Front-end UI designer

Apply Description The Front-End UI/UX Designer is a specialized user interface designer and frontend developer responsible for designing, prototyping, and implementing intuitive, user-centric, and accessible web interfaces across the National Water Prediction Service (NWPS) platform. This position bridges scientific hydrologic modeling outputs (river observations, RFC forecasts, National Water Model guidance, Flood Inundation Mapping, and NOAA Atlas 15 precipitation frequency estimates) with modern, high-performance web and mobile user experiences. Operating within the NWS Enterprise Cloud (NEC) Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment and collaborating with specialized geospatial UI/UX partners, the Front-End UI/UX Designer translates complex scientific requirements, Figma wireframes, and stakeholder feedback into responsive, touch-centric web components. The role prioritizes streamlining information discoverability, optimizing interactive map and hydrograph displays, enforcing strict WCAG 2.1 AA and Section 508 accessibility compliance, and maintaining cohesive design systems across desktop, tablet, and mobile platforms. Requirements • UI/UX Design & Figma Prototyping: Create high-fidelity wireframes, interactive UI prototypes, user flow diagrams, and design specifications in Figma for new NWPS features, including NOAA Atlas 15 interactive charts, Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM) dual-tier public/power-user views, and Western Water Supply dashboards. • Responsive Mobile & Tablet Optimization: Design and implement touch-friendly, adaptive layouts specifically optimized for mobile phones and tablets, ensuring complex map layers, data tables, and time-series hydrographs remain legible and performant on smaller viewports. • Geospatial & Hydrograph UI Building: Construct dynamic frontend UI components, map control panels (layer toggles, opacity sliders, boundary filters), and interactive chart widgets using HTML5, CSS3/Tailwind, JavaScript/TypeScript, and modern web mapping libraries (MapLibre, OpenLayers, or Esri ArcGIS API for JavaScript). • Section 508 & WCAG 2.1 AA Compliance: Ensure all designed and developed frontend components strictly comply with federal Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility mandates. Incorporate semantic HTML, ARIA live regions, explicit keyboard focus states, and high-contrast color palettes for dynamic graphics. • Design System & Component Curation: Establish and maintain a standardized OWP design system and component library, aligning with the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) and OWP branding guidelines to ensure visual and functional consistency across all web properties. • User Research & Usability Evaluations: Analyze user feedback from Integrated Work Teams (IWTs), regional River Forecast Centers (RFCs), and public web forms to identify usability bottlenecks, conduct A/B usability evaluations, and refine navigation hierarchies. • Agile Collaboration & Testing: Collaborate closely with full-stack…