Senior Product Designer (Remote, select U.S. states)

We are looking for a Senior Product Designer with a human-centered mindset to join our growing, distributed team at Coforma.

Product designers at Coforma serve as the bridge between research and delivery. They work toward business goals and user needs with a bias toward scalable systems. They benefit our clients by building holistic, informed design systems while ensuring the rapid delivery of iterative designs to agile development teams. They collaborate with research, content design, product management, engineering, project management, and client business owners, showing up as creative problem solvers who can unearth elegant solutions to complex issues.

As a Senior Product Designer, you’ll join a team dedicated to improving the experiences of critical services and products for government agencies, nonprofits, and values-aligned organizations. You’ll demonstrate consistently high-level execution even when encountering ambiguity in complex, multi-stakeholder project environments. You’ll showcase a clear passion and enthusiasm for learning and sharing your expertise. You’ll demonstrate working knowledge of visual design and front-end development concepts and relationships, including the use and maintenance of design systems. You’ll be a compassionate representative for the Product Design practice area and proactively seek collaboration across practice areas and with other departments.

$147,290 to $165,830 Annual Salary + Benefits + Growth Potential

Placement within this range will be based on the competency level of the candidate. An offer will be made at one of the following tiers:

Tier 1: $147,290 — Meets minimum qualification/experience requirements. Beyond onboarding, will need additional guidance and training to perform key responsibilities of the role.

Tier 2: $156,560 — Experienced and fully-competent. Beyond onboarding, can independently perform key responsibilities of the role.

Tier 3: $165,830 — Highly-experienced and can perform all responsibilities of the role at a higher level than expected once onboarding is completed.

To honor our company-wide equitable pay system, the posted salary range and corresponding tier salaries are non-negotiable.

The job posting for this role is scheduled to close at 5:00pm ET on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. Depending on the number of applications received, the application window may close earlier than scheduled to ensure that we can thoughtfully review and respond to each submission.

This is a US-based remote position open to applicants in the states listed below and some travel may be required.

Note: to ensure we remain compliant with all state, county, and local employment and tax regulations, applicants must currently reside in one of the following states to be considered for employment with Coforma. This list will be updated periodically as our PeopleOps team works to open up hiring in additional states.

∙ Arizona

∙ California

∙ District of Columbia

∙ Florida

∙ Georgia

∙ Idaho

∙ Illinois

∙ Maine

∙ Maryland

∙ Massachusetts

∙ Montana

∙ Nevada

∙ New Jersey

∙ New York

∙ North Carolina

∙ Oregon

∙ South Carolina

∙ Tennessee

∙ Texas

∙ Virginia

∙ Washington

∙ Wisconsin

Overview

The Senior Product Designer will bring human-centered design processes and methods to our work wherever possible, sometimes serving as a project's design lead. Your passion for designing simple and effective products, informed by insights of real people and key business needs, will inspire and ground your peers. You’ll help us better understand the people we aim to serve, the needs of the organizations and agencies we work with, and the changes we can make to have a significant and lasting impact. You’ll incorporate accessibility best practices and standards into all your work, and help others do the same.

What You'll Do (Responsibilities)

• Scope design needs for assigned projects whose parameters are often undefined, proactively navigating organizational and project ambiguity
• Work cross-functionally to develop product design principles, strategies, product roadmaps, and success measures that meet client needs
• Set and follow direction to build high-quality design deliverables and accompanying documentation from kickoff to handoff, including: design systems, prototypes, UI designs, wireframes, and more
• Partner with other designers to ensure all deliverables are inclusive, accessible, and use plain language
• Plan and execute various approaches to user research and design strategy and define, lead, and support usability testing using low- and high-fidelity prototypes as well as live systems
• Synthesize usability research insights and transform them into design recommendations and decisions
• Demonstrate solid process and a well-rounded knowledge of techniques, principles, tools, materials, and systems in Product Design and other design disciplines
• Lead and participate in meetings, workshops, and training sessions for clients, stakeholders, and internal teams
• Identify, analyze, and work through complex problems in a way that addresses business requirements and user needs—and coach more junior team members to do the same
• Present work in various forums and formats for varied audiences
• Help set the bar for client interaction, providing support to project reports as needed
• Help ensure the health of the Design department through coaching and hiring support
• Help document Coforma Product Design practice strategy and process, working hand-in-hand with Product Design counterparts
• Act as a sounding board for design researchers, engineers, UX designers, and content designers at Coforma, coaching them through experiential challenges and helping to review and structure their product design work, as needed
• Share your expertise in product design by contributing to thought leadership content for internal and external audiences

Who You Are (Requirements)

