and design initiatives strategically. They deeply engage in the continuous discovery process, probing into both qualitative and quantitative user behavior research, and ensure clear and impactful communication of feedback and design decisions to both team and stakeholders. You will provide a portfolio of professional UI/UX design work. Hands-On with coding and ability to troubleshoot using HTML, CSS and comparable languages. Designing UI elements such as input controls, navigational components and informational components. Creating user flows, wireframes, prototypes and mockups. Translating requirements into style guides, design systems, design patterns and attractive user interfaces. Creating user-centered designs by understanding business requirements, and user feedback.

What we are looking for:

• Ten plus years of relevant hands-on experience
• Mastery of UX methods and activities
• Independent leading and facilitating of discovery, framing, ideation, and concept testing
• Comprehensive delivery of end-to-end user experience designs, with a focus on entire user journeys
• Advanced visual design skills to create impactful interfaces
• Demonstrated experience guiding UX strategy, advocating for end users, and contributing significantly to the product roadmap within a cross-functional team
• Experience balancing user feedback, technical feasibility, and stakeholder ambitions to deliver high-quality products
• Commitment to design standards, compliance with accessibility standards, and usability best practices
• Strong communication skills, intellectual curiosity, and empathy
• Proficient with Sketch, InVision, Visio, HTML, CSS (SCSS), Design Systems, Adobe Creative Suite
• Certifications: SAFe for Teams, Google UX Design, General Assembly UX Design Immersive
• Able to obtain a Security certification within 90 days of employment with Raft
• Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics or a related field

Highly preferred:

• Bachelor's degree in UX Design, Interaction Design, Graphic Design, or a related field
• Advanced certification and/or courses in UX Research and Design
• Demonstrated experience in an Agile environment, collaborating with various stakeholders and using design and prototyping tools such as FIGMA, Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch, etc.
• Skilled in storytelling and persuasion, and comfortable communicating at various organizational levels

Clearance Requirements:

• Active Secret security clearance

Work Type:

• Hybrid - Colorado Springs, CO
• May require up to 10% travel

What we will offer you:

• Highly competitive salary
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) and company match
• Take as you need PTO 11 paid holidays
• Education & training benefits
• Annual budget for your tech/gadgets needs
• Monthly box of yummy snacks to eat while doing meaningful work
• Remote, hybrid, and flexible work options
• Team off-site in fun places!
• Generous Referral Bonuses
• And More!

Our Vision Statement:

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession with the mission.

Our Customer Obsession:

We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?

Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successful, our generation and the ones that follow us will live in a delightful, efficient, and accessible world where out-of-box thinking, and collaboration is a norm.

Raft's core philosophy is Ubuntu: I Am, Because We are . We support our "nadi" by elevating the other Rafters. We work as a hyper collaborative team where each team member brings a unique perspective, adding value that did not exist before. People make Raft special. We celebrate each other and our cognitive and cultural diversity. We are devoted to our practice of innovation and collaboration.