AI‑fluent Product Designer (contract)

Description

Summary: In this contingent resource assignment, you may:

• Consult as an expert to develop or influence initiatives and resources for highly complex business and technical needs across experience design, such as content design, design programs, design research and strategy, or product design.
• Consult on the strategy and resolution of highly complex and unique challenges requiring in-depth evaluation across multiple areas, delivering solutions that are long-term, large-scale and require vision, creativity, innovation, and advanced analytical and inductive thinking.
• Provide expertise to client senior leadership on innovative experience design business solutions.
• Strategically engage with client personnel.

Required Qualifications

• Experience design, content design, design programs, design research and strategy, or product design experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work or consulting experience, training, military experience, education.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and execute User-Centered Design (UCD) processes from discovery to delivery.
• Translate complex functional requirements and user insights into simple, elegant, and accessible user interfaces built upon user flows, low- to high-fidelity wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes using Figma.
• Leverage AI-assisted workflows where appropriate to improve speed and quality (e.g., prototyping acceleration and design-to-code collaboration).
• Collaborate within Agile/Scrum teams, participating in sprints, stand-ups, planning sessions, and retrospectives.
• Perform lightweight, early validation of designs and prototypes (e.g., time-boxed UX reviews, quick usability checks and accessibility basics) to catch issues before development and reduce rework.
• Advocate for consistent design system components, UI controls and patterns, and accessibility best practices.
• Iterate designs based on user feedback and usability data to ensure the best possible experience.
• Maintain clear and concise design documentation to support development handoff (interaction details, states, accessibility notes, and component usage guidance).
• Partner with engineering to design and ship reusable UI patterns/components; contribute improvements back to shared design system assets including component specs, states, and accessibility defaults.
• Deliver core product design work while scaling reusable UI patterns/components and lightweight guidance (templates, examples, best practices) for broader adoption across multiple product engineering teams.
• May oversee work performed by others and serve as a mentor.
• Presents and defends designs and key milestone deliverables to peers and senior stakeholders.
• Participates in roadmap planning and virtual teams; represents customer experience to our partners. Serves as SME for all aspects of customer experience.

Key Requirements

• Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.
• UX design experience. Preference will be given to candidates who have experience designing complex solutions in diverse technology stacks.
• Proficiency in Figma for wireframing, prototyping, and design collaboration.
• A strong understanding of User-Centered Design (UCD) principles, methods, and tools.
• Strong experience working in Agile environments, closely collaborating with cross-functional teams.
• Experience partnering closely with engineering on implementation details, including component behavior, states, and accessibility requirements for production-ready handoff.
• Demonstrated ability to create and maintain detailed user journey maps and user flows.
• Familiarity with usability testing, accessibility (WCAG), and responsive design best practices.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and visual – able to clearly articulate design decisions and rationale.
• Extensive experience in using and implementing UX design best practices to design solutions in large organizations.
• Ability to work with stakeholders to understand strategic vision and detailed requirements and design complete user experiences that meet business goals and user needs.