About the position
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking a Senior User Experience (UX) Researcher (BA3) to support modernization initiatives impacting eligibility and compliance processes across DHS and county offices. This role focuses on improving the caseworker experience , reducing workload, and identifying automation opportunities in anticipation of upcoming federal regulation changes. This is a teleworking role ; however, candidates must be able to travel onsite to Harrisburg as needed .
Responsibilities
• Lead UX research, discovery, and usability testing sprints to identify opportunities for innovation
• Conduct user research through interviews, shadowing, and observation of frontline staff
• Analyze existing systems, workflows, and data flows
• Map end-to-end user journeys and identify pain points and inefficiencies
• Produce actionable UX artifacts including journey maps, user stories, research findings, and recommendations
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including product managers, designers, developers, project teams, and program staff
• Communicate insights clearly to support prioritization and implementation of automation and modernization efforts
• Build trusted relationships with stakeholders and advocate for the voice of the user within a public-sector environment
Requirements
• 2+ years experience in Health & Human Services or Benefits Delivery programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, or Unemployment Insurance
• Strong expertise in UX Research and User-Centered Design practices
• 2+ years of UX experience designing products, platforms, or services at scale
• Proven experience translating research into successful product and service design
• Experience across the full UX lifecycle: Information architecture Low- and high-fidelity design Design systems Accessibility prototyping User research and usability testing
• Experience leading UX/design efforts for a product, platform, or service
• Strong stakeholder management and alignment skills
• Experience working in Agile or iterative development environments
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex concepts clearly