UI Architect Lead

Job Description: UI Architect Lead

The UI Architect Lead supports the Case Management Modernization (CMM) Program for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO). This role involves leading the design, architecture, and implementation of scalable, user-centric front-end solutions within an Agile and SAFe framework. The UI Architect Lead ensures the delivery of modern, accessible, and responsive user interfaces, leveraging ReactJS, NodeJS, and AWS cloud services. A key aspect of this role is driving Human-Centered Design (HCD) adoption, establishing UI design standards, and ensuring all front-end components comply with Section 508, FedRAMP, and program-defined performance objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the UI architecture design and development strategy for the CMM modernization program, ensuring consistency across multiple applications and modules.
• Establish and maintain UI/UX frameworks, component libraries, and design patterns aligned with HCD and accessibility best practices.
• Collaborate with Product Owners, UX Designers, and Developers to translate business requirements into intuitive, scalable, and secure UI solutions.
• Develop UI design standards, coding conventions, and reusable components to accelerate development efficiency.
• Oversee implementation of responsive and cross-browser interfaces that integrate with back-end APIs and cloud services.
• Drive compliance with Section 508 accessibility, ensuring all interfaces are inclusive and meet federal usability requirements.
• Mentor UI developers, review code for adherence to architecture and style guidelines, and provide ongoing technical leadership.
• Integrate UI with DevSecOps pipelines, promoting automation, version control, and continuous delivery practices.
• Collaborate with the Cloud, Security, and QA teams to ensure end-to-end performance and security alignment.
• Evaluate emerging front-end technologies and frameworks to enhance performance, maintainability, and visual consistency.

Deliverable Alignment & Performance Outcomes:

The role expects specific deliverables and performance outcomes, including:

• UI Architecture Framework: Component and style guidelines, reusable libraries, and integration templates.
• UX Research and Design Artifacts: Wireframes, journey maps, prototypes, and HCD documentation for user validation.
• Accessibility & Compliance Reports: Verification of Section 508, FedRAMP, and security compliance for UI components.
• Performance Dashboards: Metrics for UI responsiveness, load times, and accessibility audit results.

Performance outcomes include:

• ≥95% compliance with Section 508 accessibility standards.
• ≤2-second average UI load time across core pages.
• ≥90% reuse of standardized UI components across product teams.
• Zero major accessibility audit findings per release.

Required Skills & Experience:

• Strong professional experience in front-end development, with 5+ years in UI architecture and design leadership roles.
• Deep expertise in ReactJS, JavaScript, TypeScript, and modern front-end frameworks.
• Strong experience with UI frameworks and build tools (Webpack, Babel, Vite).
• Proven background designing and implementing component-based, micro-frontend architectures.
• Extensive knowledge of HTML5, CSS3, SCSS/SASS, responsive layouts, and accessibility-first design.
• Experience with DevOps/CI-CD integration, version control (Git), and Agile delivery workflows.
• Familiarity with authentication and ICAM integration, RESTful and GraphQL APIs.
• Proven success implementing Human-Centered Design (HCD) practices in enterprise software development.
• Experience developing federal web applications or case management systems.
• Familiarity with cloud-based UI deployments on AWS (S3, CloudFront, Lambda).
• Understanding of OWASP, ZTA, and modern web security standards.
• Experience implementing design tokens, accessibility testing tools (Axe, Wave), and performance profiling.
• Knowledge of microservice and event-driven architectures.

Certifications:

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (required).
• Certification and/or training in React, HTML, CSS (preferred).
• Professional Scrum Developer (PSD) or UI/UX Certification (NN/g, HFI, or equivalent) (advantageous).
• Section 508 Trusted Tester Certification (a plus).

Qualifications:

• 12+ years of general experience in information systems.
• 10+ years of specialized experience.
• Minimum Education: MA/MS (experience may be considered in lieu of degree).
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Interaction Design, or related field (preferred).

Communication & Organizational:

• Excellent presentation and communication (oral and written) skills with leadership, and stakeholder management skills.
• Consultant mindset with the ability to work with high-level customer stakeholders and build excellent customer relationships.

Key skills/competency:

• UI Architecture
• ReactJS
• AWS Cloud Services
• Human-Centered Design (HCD)
• Section 508 Accessibility
• Micro-frontend Architectures
• DevSecOps Integration
• Front-end Development
• Agile/SAFe Methodology
• Technical Leadership