UX Designer - Blind and Visually Impaired

UX Designer: Math Games for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Do you believe in the power of games in learning? Are you excited about the challenge of designing for accessibility? MIND is anxiously awaiting your application.

MIND Research Institute is the industry leader in game-based learning for elementary school mathematics. MIND is relentless in improving what is already an unprecedented learning experience. This requires thoughtful and innovative design for students as well as teachers.

A UX designer at MIND must be flexible enough to meet the unique needs of children as as well as for adults. We are looking for a team player who insists on great design and is willing to learn from our unconventional and highly specialized design principles for students, and bridge them with best practices that will create familiar, intuitive, and delightful experiences for teachers.

We are seeking a UX Designer to bring accessibility expertise to the team. The ideal candidate is comfortable using a screen reader, can speak easily about ARIA attributes, and is also willing to challenge those best practices in order to develop novel solutions. He or she will be passionate about revolutionizing education, a deep thinker who can sustain focus, and a prolific worker who understands that throwing away “Just OK” ideas is part of the job.

Responsibilities:
Design the screen reader user experience for hundreds of educational games:

Identify and champion the needs of blind and visually impaired children who play our games.

Suggest specific changes to existing interaction models, ensuring the harmonious coexistence of visual and non-visual representations.

Produce detailed technical specs, making use of ARIA attributes as needed.

Communicate and clarify designs with in-house and remote developers.

Test prototypes and modify recommendations accordingly.

Write text equivalents of onscreen objects and animations.

Identify the best approaches for achieving WCAG compliance in non-gamified portions of the program:

Educate team members with use cases as well as typical user expectations when using assistive technologies.

Recommend specific technical solutions used by other websites and discuss their pros and cons.

Validate accessibility of the final product

Test for usability on a variety of devices and screen readers.

Document bugs and recommended improvements as they are identified.

Train team members on screen reader use and testing strategies.

Assume additional responsibilities as needed from other designers, including:

Writing mockups and proofs-of-concept in HTML and CSS.

Illustrating designs for gamified student navigation

Creating wireframes for non-gamified UI

Animating UI or game mockups to demonstrate effects and transitions

Minimum qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Design (interaction, graphic, product, etc), HCI, Computer Science, or similar (or equivalent experience).

Outstanding written communication and interpersonal skills.

A passion for iteration.

3-5 years of design experience with a portfolio to show for it.

Ability to operate a computer using a screen reader and a keyboard (no mouse).

A design mindset that you can’t turn off: you notice design everywhere, and while you can’t help but critique, you’re harder on your own work than anyone else’s.

Preferred qualifications:
5+ years of design experience: you know all the jargon, you know the industry-standard processes, and you know better than to parrot them.

Experience with and understanding of:
WCAG and other accessibility frameworks

multiple screen readers and advanced screen reader functionality

braille, especially Nemeth

VI instruction

accessibility guidelines promoted by Microsoft, Google, and Apple

web component frameworks such as Bootstrap

in-game (mobile and console) UI and navigation

Programming experience, especially Javascript in Canvas or Web Components

Experience with Adobe XD, Sketch and Invision, or similar programs.

Examples of high-level strategy and product visions

Examples of highly detailed wireframes, flows, and designs

Submission / portfolio requirements (All three must be provided):