Senior Service Designer

About the role:

Bixal is looking for a creative and strategic User Researcher/Service Designer to help shape a large-scale digital appointment scheduling platform for the federal government. This effort will replace outdated systems with a unified, secure, and accessible solution that makes life easier for the public and government staff alike—covering services like document processing, consular support, and emergency scheduling.

In this role, you’ll partner with product managers, designers, engineers, and other stakeholders to lead user research, translate insights into clear requirements, and design intuitive user experiences that align with project goals.

Candidates should be prepared to present a portfolio of work demonstrating your knowledge, skills, and experience demonstrating the requirements listed in the Qualifications section below.

This is a full-time position contingent on contract award by our client, with a defined performance period of one year with two one-year option periods. This role offers you a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact on a project that aligns with Bixal’s mission of delivering innovative, human-centered solutions. While the role has a fixed duration, we are committed to transparency and collaboration, keeping you informed about contract updates and new opportunities. At Bixal, we support your professional journey, ensuring your experience reflects our inclusive, purpose-driven culture and prepares you for future success.

Compensation:

The salary for this role is $110,000.  We make compensation decisions thoughtfully, considering your experience, the skills you bring, and our commitment to internal equity. Fairness and transparency are core to how we operate.

Responsibilities:

• Lead iterative and human-centered design user research strategy and efforts to understand user needs, business goals, and policy requirements.
• Design and conduct research studies using methods such as interviews, surveys, contextual inquiry, A/B testing, heuristic evaluation, multi-lingual remote usability testing, and accessibility design.
• Develop and maintain research plans, protocols, and documentation that ensure research quality and rigor.
• Analyze and synthesize research findings into actionable insights and recommendations.
• Communicate research findings to cross-functional teams, stakeholders, and clients through reports, presentations, and workshops using collaborative whiteboarding tools (e.g., FigJam, Miro).

• Create user personas, user journeys, wireframes, and prototypes to inform design decisions.
• Work closely with designers and engineers to align design with technical feasibility.
• Ensure all designs comply with accessibility standards (Section 508, WCAG)
• Collaborate with engineers, design lead and UX designer to develop intuitive, efficient, and accessible interfaces.
• Advocate for human-centered design principles and ensure research informs iterative design decisions.

• Contribute to the development of research frameworks, principles, and guidelines.
• Work cross-functionally with product owners, design/technical leads, and developers to align research and design with strategic objectives.
• Build and maintain relationships with clients and stakeholders, advocating for the importance of UX research in delivering high-quality digital services.
• Other relevant duties as assigned, as trained and qualified to perform

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, plus at least four (4) years of related experience in UX design and research, preferably in a federal consulting or government environment, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in applied research methods such as interviews, surveys, usability testing, and ethnographic studies.
• Demonstrated experience in applying methods such as contextual inquiry, A/B testing, heuristic evaluation, multilingual remote usability testing, and accessibility-focused design to complex systems.
• Proven ability to lead research strategy and execution for multiple projects simultaneously.
• Demonstrated experience synthesizing qualitative and quantitative findings into actionable personas, journey maps, service blueprints, and technical interaction design documentation consumable by Agile delivery teams.
• Experience designing for government applications, or other high-stakes workflows.
• Proficiency in design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD/CC, Miro or Mural
• Proficiency in digital analytical tools such as Google Analytics or Crazy egg
• Familiarity with federal digital service guidelines and accessibility standards (Section 508, WCAG) and demonstrating expertise in researching with and designing for users of different abilities, including users with assistive technologies, as well as experience leveraging accessibility testing tools (e.g., WAVE, ANDI).
• Strong understanding of user-centered design principles and methodologies.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to synthesize complex data into actionable insights.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with experience working in cross-functional teams.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance.

Nice to Have Skills and Experience:

• Experience with the Department of State, or government digital transformation projects.
• Knowledge of digital appointment scheduling or public service technology.