Manager, Digital Services (Design) - Remote From Anywhere In CO

Together, we innovate for a stronger Colorado

The work of employees at the Governor's Office of Information Technology (OIT) is challenging and diverse because the needs of agencies, customers and Coloradans constantly evolve. But our focus never changes: improve the lives of all Coloradans through innovation and collaboration. We're building one of the nation's leading government IT organizations by reimagining how we support agencies, building first-of-their-kind applications, and creating an inclusive, collaborative culture, together. Join us in the important work of providing equitable access to services.

Watch this video to learn more about how we're Serving People. Serving Colorado.

TERM LIMITED POSITION: This position is term-limited with an anticipated end date of approximately three years from the date of hire. This position is eligible for State employee benefits and may be extended as the situation warrants. This video explains the many benefits of working at the State of Colorado on a term-limited basis. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please review your application to ensure completion. For the most equitable applicant experience, OIT’s hiring team considers only the contents of your application to review your qualifications. Please do not include any attachments (such as resume or cover letter) with your application as these items are not used by OIT’s hiring team. 

The Colorado Digital Service is seeking an experienced User Experience Design Manager to strengthen our ability to deliver human-centered digital services that work effectively for all residents. This work combines building sustainable processes for bringing a human-centered design practice to life with leading UX design across key state initiatives, focusing on creating accessible, intuitive experiences that improve how Coloradans interact with government services.

As a senior design leader and service design strategist, you will drive the strategic implementation of user-centered design across Colorado state government while managing a diverse team of designers. You'll work with state agencies, stakeholders, and design teams to establish design standards, facilitate major design initiatives, and ensure that user insights drive technology and policy decisions throughout the organization.

This role requires someone who combines strong design leadership with a deep understanding of government service delivery and organizational change management. You'll serve as both a hands-on design contributor and a team leader, building design capacity across state government while delivering compelling design solutions that translate user research into improved services

The successful candidate will have proven experience leading design teams in complex organizational environments, with specific expertise in government, enterprise, or large-scale service design, accessibility standards, and design practice development. You'll be responsible for establishing design processes that scale across multiple agencies while ensuring high-quality design outcomes that effectively communicate user needs and drive meaningful service improvements.


Key responsibilities:

• Partner with the larger CDS leadership team to drive digital transformation across the State of Colorado services through strategic design leadership.

• Manage a cross-functional team including full-time CDS digital service experts, short-term contractors, and vendor partners.

• In partnership with the team, build a sustainable design practice at CDS, including design principles and processes, establishing standards, templates, and best practices.

• Conduct managerial activities such as budget tracking, hiring, performance management, team capacity management, and culture building.

• Prioritize, scope, resource, and staff design activities across multiple state initiatives, including user research, design workshops, journey mapping, and prototyping and testing solutions with residents.

• Partner with product managers, engineers, and agency stakeholders to ensure user needs drive technology decisions and implementation strategies.

• Develop reusable resources for educating and evangelizing design across audiences and stakeholders, building design literacy throughout state government.

• Support and advocate for the creation of compelling design artifacts, such as service blueprints, user journeys, wireframes, and prototypes that drive alignment and translate user insights into actionable recommendations.

• Build design capacity within the State through mentoring, knowledge sharing, and helping partners understand the value of user-centered design through communities of practice.

• Champion accessibility compliance (WCAG 2.1 AA) and inclusive design principles across all design activities, ensuring services work for users with diverse needs and abilities.

• Follow and conduct Office of Information Technology administrative processes as required by managers.

Success in this role requires someone who can navigate complex stakeholder environments independently, translate between technical and non-technical audiences, and build sustainable processes that outlast any single project. You must be highly adaptable and comfortable with changing priorities as we learn what works best for Colorado.

This position offers a unique opportunity to fundamentally improve how Colorado delivers digital services while ensuring they are truly accessible and beneficial to all residents. Your work will directly impact how millions of Coloradans interact with their government services while supporting Colorado's mission of expanding opportunity and reducing poverty.

About The Digital Service Expert Team Members:

Is a senior engineer, product manager, procurement professional, or designer with a proven track record in their skill-set of delivering IT products and services. 

