Lead Design Technologist

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead Design Technologist

Company: CACI International

Location: Ashburn, VA, United States

Job Type: Full time

Category: UX/UI Design & Front-End Development Operations

Date Posted: 2026-11-04

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the scaling of human-centered design principles and practices across a large enterprise, focusing on operationalizing UX excellence within the Agile Solution Factory (ASF) Center of Excellence (COE).

• Engineer, build, and maintain repeatable UX solutions, including internal applications, UI templates, and comprehensive design systems, to enable rapid deployment of high-quality user interfaces by project teams.

• Bridge the gap between design and technical implementation by developing robust design-to-code translation workflows, integrating AI acceleration, and ensuring seamless handoff from design artifacts to functional front-end code.

• Provide expert consulting and advisory services to program managers and technical leads, guiding them on UX strategy, design-to-development workflows, team resourcing, and UI timeline planning to drive successful project outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned at the intersection of UX design, front-end development, and operations, with a strong emphasis on creating scalable, repeatable solutions and enabling other teams. It requires a blend of technical execution, strategic thinking, and cross-functional leadership to embed design excellence across the organization. The "Agile Solution Factory (ASF) Center of Excellence (COE)" and "User Experience Factory" indicate a structured approach to product development and design operations.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Scale Enterprise UX Solutions: Engineer and deploy reusable solutions, including internal applications, UI templates, and component libraries, to empower program teams to rapidly develop high-quality user interfaces.

• Design System Engineering & Management: Build, maintain, and scale enterprise-wide reusable UI component libraries and design tokens, ensuring the framework architecture natively integrates with and optimizes AI-assisted development tools for enhanced efficiency.

• Operationalize Design-to-Code Workflows: Develop and implement robust translation workflows that convert Figma designs, including auto-layout, components, styles, variables, and layout logic, directly into production-ready front-end code.

• Develop Self-Service Governance Tools: Create automated toolkits and self-service applications for conducting heuristic evaluations, UX quality assessments, and Section 508 accessibility checks, enabling independent program compliance and quality assurance.

• Create Playbooks & Strategic Guidance: Author and maintain comprehensive playbooks covering user research, design standards, accessibility compliance, and best practices to educate cross-functional stakeholders, including non-designers, on UX principles and processes.

• Internal UX Consulting & Advisory: Provide expert guidance to program managers and technical leads on structuring design-to-development workflows, allocating design and development resources, and forecasting UI project timelines.

• Program-Specific Problem Solving: Engage with active government programs to diagnose and resolve complex UI/UX, front-end development, and accessibility challenges, delivering hands-on technical solutions and targeted feature enhancements.

• AI Literacy & Workflow Acceleration: Establish standard practices for leveraging AI-assisted UI/UX tools to accelerate rapid prototyping, user research synthesis, and discovery processes, while also authoring playbooks for secure and compliant AI usage by project teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus: building scalable, standardized UX assets and providing direct, high-impact consulting to specific programs. The emphasis on "repeatable solutions," "design systems," and "design-to-code" points to a strong operational and engineering mindset within the design function. The integration of AI and accessibility is a critical component, indicating a forward-looking approach to design and development.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, Information Science, or a closely related technical field.

Experience: A minimum of 5 years of progressive experience successfully blending front-end UI engineering with UX design strategy, or design system enablement and scaling.

Required Skills:

• Front-End Engineering Expertise: Proficient in core web technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript, and modern enterprise frameworks such as React, Angular, or Vue.js.

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced understanding of Figma architecture, including mastery of auto-layout, component variants, styles, variables, and best practices for design-to-code handoff.

• Digital Accessibility Standards: Solid understanding and practical application of digital accessibility standards, specifically Section 508 and WCAG guidelines, to ensure inclusive design.

• UX Strategy & Research Fundamentals: Strong grasp of user-centered design principles, various user research methodologies, persona development, journey mapping, and heuristic evaluation techniques.

• AI Literacy & Workflow Integration: Practical experience leveraging generative AI tools to accelerate development workflows (e.g., prototyping, code generation, data synthesis) and the ability to train others on effective and secure AI tool utilization for design outputs.

• Communication & Presentation Skills: Exceptional presentation and public speaking abilities, with a proven track record of leading product discovery sessions, advocating for UX capabilities, and providing real-time UX guidance to diverse program stakeholders.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with back-end technologies such as Node.js or Python.

