UX Lead / Senior Product Designer, Modeling & Simulation

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end UX for a complex, data-dense geospatial and simulation platform — from early concept through production-ready design specifications.
• Conduct user research with domain experts including operators, analysts, and mission planners.
• Surface mental models, workflow requirements, and pain points that users may not be able to articulate directly.
• Translate highly technical, domain-specific requirements into clear interaction patterns, information architectures, and user workflows.
• Build and iterate on prototypes (low to high fidelity) in close collaboration with the Product Manager — moving quickly from concept to testable artifact.
• Own the design system. Define and maintain consistent, implementable UI standards that the frontend engineering team can build against with confidence.
• Partner closely with frontend engineers to ensure design intent is executed correctly. Participate in implementation reviews and catch fidelity gaps early.
• Facilitate design reviews and research readouts with technical and non-technical stakeholders — including engineers, product leads, and customer teams.
• Manage and mentor UI/UX Designers and Researchers as the team grows, setting quality standards and design process.
• Contribute to product strategy. Bring user insight into roadmap conversations and advocate for decisions grounded in research, not assumptions.
• Document design decisions and rationale to support cross-functional alignment and institutional knowledge.

Requirements

• Strong user research skills — proficiency in interviews, contextual inquiry, usability testing, and synthesizing findings into actionable design direction.
• Demonstrated experience designing data-dense or geospatial interfaces — maps, dashboards, operational displays, or similar complex information environments.
• Proficiency in Figma, including prototyping, component libraries, and design system management.
• Ability to work in ambiguous, domain-heavy environments where users cannot always articulate what they need — comfort turning incomplete requirements into clear design hypotheses.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills. Able to run a design review or research readout with engineers, PMs, and customer stakeholders equally effectively.
• Experience working closely with a Product Manager as a peer — contributing to product thinking, not just executing on specifications.
• Strong written communication skills for documenting design rationale, research findings, and workflow logic.
• Comfort operating with high autonomy in a fast-moving environment with evolving requirements.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in UX design, product design, or human factors engineering.
• Experience designing for defense, aerospace, government, or other mission-critical software environments.
• Familiarity with military operator workflows, mission planning interfaces, or command-and-control systems.
• Experience designing for or within classified environments (SCIFs, air-gapped networks) where standard tooling and collaboration methods may be restricted.
• Understanding of accessibility standards in operational or low-light environments.
• Exposure to frontend engineering concepts (React, component libraries) sufficient to communicate implementation constraints with engineers.
• Active U.S. security clearance (Secret or Top Secret).
• Experience building or scaling a design system from early-stage to production.