Who we are:

Raft (https://goraft.tech) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional small business with purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development, with headquarters in Reston, VA. Our range of clients include innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting edge tech stack, and cloud native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.

Our team is rapidly growing and looking for an experienced UX Researcher & Designer to contribute to development efforts and join our passionate team of high-impact problem solvers. We enjoy the challenges of human-centered design, security, and scale to create better outcomes for our federal agency partners.

What you will do:

• Build a deep understanding of the user's needs and passionately advocate on their behalf to deliver innovative solutions at the nexus of usability and usefulness
• Detangle complexity through generative and evaluative research: planning and facilitating observational studies, interview sessions, workshops, and usability studies
• Document key findings and insights and communicate complex concepts visually if the form of research artifacts that can referenced by developers and stakeholders: personas, journey maps, affinity diagrams, wireframes
• Create wireframes, mock ups, and prototypes to validate designs before development hand-off
• Design and deliver visually engaging interface designs that comply with accessibility standards and usability guidelines, creating beautiful software solutions for the betterment of government tech
• Communicate with developers throughout the research – design – development – delivery lifecycle for smooth handoffs
• Practice continuous learning, stay up-to-date on industry best practices, and bring your unique ideas and perspective to the team
• Work with a fun and passionate team who shares your energy and enthusiasm for human-centered design

What we are looking for:

• 3+ years industry experience
• Experience in the full spectrum of UX methods and activities: UX Strategy & Planning, IA, user flows, journey mapping, wireframes, visual design, interaction design, workshop facilitation, qualitative research, quantitative research, analysis
• Experience working in an Agile environment collaborating with PMs, developers, engineers, stakeholders, users, and other UX Designers
• Currently Active Secret Clearance

Highly preferred:

• Willing to occasionally meet on-site SCIF with customers in the San Antonio, TX area
• Currently Active Top Secret Clearance
• Prior experience with the Department of Defense is preferred

Location: This position 85% remote; 15% onsite; based out of San Antonio, TX

What we will offer you:

• Highly competitive salary
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) and company match
• Unlimited PTO + 11 paid holidays
• Education & training benefits
• Annual budget for your tech/gadgets needs
• Monthly box of yummy snacks to eat while doing meaningful work
• Team off-site in fun places!
• Generous Referral Bonuses
• And More!

Our Vision Statement:

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession with the mission.

Our Customer Obsession:

We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?

Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successful, our generation and the ones that follow us will live in a delightful, efficient, and accessible world where out-of-box thinking, and collaboration is a norm.

Raft's core philosophy is Ubuntu: I Am, Because We are. We support our "nadi" by elevating the other Rafters. We work as a hyper collaborative team where each team member brings a unique perspective, adding value that did not exist before. People make Raft special. We celebrate each other and our cognitive and cultural diversity. We are devoted to our practice of innovation and collaboration.

We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.