User Experience Designer jobs in Fort Meade, MD
User Experience Designer (UXD)
User research, interaction design, prototypes, data visualization, usability testing, and design systems for cleared mission applications.
Apply for this RoleGS Consulting Environment
Designing for High Pressure Mission Work
Powerful software is not useful if the user cannot understand what to do next. In mission environments, bad UX is more than an annoyance. It slows analysis, hides risk, increases mistakes, and makes complex systems harder to trust.
At GS Consulting, User Experience Designers bridge the gap between technical capability and human decision making. This role is for designers who can study how mission users work, turn that research into clear workflows, and help engineering teams build interfaces that solve the real problem on the ground.
The Work
What the Role Looks Like Day to Day
UXD work is not just producing screens. You may interview users, map a workflow, review a prototype with engineers, analyze where a dashboard is confusing, revise a component pattern, or test whether an analyst can complete a task without extra explanation.
A typical day may include wireframes, user flows, design reviews, usability sessions, data visualization decisions, design system updates, and coordination with software engineers who need clear specs. The work rewards designers who can make complexity easier to use without oversimplifying the mission.
Mission and Responsibilities
Core Responsibilities
Our User Experience Designers own the usability of complex mission platforms. Depending on your LCAT level, you will be expected to:
- Lead user centered design work, including user research, task analysis, and cognitive walkthroughs with mission users.
- Create wireframes, user flows, interaction models, and high fidelity prototypes using modern design tools.
- Collaborate with software engineers, project managers, and stakeholders to make sure designs are feasible and implemented accurately.
- Design dashboards, data visualizations, and workflows that turn complex mission information into usable insight.
- Conduct usability testing, heuristic evaluations, and design reviews to identify friction and improve mission workflows.
Design Domains
Required Design Domains
Successful User Experience Designers at GS Consulting bring hands on design experience across these domains:
- User centered design and human computer interaction principles
- Wireframing, prototyping, and interaction design
- User research, task analysis, and usability testing
- Design systems and UI component architecture
- Data visualization and dashboard design
- Front end implementation constraints including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript concepts
Preferred Degree Fields
A degree in Human Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, Interaction Design, Psychology, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field is preferred. A strong portfolio showing complex software, workflow design, dashboard design, or mission relevant UX work is highly valuable.
Tools and Mission Context
Good Design Has to Survive the Mission Workflow
Strong UXD candidates may use Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, design systems, research notes, journey maps, prototypes, and usability findings. Those tools are useful, but the real value is understanding the mission workflow well enough to remove friction without removing the context users need.
You may work with software engineers, project managers, analysts, product owners, security teams, and government stakeholders. GS Consulting looks for designers who can advocate for the user while still respecting technical constraints, delivery timelines, and customer mission requirements.
Compensation
Estimated Compensation Range
Estimated compensation for User Experience Designer roles ranges from $100,000 to $200,000 per year. Final compensation depends on LCAT level, years of relevant experience, clearance status, customer requirements, contract fit, and location expectations.
The range is intentionally broad because this posting covers Levels 1 through 4. A junior UXD may support research and design production, while a senior UXD may lead research strategy, define design systems, and guide product direction across complex mission workflows.
Qualification Paths
LCAT Qualification Paths
We are actively staffing billets across all four User Experience Designer levels. Relevant experience should involve UI or UX design, user research, interaction design, usability testing, design systems, or complex software workflows.
Level 1
- Bachelor Degree plus 2 years of experience
- Master Degree plus 0 years of experience
Level 2
- Bachelor Degree plus 5 years of experience
- Master Degree plus 3 years of experience
- Doctorate plus 0 years of experience
Level 3
- Bachelor Degree plus 8 years of experience
- Master Degree plus 6 years of experience
- Doctorate plus 4 years of experience
Level 4
- Bachelor Degree plus 11 years of experience
- Master Degree plus 9 years of experience
- Doctorate plus 7 years of experience
Career Growth
How UX Designers Grow Across Levels
Growth in this role is not just stronger visuals. It shows up as better research judgment, clearer workflow thinking, stronger collaboration with engineers, and the ability to make complex mission tools easier to use without losing analytical depth.
At GS Consulting, that growth can mean leading research efforts, shaping design systems, mentoring junior designers, improving product discovery, or moving into roles that connect UX, program delivery, software engineering, and mission operations.
Why GS Consulting
A Focused Team for Mission Design
UX can become decoration when it is too far from the user and the mission. GS Consulting keeps design connected to real workflows. We care about whether the interface helps users think, move, decide, and avoid mistakes under pressure.
If you want to design tools where usability has direct mission relevance, this is the right kind of role. We are looking for people who can ask better questions, simplify complex workflows, and work with engineers to make useful software real.
Role Questions
User Experience Designer FAQ
What does a User Experience Designer do?
A User Experience Designer researches how mission users work, turns those findings into workflows and prototypes, and helps engineering teams build interfaces that reduce friction. The role includes user research, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing, data visualization, design systems, and collaboration with software engineers and project managers.
What clearance is required for GS Consulting UXD roles?
GS Consulting User Experience Designer roles require an active TS/SCI clearance. Candidates must also meet customer, contract, and site access requirements for the specific billet. If additional customer screening is required, that will be handled during recruiting rather than posted as public qualification language.
What experience is required for UXD Level 1, 2, 3, and 4?
Level 1 starts at a Bachelor Degree plus 2 years or a Master Degree plus 0 years. Level 2 ranges from 0 to 5 years depending on degree path. Level 3 ranges from 4 to 8 years. Level 4 ranges from 7 to 11 years. Relevant experience should involve UI or UX design, user research, interaction design, usability testing, or complex software workflows.
Are these User Experience Designer jobs onsite?
Yes. These roles support cleared work in the Fort Meade, MD and Annapolis Junction area. Because the work involves sensitive mission users, classified facilities, and customer environments, candidates should expect onsite work rather than a remote arrangement.
What skills make a strong UXD candidate?
Strong candidates combine design judgment with mission empathy and technical fluency. Useful skills include user research, task analysis, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing, design systems, data visualization, dashboard design, accessibility, stakeholder communication, and awareness of front end implementation constraints.
How do I apply for GS Consulting UXD roles?
Use the Apply for this Role button on this page or email your resume directly to info@gsconsultingllc.com. Include your active clearance level, portfolio link, primary design tools, preferred level, and any relevant user research, prototyping, data visualization, or mission software design experience.
Ready to design the mission?
Send us your resume and a link to your portfolio. Please include your active clearance level, primary design tools, preferred UXD level, and any relevant user research, prototyping, data visualization, or mission software design experience.