UX/UI Designer - NASA

MORI Associates; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully remote work environment

Job summary

MORI Associates seeks a founding UX/UI Designer to lead the end-to-end user experience strategy for NASA analytics platforms. You will establish the design culture, create a foundational design system, define user personas, and conduct research to inform product improvements.

The role focuses on transforming complex NASA data into intuitive interfaces, dashboards, and reporting tools, with a strong emphasis on data visualization and usability. This is a fully remote position within the US.

Qualifications

• Eight years of related experience in analytics-focused, data-intensive applications.
• Strong portfolio showcasing complex data-driven product design work.
• Expertise in data visualization and communicating technical information clearly through design.
• Experience creating a design system from the ground up, including standards, documentation, and reusable components.
• Experience defining user personas and conducting user research that directly influences product design.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the design system from the ground up, including components, patterns, standards, and documentation.
• Lead user research and persona development; translate findings into actionable design recommendations.
• Design data-driven experiences: dashboards, data tables, visualizations, reporting interfaces, analytics platforms, data-exploration workflows.
• Create high-fidelity mockups, prototypes, and production-ready designs.
• Design intuitive workflows enabling users to discover, analyze, and act on information efficiently.
• Collaborate with engineers, data scientists, analysts, researchers, and program leadership to translate requirements into user-centered solutions.

Skills

Analytics-focused design

Data visualization

User research

Design systems

Communication skills

Portfolio development

Visual design

Education

Bachelor's degree in design / HCI / related discipline

Tools

Figma

Job description

Shape the Future of NASA Aeronautics Data Applications with MORI Associates

*Remote work*

At MORI Associates, we support some of the nation's most innovative scientific and engineering missions. We are seeking a talented UX/UI Designer to join the Digital Innovation & Integration Service Capability (DIISC) team within NASA's Aerospace Capabilities Portfolio Office (ACPO).

This is a unique opportunity to become the founding UX/UI design lead for a growing software development team that creates the analytics applications NASA's aeronautics community uses to explore test data, forecasts, financial information, and operational insights.

If you're passionate about transforming complex data into intuitive user experiences and excited by the challenge of building a design practice from the ground up, we'd love to hear from you.

About the Role

The DIISC team develops sophisticated, data-intensive software applications that support NASA researchers, engineers, analysts, and decisionmakers. As the team's first dedicated UX/UI Designer, you will own the end-to-end user experience strategy and execution across multiple analytics platforms.

This is more than a design role. You'll establish the team's design culture, create the foundational design system, define user personas, lead research efforts, and design the interfaces through which users interact with critical scientific and operational data.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience designing analytics-driven products, not just websites or marketing experiences. You understand how people consume and interact with complex data and can transform that complexity into elegant, effective user experiences.

What You'll Do

Build the Design Foundation

• Create and maintain the team's design system from the ground up, including components, patterns, standards, and documentation.
• Establish design governance and best practices that become the foundation for future application development.
• Serve as the authoritative source for UI consistency and usability standards.

Lead User Research & Persona Development

• Define user personas and user needs from scratch.
• Plan, facilitate, and synthesize user research activities.
• Translate findings into actionable design recommendations and product improvements.
• Champion the voice of the user throughout the development lifecycle.

Design Data-Driven Experiences

• Create high-fidelity mockups, prototypes, and production-ready designs for:
  • Dashboards
  • Data tables
  • Data visualizations
  • Reporting interfaces
  • Analytics platforms
  • Complex data-exploration workflows
• Design intuitive workflows that enable users to discover, analyze, and act on information efficiently.

Transform Data into Insight

• Design meaningful visual representations of complex and technical information.
• Select and implement visualization approaches that support user goals and decision-making.
• Improve clarity, usability, and accessibility across data-centric applications.

Drive UX Excellence

• Develop user flows, journey maps, wireframes, interaction models, and other UX deliverables.
• Present, explain, and defend design recommendations to stakeholders and technical teams.
• Continuously improve usability through iterative design and feedback.

Collaborate Across Disciplines

• Partner closely with software engineers, data scientists, analysts, researchers, and program leadership.
• Translate business and technical requirements into user-centered solutions.
• Help bridge the gap between technical complexity and user needs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), User Experience Design, or a related discipline; equivalent professional experience will also be considered.
• Eight years of related experience
• Demonstrated experience where the primary body of work involves analytics-focused, data-intensive applications, including:
  • Dashboards
  • Data tables
  • Data visualization
  • Reporting systems
  • Analytics platforms
  • Data-exploration workflows
• Strong portfolio showcasing complex data-driven product design work.
• Proven expertise in data visualization and communicating technical information clearly through design.
• Advanced proficiency with Figma.
• Experience creating a design system from the ground up, including standards, documentation, and reusable components.
• Experience defining user personas and conducting user research that directly influences product design.
• Strong visual design, interaction design, and information architecture skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to make and justify design decisions independently.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• US citizenship

If hired, candidates must go to a NASA center and pickup their NASA badge NLT than their first day of employment and cover any costs involved in this travel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong data literacy and the ability to understand data structures, relationships, and sources without serving in a formal data analyst role.
• Experience designing software for scientific, engineering, technical, or government environments.
• Ability to quickly learn complex technical domains and translate them into intuitive user experiences.
• Familiarity with accessibility standards and best practices for enterprise applications.
• Experience collaborating within Agile software development teams.

Why Join MORI Associates?

• Work on impactful applications that support NASA's aeronautics mission.
• Become the founding UX/UI design leader on a highly visible team.
• Influence products from concept through implementation.
• Collaborate with talented engineers, scientists, analysts, and innovators.
• Fully remote work environment with meaningful mission-driven projects.
• Opportunity to establish and mature a design practice with lasting organizational impact.

Ready to Build the Future of NASA Analytics?

If you're a designer who thrives in complex, data-rich environments and wants the opportunity to create a design function from the ground up, we encourage you to apply.

Join MORI Associates and help transform how NASA's aeronautics community discovers, understands, and uses critical data.

Equal Opportunity Employer

MORI Associates is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive workplace where all employees are valued and respected. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic