User Experience Designer (Firearms Industry)

About the Agency

We are a leading digital growth partner for firearm, optics, accessory, and tactical brands in the shooting sports industry. We help these companies grow responsibly through expert SEO, lifecycle marketing, and custom web development tailored to industry regulations and technical needs. By combining deep expertise with data-driven strategies and precise execution, we give brands a competitive edge in a highly regulated and visibility-limited market. We believe shooting industry brands deserve the same level of innovation and strategic support as any other vertical, partnering closely with founders and marketing leaders to build digital foundations that foster long-term, measurable growth.

About the Role

We are looking for a seasoned UI/UX Designer to join us on a contract basis for a BigCommerce store migration project. This is not an execution-only role. We need a strategic thinker who can assess what is broken, simplify the experience, and deliver a website that is intuitive, conversion-optimized, and built to perform in a regulated industry. The ideal candidate works efficiently, leverages AI tools and modern workflows to stay sharp, and brings a high level of craft and accountability to every deliverable. The project scope is defined with a set timeline, and while this is a contract engagement, strong performance could lead to future opportunities with the agency.

Selected candidates will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) prior to project kickoff.

Responsibilities

Strategy and Discovery

• Evaluate the current site experience to surface strategic opportunities for improving structure, navigation, and conversion performance
• Develop a clear site hierarchy and information architecture that simplifies the user journey and meets SEO requirements
• Apply ecommerce best practices and CRO thinking to every design decision, from page structure to component-level choices
• Navigate the constraints of a regulated industry (firearms) with appropriate design and content considerations
• Use AI-assisted tools and research methods where appropriate to accelerate discovery and inform strategic recommendations

Design and Execution

• Maintain the existing brand style while meaningfully improving the usability and visual clarity of the storefront
• Design within the BigCommerce environment, ideally leveraging or adapting the Roots theme
• Produce complete, production-ready Figma files including a full component library, typography and color palette guide, animation definitions, interaction states, and all relevant page designs
• Ensure all designs meet ADA accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA or higher), including color contrast, focus states, and screen reader compatibility
• Collaborate closely with the team throughout the engagement to align on priorities and iterate efficiently

Communication and Delivery

• Lead client-facing design presentations, walking stakeholders through decisions clearly and with confidence
• Present design rationale clearly and tie decisions back to business and user goals
• Serve as a proactive design communicator, anticipating questions and guiding clients through the design process rather than waiting to be directed
• Manage your workload against the agency-defined project timeline, flagging risks or blockers proactively
• Participate in feedback rounds with defined turnaround expectations and incorporate revisions cleanly
• Maintain organized, well-documented Figma files that are immediately handoff-ready for development

Qualifications

• 5+ years of UI/UX design experience with a strong ecommerce portfolio that demonstrates measurable impact
• Deep understanding of conversion rate optimization (CRO) principles and how design drives performance
• Mastery of Figma; all design work for this engagement is required to be completed in Figma
• Experience with BigCommerce; familiarity with the Roots theme is a significant plus
• Solid working knowledge of ADA and WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards and how to apply them in production-ready design
• Ability to think strategically about site architecture, hierarchy, and navigation, not just visual design
• Comfort working in a regulated industry; experience in the SHOT industry, firearms, defense, or adjacent verticals is a plus
• Demonstrated ability to work efficiently and independently, including the use of AI tools to improve output quality and speed
• Strong communication and self-management skills suited to contract work with defined deliverables and timelines

US-based preferred; must be fully available during Central timezone business hours.