Senior Human Centered Design & UI/UX Engineer

BAE Systems Inc.; Nashua (NH); On-site; USD 97,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) savings plan

Paid time off

Job summary

BAE Systems Inc. is seeking a Senior UI/UX leader to drive Human-Centered Design for its Digital Architecture Team in Nashua, NH. You will shape visual and interaction design, ensuring accessibility, compliance, and audit readiness across defense-focused products.

Lead end-to-end usability, produce wireframes and prototypes using Figma, Sketch, and XD, and govern a design system with DoD-related standards. Onsite role with opportunities to mentor and influence senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human-Centered Design, Human-Factors Engineering, Interaction Design, Industrial Design, Cognitive Psychology, Computer Science, or closely related discipline.
• 4+ years of professional experience in human-centered design, UI/UX, or related fields, including at least 2 years of leadership responsibilities.
• 3+ years in Agile/Scrum environments, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and PI planning.
• Strong working knowledge of DoD human-factors standards and accessibility guidelines (MIL-STD-1472, Section 508, ANSI/HFES 100).
• Experience building and governing design systems with component libraries and accessibility rules.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret clearance with U.S. citizenship.

Responsibilities

• Drive Human-Centered Design and UI/UX best practices across the team within the SAFe framework.
• Lead end-to-end usability from discovery to iteration, creating personas, journey maps, and design requirements.
• Develop and govern UI/UX design system across all products, with accessibility compliance.
• Run usability testing in lab, remote, or field settings and iterate designs based on results.
• Collaborate with product owners, architects, engineers, and DevSecOps to align UI/UX with backlogs and security.
• Document findings and integrate design artifacts into JIRA for traceability.

Skills

HCD leadership

Agile/Scrum

Design systems

DoD clearance

User research

Education

Bachelor's degree in HCD/related

Tools

SAFe

Figma

Sketch

Adobe XD

Axure

JIRA

Job description

BAE Systems’ Digital Architecture Team is building mission-critical software experiences where usability, accessibility, and human-centered rigor are treated as engineering requirements. In this Senior role, you will lead end-to-end human-centered design and usability activities while shaping the visual and interaction design direction for the team’s digital products, ensuring outcomes remain technically robust, compliant, and ready for audit.

Role scope

• Drive Human-Centered Design and UI/UX best practices across the Digital Architecture Team, embedding user-focus throughout the SAFe® development flow.
• Lead the end-to-end usability approach from discovery through iteration, translating findings into personas, journey maps, and actionable design requirements.
• Ensure deliverables support compliance with DoD human-factors standards, including MIL-STD-1472 and Section 508.

Key responsibilities

• Conduct user research using methods such as contextual inquiries, interviews, surveys, and field observations, then synthesize results into personas, journey maps, and defined requirements.
• Own interaction design activities, producing low-fi wireframes, high-fi mock-ups, and interactive prototypes for sprint planning and stakeholder review using tools including Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, and Axure.
• Develop and govern the UI/UX design system by creating, maintaining, and enforcing component libraries, style guides, and accessibility standards across all DAT products.
• Run formative and summative usability testing in lab-based, remote, or field settings; analyze outcomes, document findings, and iterate designs to meet the Definition of Done and MIL-STD-1472 / Section 508 compliance needs.
• Collaborate with product owners, system architects, software engineers, and DevSecOps teams to align UI/UX direction with ART backlog and PI objectives while supporting technical feasibility and security.
• Integrate design artifacts such as research insights, personas, user stories, and acceptance criteria into JIRA for end-to-end traceability across the sprint lifecycle.
• Maintain comprehensive design documentation, traceability matrices, and human-factors compliance evidence used for internal and external audits.
• Mentor junior designers and cross-functional team members in HCD methodologies, UI/UX tools, and usability testing techniques, including leading design critiques and review sessions.
• Present research, design concepts, and usability findings to senior leadership, customers, and external stakeholders, incorporating feedback into design improvements.
• Identify and remove design-related impediments, working with the Release Train Engineer to surface systemic barriers affecting user-experience delivery.
• Drive continuous improvement by capturing lessons learned, updating the team’s Definition of Done, and contributing to refinement of DAT Agile processes.
• Stay current on UI/UX trends, human-factors research, and defense-industry standards, applying relevant innovations to improve usability and effectiveness.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human-Centered Design, Human-Factors Engineering, Interaction Design, Industrial Design, Cognitive Psychology, Computer Science, or a closely related discipline (or equivalent professional experience).
• 4+ years of professional experience in human-centered design, UI/UX, or related fields, including at least 2 years of leadership or lead-designer responsibility.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience in Agile/Scrum environments, including participation in sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and PI planning.
• Strong working knowledge of human-factors standards and accessibility guidelines relevant to defense, including MIL-STD-1472, Section 508, and ANSI/HFES 100, with demonstrated experience applying them.
• Experience building and governing design systems, including component libraries, style guides, and accessibility rules that support consistency across multiple products.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret clearance with U.S. citizenship required.

Technologies

• SAFe®
• Figma
• Sketch
• Adobe XD
• Axure
• JIRA

Benefits

• Health, dental, and vision insurance (for regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week)
• Health savings accounts
• 401(k) savings plan
• Disability coverage
• Life and accident insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Legal plan
• Paid time off
• Paid holidays
• Paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave
• Employee recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards
• Discounts on items such as home, auto, and pet insurance
• Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics

Location: Nashua, NH (onsite). Salary: USD 97,008 - 164,914 per year. Employment type: Full-Time.