• A strong portfolio showcasing UX engineering skills, design system contributions, and front-end development projects.

• Prior experience in establishing or significantly contributing to a UX Center of Excellence (COE).

• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies, CI/CD pipelines, and DevSecOps best practices.

• Demonstrated experience in Government or defense-related projects, understanding their unique requirements and compliance landscapes.

• Proven ability to obtain Government Security Clearances.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize a hybrid skill set, blending deep UX thinking with strong front-end development capabilities and an operational focus on scalability and automation. The inclusion of AI, accessibility, and government project experience points to the specific context of CACI's client base and strategic priorities.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Design System Contributions: Showcase examples of contributions to or leadership of design systems, including component libraries, design tokens, and style guides, demonstrating scalability and reusability.

• Design-to-Code Implementation: Present case studies detailing how Figma designs were translated into functional front-end code, highlighting the efficiency of the process, the tools used, and the resulting code quality.

• Reusable Application/Template Development: Include examples of internal applications, self-service tools, or UI templates that were developed to enable faster, more consistent UI development for other teams.

• Accessibility & Compliance Audits: Demonstrate experience in building or utilizing tools for accessibility audits (Section 508/WCAG) and heuristic evaluations, showcasing a commitment to inclusive and high-quality design.

• AI-Assisted Workflow Examples: Provide concrete examples of how generative AI was integrated into design or development workflows to accelerate prototyping, content generation, or code creation, detailing the impact.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Document processes for translating design artifacts into code, including version control, testing, and deployment strategies for UI components and applications.

• Design System Governance: Outline processes for maintaining, updating, and governing design systems, ensuring consistency and adoption across multiple teams and projects.

• AI Integration & Best Practices: Develop and document standard operating procedures for the secure and effective use of AI tools in design and development, including prompt engineering guidelines and ethical considerations.

• Accessibility & Quality Assurance Protocols: Define clear processes for integrating accessibility checks and UX quality assessments throughout the design and development lifecycle.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are highly specific to the operational and engineering aspects of design. Candidates are expected to demonstrate not just design output but the systems and processes that enable repeatable success and scalability, particularly in the context of design systems, design-to-code, and AI integration.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $94,400 - $198,200 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Healthcare: Access to robust medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Wellness Programs: Initiatives and resources designed to support employee physical and mental well-being.

• Financial Planning Resources: Support for financial health, including retirement planning services.

• Retirement Benefits: Competitive 401(k) plan with company match.

• Family Support: Benefits and resources tailored to support employees and their families.

• Continuing Education: Opportunities for professional development, including tuition reimbursement and access to learning resources.

• Flexible Time Off: A unique flexible time off benefit allowing employees autonomy in managing their personal time.

Working Hours: Standard full-time work schedule, likely around 40 hours per week, with potential for flexibility given the "flexible time off" benefit. On-site work is expected.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is broad, reflecting potential variations based on factors such as location within the US (though Ashburn, VA is specified), specific contract labor categories, prior experience, and specialized skills. The benefits package emphasizes holistic employee support, with a notable mention of flexible time off, which can be attractive to operations professionals seeking work-life balance.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Information Technology, Government Contracting, Defense Sector. CACI International is a major player in providing IT solutions and services to government clients, particularly in defense, intelligence, and federal civilian agencies. This context implies a focus on security, compliance, and mission-critical solutions.

Company Size: Large enterprise, indicated by the "Regular" employee type and extensive operations. CACI is a publicly traded company with a significant global presence.

Founded: CACI was founded in 1962, indicating a long history and established presence in the IT and government contracting space.

Team Structure:

• The role operates within the "Agile Solution Factory (ASF) Center of Excellence (COE)" and the "User Experience Factory." This suggests a dedicated, specialized team focused on advancing design and development methodologies.

• The COE structure implies a team responsible for establishing standards, best practices, and reusable assets for broader organizational adoption.

• Collaboration is expected with program managers, technical leads, and cross-functional project teams across various government client engagements. Methodology:

• Agile & Lean Principles: The mention of "Agile Solution Factory" strongly suggests an Agile development environment, emphasizing iterative development, collaboration, and rapid feedback loops.

• Human-Centered Design (HCD): A core tenet of the role, focusing on understanding user needs and translating them into effective solutions.

• Design Systems & Componentization: A systematic approach to building and maintaining reusable UI elements and patterns for consistency and efficiency.

