Digital Accessibility Specialist

HNTB • Chicago, IL

396d • $138,959 - $217,346

About The Position

The candidate will work within HNTB's Creative Engagement Solutions Team, focusing on delivering innovative web applications in the transportation industry. This role emphasizes collaboration, creativity, and ensuring digital applications meet accessibility standards. The ideal candidate will act as a subject matter expert, supporting both internal and external clients while managing multiple projects related to digital accessibility.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field and 10 years of relevant experience, or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field and 9 years of relevant experience, or in lieu of education, 14 years of relevant experience.
• In-depth understanding of digital accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG, Section 508) and best practices for creating inclusive digital experiences.
• Proficiency in using accessibility testing tools and assistive technologies and experience in how to implement them within digital platforms.
• Strong communication skills to advocate for accessibility within cross-functional teams and the ability to educate clients on accessibility principles and standards.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) and proficiency in HTML, including HTML5 elements.
• Strong understanding and familiarity with accessibility testing tools and assistive technologies, like screen readers.
• Proven experience in identifying and resolving accessibility issues, including providing technical guidance for remediation efforts to ensure conformance with WCAG and Section 508 standards.
• Certifications related to accessibility, such as WAS, CPWA, CPACC, NVDA, or JAWS, is a plus.
• CSS and JavaScript experience is a plus.
• Communications and/or public engagement background is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provides single point of contact for technology projects and products and/or lead specific technical or functional portions of a project.
• Determines scope of work and objectives; estimates project costs and prepares proposals and contracts.
• Manages project budget, schedule, communications, and documentation.
• Assists in the development of marketing and collateral material relating to technology services or products.
• Contributes to business development efforts, including calculation of cost, risk, and scope, and assists in preparation of responses to RFPs, RFIs, and RFQs by providing expertise on specialized products.
• Applies expert business skills and consulting methodologies to collect and analyze data to determine the applicability, functionality, and viability of new technologies.
• Advocates for internal and external clients by establishing user groups and acting as a liaison between users and the technology office.
• Supports assignments for both internal resources and external contractors to meet project requirements.
• Researches new and emerging technologies and assesses feasibility applications to current and future business needs.
• Analyzes business unit activities and trends and compares analyses against service standards and best practices.
• Presents findings to business unit leadership and identifies and implements strategies that will address tactical and strategic goals.
• Works with clients and technology office staff to identify, analyze, design, develop, and implement fully integrated solutions of moderate complexity that support HNTB's products, service, and/or business processes.
• Develops detailed documentation of business systems and user needs, including workflow, program functions, and steps required to develop or modify compute programs or systems.
• Reviews use cases and other technical documents with technology office project staff to ensure business requirements are adequately reflected in technical planning.
• Defines, develops, and implements quality assurance practices and end user test plans.
• Ensures process, conducted and documentation accurately reflects the current status of changes and outstanding issues so that business requirements reflect application features and functions.
• Identifies training and development requirements of user groups and provides support when required by designing and developing training initiatives.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• 401k
• 401k matching
• Paid holidays
• Flexible scheduling
• Professional development
• Tuition reimbursement
• Employee discount programs

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Industry: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree