Strategic Design and Experience Lead

Location: This position is remote with occasional travel to Washington DC possible.

Position Summary
The Strategic Design and Experience Lead (SDEL) is the creative and strategic force driving how Military Community and Family Policy (MC&FP) connects with millions of service members, families, and survivors worldwide. This role blends human-centered design, strategic communications, and data-driven insight to deliver meaningful digital experiences that inform, empower, and engage the military community.
The SDEL shapes the design vision across MC&FP’s digital ecosystem—integrating user experience (UX), accessibility, and innovation into every interaction. As a key advisor to leadership, the SDEL translates complex mission goals into intuitive, engaging, and measurable design strategies that strengthen MC&FP’s brand, improve user engagement, and deliver lasting impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive design and experience strategy that aligns with MC&FP’s mission and outreach objectives.
• Champion human-centered and accessible design principles, ensuring all products meet or exceed Section 508 and WCAG standards.
• Direct the integration of brand strategy, user experience, and visual design across digital, mobile, and multimedia platforms.
• Collaborate with communications, IT, and data teams to ensure that design decisions are informed by analytics, audience research, and behavioral data.
• Guide the creation of engaging, intuitive digital experiences through journey mapping, usability testing, and user feedback loops.
• Oversee the development and implementation of design systems and UX frameworks that ensure consistency across all MC&FP platforms.
• Translate stakeholder goals and user needs into actionable creative direction, bridging the gap between strategy, content, and technology.
• Advise senior leadership on emerging design trends, tools, and innovations, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Support agile development teams with design thinking expertise throughout concept, prototyping, and delivery phases.

• U.S. Citizenship
• Ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Tier 3 (Public Trust) background investigation or the level required by the contract.
• 5+ years of experience leading strategic design, customer experience, or digital brand innovation initiatives for large-scale or government programs.
• 5+ years of experience applying human-centered design principles and leading UX research or creative strategy initiatives.
• 3+ years of experience advising senior executives or program leadership on design strategy, innovation, and customer engagement.
• Proven ability to translate user insights and analytics into actionable design improvements and experience strategies.
• Demonstrated experience with Agile environments and cross-functional collaboration between design, IT, and communications teams.
• In-depth knowledge of accessibility compliance standards (Section 508 and WCAG 2.1+).

• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Communications, Marketing, Human-Centered Design, Business, or a related field.
• Professional certifications or training in UX Design, Human-Centered Design, or Program/Project Management (PMP, PgMP).
• Familiarity with DoD digital engagement platforms, data visualization tools, or cloud-based design ecosystems (e.g., AWS GovCloud).
• Experience leveraging AI, machine learning, or advanced analytics to inform design and user experience decisions.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and presentation skills with the ability to inspire creative and technical teams alike.

Position is contingent upon contract award.