Senior Human-Centered Design (HCD) Subject Matter Expert

ecsfederal; Virginia (MN); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Everforth ECS is seeking a Senior HCD Subject Matter Expert to support the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The role is in Arlington, VA (Hybrid) and focuses on validating user needs through rigorous research and co-design.

You will deploy HCD methodologies—contextual inquiry, usability testing, and co-design sessions—to ensure engineering work reflects verified user needs and reduces rework and risk before code is written.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
• US citizenship with ability to obtain DHS Suitability (EOD).
• TS/SCI clearance is required.
• 7+ years of experience conducting and synthesizing user research and stakeholder analysis.
• Deep expertise in HCD methodologies, interaction design, service design, IA, and content strategy.
• Proven ability to synthesize research into actionable reports and roadmaps.

Responsibilities

• Customer-Centric Research & Analysis: conduct in-depth user research and validate service utility with stakeholders.
• Co-Design & Facilitation: lead participatory design sessions and bridge gaps between users and engineers.
• Artifact Creation & Strategy: develop user journeys, service blueprints, personas, and segmentations.
• Technical Debt Mitigation: identify debt from poor user alignment and advocate CX best practices.

Skills

HCD methodologies

Usability testing

Contextual inquiry

Co-design sessions

User journey maps

Service blueprints

Personas

Stakeholder analysis

Risk management

Facilitation

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelors degree or equivalent experience

Job description

Everforth ECS is seeking a Senior HCD Subject Matter Expert to work in our Arlington, VA(Hybrid) office.

ECS is seeking a Senior HCD Subject Matter Expert to support the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). In this role, you will serve as the "voice of the user" within the Service Design & Governance Branch, working in tandem with our Senior Service Design Strategist.

While the Strategist focuses on the macro-level operating picture and governance bridges, your focus is on the micro-level validation: ensuring we build the "right" things. You will use rigorous research and participatory design to reduce technical debt and operational risk before code is ever written.

Position Summary

This is not a graphic design role; it is a requirements engineering and risk reduction role. You will deploy HCD methodologies—including contextual inquiry, usability testing, and co-design sessions—to validate service utility. Your primary goal is to ensure that engineering efforts on the TESS contract are grounded in verified user needs rather than assumptions.

Key Responsibilities

1. Customer-Centric Research & Analysis

• Conduct deep-dive user research to identify key pain points across the CISA service portfolio.
• Engage directly with stakeholders to validate service utility, ensuring alignment with verified user needs.
• Translate qualitative research findings into actionable insights that inform technical requirements and reduce the risk of re-work.

1. Co-Design & Facilitation

• Facilitate participatory design sessions and workshops with diverse, cross-functional teams (users, engineers, policy makers).
• Act as a bridge between technical teams and end-users, ensuring diverse perspectives are integrated into service improvement initiatives.
• Perform usability testing to validate design solutions and iterate rapidly based on feedback.

1. Artifact Creation & Strategy

• Develop high-fidelity HCD artifacts, including User Journey Maps, Service Blueprints, User Personas, and Segmentations to guide decision-making.
• Partner with the Senior Service Design Strategist to ensure these artifacts integrate into the broader "Common Operating Picture" of the service lifecycle.
• Create frameworks and design standards for portfolio-wide service offerings to ensure consistency.

1. Technical Debt Mitigation

• Identify sources of technical debt caused by poor user alignment and propose strategies to mitigate these risks.
• Advocate for CX best practices within the organization to influence culture and shift the focus from "output" to "outcome".

Salary Range: $140,000 - $160,000

General Description of Benefits

• Bachelors degree or equivalent experience
• US citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain DHS Suitability (EOD).
• TS/SCI Clearance
• 7+ years of experience conducting and synthesizing user research, usability studies and stakeholder analysis
• Methodology Expert: Deep expertise in HCD methodologies, including interaction design, service design, information architecture, and content strategy.
• Research Synthesis: Proven experience conducting and synthesizing user research, usability studies, and stakeholder analysis into clear reports.
• Facilitation: Exceptional skills in leading co-design workshops and managing diverse stakeholder groups.
• Risk & Debt Fluency: In-depth knowledge of technical debt management and operational risk—you must be able to explain the cost of bad design to leadership.
• Artifact Proficiency: Experience creating professional-grade personas, journey maps, and blueprints.
• Collaboration: Strong communication abilities with a track record of aligning multi-disciplinary, product-centric teams.