UX Designer - AI

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Designer - AI

Company: NetImpact Strategies

Location: Remote (VA, US)

Job Type: Full-time

Category: UX/Product Design (AI & Software)

Date Posted: 2026-08-20

Experience Level: Mid-level (3+ years)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and deliver intuitive user experiences for complex AI-driven software development and sustainment platforms.

• Translate intricate software lifecycle activities into seamless user journeys and clear interface designs.

• Focus on human-AI interaction, ensuring transparency, trustworthiness, and effective collaboration between users and AI systems.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including product management, engineering, and AI specialists to bring innovative solutions to life.

• Contribute to the development and refinement of a robust design system for AI-powered products.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is specifically focused on the intersection of User Experience (UX) design and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the context of software engineering and sustainment. The "AI Forge" platform implies a sophisticated product suite requiring a designer adept at handling complex technical workflows and human-AI collaboration challenges. The focus on "understanding, producing, verifying, and evolving software solutions" highlights the need for a designer who can grasp and simplify intricate processes.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead UX design activities from initial discovery through validated design for assigned AI Forge capabilities and complex software lifecycle workflows.

• Conceptualize and design human-AI interactions that clearly communicate system status, data provenance, confidence levels, limitations, and actionable recommendations.

• Develop comprehensive user flows, journey maps, information architectures, wireframes, interactive prototypes, and production-ready interface designs.

• Plan and execute user research methodologies, including interviews, workflow observations, usability studies, concept tests, and design validation with internal and external users.

• Design intuitive experiences for critical software lifecycle activities such as requirements analysis, architecture, code generation, verification, traceability, synchronization, and change assessment.

• Create user interfaces for design review, approval, correction, comparison, versioning, feedback loops, and exception handling, ensuring human judgment remains central.

• Partner closely with product managers to define user problems, refine requirements, prioritize features, and establish measurable experience outcomes.

• Collaborate effectively with engineering teams to assess technical feasibility, resolve design tradeoffs, support implementation, and evaluate the quality of delivered designs.

• Contribute to and maintain the AI Forge design system by developing reusable components, interaction patterns, content guidelines, and ensuring adherence to accessibility standards.

• Leverage AI-enabled tools for research, prototyping, and synthesis to enhance design speed and efficiency, while critically validating AI-generated outputs.

• Clearly document design rationale and effectively communicate design recommendations to technical leaders, delivery teams, and key stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize an end-to-end UX ownership, from user discovery and problem framing to detailed design and validation. The explicit mention of designing for "requirements analysis, architecture, generation, verification, traceability, synchronization, and change assessment" points to a need for a designer comfortable with highly technical and process-driven environments, typical in enterprise software and government-focused solutions. The emphasis on human-AI interaction design, including aspects like confidence, limitations, and recommended actions, is a critical differentiator for this role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in User Experience, Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Visual Design, a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: Three or more years of professional experience in UX design for complex digital products, with a strong emphasis on enterprise-level applications or technically intricate systems.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated proficiency in user-centered design principles, interaction design, information architecture, visual hierarchy, responsive design, and usability best practices.

• Expertise in using Figma or comparable design and prototyping tools for creating components, variants, libraries, and facilitating developer handoff.

• Proven experience in designing data-rich, workflow-heavy, enterprise, developer, or business applications.

• Strong capability in conducting practical user research and effectively translating research findings into actionable product decisions and design improvements.

• Working knowledge of accessibility standards and inclusive design practices, including WCAG-informed methodologies.

• Ability to simplify technical complexity while ensuring users have access to necessary information for sound decision-making.

• Excellent written, visual, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate and evidence design decisions clearly.

• Proven ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a fully remote, cross-functional team environment.

• US Citizenship with the ability to obtain a Federal Government clearance. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for AI-assisted, generative AI, agentic systems, recommendation engines, automation platforms, or decision-support tools.

• Deep understanding of human-AI UX considerations, including managing uncertainty, explainability, controllability, trust calibration, error recovery, provenance, feedback mechanisms, and human oversight.

• Experience prototyping AI interactions and rigorously testing both ideal execution paths and potential failure states arising from variable AI model outputs.

• Familiarity with developer tools, software engineering platforms, DevSecOps products, enterprise SaaS, or other technically complex systems.

• Working knowledge of software development concepts, APIs, version control, requirements management, testing methodologies, CI/CD pipelines, cloud environments, or product analytics.

• Experience designing for regulated, security-conscious, government, or mission-oriented environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Required Skills" highlight a strong foundation in core UX principles and tool proficiency, essential for any mid-level designer. The "Preferred Skills" are crucial for this specific role, indicating a strong preference for candidates with direct experience in AI/ML UX, understanding the nuances of human-AI collaboration, and familiarity with the software development lifecycle and government sector. This suggests the company is looking for a specialist rather than a generalist UX designer.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase end-to-end product thinking, detailing your process from initial problem discovery and user research through to interaction design, prototyping, validation, iteration, and successful product launches.

• Include case studies that demonstrate your ability to translate complex, technical, or workflow-heavy problems into clear, usable, and efficient digital experiences.

• Highlight examples of designing for data-rich environments and enterprise-level applications, illustrating your approach to managing complexity.

• Present examples of user research and validation, clearly explaining how findings informed design decisions and improved user outcomes.

• Demonstrate your proficiency with Figma or similar tools, showing examples of component usage, interactive prototypes, and effective developer handoff documentation. Process Documentation:

• Detail your methodology for conducting user research, including planning, execution, synthesis, and how insights were integrated into design iterations.

• Illustrate your approach to designing human-AI interactions, specifically addressing how you communicated system status, confidence, limitations, and facilitated user control or oversight.

• Provide examples of how you contributed to or developed design systems, including the creation of reusable components, interaction patterns, and adherence to accessibility guidelines.

• Show evidence of collaborating with product managers and engineers, explaining how you navigated tradeoffs and ensured design feasibility and implementation quality.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are highly specific to demonstrating end-to-end UX ownership and the ability to handle complexity. Emphasizing "end-to-end product thinking," "complex, technical, or workflow-heavy problems," and "human-AI interactions" signals that candidates must present projects that clearly articulate their problem-solving process and impact in these specific areas. The inclusion of "AI Forge design system" suggests a need to showcase contributions to established design systems or the ability to build new ones.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $115,000 - $140,000 annually.

Explanation of Range: This range is provided in good faith by NetImpact Strategies, reflecting their assessment of the market for this role in the US. Actual compensation will be determined by various factors including the candidate's skillset, experience, location, training, and overall benefits package. It is noted that NetImpact may not always pay at the top of the stated range.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, effective the first of the month following your start date.

• 401(k) Plan with immediate, vested employer contributions (no matching required).

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) policy.

• One (1) additional day of paid wellness leave per calendar year.

• Observance of ten (10) federal holidays.

• Pet Insurance to cover furry family members.

• Investment in your education through Tuition Reimbursement programs.

• Access to internal training programs and company-sponsored industry certifications.

• Recognition as part of a dynamic and collaborative work environment, recognized by The Washington Post as a Top Work Place for multiple consecutive years (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, & 2024).

• Opportunities for team building, community volunteering, quarterly HQ days, wellness events, happy hours, and family fun events.

Working Hours: Standard full-time work schedule, likely around 40 hours per week, with flexibility inherent in a fully remote, cross-functional environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is explicitly stated and accompanied by a detailed disclaimer about compensation factors, which is good practice for transparency. The benefits package is robust, with specific highlights like immediate 401(k) vesting and multiple opportunities for professional development and employee well-being, which are attractive to mid-level professionals. The mention of "Top Work Place" awards adds to the company's appeal. The working hours are standard for full-time, but the remote nature implies a degree of flexibility in daily scheduling.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, Software Development, Digital Transformation, Government Contracting. NetImpact Strategies operates within the Federal Government sector, providing advanced technology solutions. This context implies a focus on security, compliance, mission impact, and often, long-term project cycles.

Company Size: Mid-sized (exact numbers not provided, but description suggests a significant number of employees to be recognized as a Top Work Place for multiple years). This size typically offers a balance between established processes and agility, with opportunities for impact.

Founded: Over a decade ago. This indicates a company with established expertise and a proven track record, particularly in serving the Federal Government.

Team Structure:

• The AI Forge Product Team is described as cross-functional, including product management, engineering, AI specialists, architecture, quality assurance, and delivery teams.

