UX Designer - Contract

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Designer - Contract

Company: TrussWorks, Inc

Location: Remote (United States)

Job Type: Contract

Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Service Design

Date Posted: 2026-08-26

Experience Level: Mid to Senior Level (5-10 years estimated)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• This contract role focuses on shaping user journeys and service experiences, emphasizing research, workflow design, and stakeholder consultation rather than solely UI development.

• The position requires a strong foundation in human-centered design principles, with a significant emphasis on user research and translating insights into actionable recommendations for complex enterprise systems.

• Candidates will operate within an agile framework, contributing to iterative delivery and continuous feedback loops within cross-functional teams.

• A key aspect of this role involves navigating and managing diverse stakeholder relationships, articulating design rationales clearly, and demonstrating the value of design in enterprise or government contexts.

📝 Enhancement Note: The original job description specifies "UX Designer - Contract" with a focus on "research and workflow-based service design." This enhancement infers a mid-to-senior level based on the expected autonomy in research, stakeholder management, and the required depth of experience with complex systems like Salesforce. The "Contract" nature and the specific contract duration (through April 2027) are crucial for candidates to understand.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct independent user research using mixed-methods appropriate to project needs and timelines, synthesizing findings into actionable, stakeholder-ready recommendations.

• Design complex, form-based user flows and service blueprints, with a particular focus on improving government technology and enterprise systems.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including developers and product managers, within an agile development environment.

• Articulate compelling design rationales to both technical and non-technical audiences, effectively communicating decision-making processes and design strategies.

• Manage and grow diverse stakeholder relationships, approaching difficult conversations with clarity, empathy, and professionalism.

• Ensure design outputs comply with accessibility standards, including Section 508, plain language, and established accessibility patterns.

• Contribute to the iterative delivery of designs, embracing continuous feedback and adaptive planning within agile sprints.

• Leverage a consulting mindset to demonstrate the value of design within enterprise or government settings, and consult on custom web applications and COTS enterprise systems like Salesforce.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary responsibilities are derived from the detailed "Your Skill Set" section and the introductory paragraph of the job description, focusing on the practical application of UX and service design skills within a consulting and government technology context. Emphasis is placed on research synthesis, stakeholder engagement, and agile collaboration, which are core to this type of contract role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• While no specific degree is mandated, a background in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design, Psychology, or a related field is implied by the focus on human-centered design and research. Experience:

• A minimum of 5-10 years of experience in user experience design, with a strong emphasis on user research and service design.

• Demonstrated experience conducting research independently, utilizing mixed-methods to meet project objectives and timelines.

• Proven ability to design complex, form-based user flows and prototypes.

• Experience working within agile development environments, embracing iterative delivery and continuous feedback.

• Demonstrated experience in growing and managing diverse stakeholder relationships.

• Experience in consulting, particularly within enterprise or government technology sectors, is highly valued.

• Comfortable with client-facing interactions and professional communication. Required Skills:

• Human-centered design principles and application.

• User research methodologies (mixed-methods).

• Service design principles and workflow mapping.

• Stakeholder management and relationship building.

• Clear articulation of design rationale to technical and non-technical audiences.

• Agile mindset and experience with iterative development.

• Designing complex user flows and prototypes.

• Understanding of Section 508, plain language, and accessibility standards.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including high emotional intelligence.

• Adaptability and comfort with remote collaboration tools (Slack, Zoom, G Suite, Figma, Jira, Confluence, Teams, SharePoint). Preferred Skills:

• Specific experience designing for Salesforce (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud).

• Familiarity with the Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS).

• Understanding of standard Salesforce UI patterns and platform capabilities/limitations.

• Knowledge of configuration vs. customization trade-offs within Salesforce.

• Experience working with government agencies (federal or state).

