Senior Human Centered Design & UI/UX Engineer

BAE Systems’ Digital Architecture Team is building mission-critical software experiences where usability, accessibility, and human-centered rigor are treated as engineering requirements. In this Senior role, you will lead end-to-end human-centered design and usability activities while shaping the visual and interaction design direction for the team’s digital products, ensuring outcomes remain technically robust, compliant, and ready for audit.

Role scope

Drive Human-Centered Design and UI/UX best practices across the Digital Architecture Team, embedding user-focus throughout the SAFe® development flow.

Lead the end-to-end usability approach from discovery through iteration, translating findings into personas, journey maps, and actionable design requirements.

Ensure deliverables support compliance with DoD human-factors standards, including MIL-STD-1472 and Section 508 .

Key responsibilities

Conduct user research using methods such as contextual inquiries , interviews, surveys, and field observations , then synthesize results into personas, journey maps, and defined requirements.

Own interaction design activities, producing low-fi wireframes , high-fi mock-ups , and interactive prototypes for sprint planning and stakeholder review using tools including Figma , Sketch , Adobe XD , and Axure .

Develop and govern the UI/UX design system by creating, maintaining, and enforcing component libraries, style guides, and accessibility standards across all DAT products.

Run formative and summative usability testing in lab-based, remote, or field settings; analyze outcomes, document findings, and iterate designs to meet the Definition of Done and MIL-STD-1472 / Section 508 compliance needs.

Collaborate with product owners, system architects, software engineers, and DevSecOps teams to align UI/UX direction with ART backlog and PI objectives while supporting technical feasibility and security.

Integrate design artifacts such as research insights, personas, user stories, and acceptance criteria into JIRA for end-to-end traceability across the sprint lifecycle.

Maintain comprehensive design documentation, traceability matrices, and human-factors compliance evidence used for internal and external audits.

Mentor junior designers and cross-functional team members in HCD methodologies, UI/UX tools, and usability testing techniques, including leading design critiques and review sessions.

Present research, design concepts, and usability findings to senior leadership, customers, and external stakeholders, incorporating feedback into design improvements.

Identify and remove design-related impediments, working with the Release Train Engineer to surface systemic barriers affecting user-experience delivery.

Drive continuous improvement by capturing lessons learned, updating the team’s Definition of Done, and contributing to refinement of DAT Agile processes.

Stay current on UI/UX trends, human-factors research, and defense-industry standards, applying relevant innovations to improve usability and effectiveness.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human-Centered Design, Human-Factors Engineering, Interaction Design, Industrial Design, Cognitive Psychology, Computer Science, or a closely related discipline (or equivalent professional experience).

4+ years of professional experience in human-centered design, UI/UX, or related fields, including at least 2 years of leadership or lead-designer responsibility.

3+ years of hands-on experience in Agile/Scrum environments, including participation in sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and PI planning.

Strong working knowledge of human-factors standards and accessibility guidelines relevant to defense, including MIL-STD-1472 , Section 508 , and ANSI/HFES 100 , with demonstrated experience applying them.

Experience building and governing design systems, including component libraries, style guides, and accessibility rules that support consistency across multiple products.

Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret clearance with U.S. citizenship required .

Technologies

SAFe®

Figma

Sketch

Adobe XD

Axure

JIRA

Benefits

Health, dental, and vision insurance (for regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week)

Health savings accounts

401(k) savings plan

Disability coverage

Life and accident insurance

Employee assistance program

Legal plan

Paid time off

Paid holidays

Paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave

Employee recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards

Discounts on items such as home, auto, and pet insurance

Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics

Location: Nashua, NH (onsite). Salary: USD 97,008 - 164,914 per year. Employment type: Full-Time.

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