• The UX Designer will collaborate closely with these diverse groups, requiring strong communication and partnership skills.

• Reporting is likely within a product or design leadership structure, with direct collaboration across technical disciplines. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Approach: Emphasis on using data for decision-making, research, and measuring outcomes, which is critical for both UX and AI product development.

• Agile & Outcome-Focused: NetImpact emphasizes agile methodologies and delivering tangible, impactful solutions that meet specific mission requirements.

• User-Centricity: A core value, reflected in the UX designer's responsibilities for research, validation, and creating intuitive experiences.

• Innovation & Transformation: The company positions itself as a driver of digital transformation, suggesting an environment that values forward-thinking solutions and embracing new technologies like AI.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture appears to be a blend of government contracting rigor (security, mission focus) and modern tech company values (innovation, agility, employee well-being, top workplace recognition). The "AI Forge" platform is a key product initiative, indicating a strategic investment in AI. The cross-functional team structure is typical for product development, requiring strong collaboration skills.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-level UX Designer, requiring 3+ years of experience. It involves significant ownership of UX activities for a specific product area, indicating a solid level of autonomy and responsibility. The role is not entry-level and requires a demonstrated ability to handle complex projects independently.

Reporting Structure: The UX Designer will report into a product or design leadership role within the AI Forge team. They will work closely with product managers and engineering leads, suggesting a collaborative reporting dynamic where design input is integrated early and often in the development cycle.

Operations Impact: The UX Designer's work directly influences the usability, efficiency, and trustworthiness of the AI Forge platform. By translating complex AI and software lifecycle processes into intuitive experiences, they will enhance user adoption, productivity, and the overall success of AI-driven software solutions for both technical and non-technical users. This impact is critical for the adoption and effectiveness of NetImpact's commercial AI platform.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in Human-AI Interaction design, generative AI UX, and designing for complex software engineering workflows.

• Leadership: Potentially grow into a Senior UX Designer role, leading more complex initiatives, mentoring junior designers, or contributing more significantly to the overall design strategy and system architecture.

• Technical Acumen: Enhance understanding of AI concepts, software development processes, and federal government sector requirements, broadening career applicability.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Develop stronger partnerships with product management and engineering, leading to greater influence on product strategy and roadmap.

• Design System Evolution: Play a key role in expanding and refining the AI Forge design system, contributing to scalable and consistent user experiences across the platform.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers a clear path for growth within UX design, particularly in the specialized and high-demand field of AI UX. The emphasis on complex systems and government applications provides a unique niche that can lead to advanced career opportunities. The opportunity to shape a product like "AI Forge" is a significant growth driver for a designer looking to make a substantial impact.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. This indicates a distributed workforce where collaboration and communication are primarily conducted through digital tools.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, the primary region associated is Virginia, US (VA). This might imply a primary customer base or operational hub for NetImpact Strategies, and potentially influence team time zone alignment (e.g., EST).

Workspace Context:

• Digital Collaboration: Expect extensive use of video conferencing, instant messaging, project management software, and collaborative design platforms (like Figma).

• Asynchronous Workflows: The remote nature necessitates comfort with asynchronous communication and documentation to ensure clarity across different schedules and locations.

• Dedicated Home Office: Candidates will likely need a suitable home office setup that allows for focused work and professional virtual meetings.

• Team Interaction: Despite being remote, the company fosters a collaborative environment with regular team meetings, virtual social events, and opportunities for cross-functional interaction.

Work Schedule: While a standard 40-hour work week is implied, the fully remote setting often allows for some flexibility in daily scheduling, provided core collaboration hours and project deadlines are met. Communication and availability during core business hours for the primary customer/team (likely EST due to VA location) will be important.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully remote nature is a key characteristic. This environment requires strong self-discipline, excellent digital communication skills, and the ability to maintain productivity without direct in-person oversight. The mention of "quarterly HQ days" suggests occasional in-person or virtual gatherings to foster team cohesion, even in a remote setup.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio, focusing on alignment with the required skills and experience, especially in complex digital products and AI/human-AI interactions.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion about your background, experience, motivations, and initial assessment of cultural fit. Expect questions about your approach to problem-solving and your understanding of UX principles.

