Associate Service Designer at Technical Assent in Washington, DC

Technical Assent is seeking an Associate Service Designer to support research and service design activities across federal consulting engagements.

This early-career role is designed for individuals interested in developing expertise in service design, human-centered design, and customer experience within the public sector. Associate Service Designers work closely with experienced designers and researchers to support research activities, synthesize insights, and contribute to the development of service design deliverables. Our designers conduct real user research with the people who rely on government services and translate those insights into implementable service improvements.

The successful candidate will have the ability to:

• Support Research Activities
• Assist in planning and conducting user research including interviews, focus groups, surveys, and observational studies.
• Help document research findings and synthesize insights.
• Support the use of AI-enabled tools to assist with research synthesis and analysis.
• Contribute to Service Design Deliverables
• Assist in creating service design artifacts such as:
• Journey maps
• Service blueprints
• Personas
• Research reports
• Presentation materials
• Collaborate with Project Teams
• Work with service designers, product teams, and analysts to support project deliverables.
• Participate in design workshops and co-creation sessions.
• Contribute to the development of research and design documentation.
• Learn and Develop Service Design Skills
• Work alongside experienced service designers to build skills in research methods, service design frameworks, and facilitation techniques.
• Participate in internal practice development and learning opportunities.
• General
• Create client-ready deliverables from conception to presentation
• Coordinate with project leadership on direction and progress of project activities
• Work in a team environment, being open to others ideas and working collaboratively to produce well-rounded solutions/deliverables
• Be flexible as project scope evolves
• Elevate risks to Team Leads
• Be a strong critical thinker who sees the big picture while staying delivery-driven
• Be a self-starter who is detail-oriented, takes an active approach to tackling assignments, and is comfortable giving and receiving feedback
• Strong interpersonal communication skills and the ability to clearly and effectively communicate in written and presentation form 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree
• 1-3 years of professional experience, including in service design, UX design, customer experience, research, or related fields
• Demonstrated interest in human-centered design and service innovation
• Strong analytical thinking and communication skills
• Ability to collaborate in multidisciplinary teams
• Curious and open-minded approach to work
• Thrive in a continuous Build-Measure-Learn cycle
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust or other federal security clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Internship or academic experience involving design research or service design
• Exposure to human-centered design methods
• Experience working with design tools or collaboration platforms

Tools & Methods:

Experience with modern design and research tools such as:

• Figma
• Mural
• Dovetail
• Collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Slack
• Experience leveraging AI-enabled tools for research synthesis, ideation, and service concept development is strongly valued.

Federal Standards & Accessibility

Service design work may involve improving digital or physical services and should consider:

• Section 508 accessibility standards
• 21st Century IDEA Act requirements
• Federal CX Executive Order guidance
• Public sector service delivery environments

Portfolio Requirement

A portfolio demonstrating service design, CX, or research work is required.

Job Location and Travel Expectations:

• This position is remote within the United States, with preference for candidates located in the Washington, DC metro area is preferred. 
• Travel for field research, workshops, and prototyping (15-25%) is anticipated.

THE COMPANY

Technical Assent is passionate about services – in government, business, and not-for-profit. We design exceptional service experiences, engineer them to be robust, and deliver real capability and business outcomes for our clients. You will be working on government programs that have strategic importance to our client.  Your team will work IN and ON the client’s core mission – helping them to deliver their services day-to-day while simultaneously looking for opportunities to improve.  Our work is Driven by Evidence, Grounded in Understanding, and Focused on Impact.  

A LITTLE ABOUT OUR CULTURE

We look for these attributes in our teammates.

• Our team combines the creative and the pragmatic to deliver the results that matter most to our clients.  We see beauty when art and science come together.
• We seek self-starters, people who are confident in tackling challenges independently and bringing this to high-performing teams.  We continually seek feedback from our customers and employees, looking for opportunities to grow.
• We are a small company which gives you an essential voice in shaping our culture.  You will help grow our culture, and you will grow from the experience, too.

You will be part of a team to take an improvement concept and transform it into a capability – an asset that provides measurable value to our client’s mission.  The team will work with users, prototype, develop, and deliver new capabilities.  We hold ourselves accountable to impacting outcomes.

• Flexible PTO
• Healthcare coverage (medical, dental, vision)
• FSA and HSA
• Short and long-term disability
• 401(k) with employer contributions, training and wellness allowances, and commuter benefits.