Uses expertise in their skill set to champion the use of modern technology development and management approaches, drawing heavily upon best practices from the consumer internet industry.

• Uses their deep understanding of the characteristics of successful digital services and how they are built both inside and outside government, including user-centered design and development practices and modern consumer Internet technologies, to communicate major initiatives to the public, and support the recruitment of top technical talent into the State government.

• Uses demonstrated experience in their skill set to consult with OIT and agency customers in best practices for launching products from a technology, policy, and procurement perspective.

• Serves as a respected authority on a diverse range of issues related to technology, government procurement, digital service delivery, and/or technology policy, as well as the State of Colorado's mission, values, and projects.

• Articulates the "for you, with you, by you" strategy of working with agencies, learning what works, and adjusting the strategy as necessary.

• Manages complex internal stakeholder environments to build support and consensus for forming and communicating strategy and goals. Provides trusted, expert guidance on the launch of technology products.

A wide salary range is posted for this position and any job offer is based upon a salary analysis to comply with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act. The salary analysis considers relevant experience, education, certifications, and state seniority as compared to others doing substantially similar work. While most salary offers are made within the posted range, occasionally an offer is made below or above the posted range based upon this salary analysis.

This is a skills-based job announcement. The required minimum qualifications and/or education (if substituting for the proven experience, knowledge, and skills), are as follows:

Minimum Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of experience as a technical leader or technology solution consultant; extensive experience with software service design and delivery; relevant experience in an IT applications/solutions delivery role

• Experience with modern software development practices such as Agile, Human Centered Design, or Product Management.

Substitutions:

• Additional appropriate education will substitute for the required experience on a year-for-year basis, but cannot completely substitute for these qualifications. 

• Training or Certification related to the work assigned to the position will be assigned credit towards substitution for experience and/or education, but cannot completely substitute for these qualifications. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong foundation in user research methods and human-centered design practices with experience leading design teams

• Experience creating compelling design artifacts and documentation, with ability to establish design standards across organizations.

• Proven ability to facilitate collaborative design activities and workshops while managing team capacity and priorities.

• Background in modern software development practices (agile, iterative approaches) and cross-functional team leadership.

• Track record of improving government or enterprise digital services through user-centered design with measurable outcomes.

• Experience with accessibility standards (WCAG, Section 508) and inclusive design methodologies.

• Background in government, enterprise, or complex service design with an understanding of organizational constraints and compliance requirements.

• Knowledge of design systems, component libraries, and design standards for large organizations.

• Experience with team management, budget oversight, and design practice development.

• Familiarity with government service delivery challenges and public sector design considerations.

Conditions of Employment:

OIT employees must comply with any screening procedures in place at state agency locations where they might perform work. 

A pre-employment background check will be conducted as part of the selection process. Post-employment background checks will be required for specific agencies as business needs dictate, which may include a polygraph exam, fingerprint-based criminal history search, reference checks, and a drug test.

This position may require travel within the specified geographic area, and to locations across the state as needed. 

This position may require on-call duties as needed by the position. 

If this posting indicates “remote from anywhere in CO” in the title, periodic reporting to the primary state work location designated for the position is required. All remote work must be performed in Colorado. 

While candidates from out of state will be considered for this role, the candidate selected for the position must relocate and reside in Colorado on the first day of their new position.  A reasonable timeframe for relocation will be established on an individual basis, while considering business needs, and determining a start date.

We know it's important to support each other, and that means having a healthy balance of work and personal time. Visit our benefits to learn more about some of our great offerings that allow us all to have fulfilling lives. 

Visit our How to Apply webpage to learn more about our application process and what to expect after you apply.

The State of Colorado strives to create a Colorado for All by building and maintaining workplaces that value and respect all Coloradans through a commitment to equal opportunity and hiring based on merit and fitness.  The State is resolute in non-discriminatory practices in everything we do, including hiring, employment, and advancement opportunities.

The Governor's Office of Information Technology is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADA Coordinator at [email protected] or call (303) 764-7900.

This posting may be used to fill multiple vacancies based upon business need. 

The Governor's Office of Information Technology does NOT offer sponsored Visas for employment purposes.