• Portfolio Presentation & Technical Interview: This is a critical stage where you will likely present 1-2 case studies from your portfolio. Be prepared to walk through your design process, the problem you solved, your methodologies, design decisions, and the impact of your work. Expect detailed questions about your UX process, tool proficiency (especially Figma), and your experience with user research and validation.

• Cross-functional Team Interview: You may meet with members of the product management, engineering, or AI teams to assess your collaboration style, communication skills, and ability to work within a cross-functional development environment.

• Final Interview: Potentially with senior leadership to discuss strategic alignment, career aspirations, and finalize the hiring decision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 1-2 projects that best showcase your end-to-end product thinking, your experience with complex digital products, and ideally, any work involving AI, data-rich applications, or workflow-heavy systems.

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies around a clear narrative: the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the outcome/impact. Quantify results where possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time).

• Highlight Process: Clearly articulate your UX process. Explain why you made certain decisions and how user research, data, or technical constraints influenced your design.

• Showcase Figma Proficiency: Be ready to discuss your use of Figma features like components, variants, auto-layout, and libraries. Demonstrate your understanding of design system principles if applicable.

• Address AI/Complexity: If you have AI-specific UX experience, highlight it. For complex projects, explain how you broke down intricate workflows and communicated technical details effectively through design.

• Prepare for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design rationale, how you handle feedback, resolve conflicts, and collaborate with engineers and product managers.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Exercise: You might receive a take-home design challenge or a live design exercise. This could involve analyzing a problem statement, sketching solutions, or creating a low-fidelity prototype for a specific feature related to AI or software lifecycle management.

• Focus on Process: Even if the deliverable is a design, the evaluators will be looking at your thought process, problem-solving approach, and how you justify your decisions.

• Time Management: Be mindful of time constraints for any exercises. Prioritize core functionality and user flows.

• Communication: Clearly articulate your assumptions, design choices, and any limitations you encountered.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a strong portfolio presentation and practical demonstration of UX skills, particularly in complex domains. Candidates need to be prepared to articulate their design process deeply, especially concerning human-AI interaction and handling intricate technical workflows. The emphasis on Figma and a structured approach to case studies is critical.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (proficient use required for components, variants, libraries, developer handoff). Comparable tools like Sketch or Adobe XD may be acceptable but Figma is explicitly mentioned.

• User Research: Tools for conducting interviews, usability tests, surveys (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze, SurveyMonkey, Google Forms).

• Collaboration & Project Management: Tools like Jira, Confluence, Asana, Trello, Slack, Microsoft Teams.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or Pendo for understanding user behavior and measuring design impact.

• Data Visualization: Experience with tools or methods for visualizing data and design performance metrics.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM: While not a primary focus for UX, understanding CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) can be beneficial for context in enterprise applications.

• Integration Platforms: Awareness of how UX designs integrate into broader software systems, potentially involving APIs and backend processes.

• AI/ML Platforms: Familiarity with the concepts and interfaces of AI/ML platforms, even if not directly designing within them, will be advantageous for understanding the "AI Forge" context.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly called out as a required tool, indicating its central role in the design workflow. Proficiency in user research and collaboration tools is also essential for a remote, cross-functional role. Awareness of product analytics and AI/ML platform concepts is highly beneficial given the role's focus.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A fundamental value, driving the focus on understanding user needs and creating intuitive, efficient experiences.

• Innovation & Transformation: A commitment to leveraging new technologies, like AI, to drive meaningful change and solve complex problems.

• Trust & Transparency: Especially critical in AI design, ensuring users understand system capabilities, limitations, and data provenance.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Working effectively within cross-functional teams to achieve common goals and deliver impactful solutions.

• Impact & Outcomes: A focus on delivering measurable results and contributing to the success of the Federal Government clients and NetImpact's commercial platform.

• Excellence & Quality: Striving for high standards in design, development, and delivery, as evidenced by their Top Work Place recognition.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: The role demands seamless collaboration with Product Management, Engineering, and AI specialists, requiring open communication and a willingness to integrate diverse perspectives.

• Evidence-Based Design: Design decisions should be supported by user research, data analysis, and clear rationale.

• Feedback Culture: An environment that encourages constructive feedback, both giving and receiving, to continuously improve designs and processes.

