Product Designer (UI/UX) at Obviant in Arlington, VA

UI/UX Designer

The defense market is surging, but the data that drives it hasn’t kept up. Companies, government, and investors are forced to perform heavily manual processes and piece together hundreds of disparate sources to make decisions. Obviant is building a data source of truth and AI tools for defense acquisition to solve this. We fuse information from thousands of sources – structured + unstructured – to provide a cohesive picture of budget, programs, the organizations running them, and much more. Whether it’s a company navigating GTM or a program manager developing capabilities, we’re providing all sides with the intelligence they need to execute effectively.

We’re growing fast and backed by top funds and DoD/national security veterans.

We believe that public sector mission sets matter above anything else. If you feel the same way, we’d love for you to join us.

The Role

We’re looking for a hands-on UI/UX Designer to be the foundation of our design efforts and own the end-to-end user experience across our products. As our first design hire, you’ll define our user experience strategy, lead design thinking, and execute all design and product initiatives as we bring cutting-edge technology to the defense sector. Working closely with product, engineering, and leadership, you’ll have the opportunity to shape both our user interface and our core identity in a fast-paced, mission-driven startup environment.

You’ll set the vision, move quickly, and iterate rapidly—ensuring our products are not only functional, but intuitive, engaging, and beautifully crafted. Depending on experience and performance, there is significant opportunity for you to grow into a leadership role with broader influence.

Responsibilities:

• Define and lead the UX and UI strategy for our organization from the ground up, setting design vision and best practices.
• Own end-to-end product design: from discovery and user research, to rapid prototyping, wireframes, visual design, and developer hand-off.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, product, and business stakeholders to translate user needs and business goals into seamless, intuitive experiences.
• Move quickly—generate and iterate on multiple design concepts to solve complex problems and inform product direction.
• Create high-fidelity, production-ready UI and design assets for web-based and/or mobile applications.
• Establish and contribute to a scalable design system and patterns library, ensuring consistency across our products.
• Develop user journeys, interaction models, info architecture, and usability testing processes—which you’ll own and execute.
• Champion a user-centered, data-informed design philosophy, leveraging user research and feedback to continually improve the product experience.
• Set an example of design leadership and proactively identify areas for innovation in usability and aesthetics.
• Stay current with the latest design trends, tools, and best practices, pushing boundaries to create delightful, meaningful user experiences.
• Communicate your design decisions effectively, and inspire confidence and excitement about design at all levels of the organization.

Qualifications:

• 3+ years’ experience in UI/UX design, interaction design, or product design roles (startup or high-growth environment highly preferred).
• Strong, diverse design portfolio demonstrating your process and impact across shipped digital products.
• Proven experience taking products from 0→1, including concepting, prototyping, designing, and iterating in fast-paced environments.
• Expertise with modern design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Adobe products).
• Demonstrated ability to generate and communicate multiple compelling design solutions to complex problems.
• Excellent visual and written communication skills—you can clearly articulate and present your work to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Comfortable working autonomously, managing your own priorities, and proactively identifying areas where design can make the biggest impact.
• Experience designing for enterprise, B2B SaaS, or defense/government markets a strong plus.
• Familiarity with accessibility standards, responsive design, and usability best practices.
• Passion for our mission: building better technology for defense, and willingness to immerse yourself in our users’ needs and challenges.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance

Our Working Style – Why We Might Work Well Together

• You care about government & are mission-oriented - Our work is important, and is critical to improving a system that impacts us all.
• Perseverance and endurance - Hard problems are worth solving, and solving them can take a long time. There is no such thing as exhausting all options, it’s just time to look for new ones.
• Empowerment > micro-management – We’re building a culture of high-performers. Our job is to equip them with what they need and eliminate roadblocks for them to succeed. We trust their judgment, skills, and experience from there.
• We’re collaborative and communicate well - Constructive dialogue that takes all viewpoints into account is the only way we get to the right decision. Respect, trust, and complete transparency with each other is critical - keep it all in the open
• You’re really good at what you do… but it speaks for itself – High output, no ego. Being humble is extremely important to us
• You don’t mind change and are comfortable with uncertainty - We’re deliberate about setting goals, but we’re comfortable changing course and dealing with discomfort to get there. We’re still figuring things out, and that demands being flexible and iterative.
• Work doesn’t feel like “work” to you – We’re passionate about what we’re going after, and we devote more time to it than a typical 9-5. That often means putting in extra time at night and occasionally on weekends. However, maintaining your own personal balance comes above all else, and you should establish that however you need to - flexible schedule, taking advantage of time off, or anything else you need.
• You like to move fast and have a bias towards action - Our roadmap is directional at this stage - speed and a feeling of urgency is key to prove it out. We expect each other to proactively determine what needs to get done and go for it.
• Integrity is never negotiable – Transparency, honesty, and respect comes above all else.

Benefits & Structure

• We’re a tight-knit team headquartered in Arlington, VA. We work in the office together most days, and believe being in the same place is a competitive advantage.
• Flexible schedule - We all have other things going on in our lives. Doctor visits, kids’ activities, dog walks - take care of it whenever you have to. And work from home when you need to.
• Competitive compensation + Sizeable equity - We’re building something with massive upside potential, and you’ll have ownership in that. This is ours.
• Flexible vacation time - Use what you want, as long as you’re taking care of what needs to get done.
• Full health, dental, and vision insurance.
• And more…