• AI Acceleration: Integration of AI tools to optimize design, development, and research processes.

• DevOps/DevSecOps: Implied by the desire for CI/CD and best practices, aiming for seamless integration and deployment of solutions.

Company Website: https://www.caci.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: CACI's focus on government clients means that operational excellence, security, and adherence to strict compliance standards (like Section 508) are paramount. The COE structure indicates a commitment to investing in and scaling best practices across the organization, making this role pivotal in driving innovation and efficiency within their design and development efforts.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a "Lead" position, indicating a senior individual contributor role with significant influence and responsibility. It sits at a pivotal point where individual expertise directly shapes organizational processes and enablement tools. The role is expected to "scale human-centered design across CACI," signifying a strategic impact beyond individual project delivery.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, the role operates within the "Agile Solution Factory (ASF) Center of Excellence (COE)" and "User Experience Factory." This suggests reporting to a Director or Senior Manager overseeing these COE functions, with significant collaboration across various program teams. The Lead Design Technologist will likely guide and mentor junior team members or program designers/developers.

Operations Impact: The primary impact of this role is on operational efficiency and scalability of design and development. By creating repeatable solutions, design systems, and self-service tools, the Lead Design Technologist directly reduces the time and resources required for individual project teams to deliver high-quality user interfaces. This operational efficiency translates into faster project delivery, reduced costs, and improved user satisfaction for CACI's government clients, ultimately contributing to mission success. The integration of AI further amplifies this impact by accelerating key design and development processes.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in COE Evolution: Opportunity to shape the future direction and capabilities of the UX COE and User Experience Factory, potentially leading to formal management roles or principal architect positions.

• Specialization in AI & Design Automation: Deepen expertise in leveraging AI for design and development, becoming a go-to expert in this rapidly evolving field within CACI.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Expand influence across multiple government programs, becoming a key advisor on UX strategy and technical implementation for high-profile projects.

• Mentorship & Team Development: Lead the mentoring of other designers and front-end developers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and skill development in human-centered design and engineering.

• Architectural Design: Lead the architectural design of enterprise-level design systems and enablement tools, influencing technical strategy for UI development across CACI.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is not just about executing design and code; it's about building the machinery for design and development excellence. Growth opportunities lie in expanding this operational influence and becoming a strategic leader in how CACI approaches user experience and product delivery.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: On-site. The job description explicitly states "On-site" as the work arrangement. This suggests a traditional office environment where in-person collaboration is expected.

Office Location(s): The primary location specified is Ashburn, VA. This area is a significant technology hub, particularly for data centers and government contracting firms.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The role emphasizes working in a "highly collaborative environment" and requires "exceptional presentation skills" for leading discussions with stakeholders. This suggests an office setup that facilitates team interaction, brainstorming, and knowledge sharing.

• Access to Tools & Technology: As a Lead Design Technologist, the workspace is expected to be equipped with modern development and design tools, including powerful workstations, access to relevant software (Figma, IDEs, AI platforms), and robust network connectivity essential for development and collaboration.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for direct interaction with the Agile Solution Factory (ASF) COE, User Experience Factory teams, program managers, and technical leads will be inherent to the on-site setting.

Work Schedule: This is a full-time role, typically around 40 hours per week. While on-site, CACI's mention of "flexible time off" suggests a company culture that values work-life balance, even within an on-site framework.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement for this role in Ashburn, VA, likely caters to the security and collaborative needs of government contracting, where direct, secure interaction and rapid problem-solving are often prioritized.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: A recruiter or HR representative will likely conduct an initial call to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit. Be prepared to discuss your understanding of the role's emphasis on scaling UX and operationalizing design.

2. Technical & Design Assessment: Expect a deep dive into your technical skills (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, frameworks, Figma) and UX design principles. This may involve a technical assessment or a portfolio review session where you walk through specific projects.

3. Portfolio Presentation & Case Study: A significant part of the interview will likely involve presenting your portfolio, focusing on projects that demonstrate your ability to build repeatable solutions, design systems, and translate designs to code. Be ready to discuss your process, the challenges you faced, and the impact of your work. Prepare a specific case study showcasing a design system or a significant design-to-code initiative.

4. Behavioral & Situational Interviews: Questions will assess your leadership potential, collaboration style, problem-solving approach, and experience working with stakeholders, especially in a government context. Expect questions about how you've handled complex UX challenges or mentored teams.

