Senior UX Accessibility Lead

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX Accessibility Lead

Company: Verily

Location: San Bruno, California, United States

Job Type: Full time

Category: UX/Product Design Operations

Date Posted: 2026-08-19

Experience Level: 5+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the strategy and implementation of accessibility standards across UX and product development for precision health solutions.

• Champion inclusive design principles and practices to ensure AI-powered products are usable by individuals with disabilities.

• Define and evaluate accessible interaction patterns for complex AI experiences, including conversational, voice, and multimodal interfaces.

• Collaborate with UX Research to conduct inclusive research with assistive technology users and people with disabilities.

• Establish and maintain accessibility documentation within design systems for seamless engineering handoffs.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role sits within the UX organization but has significant operational responsibilities in defining standards, creating playbooks, and influencing cross-functional teams, making it a crucial operational role for ensuring product inclusivity and compliance, particularly within the highly regulated healthcare technology sector.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive accessibility strategy for all Verily Health products, ensuring alignment with business objectives and user needs.

• Embed inclusive design principles, interaction patterns, and accessibility standards into the early stages of product discovery, concept development, and design critiques.

• Define and document accessible interaction patterns and evaluation frameworks for conversational, multimodal, and agentic AI experiences, focusing on user control, transparency, and error recovery mechanisms.

• Partner closely with UX Research to design and implement inclusive research methodologies, directly validating design solutions with assistive technology users and individuals with diverse accessibility needs.

• Establish and maintain component accessibility standards, including annotations and documentation, within the design system to facilitate efficient and compliant engineering handoffs.

• Develop and deliver educational materials, playbooks, and training sessions to elevate the accessibility maturity of cross-functional teams, including UX, Product Management, and Engineering, throughout the product lifecycle.

• Conduct expert reviews, usability testing with assistive technologies, and automated accessibility audits to identify and prioritize remediation efforts.

• Advocate for accessibility best practices and foster a culture of inclusivity across product teams, influencing stakeholders to prioritize accessibility as a core product requirement.

• Stay abreast of evolving accessibility standards, AI technologies, and assistive technologies to continuously inform and refine Verily's accessibility strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong blend of strategic leadership, hands-on design evaluation, and operational enablement. The emphasis on "scaling accessibility" and "educating and mentoring cross-functional teams" points to a role that requires significant influence and process development, crucial for operationalizing accessibility across a growing organization.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Product Design, Interaction Design, UX Research, Accessibility, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 5+ years of progressive experience in product design, interaction design, UX research, accessibility, or a related discipline.

Required Skills:

• Deep expertise in accessible interaction design principles and WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA standards.

• Proficiency in understanding and evaluating the usability of assistive technologies, including screen readers, keyboard navigation, and semantic structure.

• Proven ability to design and evaluate accessible AI-powered experiences, such as conversational interfaces, voice UIs, multimodal interactions, and agentic systems, with a strong understanding of user control, transparency, and error recovery.

• Strong skills in accessibility evaluation methods, including expert reviews, usability research with people with disabilities, assistive technology testing, and automated accessibility testing.

• Demonstrated experience in scaling accessibility initiatives across product portfolios and organizations through design systems, reusable patterns, standards, and cross-functional influence.

• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively educate and mentor diverse teams. Preferred Skills:

• 5+ years of experience specifically in product design, interaction design, UX research, or accessibility.

• Hands-on experience designing or evaluating AI-native experiences, particularly conversational UX, voice interfaces, multimodal applications, or AI agents.

• Experience in developing accessibility frameworks, benchmarks, quality standards, or reusable patterns specifically for AI-enabled products.

• Practical experience with a wide range of assistive technologies and conducting user research with individuals with disabilities.

• Proven success in scaling accessibility within large or complex product organizations, fostering collaboration across AI/ML, Product, Engineering, Research, and Design Systems teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "equivalent experience" for a Bachelor's degree is common in senior design and operations roles, acknowledging that practical expertise can be as valuable as formal education. The depth of required accessibility knowledge, especially concerning AI and multimodal interfaces, indicates a specialized and senior-level operational role.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing your expertise in accessibility, inclusive design, and UX strategy.

• Case studies demonstrating your ability to identify accessibility challenges, design solutions, and measure impact, particularly within complex digital products or AI-driven experiences.

• Examples of how you have embedded accessibility standards and principles into design systems or component libraries.

• Evidence of your ability to conduct and leverage user research with assistive technology users and people with disabilities.

• Documentation of your experience in scaling accessibility initiatives across teams or organizations, including playbooks, training materials, or process improvements. Process Documentation:

• Examples of accessibility playbooks or guidelines developed to educate and empower cross-functional teams.

• Documentation of your approach to defining and evaluating accessible AI interaction patterns, including frameworks for user control, transparency, and error recovery.

