UX Researcher

ICF • Reston, AL

20h • $81,499 - $138,549 • Remote

About The Position

ICF's Digital Modernization Division is seeking a human-centered UX Researcher to join a team accelerating the modernization of a large federal agency's enterprise data and analytics ecosystem. This cloud-based platform provides data storage, analytics, governance, and AI/ML capabilities. The role involves applying human-centered design and evidence-based research practices to understand user needs, behaviors, and challenges. The UX Researcher will conduct and synthesize qualitative and quantitative research to uncover insights, reduce customer friction, validate design decisions, and inform product, service, and operational improvements. This position requires collaboration with cross-functional teams to translate findings into actionable recommendations and shape solutions that are useful, usable, accessible, and aligned with customer and organizational goals. This role is contingent upon a contract award and is not an immediate opening, but interviews and offers are being extended in anticipation of the award.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship is required due to federal contract requirements.
• Candidate must reside in the U.S., be authorized to work in the U.S., and all work must be performed in the U.S.
• Candidate must have lived in the U.S. for three (3) full years out of the last five (5) years.
• Bachelor's degree in Human-Centered Design, UX Research, Psychology, Human Factors, Anthropology, Sociology, Design Research, Information Science, or related field; or a high school diploma with four (4) additional years of relevant experience in lieu of a bachelor's degree.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience aligned to the responsibilities of this role.
• Master's degree in related field may substitute for two (2) years of relevant experience.
• Strong mixed-method research (qualitative, quantitative, surveys), synthesis, and presentation skills.
• Experience developing personas, journey maps, service blueprints, empathy maps, and customer experience artifacts that inform product and service design decisions.
• Experience utilizing research and collaboration tools such as Miro, Figma, UserZoom, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Dovetail, Microsoft Forms, or similar platforms.
• Understanding of research ethics and best practices to protect participants and control bias, including informed consent, personally identifiable information, NDAs, and related concepts.
• Understanding of usability and accessibility including heuristic and expert methods.
• Highly effective analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong organization, attention to detail, and the ability to prioritize and manage multiple responsibilities.
• Collaborative cross-functional approach with a commitment to quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Complete tasks effectively and on schedule as part of a broader development team.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting Federal government, healthcare, or other highly regulated environments.
• Active or past clearance to work with Veterans Affairs.
• Experience working in Agile, cross-functional delivery teams.
• Understanding of accessibility, inclusive design, Section 508 compliance, and human-centered design principles.
• Experience supporting federal service design, analytics platforms, or enterprise technology modernization initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Support the UX vision and strategy in alignment with project goals and business objectives.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to frame the problem, develop hypothesis, and create research plans.
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative research, including discovery interviews, usability testing, contextual inquiry, surveys, and journey-based research.
• Develop and maintain research artifacts such as personas, journey maps, and experience assessments.
• Analyze customer feedback to identify needs, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.
• Synthesize research findings into clear, actionable, insights and recommendations.
• Communicate research findings and user outcomes clearly, objectively, and persuasively.
• Evaluate intake, onboarding, and enablement experiences to reduce customer friction and improve outcomes.
• Inform service design, product, CRM/workflow improvements, training needs, and continuous-improvement priorities, through research-driven recommendations.
• Partner with UX design, service design, product, engineering, and other cross-functional stakeholders to support decision-making and solution development.
• Advocate for user needs and ensure users are involved throughout the design and validation process.
• Apply human-centered design, accessibility, and federal service design principles to improve customer experiences.
• Document research activities, findings, decisions, risks, and supporting evidence to ensure traceability and continuous improvement.
• Participate in Agile process to learn quickly and iterate on the user experience.

Benefits

• ICF is an equal opportunity employer.
• Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not limited to, for disabled veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs, in all phases of the application and employment process.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level