Human Centered Design / Customer Experience Lead

Human Centered Design / Customer Experience Lead Location: Remote Job: Human Centered Design / Customer Experience Lead Schedule: Full-time Shift: Day Job JOB DESCRIPTION Description AcisTek is seeking qualified professionals to support the Grants.gov Information Technology Services program for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Grants, Division of Information and Solutions. Grants.gov is a highly visible, public-facing federal shared service that provides a centralized platform for applicants to find and apply for federal discretionary grant opportunities and for federal agencies to post, manage, and process grant application packages. The selected candidate will support the operation, maintenance, enhancement, modernization, security, performance, and user experience of the Grants.gov system. This work supports a mission-critical federal platform used by applicants, grantors, federal agencies, and partner systems across the grants lifecycle. Candidates should be comfortable working in a structured federal IT environment with strong emphasis on service continuity, stakeholder responsiveness, documentation, quality, security, accessibility, and disciplined delivery. Ideal candidates will bring experience supporting federal IT programs, public-facing web applications, grants management systems, cloud-hosted environments, Agile/SDLC delivery, system operations, application support, testing, cybersecurity, communications, or related technical and program functions. Prior experience with Grants.gov, federal grants systems, HHS, government shared services, or high-volume public-sector platforms is strongly preferred. Preferred Grants.gov / Federal Grants Experience Preferred experience includes one or more of the following: Grants.gov, GrantSolutions, or other federal grants management platforms. Federal discretionary grants lifecycle, including funding opportunity posting, application package creation, applicant submission, agency download, forms, validations, and acknowledgements. Public-facing government websites or shared service platforms with large user communities. System-to-system interfaces supporting applicant systems, grantor systems, partner systems, or external federal integrations. Federal forms development, Adobe/XDP/PDF forms, XML schemas, web forms, form validation, and Section 508 accessibility. HHS, OMB, GAO, OIG, congressional data calls, federal stakeholder reporting, or executive-level federal communications. Federal cloud, ATO, POA&M remediation, vulnerability management, disaster recovery, and operational continuity. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: Oversee the integration of human-centered design methodologies into product, service, and internal process development Conduct and lead research to deeply understand customer needs, behaviors, and pain points, using both qualitative and quantitative methods Facilitate ideation, prototyping, and testing to create intuitive, efficient, and delightful user experiences Analyze and optimize end-to-end customer journeys to reduce friction and enhance resonance Ladders. Apply behavioral insights to influence and improve user engagement and decision-making Train and guide designers, researchers, and analysts in HCD and CX best practices Work with marketing, sales, product, technology, and operations to align design and CX strategies with business objectives Develop and maintain HCD/CX frameworks, tools, and guidelines for consistent application across teams Champion a “test and learn” mindset to rapidly iterate and refine solutions based on real-world feedback Education and Experience: UX research, accessibility (Section 508), content clarity (Plain Writing Act), prototyping, user testing Ensure web/forms/app changes are accessible and usable; reduce helpdesk load Degree in information technology, computer science, or related preferred. 5 years or more of related experience required. Physical Requirements: Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.