5. Hiring Manager/Team Interview: A final interview with the hiring manager and potentially key team members from the COE to assess overall fit, strategic thinking, and alignment with the team's mission.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Scalability & Repeatability: Showcase projects where you designed or built systems, templates, or reusable components that were adopted by multiple teams or projects. Quantify the impact if possible (e.g., "reduced development time by X%").

• Demonstrate Design-to-Code Proficiency: Include examples that clearly illustrate the end-to-end process from Figma design to functional code. Detail your approach to handoff, componentization, and ensuring design fidelity.

• Showcase AI Integration: Present any projects where you've effectively used generative AI to accelerate design or development workflows. Explain the specific tools, your prompts, and the measurable outcomes.

• Emphasize Accessibility & Compliance: Highlight projects where you actively incorporated Section 508/WCAG standards. Discuss your process for ensuring compliance and any tools you used for auditing.

• Structure for Clarity: Organize your portfolio logically, perhaps by project type (Design Systems, Applications, Problem-Solving) or by skill demonstrated. For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your solution, your role, the technologies used, and the results.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design System Scenario: You might be given a scenario to design a new component for a design system or outline the process for integrating a new technology into an existing system. Focus on modularity, scalability, and documentation.

• Code Snippet Review/Refinement: Be prepared to review or suggest improvements for front-end code snippets related to UI components, CSS architecture, or JavaScript logic.

• Process Design Exercise: Outline the steps for building a self-service tool or a design-to-code workflow. Focus on efficiency, user experience for the tool's users, and integration points.

• AI Prompt Engineering: You may be asked to demonstrate how you would use AI to generate UI elements, code snippets, or research summaries, showing an understanding of effective prompt design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process and portfolio review are heavily weighted towards demonstrating practical, operational skills in building and scaling design and development solutions, rather than just pure design aesthetics or coding ability in isolation. Candidates need to show they can engineer systems for design.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (mastery expected for architecture, auto-layout, components, styles, variables).

• Front-End Frameworks: React, Angular, or Vue.js (strong proficiency required).

• Core Web Technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript.

• Version Control: Git (implied for collaboration and code management).

• AI Tools: Generative AI platforms (e.g., for code generation, prototyping, research synthesis) - specific tools not listed but practical experience is key.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Accessibility Auditing Tools: Tools for Section 508/WCAG compliance checks (e.g., Axe, WAVE, Lighthouse).

• Heuristic Evaluation Tools: Methodologies and potentially software for UX quality assessments.

CRM & Automation:

• CI/CD Tools: Familiarity with Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions) is preferred.

• DevOps/DevSecOps Practices: Understanding of these methodologies is preferred.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack is heavily focused on modern front-end development and design tooling. The emphasis on Figma's advanced features and the integration of AI tools are critical indicators of the expected technical proficiency. Familiarity with government IT environments (DevSecOps, compliance) is a plus.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Integrity & Character: CACI emphasizes placing character and innovation at the center of everything. This translates to ethical practices, honesty, and a commitment to mission success.

• Innovation & Mission Focus: A drive to innovate and deliver cutting-edge solutions for government clients, ensuring the safety and success of national missions.

• Collaboration & Teamwork: The role operates in a "highly collaborative environment," requiring strong teamwork and the ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders.

• User-Centricity: A fundamental commitment to understanding and serving user needs through human-centered design principles.

• Efficiency & Scalability: A core operational value, reflected in the drive to build repeatable solutions and optimize processes for enterprise-wide adoption.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Expect to collaborate closely with program managers, technical leads, developers, researchers, and potentially clients.

• Proactive Guidance & Advocacy: The role requires actively guiding teams, advocating for UX best practices, and presenting capabilities to stakeholders, indicating a proactive and influential communication style.

• Knowledge Sharing: Creating playbooks and training materials suggests a culture that values sharing knowledge and empowering others to adopt new methodologies and tools.

• Agile & Iterative: Working within an Agile framework implies a collaborative style that embraces feedback, iteration, and continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture at CACI, especially within a COE environment, likely emphasizes professionalism, a strong work ethic, and a dedication to client success within the government sector. The values align with building robust, reliable, and user-focused solutions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling Design Across a Large Enterprise: Implementing consistent, high-quality UX practices across numerous diverse government projects, each with unique constraints and stakeholders.

• Bridging Design and Development Gaps: Effectively translating complex design requirements into robust, maintainable front-end code, especially within the context of government systems that may have legacy components or strict integration requirements.