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Experience Level" is inferred as Mid to Senior (5-10 years) due to the requirement for independent research, complex design, robust stakeholder management, and the consulting aspect. The "Preferred Skills" are directly pulled from the "Strongly Preferred" and "Bonus points" sections of the original description, highlighting the significant advantage these bring.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Case Studies on Research & Workflow Design: Showcase a minimum of 2-3 detailed case studies that highlight your process from initial research (mixed-methods) through to the development of complex user flows and service blueprints.

• Stakeholder Management Examples: Include examples within your case studies or a separate section demonstrating how you navigated stakeholder dynamics, communicated design rationales, and managed feedback to achieve project goals.

• Accessibility Compliance: Provide evidence of your understanding and application of accessibility standards (e.g., Section 508) in your design work. This could be through specific project examples or a dedicated section explaining your approach.

• Iterative Design Process: Demonstrate your ability to work within an agile framework, showing how you incorporated feedback, iterated on designs, and contributed to continuous delivery.

Process Documentation:

• Research Synthesis: Examples of how you synthesize qualitative and quantitative research data into clear, actionable insights and recommendations for diverse audiences.

• Workflow & Service Blueprinting: Visual documentation of complex user journeys, service blueprints, or process maps that illustrate your ability to design end-to-end experiences.

• Design Rationale Articulation: Clear explanations of your design decisions, backed by user research, business objectives, and accessibility considerations, suitable for presentation to clients and technical teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: Portfolio requirements are tailored to the core responsibilities of a UX/Service Designer in a consulting role. The emphasis is on showcasing the process and impact of design, particularly in research synthesis, stakeholder management, and delivering accessible, user-centric solutions for complex systems. The specific mention of Salesforce experience within the preferred skills also informs the expectation for potential portfolio content.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Hourly Rate: $80 - $88 USD per hour.

• Estimated Annual Salary (Full-Time Equivalent): Based on a 35-hour work week and the provided hourly range, this equates to approximately $145,600 - $159,040 USD annually.

Benefits:

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO).

• Co-working budget.

• Employee effectiveness budget.

• (Note: As this is a contract role, benefits beyond those explicitly listed may be limited. Full-time employee benefits are mentioned as a point of comparison for Truss's culture, but are not guaranteed for this contract position.) Working Hours:

• Weekly Commitment: 35 hours per week.

• Core Hours: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm ET (Eastern Time) daily, ensuring overlap for collaboration.

• Flexibility: While core hours are defined, the fully remote nature and contract status may offer some flexibility outside of these times, subject to project demands and team coordination.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is directly provided ($80-$88/hour). The annual equivalent is calculated based on the stated 35 working hours per week. Benefits are listed as provided, with a crucial clarification that these are typically for full-time employees and may not apply to this contract role. The working hours are also explicitly stated.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software Development Consultancy, Government Technology, Enterprise Software Implementation.

Company Size: TrussWorks, Inc. is described as a remote-first organization. While the exact employee count isn't provided, their focus on building impactful teams and a collaborative culture suggests a growing, medium-sized firm.

Founded: The company was founded as a remote-first organization since its inception, indicating a modern, flexible operational structure.

Team Structure:

• Cross-functional Teams: The role emphasizes working within cross-functional teams, collaborating with external development teams on related projects.

• Consulting Environment: Truss operates as a consultancy, meaning designers will likely work on various client projects, interacting with client teams as well as Truss's internal project teams.

• Remote-First Culture: The company is deeply committed to a remote-first approach, fostering environments that encourage collaboration, diverse perspectives, and creative problem-solving.

Methodology:

• Agile Development: The team operates with an agile mindset, focusing on iterative delivery, continuous feedback, and adaptive planning.

• Human-Centered Design: A core philosophy revolves around human-centered design and research, ensuring that technology solutions are built with the end-user in mind.

• Service Design Focus: Emphasis is placed on shaping user journeys and service experiences, going beyond traditional UI design to address the broader ecosystem of a service.

Company Website: https://www.truss.works/ (Inferred from domain_derived: trussworksinc.com, and general company description).

