Senior UX Researcher & IA Designer (Remote)

Stellar Professionals; Des Moines (IA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Part time

Job summary

Iowa Department of Management (DOM) / Division of Information Technology (DoIT) is seeking a Senior UX Designer / Researcher to lead UX research, usability testing, and accessibility-first designs for high-priority state modernization initiatives, starting with the SRI platform.

The role emphasizes no coding, collaboration with agency product owners, and extending USWDS-based design systems to ensure a consistent user experience across Iowa state agency platforms.

Qualifications

• 8+ years executing usability labs, heuristic evaluations, user journey mapping, persona development, and card sorting.
• 8+ years structuring complex enterprise data categories, wireframing, and building interactive prototypes in Figma.
• 8+ years designing accessible web applications with WCAG 2.2 AA, focus management, keyboard navigation, color contrast.
• Proven ability to translate research insights into clear design documentation for engineers and state leaders.

Responsibilities

• UX Research & Usability Testing: design and conduct usability labs, interviews, heuristic evaluations, card-sorting, and heat map analyses to reduce workflow friction.
• Information Architecture & Prototyping: map complex data workflows into intuitive user journeys and wireframes; build interactive Figma prototypes.
• Accessibility-First Design: integrate WCAG 2.2 AA standards into design systems, ensure focus management and keyboard navigation compliance.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: partner with lead UX/Accessibility Architect and development teams to communicate findings and recommendations.

Skills

UX Research & Testing

Information Architecture

Accessibility Mastery

Technical Communication

Education

HCI program / certifications

Tools

Figma

Crazy Egg

Hotjar

USWDS

Job description

Iowa Department of Management (DOM) / Division of Information Technology (DoIT) is seeking a Senior UX Designer / Researcher to lead UX research, usability testing, and accessibility-first designs for high-priority state modernization initiatives, starting with the SRI platform.

The role emphasizes no coding, collaboration with agency product owners, and extending USWDS-based design systems to ensure a consistent user experience across Iowa state agency platforms.