User Experience Designer

Job Description

Position Summary:

The individual in this position will serve as a lead UX/UI designer for weather-related forecast and decision-support systems. While the role may include project management and principal investigator duties, the primary focus is delivering exceptional, high-impact software design. The designer will collaborate closely with meteorologists, software engineers, social scientists within the WIDS Division, and partner laboratories to translate operational workflows into clear, intuitive interfaces. In support of the design process, the individual will evaluate existing tools and prototypes by gathering user feedback through targeted interviews and usability testing, translating those insights directly into actionable interface refinements.

Description of Unit:

The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University (CSU) seeks to fill a full-time User Experience Designer position to conduct collaborative research and development with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) located at the Global Systems Laboratory (GSL) in Boulder, CO. The individual in this position will work in the NOAA/OAR/GSL Weather Informatics and Decision Support (WIDS) Division.

For a complete position description, including information regarding our organization, our collaborators, the full position summary and job duties, please visit:

https://www.cira.colostate.edu/welcome-about/jobs/

For full consideration, please apply by Monday, November 23, 2026, 11:59 PM (MT).

Essential Job Duties:

• •Serve as design lead and potentially principal investigator and project manager for WIDS decision support systems; direct the strategic vision, user experience, and end-to-end technical advancement of the product while overseeing the product roadmap, managing a high-volume backlog, coordinating sprint planning, and maintaining delivery standards across a cross-functional development team.
• •Conduct research by designing wireframes, prototypes, mockups, and high-fidelity interfaces using Figma and other design tools; develop and maintain a comprehensive UX design system and component library.
• •Plan and conduct interviews and usability testing with NWS forecasters and emergency managers to evaluate tools, refine data visualization and decision-support communication, and translate user input into actionable design enhancements.
• •Collaborate with meteorologists, software engineers, and social and behavioral scientists to incorporate user research findings into decision support displays and systems that reflect the needs of operational users; lead cross-laboratory collaboration with partner organizations to harmonize UX standards, accessibility practices, and design systems across NOAA.
• •Produce research plans, usability reports, interaction specifications, and design documentation to support development teams and inform stakeholders.
• •Communicate research findings, project progress, and strategic recommendations to sponsors, stakeholders, and peer organizations, and participate in workshops and conferences.

Conditions of Employment:

• •While at least partial onsite presence (3 days per week) at GSL in Boulder, CO, is strongly preferred, remote work options may be considered. If onsite, this position allows for a hybrid working modality that, with satisfactory performance and in coordination with the project team, allows for up to 2 days per week of telework.
• •This full-time position requires a National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) Tier 1 federal background check and a NOAA Common Access Card (CAC) ID badge for systems access. Therefore, only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents holding a physical USCIS "Green Card" are eligible.

Supervision:

This position will not supervise employees.

Required Qualifications:

RA IV Education requirements :

Bachelor’s Degree from a program such as (but not limited to) human centered design, human-computer interaction, user experience, usability engineering, cognitive psychology, risk communication plus 10 years of relevant work experience, or Master’s Degree plus 5 years of relevant work experience, or PhD plus 2 years of relevant work experience.

RA III Education requirements :

Bachelor’s Degree from a program such as (but not limited to) field human centered design, human-computer interaction, user experience, usability engineering, cognitive psychology, risk communication plus 5 years of relevant work experience, or Master’s Degree plus 2 years of relevant work experience, or a recent PhD.

Requirements for all classifications :

• •A portfolio demonstrating end-to-end UX design processes for complex digital experiences, including user research, journey mapping, site maps, user flows, wireframing, interactive prototyping, and final product outcomes.
• •Professional experience as a UX Designer, Product Designer, or Interaction Designer working on web or mobile products.
• •Demonstrated experience with modern design and prototyping tools – in particular, Figma.
• •Proven ability to build upon existing design systems, component libraries, and style guides—comfortably adopting established frameworks while driving them forward.
• •Demonstrated ability to test software tools and design prototypes with end-users (such as forecasters), gather feedback, and iterate on designs to improve usability.
• •Experience collaborating directly with developers, partners, and user communities to translate user feedback and operational workflows into intuitive software experiences.
• •Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate research findings (including visual representations of data, highlight videos, slide decks, written reports, demos, etc.) as evidenced by an online portfolio of research and/or design work executed by self or team that showcases exceptional research and design.

Preferred Qualifications:

• •Proficiency in front-end development including HTML, CSS/SCSS, JavaScript, and React.
• •Project management experience, particularly using the Agile methodology.
• •Hands-on experience planning and executing foundational qualitative research—including user interviews —to uncover core user needs and shape product vision and roadmaps.
• •Experience synthesizing qualitative research findings into actionable design improvements and strategic product direction.
• •Demonstrated knowledge of risk assessment and risk communication.

• •Experience executing end-to-end design work from sketching to high-fidelity prototyping at both the feature and overall-product levels using mixed-methods user experience research, including foundational, strategic, formative, evaluative, and tactical approaches.
• •Familiarity with accessibility and web design best practices.
• •Experience in the weather industry (e.g., using meteorological data or working with weather stakeholders).
• •Experience making independent design decisions within a small, lean development team.

Application Instructions:

• •Applications must be submitted via online portal in Workday. We will not accept materials sent via email or other mode.
• •Applications ARE REQUIRED TO INCLUDE A COVER LETTER.
• •In the body of your resume and cover letter, please specifically address all required qualifications and applicable preferred qualifications when describing your work experience. A resume and cover letter that fail to address the qualifications of this position may not be further considered after review by the search committee.
• •Likewise, an online application with a generic cover letter or missing a cover letter may not be further considered after review by the search committee.
• •References will be requested for finalists and will not be contacted without prior notification of candidates.

Salary Range

RA III: $110,000 - $120,000; RAIV: $120,000 - $130,000

Required Application Documents

To apply, please upload the following applicant documents. Ensure your materials fully address the required and p