📝 Enhancement Note: Company context is derived from the provided company description. Key elements like "remote-first," "software development consultancy," and "government technology" are highlighted. The team structure is inferred from the role's requirements for cross-functional and client-facing collaboration.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level:

• This contract role is positioned at a Mid to Senior UX/Service Designer level. It demands independent execution of research, complex problem-solving, significant stakeholder management, and the ability to consult and advise on design strategy. While it's a contract, the scope of work and expected autonomy align with experienced professionals. Reporting Structure:

• The UX Designer will likely report to a Project Lead or Design Manager within TrussWorks for project oversight and guidance.

• They will also collaborate closely with client-side project managers and stakeholders, receiving direction and feedback from these groups as well.

• Regular collaboration with cross-functional team members (developers, researchers, product managers) is expected. Operations Impact:

• The impact of this role is directly tied to improving the usability, effectiveness, and user satisfaction of government technology and enterprise systems. By shaping user journeys and service experiences, the designer contributes to more efficient government services and better user outcomes.

• The consulting aspect means demonstrating the tangible business value of design, such as increased user adoption, reduced support costs, and improved citizen engagement. Growth Opportunities:

• Project Diversity: Exposure to a variety of challenging projects within the government and enterprise sectors, offering broad experience.

• Consulting Skills Development: Opportunities to hone consulting, client management, and stakeholder communication skills.

• Salesforce Specialization: Deepening expertise in designing for Salesforce platforms, a highly in-demand skill.

• Potential for Extension/Full-Time Transition: While a contract, successful performance and project needs could lead to extensions or potentially full-time opportunities within TrussWorks, which offers a robust benefits and career leveling structure.

📝 Enhancement Note: This analysis focuses on the career implications of a contract role within a consultancy. It frames the level, reporting, impact, and growth potential from the perspective of an operations professional evaluating this as a career move, highlighting the skills gained and potential future pathways.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type:

• Fully Remote: The position is 100% remote, based within the contiguous United States.

• Hybrid Potential (for client needs): A requirement to travel to Baltimore, MD, twice per calendar year suggests occasional in-person client meetings or workshops may be necessary, indicating a "hybrid" model in terms of occasional on-site requirements for specific client engagements, despite the role being fundamentally remote.

Office Location(s):

• Primary: Remote within the United States.

• Required Travel: Baltimore, MD (twice per calendar year).

Workspace Context:

• Independent Work Environment: Candidates will need a dedicated workspace conducive to focused work and video conferencing.

• Digital Collaboration Hub: The work environment is heavily reliant on digital tools such as Slack, Zoom, G Suite, Figma, Jira, Confluence, Teams, and SharePoint for communication, collaboration, and project management.

• Cross-functional Interaction: Opportunities for regular interaction with a diverse team of designers, developers, researchers, and client stakeholders, fostering a collaborative and dynamic remote work atmosphere.

Work Schedule:

• Standard Work Week: 35 hours per week.

• Core Collaboration Hours: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm ET, ensuring team availability for synchronous communication and meetings.

• Flexibility: Outside of core hours, the remote, contract nature may allow for some flexibility in scheduling personal tasks, provided project deadlines and collaborative needs are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section details the practicalities of the remote work environment, including the specific tools used and the expectation of occasional travel, which classifies it as hybrid despite being primarily remote.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a brief call with a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, experience, and alignment with the contract role and company culture.

• Hiring Manager/Team Interview: A more in-depth discussion focusing on your UX/Service Design experience, research methodologies, stakeholder management skills, and problem-solving approaches. Expect questions about your approach to complex flows and remote collaboration.

• Portfolio Review & Design Exercise: A dedicated session where you'll present your portfolio, walking through key case studies. You may also be given a small design challenge or asked to discuss how you'd approach a hypothetical scenario relevant to the role's responsibilities (e.g., designing a government service, improving a Salesforce workflow).

• Client/Stakeholder Interview (Potentially): Depending on the project, you might have a final interview with the client stakeholders to assess fit and alignment.

• Reference Checks: Standard procedure for contract roles.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Relevance: Select case studies that specifically showcase your experience in user research, service design, workflow mapping, and designing for complex enterprise/government systems. Highlight any Salesforce experience prominently.