• Case studies detailing your process for conducting accessibility evaluations (expert reviews, usability testing, automated testing) and prioritizing remediation efforts.

• Demonstrations of how you have integrated accessibility into design system components and engineering handoff processes.

• Evidence of your process for partnering with UX Research to ensure inclusive research practices are adopted.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit request for a portfolio, including specific examples of accessibility strategy, design systems, and research with diverse users, underscores the practical, results-oriented nature of this role. It highlights the need for candidates to demonstrate their ability to operationalize accessibility, not just understand its principles.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The US base salary range for this full-time position is $115,500 - $173,000 per year.

Benefits:

• Competitive annual bonus.

• Equity participation in the company.

• Comprehensive health insurance coverage.

• Additional benefits may be available, as is standard for full-time roles in the tech and healthcare sectors.

Working Hours: This is a full-time position, typically requiring approximately 40 hours per week. Flexibility may be available, but consistent availability is expected for collaboration with global teams and to meet project deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is a strong indicator for a senior-level role in the San Francisco Bay Area, a high cost-of-living region. The inclusion of bonus and equity signifies a compensation package typical for senior individual contributor roles in growth-stage tech companies. The explicit mention of "AI-enabled precision health solutions" suggests that benefits related to health and wellness might also be a focus, aligning with Verily's mission.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, Healthcare Technology, Data Science, AI/ML, Precision Health. Verily operates at the cutting edge of healthcare innovation, leveraging data and AI to create personalized and predictive health solutions. This industry context demands a rigorous approach to product development, data privacy, and regulatory compliance.

Company Size: Verily is a significant player in the health tech space, part of the Alphabet family. This implies a structured organization with established processes, but also a culture that encourages innovation and rapid iteration. For operations professionals, this means opportunities to work with sophisticated systems and to influence established workflows.

Founded: Verily was founded in 2015 as an independent company under Alphabet. Its history is rooted in a mission to make health information more accessible and useful, driving a culture focused on scientific rigor, data integrity, and impactful innovation.

Team Structure:

• The UX Accessibility Lead will report into the UX organization, indicating a focus on user-centric design as a core operational pillar.

• Close partnerships with Engineering, Product Management, and AI/ML teams are essential, highlighting a highly collaborative, cross-functional operational model.

• The role requires influencing and mentoring across various departments, suggesting a matrixed reporting structure or strong influence over peers and direct reports in other departments. Methodology:

• Data Analysis & Insights: Verily heavily relies on data science and AI/ML for its precision health solutions. The operations here are data-driven, requiring a strong analytical mindset to derive actionable insights from complex datasets.

• Workflow Planning & Optimization: The role involves embedding accessibility standards and practices, which requires mapping out current workflows, identifying gaps, and implementing optimized processes that integrate accessibility seamlessly.

• Automation & Efficiency: While not explicitly stated for this role, the broader company context suggests a drive towards automation in data processing, analysis, and even product features, which accessibility must integrate with.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Verily's mission in precision health and its connection to Alphabet suggests a sophisticated and data-intensive operational environment. The role of an Accessibility Lead is critical for ensuring that these advanced technologies are usable by everyone, requiring a deep understanding of both technical capabilities and human-centered design principles, all within a highly regulated industry.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Individual Contributor (IC) role, signifying a high level of expertise and the ability to operate with significant autonomy. It is a leadership position within the accessibility domain, expected to drive strategy and influence across multiple teams.

Reporting Structure: The role reports into UX, but its responsibilities necessitate close collaboration and influence over Product Management, Engineering, AI/ML, and UX Research. This indicates a collaborative environment where operational success depends on cross-functional alignment and buy-in.

Operations Impact: The Senior UX Accessibility Lead's impact is significant, directly influencing the usability, inclusivity, and compliance of Verily's precision health products. By ensuring accessibility, the role expands the potential user base, reduces legal and reputational risks, and aligns with Verily's mission to improve health outcomes for all individuals, thereby contributing to broader market reach and societal impact.

Growth Opportunities:

• Operations Skill Advancement: Opportunities to deepen expertise in AI accessibility, multimodal interfaces, and advanced assistive technologies. Potential to lead larger accessibility initiatives or define new operational frameworks for emerging technologies.

• Leadership Development: Potential to mentor junior accessibility specialists, lead working groups, or transition into a managerial role overseeing accessibility functions within UX or product development.

• Cross-functional Expertise: Gaining deep understanding of AI/ML product development, healthcare data operations, and product lifecycle management within a leading health tech company. This can open doors to roles in Product Management, Operations Strategy, or specialized AI/UX leadership.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for growth within specialized UX operations and accessibility leadership. The emphasis on AI and precision health provides unique opportunities to become an expert in a rapidly evolving and impactful field.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Verily operates with a hybrid work model. This typically means a blend of in-office collaboration and remote work, allowing for focused individual work and team-based engagement.