• You have at least 6 years of experience in product design, web, interaction, and/or equivalent roles
• You're proficient in crafting quality designs using design systems, atomic design, component design, annotated wireframes, responsive layouts, clickable prototypes, branded UI designs, microcopy, and style guides
• You have experience partnering with researchers to define, lead, and support usability testing using low- and high-fidelity prototypes as well as live systems
• You have experience synthesizing usability research insights and transforming them into design recommendations and decisions
• You have experience leading project teams and facilitating and designing product design workshops and presentations with clients or in a consulting role (ideally 2+ years)
• You have a demonstrated history of enabling access to products and services within teams and communities
• You have experience working at fast-growing companies (bonus points for experience within government contracting or professional service firms)
• You have a passion for and experience with quality interaction design, usability, and accessibility
• You're adept at gathering requirements and understanding the design needs of public sector clients
• You have a demonstrated passion for continual learning
• You are a full-time resident of the contiguous United States (candidates must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. now and in the future without sponsorship)
• Note: Applicants selected for this position may be subject to a government security clearance and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information related to the nature of some of our client's work

Preferred Qualifications and Experience

• 2+ years experience working on a remote team or remote freelancing
• 2+ years experience working in a consulting environment
• Experience working within a cross-matrixed environment
• Prior professional services, government, or federal consulting experience
• Experience writing or editing requirements and performing design challenges for government proposals
• Experience conducting remote-only research, workshops, or validation sessions
• Experience utilizing the United States Web Design System (USWDS)

Other

• Internet: Will prioritize and maintain access to strong, reliable internet for the remote nature of our work, except when on vacation or holiday.
• Security: Will keep the highest security practices to ensure privacy and security of Coforma and client information given the nature of our work, even when on vacation.
• Travel Flexibility: On request and with advanced notice, will attend in-person events such as meetings, workshops, and trainings as assigned for projects that require it.
• Brand Representation: Will represent Coforma professionally and sincerely, modeling our Company Values in all interactions.

We Don't Care About

• Whether or not you have a degree of any kind
• Whether your educational major, if you had one, is related to this role
• Whether or not you have GitHub contributions
• Whether or not you have worked at a well-recognized company
• Whether you’re sure that you check every single box perfectly

We Do Care About

• Your passions, professional or otherwise
• Your well-informed opinions about design, technology, teams, and process
• You

We participate in E-Verify. Upon hire, we will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.

Due to the nature of our work with the federal government, this role is required to work from the contiguous United States.

We're Coforma

The stress of job searching can make you wonder if you’re enough. Studies have even shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs when they don’t meet every qualification. We believe that you ARE enough, and that it’s okay not to meet every requirement. We’re building a culture that’s authentic, inclusive, and diverse. If you’re excited to work with us but not sure you check every box, apply anyway! You may be just right for this role or another one.

About Us

We use creativity to get results for clients and the communities they serve.

We’ve honed a modern, agile, user-centered approach that elevates human needs through thoughtfully-designed systems and products.

From connecting families in crisis at the US border to improving the way governments consume COVID-19 mobility data through a more accessible and user-friendly tool, we’re dedicated to improving people’s lives through thoughtful technology products and services. Together. Our cross-functional team works closely with each other and with our government, nonprofit, and commercial partners to research, design, and build better products and services.

Coforma employs over 150 talented creators. Our leadership has decades of experience in improving government digital services from a civic service mindset, and a strong record of developing innovative technology solutions for government, enterprise, and nonprofits.

We thoughtfully integrate design into product development. We are experts in leading the design and development of products to meet business goals, build alignment, and deliver value through technically feasible and iterative design activities.

Business objectives and human beings are at the center of our work. We work very closely and collaboratively with our partners, from solicitation through to delivery, to ensure that the solution provides a high level of value to the business. Accessibility is never overlooked in our work, and our iterative approach validates the utility and delight of the final product.

Benefits

In addition to the many perks that come with our remote-first company and culture, we offer numerous benefits to eligible employees. Some of those include:

• Unlimited paid time off along with paid holidays

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage

• A 401(k) plan with an employer match

• Internet, phone, and home office stipends

• A professional development fund along with numerous growth opportunities

You can learn more on our website at https://coforma.io/careers.

Equal Opportunity & Inclusive Workplace

Coforma is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, pregnancy, disability, work-related injury, covered veteran status, political ideology, marital status, or any other factors that are protected from employment discrimination under federal law.

We are committed to ensuring accessibility and equal opportunity and offering reasonable accommodations to those with disabilities. We adhere to the guidelines set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act and all relevant federal, state, and local laws concerning disability discrimination and accommodation. To request a reasonable accommodation for the application or interview process, please email [email protected].

About Public Trust and Other Background Investigations

Due to the nature of our client and project work, most roles may require a National Agency Check and Inquiries (NACI), Moderate Background Investigation (MBI), Background Investigation (BI) or other relevant investigations as needed. Additional information regarding background evaluations or investigations can be found on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management website (opm.gov).