Lead UI/UX Designer (Only Local Candidate and F2F Interview)

Job Title: Lead UX Designer

Location: Baltimore, MD (On-site, with hybrid model)
Job Type: Contract

Job Summary

We are looking for an experienced Lead UX Designer to support a large-scale State of Maryland OIT program. The Lead UX Designer will work closely with business stakeholders, product owners, project managers, developers, architects, DoIT/DGS teams, and implementation partners to define and deliver user-centered digital experiences.

The selected candidate will lead UX strategy and design activities, establish UX standards, create design artifacts, conduct user research and usability testing, and ensure that applications meet accessibility and user-centered design requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead UX strategy, research, and design activities across enterprise applications.
• Support the Launchpad process by developing UX requirements, workflows, wireframes, prototypes, and supporting documentation.
• Conduct stakeholder interviews, user research, workshops, usability assessments, and feedback sessions.
• Create personas, user journeys, user flows, process maps, information architecture, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity UI designs.
• Translate complex business and technical requirements into simple, intuitive, and user-centered experiences.
• Facilitate UX/design sessions with business users and technical teams.
• Establish and maintain UX standards, patterns, and design systems across applications.
• Ensure designs meet ADA and accessibility requirements, including applicable WCAG standards and State of Maryland guidelines.
• Collaborate closely with product owners, business analysts, developers, architects, project managers, vendors, and senior leadership.
• Review vendor and implementation-partner deliverables to ensure UX requirements and standards are followed.
• Provide UX recommendations for product roadmaps, enhancements, solution decisions, and prioritization.
• Identify usability issues and UX risks before development or production.
• Maintain UX documentation and design artifacts as a centralized source of truth.
• Support User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and incorporate user feedback into iterative improvements.
• Ensure UX decisions are supported by measurable user and business outcomes.
• Provide knowledge transfer and maintain UX continuity as external resources transition from the project.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in UX Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Information Architecture, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 8+ years of professional experience in UX/UI Design, Product Design, Interaction Design, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading UX activities for large-scale enterprise or government applications.
• Strong experience with:
• User Research
• User Journey Mapping
• Personas
• User Flows
• Information Architecture
• Wireframing
• Prototyping
• Usability Testing
• High-Fidelity UI Design
• Experience working in Agile / product-development environments.
• Strong understanding of user-centered design and accessibility principles.
• Experience working with business stakeholders, technical teams, vendors, and senior leadership.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, presentation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to simplify complex business processes into intuitive user experiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with delivery/project management.
• Experience with government, ERP, or enterprise systems.
• Previous experience supporting State of Maryland or other public-sector IT projects.
• Experience with Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, or similar UX/design tools.
• Experience establishing enterprise UX standards, design systems, and reusable design patterns.
• Experience with WCAG, ADA, and accessibility compliance.