Office Location(s): The primary office for this role is located at 999 Bayhill Drive, San Bruno, California. This location is within the San Francisco Bay Area, a hub for technology and innovation.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model is designed to foster collaboration, with office days likely dedicated to team meetings, design critiques, workshops, and brainstorming sessions. The San Bruno office likely offers modern amenities to support these activities.

• Operations Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch), accessibility testing tools (e.g., WAVE, Axe, screen readers), and collaboration platforms (e.g., Slack, Google Workspace).

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for frequent interaction with UX designers, researchers, product managers, and engineers, both in person and remotely, facilitating the seamless integration of accessibility into the product development workflow.

Work Schedule: A standard full-time schedule (approximately 40 hours per week) is expected. The hybrid nature offers some flexibility in managing work hours, but core collaboration hours will need to be observed to align with team and project needs, particularly for critical design reviews and accessibility testing phases.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid work model is a key consideration for operations roles, as it requires strong self-management and effective communication strategies to ensure seamless workflow integration and collaboration across distributed teams.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application, resume, and portfolio to assess your qualifications and alignment with the role's requirements.

• Portfolio Review & Presentation: You will likely be asked to present your portfolio, detailing specific case studies that showcase your expertise in accessibility strategy, inclusive design, and AI interaction evaluation. Be prepared to discuss your process, decision-making, and the impact of your work.

• Technical/Skills Assessment: This may involve a design exercise or a deep dive into your knowledge of WCAG, assistive technologies, and accessible AI patterns. You might be asked to critique existing designs or propose solutions for accessibility challenges.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with potential peers and stakeholders from Engineering, Product, and AI/ML teams to assess your collaboration style, communication skills, and ability to influence.

• Final Interview: Typically with a senior leader to discuss strategic alignment, leadership potential, and overall fit with Verily's culture and mission.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Impact: Select case studies that best demonstrate your strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, and tangible results in accessibility and inclusive design, especially related to AI.

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies to clearly articulate the problem, your approach, the solutions you designed or implemented, and the measurable outcomes or impact. Quantify where possible.

• Highlight AI & Complex Interactions: Since this role focuses on AI-native products, ensure your portfolio includes examples of how you've addressed accessibility in dynamic, conversational, or multimodal interfaces.

• Showcase Process: Detail your process for research, design, evaluation, and collaboration, emphasizing how you embed accessibility throughout the product lifecycle.

• Prepare for Questions: Anticipate questions about your decision-making, how you handle pushback, and how you measure the success of accessibility initiatives.

Challenge Preparation:

• Accessibility Audit: Be ready to perform an accessibility audit on a given interface or product, identifying issues and proposing solutions based on WCAG and best practices.

• Accessible AI Design Challenge: You might be presented with a scenario involving an AI-powered feature and asked to design accessible interaction patterns for it. Focus on user control, transparency, and error handling.

• Process Improvement: Prepare to discuss how you would operationalize accessibility within a specific team or process, outlining steps, resources, and metrics for success.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on presenting a portfolio and potentially undertaking design challenges highlights the practical, hands-on nature of this senior role. Candidates should prepare to demonstrate not just knowledge but also the ability to apply it strategically and operationally.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (for potential asset creation). Proficiency in at least one primary design tool is essential for creating and iterating on accessible designs.

• Accessibility Testing: WAVE, Axe, Siteimprove, manual testing with screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), keyboard-only navigation, and other assistive technologies.

• Collaboration & Communication: Slack, Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet), Jira, Confluence for project management, documentation, and team communication.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Experience with analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics) to understand user behavior and identify potential accessibility-related drop-offs, though direct accessibility analytics tools might be more specialized.

• Tools for generating accessibility reports and tracking compliance metrics. CRM & Automation:

• While not directly customer-facing, understanding how CRM data might inform user segmentation for accessibility research or how accessibility impacts overall user adoption is beneficial.

• Familiarity with automation tools can be helpful for streamlining accessibility testing workflows or integrating accessibility checks into CI/CD pipelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The tools listed are standard for UX and accessibility roles. The emphasis on specific testing tools and screen readers is critical for this position. The mention of AI/ML and data science suggests potential integration with more advanced platforms, requiring an understanding of how accessibility interacts with sophisticated backend systems.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Inclusivity & Equity: A core value that drives the mission to make precision health accessible to all. This translates to a commitment to user-centered design and equitable outcomes.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Verily operates on a foundation of data and scientific rigor. Operations professionals are expected to use data to inform strategies and measure impact.