• Integrating AI Securely and Effectively: Guiding teams on the responsible and compliant use of generative AI for design and development, ensuring outputs meet security, quality, and accessibility standards.

• Driving Adoption of New Methodologies: Encouraging buy-in and adoption of new design systems, tools, and AI-powered workflows from teams accustomed to traditional development processes.

• Balancing COE Enablement with Program Delivery: Managing the dual responsibilities of building enterprise-wide reusable assets and providing direct, hands-on consulting and development for critical programs.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced AI in Design/Dev: Opportunities to explore and implement cutting-edge AI applications for UI/UX and front-end development, becoming a subject matter expert.

• Design System Architecture: Deepen expertise in the strategic architecture and governance of large-scale design systems.

• Government Sector UX: Gain extensive experience with the unique challenges and requirements of designing for government clients, including stringent security and accessibility mandates.

• Leadership in COE Strategy: Influence the strategic direction and growth of the UX COE, potentially leading to opportunities in team management or advanced architectural roles.

• Mentorship & Skill Development: Lead and mentor junior team members, fostering their growth in UX design, front-end engineering, and operational best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to roles focused on scaling operations and innovation within a large, established organization, particularly in the government sector. The growth opportunities are significant for individuals looking to make a strategic impact and develop expertise in high-demand areas like AI and design system engineering.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you successfully scaled a design system or repeatable UX solution across an organization. What were the key challenges and how did you overcome them?" (Focus on process, adoption strategies, and impact.)

• "How would you approach building a self-service tool for accessibility compliance for non-designers? What features would be critical?" (Demonstrate understanding of user needs for the tool and operational efficiency.)

• "Walk us through your process for translating complex Figma designs into production-ready code, including how you ensure design fidelity and maintainability." (Highlight your design-to-code workflow, tooling, and quality assurance.)

• "How do you see generative AI impacting the future of UX and front-end development, and what are the key considerations for its responsible implementation in a government context?" (Show strategic thinking and awareness of AI's potential and risks.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about CACI and our mission, particularly within the Agile Solution Factory?" (Research CACI's recent projects, values, and the COE's stated goals.)

• "How do you approach collaboration with non-design or non-technical stakeholders to advocate for UX best practices?" (Provide examples of influencing diverse audiences.)

• "Describe your experience working in or contributing to a Center of Excellence. What is the value of a COE in your opinion?" (Align your views with CACI's investment in COE.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Begin with an overview of your career and key areas of expertise. Then, present 2-3 key projects that best exemplify your skills in design systems, design-to-code, AI integration, and operationalizing UX.

• Storytelling: For each project, clearly articulate the problem statement, your specific role and contributions, the challenges encountered, the solutions you implemented (emphasizing process and systems), and the measurable impact or outcomes.

• Technical Depth: Be prepared to dive into the technical details of your front-end implementation, Figma architecture, and AI workflows.

• Focus on Scalability: Continuously highlight aspects of your work that demonstrate how it can be scaled, reused, or adapted by other teams.

• Q&A Readiness: Anticipate questions about your decision-making process, alternative approaches you considered, and how you handled feedback or roadblocks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a blend of technical expertise, strategic thinking, and operational leadership. Candidates need to prove they can not only design and code but also engineer systems and processes that drive efficiency and scale for CACI and its clients.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead Design Technologist position:

• Submit your application through the CACI Careers portal link provided.

• Tailor Your Resume: Update your resume to prominently feature keywords related to UX design, front-end engineering (React, Angular, Vue.js, HTML, CSS, JS/TS), Figma mastery, design systems, accessibility (Section 508, WCAG), AI acceleration, and operationalizing design. Quantify your achievements with metrics where possible, especially those related to efficiency, scalability, or adoption.

• Prepare Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio is up-to-date and professionally presented, with a strong emphasis on projects that showcase your ability to build repeatable UX solutions, design systems, and manage the design-to-code process. Include examples of AI integration and accessibility work.

• Craft a Compelling Cover Letter (Optional but Recommended): Briefly highlight your understanding of CACI's mission, the importance of UX operations within a COE, and how your unique blend of design, engineering, and operational skills makes you an ideal candidate for this lead role.

• Practice Your Presentation: Rehearse presenting your portfolio and key case studies. Be ready to articulate your process, challenges, and impact clearly and concisely, anticipating questions about your technical and strategic approach.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.