• Emphasize Process: Clearly articulate your design process for each case study. Focus on how you arrived at your solutions, detailing your research methods, decision-making rationale, and how you incorporated feedback.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, include metrics or outcomes that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improved user satisfaction, increased efficiency, adherence to accessibility standards).

• Showcase Stakeholder Management: If possible, include examples of how you collaborated with and managed diverse stakeholders, presented design rationales, and navigated challenging feedback.

• Accessibility Focus: Dedicate a section or highlight within case studies how you ensure designs meet accessibility standards like Section 508.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach designing for government technology or enterprise systems, considering constraints, diverse user bases, and specific requirements like accessibility.

• Service Design Thinking: Practice outlining end-to-end service journeys, identifying pain points, and proposing solutions that go beyond just the UI.

• Salesforce Familiarity: If you have Salesforce experience, be ready to discuss specific patterns, the Lightning Design System, and common platform challenges.

• Communication Clarity: Practice explaining complex design concepts and decisions concisely and persuasively, as if presenting to a client or a mixed-discipline team.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section provides actionable advice for preparing for the interview process and portfolio review, tailored to the specific requirements of a UX/Service Designer role in a consulting environment, emphasizing research, stakeholder management, and accessibility.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design & Prototyping Tools:

• Figma: The primary tool for UI design, prototyping, and collaborative design work. Proficiency is essential for creating complex user flows and mockups.

• Other Prototyping Tools: While not explicitly stated, familiarity with tools like Sketch, Adobe XD, or InVision may be beneficial for broader design system integration or specific project needs.

Collaboration & Project Management Tools:

• Slack: Essential for real-time team communication and collaboration within TrussWorks and with clients.

• Zoom: For video conferencing, virtual meetings, and remote collaboration sessions.

• Jira: Likely used for agile project management, task tracking, and sprint planning.

• Confluence: For documentation, knowledge sharing, and project wikis.

• Microsoft Teams & SharePoint: Also listed as collaboration tools, indicating potential use for specific client projects or internal documentation management.

Productivity & Cloud Services:

• G Suite (Google Workspace): For document creation, spreadsheets, presentations, and cloud storage.

Enterprise System Experience (Strongly Preferred):

• Salesforce: Experience designing for Salesforce, including familiarity with:

  • Sales Cloud

  • Service Cloud

  • Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS)

  • Standard Salesforce UI patterns

  • Platform capabilities and limitations

  • Configuration versus customization trade-offs

📝 Enhancement Note: This section consolidates all mentioned tools and technologies, categorizing them by function (Design, Collaboration, Productivity, Enterprise Systems) to provide a clear overview of the expected technical stack. The emphasis on Salesforce is maintained as a critical preferred skill.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• People-Centricity: A strong commitment to human-centered design, ensuring that user needs are at the forefront of all development efforts.

• Craftsmanship & High Standards: A dedication to the quality of work, producing government technology that is not just functional but also desirable and effective.

• Collaboration & Diverse Perspectives: Encouraging an environment where diverse points of view are valued, fostering creative solutions and robust teamwork.

• Impact & Meaningful Work: Passion for making government services better and building impactful teams, contributing to a sense of purpose.

• Work-Life Balance: Commitment to fostering environments that support employee well-being.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Seamless collaboration across disciplines (design, development, research) is crucial.

• Client-Facing Professionalism: A consultative approach is expected, requiring clear communication, empathy, and professionalism when interacting with clients and stakeholders.

• Agile & Iterative: The team embraces iterative delivery and continuous feedback, encouraging open communication and adaptive planning.

• Remote-First Communication: Proficiency in using digital tools for effective communication and collaboration in a distributed setting.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section distills the company's stated values and operational philosophy from the introductory and concluding paragraphs, framing them within the context of what a UX/Service Designer would experience and contribute to.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Ambiguity: Working on diverse projects, potentially with evolving requirements, requires the ability to distill insights from unclear situations.