• Agile Methodology: Likely involves iterative development cycles, rapid prototyping, and continuous refinement based on stakeholder input and user testing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture emphasizes a blend of client-focused service (Federal Government), technological innovation (AI), and strong internal collaboration. The values align well with a UX designer's role in advocating for the user while working within technical constraints and business objectives.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for AI Complexity: Translating the inherently complex and probabilistic nature of AI into understandable, controllable, and trustworthy user experiences. This includes managing user expectations around AI capabilities and limitations.

• Bridging Technical Gaps: Effectively communicating between highly technical AI/engineering teams and user needs, ensuring technical feasibility while meeting user requirements.

• User Trust & Explainability: Building designs that foster user trust in AI systems, especially in critical software development workflows where errors can have significant consequences.

• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining strong team cohesion, clear communication, and design quality in a fully remote, distributed environment.

• Balancing Innovation with Usability: Introducing cutting-edge AI features while ensuring the platform remains intuitive and efficient for both technical and non-technical users.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI/ML UX Specialization: Become a leader in designing for AI-powered applications, a highly sought-after skill.

• Domain Expertise: Deepen knowledge of the software development lifecycle, DevSecOps, and federal government IT environments.

• Design System Leadership: Contribute significantly to the AI Forge design system, potentially leading its evolution.

• Cross-Functional Skill Development: Enhance understanding of product management, AI concepts, and software engineering principles.

• Professional Certifications: Utilize company-sponsored programs for certifications relevant to UX, AI, or the government sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to designing for advanced technologies like AI within a complex domain. The growth opportunities are significant, offering a chance to specialize in a high-demand area and gain valuable experience in a niche market.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to translate a highly complex technical process into a simple user interface. What was your approach, and what were the outcomes?" (Focus on your process, problem-solving, and ability to simplify).

• "How do you approach designing for systems where AI provides probabilistic outputs or recommendations? How do you communicate uncertainty and build user trust?" (Assess understanding of human-AI interaction challenges).

• "Walk me through a project where you collaborated closely with product managers and engineers. How did you handle design tradeoffs and ensure feasibility?" (Evaluate collaboration and problem-solving skills).

• "Imagine you're designing an AI feature for code verification. What are the key user needs and potential failure points you would consider?" (Test your ability to think critically about AI UX in a relevant context). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about NetImpact Strategies and the AI Forge platform specifically?" (Show you've researched the company and understand the product's significance).

• "How do you stay updated on the latest trends in UX design, AI, and human-AI interaction?" (Demonstrate your commitment to continuous learning).

• "Describe your ideal remote work environment and how you maintain productivity and collaboration." (Assess your fit for a remote, agile team). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem statement, your role, the target users, your design process (research, ideation, prototyping, testing), key design decisions and rationale, and the final outcome/impact.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improved task completion time, increased user satisfaction scores, reduction in errors).

• Highlight Collaboration: Explain how you worked with stakeholders (PMs, engineers, users) and how their input shaped your designs.

• Focus on AI/Complexity: If presenting an AI-related project, explicitly discuss how you handled challenges like explainability, uncertainty, and trust. For complex projects, detail how you simplified workflows.

• Prepare for Deep Dives: Be ready for detailed questions about specific design choices, wireframes, prototypes, and user research findings.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation advice focuses on demonstrating a strong grasp of UX principles, specific experience with complex systems and AI, and excellent communication and collaboration skills. Candidates must be ready to articulate their process and impact through their portfolio.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Designer - AI position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the NetImpact Strategies careers portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight 1-2 key projects that best demonstrate your experience with complex digital products, workflow-heavy applications, and ideally, any work involving AI or human-AI interaction. Ensure your process and impact are clearly articulated.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to emphasize your 3+ years of professional UX design experience, proficiency in Figma, user research methodologies, and any experience relevant to enterprise software, AI, or government sectors. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, design decisions, and project outcomes clearly and concisely. Prepare to discuss your experience with Figma in detail and be ready to answer behavioral and situational questions related to collaboration and problem-solving.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research NetImpact Strategies, their mission, their work in digital transformation for the Federal Government, and the AI Forge platform. Understand their values and recent achievements (like Top Work Place awards) to demonstrate your genuine interest.

⚠️ 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.