What are the responsibilities and job description for the Human-Centered Design (HCD) Strategist position at First Soft Solutions LLC?
Position Overview
We are seeking a Senior Human-Centered Design (HCD) Strategist to support a high-impact Medicaid transformation initiative. This role will serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) driving a human-centered, outcome-focused approach to improving Medicaid eligibility, enrollment, and renewal experiences.
The ideal candidate will work across policy, operations, and technology teams to design solutions that are accessible, equitable, and scalable, ensuring that systems and services meet the real needs of beneficiaries and frontline staff.
Key Responsibilities
We are seeking a Senior Human-Centered Design (HCD) Strategist to support a high-impact Medicaid transformation initiative. This role will serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) driving a human-centered, outcome-focused approach to improving Medicaid eligibility, enrollment, and renewal experiences.
The ideal candidate will work across policy, operations, and technology teams to design solutions that are accessible, equitable, and scalable, ensuring that systems and services meet the real needs of beneficiaries and frontline staff.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as the Senior HCD Strategist on a Medicaid outcome-focused pilot team
- Lead human-centered design initiatives across eligibility, enrollment, and renewal lifecycle
- Conduct qualitative user research (interviews, usability testing, contextual inquiry)
- Identify pain points and translate insights into:
- Journey maps
- Service blueprints
- Prototypes
- Design recommendations
- Ensure solutions meet accessibility standards (Section 508, WCAG) and promote equity
- Collaborate with policy makers, IT teams, program staff, and stakeholders
- Present findings and recommendations to executive leadership in decision-ready formats
- Support design system development and adoption across the organization
- Translate HCD insights into technical requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria
- Drive cross-functional collaboration between business, operations, and engineering teams
- Ensure compliance with state and federal regulations
- Lead HCD capability building, mentoring teams and embedding best practices
- Support implementation of service and system improvements
- Adhere to PMO, security, and change management processes
- Be flexible to support off-hours or weekend work if required
- Bachelor s degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, Engineering, Public Policy, Public Health, or related field
- 7 years of experience in:
- Human-Centered Design
- UX Strategy
- Service Design or related roles
- At least 3 years in regulated environments (Government, Healthcare, Financial Services)
- Strong experience designing digital products and services
- Expertise in:
- User research (interviews, usability testing, synthesis)
- Service design (journey mapping, blueprinting, prototyping)
- Proven ability to work in cross-functional environments (policy, IT, operations)
- Experience translating between technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Knowledge of accessibility standards (Section 508, WCAG)
- Strong communication skills with ability to present to executives and stakeholders
- Experience working in complex, multi-stakeholder environments
- Ability to deliver outcomes under regulatory and operational constraints
- Experience with Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, TANF, or similar programs
- Prior work with:
- State agencies
- Health insurance marketplaces
- Public health organizations
- Knowledge of CMS regulations and government compliance frameworks
- Experience in Agile / modernization programs
- Familiarity with design systems and component libraries
- Experience designing:
- AI-assisted workflows
- Conversational interfaces
- Self-service platforms
- Experience with plain language and content design for public services
- Background in training, mentoring, or leading HCD practices
- Relevant certifications (e.g., NN/g, IDEO, LUMA, CUA)