User Experience (UX) Field Researcher

About the Role

SAIC is seeking an experienced UX Field Researcher to support a mission-critical modernization program delivering a modular, adaptable software suite of essential capabilities across multiple warfighting functions. This role serves as the critical link between operational end-users and design and development teams, capturing real-world user behaviors, needs, and pain points to drive intuitive, mission-effective software experiences. The work is to be performed at the customer site at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD, and is contingent upon award news in Fall 2026.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute field research studies, contextual inquiries, and usability evaluations with operational end-users across multiple echelons, security domains, and mission environments
• Translate observed user behaviors, workflows, and pain points into actionable design insights, personas, journey maps, and user stories that inform platform development priorities
• Serve as the primary advocate for the end-user, ensuring Human System Integration (HSI) principles and UI/UX best practices are embedded throughout the software development lifecycle
• Evaluate and validate platform usability, including navigation, workflow efficiency, data visualization, symbology rendering, and overall user experience against operational requirements and mission context
• Support testing and validation of tactical edge configurations, ensuring user experience requirements account for operations in Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, and Low Bandwidth (DDIL) environments
• Participate in product demonstrations, design reviews, and agile development cycles, providing rapid user-centered assessment of solution compliance and operational utility
• Collaborate with vendors, partners, requirements analysts, and Government stakeholders to ensure user research findings are accurately captured, communicated, and translated into verifiable design requirements

Qualifications

Required Clearance: Active Secret clearance required; TS/SCI preferred.

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Factors Engineering, Cognitive Science, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Design, or a related discipline
• Master's Degree preferred in Human Factors, UX Design, Cognitive Engineering, or a related technical or behavioral science field

Experience

• Six (6+) years of progressive experience in UX research, human factors engineering, or a closely related field
• Minimum of three (3) years supporting defense, military, or interagency programs at the operational or acquisition level
• Demonstrated experience planning and executing field research, contextual inquiries, and usability studies in complex or operationally constrained environments
• Proficiency in tools such as UserZoom, Dovetail, Optimal Workshop, or equivalent platforms
• Experience working within agile development frameworks such as SAFe, Scrum, or Kanban
• Familiarity with Human System Integration (HSI) standards, accessibility requirements, and usability demands of classified and operationally constrained network environments
• Experience conducting research across cloud-based and tactical edge platforms, including assessment under DDIL conditions and constrained hardware environments
• Background in data visualization, military symbology, and workflow analysis with familiarity in targeting, collection management, and intelligence analysis operational contexts
• Demonstrated ability to present research findings, facilitate design workshops, and influence senior stakeholders in fast-paced, dynamic environments

Pay

Target salary range: $80,001 - $120,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.

Location: Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, US | Schedule: Full-Time | Travel: Yes - 10% of the time