• Innovation & Impact: A culture that encourages pushing boundaries and developing novel solutions to complex problems, with a strong focus on making a meaningful impact on people's lives.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Working together across disciplines and sharing knowledge openly to achieve collective goals. Accessibility is seen as a shared responsibility.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Strong emphasis on working collaboratively with UX, Engineering, Product, AI/ML, and Research teams. Accessibility is integrated early and often into the product development process.

• Process Improvement Culture: Openness to feedback and continuous improvement of workflows and methodologies, including how accessibility is embedded.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of best practices, lessons learned, and expertise across teams to elevate organizational capabilities in accessibility and inclusive design.

📝 Enhancement Note: Verily's culture, deeply rooted in healthcare innovation and data science, likely values precision, ethical considerations, and a strong sense of purpose. For an operations role, this means a need for meticulous work, a commitment to ethical practices, and a proactive approach to problem-solving within a collaborative framework.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling Accessibility in AI: Ensuring accessibility for rapidly evolving AI technologies, including conversational agents, multimodal interfaces, and dynamically generated content, presents a unique and complex challenge.

• Balancing Compliance and Usability: Moving beyond basic WCAG compliance to achieve truly intuitive and inclusive user experiences for people with disabilities, especially in complex healthcare contexts.

• Cross-functional Influence: Effectively championing accessibility and driving adoption across diverse teams with varying priorities and levels of understanding.

• Integrating with Complex Systems: Ensuring accessibility is seamlessly integrated into Verily's sophisticated data platforms and AI/ML pipelines without compromising functionality or performance.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized AI Accessibility Training: Opportunities to become a leader in the emerging field of accessible AI, attending conferences and pursuing certifications.

• Mentorship Programs: Access to senior leaders and subject matter experts within Verily and Alphabet for guidance on career development and technical expertise.

• Industry Exposure: Engaging with cutting-edge research and development in precision health, AI, and accessibility, positioning oneself at the forefront of innovation.

• Leadership Skill Development: Opportunities to lead strategic initiatives, mentor junior team members, and contribute to shaping organizational processes and culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges highlight the cutting-edge nature of this role, particularly the focus on AI accessibility. This also presents significant growth opportunities for individuals looking to specialize in a high-demand and impactful area of UX operations.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you define and implement an accessibility strategy for a new AI-powered precision health product at Verily, considering both WCAG compliance and user-centered inclusive design?" (Focus on phased approach, stakeholder buy-in, and integration into product lifecycle).

• "Describe your process for evaluating the accessibility of conversational AI interfaces, including considerations for user control, transparency, and error recovery. How would you test this with users?" (Highlight methodologies, specific AI interaction patterns, and user research techniques).

• "How would you educate and gain buy-in from engineering and product teams who may have limited prior experience with accessibility or perceive it as a blocker?" (Emphasize communication strategies, training approaches, and framing accessibility as an enabler, not a barrier). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Verily's mission in precision health and how do you see accessibility contributing to that mission?" (Connect your passion for accessibility with Verily's goals and values).

• "How do you approach building relationships and influencing stakeholders across different departments (e.g., AI/ML, Product, Engineering) to prioritize accessibility initiatives?" (Discuss collaboration techniques, empathy, and data-driven advocacy).

• "Describe a time you had to advocate for a user with a disability in a product development setting. What was the outcome and what did you learn?" (Showcase your advocacy skills and ability to drive change). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role and approach, the solutions you developed or influenced, the accessibility standards you applied, and the impact (qualitative and quantitative).

• Emphasize AI and Complex Interactions: If possible, highlight projects involving AI, voice, or multimodal interfaces to directly address the role's specific requirements.

• Showcase Process and Collaboration: Detail how you worked with others, integrated feedback, and operationalized accessibility within a workflow.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, evaluation methods, and the specific tools and techniques you used.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your accessibility efforts (e.g., improved usability scores, reduced errors, expanded user base).

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, practical application of accessibility principles to complex AI, and strong cross-functional influence skills, all within the context of Verily's mission and operational environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UX Accessibility Lead position:

• Submit your application through the Verily Careers portal, ensuring you include both your resume and a portfolio (PDF or website with password).

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight specific projects related to accessibility strategy, inclusive design, WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA standards, assistive technologies, and especially your experience with accessible AI/ML interfaces or conversational UX.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 5+ years of relevant experience, highlighting achievements in accessibility leadership, cross-functional influence, and impact on product development. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio case studies, focusing on your strategic approach, problem-solving skills, and ability to operationalize accessibility. Prepare answers to behavioral and situational questions related to AI accessibility, collaboration, and advocacy.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Verily's mission, products, and recent developments in precision health and AI. Understand their commitment to data-driven innovation and how accessibility fits into their broader strategy.

⚠️ 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.