UX Researcher

Focus is a fully remote digital services company that partners with state and federal agencies to build enduring services. Their team of engineers, designers, and product managers is large enough to have worked on systems serving millions but remains lean and flexible.

Our UX Team

Focus’s UX team consists of designers and researchers who prioritize curiosity, collaboration, and thoughtful processes. As the team grows, there are opportunities to expand beyond project-specific work, making it an exciting time to join.

We seek candidates who can share the messy process behind their work—not just the final outcome. Highlight your wins and misses, your approach, what energizes you, and what matters to you.

The Project

You will collaborate with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to develop a platform for grant recipients to submit and manage forms, while ACF staff review submissions. These grants support services addressing poverty across the country.

In the first year of this project, the team has learned significantly and built an initial platform version for Tribes. The focus now shifts to scaling the platform to more forms by understanding how states currently use these systems. Your role will involve outreach to grant recipients, conducting user research, and gathering insights to inform future development and scaling decisions.

What You’ll Do

• Research Work

  • Support the design lead in planning and executing research efforts.
  • Lead outreach and recruitment of grant recipients for interviews and usability testing.
  • Utilize AI to enhance research processes, determining best practices and standards.

• Service Blueprinting

  • Collaborate with the design lead to map current grant reporting workflows, identifying pain points and opportunities to reduce burden.

• Translating Research into Decisions

  • Present research findings to product and engineering teams to inform priorities and key decisions.
  • Conduct discovery and validation in parallel with delivery, maintaining flexibility as priorities evolve.

• Client Management

  • Build strong relationships with current clients and expand connections across ACF program offices.
  • Facilitate client discussions and guide diverse perspectives toward shared direction.

• Documentation

  • Ensure client-facing communications are well-documented.
  • Maintain internal documentation, including design artifacts and research repositories, to ensure transparency and alignment across teams and clients.

• Seek Growth In

  • Contribute to wireframing and prototyping as needed.
  • Engage in content design work as needed.
  • Facilitate client discussions toward shared direction.
  • Use AI to build research workflows and repositories.

Additional Details

Consider the following, especially if you are new to government work:

• Each project is unique, offering opportunities to apply your skills in new and familiar ways.
• Project momentum may fluctuate due to scope, capacity, evolving deadlines, and overall project maturity.
• Access to tools and software can vary between projects due to government-wide policies.
• Privacy, policy, and security constraints may introduce slowdowns or complexity.
• Documenting your work is essential for transparency and shared understanding.
• Most projects involve collaboration with cross-functional teams across multiple contracting companies.

Requirements

• 2–5 years of practical experience in service design and/or UX research.
• Strong client management and communication skills.
• Experience working within cross-functional teams.
• Ability to obtain and hold a federal public trust clearance.
• Lived in the U.S. for 3 out of the last 5 years.
• Nice to have: Experience designing digital forms and the workflows around them.