• Complex Stakeholder Dynamics: Managing expectations and aligning diverse stakeholder interests in enterprise or government settings can be challenging.

• Designing for Government/Enterprise Constraints: Balancing user needs with the often complex technical, regulatory, and procedural constraints inherent in government or large enterprise systems.

• Remote Collaboration Optimization: Maintaining strong team cohesion and effective communication in a fully remote, contract-based environment.

• Translating Complex Needs: Effectively translating user needs and business requirements into actionable design solutions for systems like Salesforce.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Diverse Project Experience: Gaining exposure to a wide range of government and enterprise technology challenges, broadening your portfolio and problem-solving toolkit.

• Consulting Acumen: Developing advanced client management, strategic communication, and business value articulation skills through consulting engagements.

• Salesforce Ecosystem Expertise: Deepening practical knowledge of Salesforce platforms, SLDS, and best practices for enterprise design within this ecosystem.

• Agile Methodologies: Further refining skills in agile development, iterative design, and continuous feedback loops.

• Cross-functional Skill Exposure: Learning from and collaborating with experienced developers, researchers, and project managers.

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges are identified based on the role's description (ambiguity, stakeholders, complex systems), and growth opportunities are framed around the benefits of the consulting model and the specific technical focus (Salesforce, agile).

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Design Process & Research: "Describe your process for conducting user research on a complex government service. How do you synthesize findings into actionable recommendations?" Be ready to walk through a mixed-methods approach and provide examples.

• Stakeholder Management: "Tell me about a time you had to manage difficult stakeholder expectations or communicate a design rationale that was initially met with resistance. How did you handle it?" Focus on your approach to clarity, empathy, and professionalism.

• Service Design & User Journeys: "How would you approach designing a user journey for [hypothetical government service]? What are the key considerations for enterprise systems like Salesforce?" Prepare to discuss end-to-end thinking and platform-specific nuances.

• Accessibility: "What is your approach to ensuring designs meet Section 508 compliance? Can you give an example of an accessibility challenge you've overcome?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• Consulting Mindset: "Why are you interested in a contract role with a consultancy like TrussWorks? How do you see yourself demonstrating design value in an enterprise or government context?"

• Remote Collaboration: "How do you maintain effective communication and collaboration with a remote, cross-functional team?" Be prepared to discuss your use of digital tools and proactive communication strategies.

• Agile Experience: "Describe your experience working within an agile development team. How do you integrate user feedback into iterative design cycles?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Select for Impact: Choose 2-3 case studies that best showcase your research, service design, workflow mapping, stakeholder management, and any Salesforce experience.

• Storytelling: Frame each case study as a narrative: the problem, your process (research, ideation, iteration), the solution, and the outcome/impact.

• Highlight Process: Explicitly detail your methodology at each stage. Show why you made certain decisions.

• Quantify Results: Whenever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs.

• Accessibility Integration: Clearly explain how accessibility was considered and incorporated into your designs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview questions are crafted to directly probe the core requirements of the role: research, service design, stakeholder management, Salesforce, and agile collaboration, with a focus on how candidates would apply these in a consulting context.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Designer - Contract position:

• Submit your application through the provided Greenhouse link.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features case studies demonstrating your user research capabilities (mixed-methods), complex user flow design, service blueprinting, and experience with enterprise systems (especially Salesforce, if applicable). Tailor your presentation to highlight how you translate insights into actionable recommendations.

• Resume Optimization: Clearly articulate your experience with human-centered design, agile methodologies, stakeholder management, and accessibility standards (Section 508). Quantify achievements where possible and highlight any consulting or government sector experience.

• Interview Preparation: Practice discussing your design process, how you handle ambiguity and difficult stakeholders, and your understanding of service design principles. Prepare to present your portfolio with a focus on your problem-solving approach and the impact of your work.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with TrussWorks' mission, their focus on government technology, and their remote-first culture. Understand the importance they place on collaboration and craftsmanship.

⚠️ 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.