Lead Accessibility Engineer

Learnvia; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Learnvia is hiring a Lead Accessibility Developer to own accessibility as a discipline across our product, setting the standard for the engineering organization and making inclusive design the default.

This hands-on leadership role will write and review production frontend code (React, Svelte, TypeScript) with accessibility built in, establish WCAG 2.2 AA as the baseline, and integrate accessibility checks into CI and design-system workflows.

Qualifications

• Strong track record shipping accessible web applications to WCAG 2.2 AA in production.
• Fluency with accessibility toolchain: axe, Lighthouse, and screen readers.
• Deep understanding of the accessibility tree, ARIA practices, and semantic HTML.
• Experience embedding accessibility into engineering processes: automated testing and CI gates.
• Ability to lead through influence: teaching, reviewing, and setting standards.

Responsibilities

• Own the accessibility strategy across our web platform and define what 'done' means for accessible work.
• Write and review production frontend code (React, Svelte, TypeScript) with accessibility built in.
• Establish WCAG 2.2 AA as the baseline and drive the work to meet it.
• Build accessibility into development workflow: automated checks in CI, component-level testing, and review practices.
• Partner with design to make accessibility inherited by default in the component library.
• Run manual audits with assistive technology: screen readers, keyboard navigation, zoom/reflow.
• Mentor engineers across the team to raise accessibility fluency.
• Represent the student’s experience in product and technical decisions.

Skills

Leadership

Mentorship

Communication

Influence

Tools

axe

Lighthouse

Screen readers

CI gates

Job description

We build learning software used by thousands of students today, growing toward hundreds of thousands. Accessibility is not a compliance checkbox for us: it decides whether a student can learn at all. We are hiring a Lead Accessibility Developer to own accessibility as a discipline across our product, set the standard other engineers build to, and make inclusive design the default rather than the exception.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You will write code, review code, and shape how the whole engineering organization approaches accessibility.

What you'll do

• Own the accessibility strategy across our web platform and define what "done" means for accessible work.
• Write and review production frontend code (React, Svelte, TypeScript) with accessibility built in: semantic markup, focus and keyboard navigation, ARIA where it belongs, color contrast, and target sizing.
• Establish WCAG 2.2 AA as the baseline and drive the work needed to meet and hold it.
• Build accessibility into our development workflow: automated checks in CI, component-level testing, and review practices that catch issues before they ship.
• Partner with design on accessible patterns in our component library, so accessibility is inherited by default rather than retrofitted per feature.
• Run manual audits with assistive technology: screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver), keyboard-only navigation, and zoom and reflow testing.
• Mentor engineers across the team, raising the accessibility fluency of everyone who touches the frontend.
• Represent the student's experience in product and technical decisions, especially for students who rely on assistive technology.

What we're looking for

• Deep, demonstrated experience building accessible web applications, with a track record of shipping to WCAG 2.2 AA (or equivalent) in production.
• Fluency with the accessibility toolchain: axe, Lighthouse, and screen readers across platforms.
• Hands-on command of the underlying platform: the accessibility tree, ARIA authoring practices, focus management, and the HTML semantics that make ARIA unnecessary.
• Experience embedding accessibility into engineering process: automated testing, CI gates, and design-system-level patterns.
• The ability to lead through influence: teaching, reviewing, and setting standards rather than only fixing individual bugs.
• Clear written and spoken communication, including the ability to explain accessibility trade-offs to designers, product managers, and other engineers.

Nice to have

• Experience in education technology or another domain with a legal or ethical obligation to accessibility (Section 508, ADA, EN 301 549).
• Familiarity with accessibility in complex, stateful interfaces (rich forms, interactive assessments, live-updating content).
• Contributions to accessibility standards, tooling, or open-source community work.
• Experience working with users with disabilities directly, through user research or advisory partnerships.

Why this role matters here

Our platform is how students engage with their coursework. When accessibility fails, a student is locked out of their education. You will be the person who makes sure that does not happen, with the mandate and the technical depth to set the standard for the whole engineering team.