Digital Accessibility Specialist (Hybrid)

Full job description
Digital Accessibility Specialist – Contract-to-Hire / Long-Term Contract
Location: Princeton, NJ (Hybrid) - Available to be in the Princeton office up to 4 days/week during the onboarding period (30 days). Afterwards, the contractor should generally average 2 days/week.

We are seeking an experienced Sr. Accessibility Specialist for a contract-to-hire or long-term contract opportunity with a large global consulting firm.

Key Details:

Location: Princeton, NJ (must live within 45 miles; hybrid with up to 4 days/week during the onboarding period, and 2 days/week after that)
Work Authorization: U.S. Citizen or Green Card Holder only
Background Check: Must be able to pass a standard Federal background check

Job Description Summary:
As a Digital Accessibility Specialist, you’ll get to do more than meet compliance standards. You’ll showcase your expertise in creating innovative and inclusive solutions, removing barriers that exclude people from digital experiences, advocating for features that support a broad spectrum of user needs, and improving access for people with a wide range of abilities. More specifically, you’ll get to:

Leverage advanced knowledge of applicable federal and state laws, policies, regulations and standards, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure high-quality accessible web and mobile applications, digital content, and electronic media.
Conduct comprehensive automated and manual testing using standard accessibility tools and software, and incorporating assistive technologies, screen readers and magnifiers, optical character and speech recognition software, and alternative input devices. Maintain clear, traceable records of test cases, defect logs, compliance audit trails, and reports.
Produce detailed findings to document identified issues and compliance violations, describe user impact, recommend potential solutions to resolve and prevent defects, provide implementation directions for remediation, and requirements for validation.
Contribute to a framework of repeatable processes, templates, and toolkits to improve the efficiency of end-to-end testing and remediation across a global matrixed organization.
Articulate accessibility principles and their benefits to a variety of audiences (technical and non-technical, internal and clients).
Employ robust organizational and time-management skills and demonstrate reliability and integrity in maintaining assigned work schedules, completing tasks, and meeting deadlines while working with several clients or project teams simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.

Minimum Requirements:
1. BA/BS in information technology, computer science, information design, human computer interaction, engineering, interaction design, user experience, or related field
2. 2 to 4 years of professional experience in accessibility, usability, or inclusive design
3. 2 years of experience testing web and mobile applications, including iOS and Android native apps, and electronic media for compliance with WCAG) 2.1/2.2, Revised Section 508 Standards, and other applicable standards and regulatory requirements
4. 2 years of experience authoring VPATs/ACRs (WCAG 2.1 or 2.2)
5. 2 years of experience in Agile, Waterfall, and Hybrid methodologies
6. Proficient in documenting issues and violations in JIRA or similar enterprise tracking tool
7. Basic knowledge of usability principles and heuristics
8. Basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Additional Qualifications Highly Preferred:
1. Professional certifications (e.g., CPACC, WAS, CPWA, ADS, Trusted Tester)

2. Experience authoring, executing, and maintaining automation test scripts
3. Experience integrating accessibility tooling with Jenkins or another CI/CD solution
4. Experience annotating Figma design files with accessibility notes (ARIA labels, alt text, headers, landmarks, etc.) for development handoff
5. Knowledge of Evinced Web or Mobile Flow Analyzer

6. Knowledge of WAI-ARIA, UAAG, ATAG and EPUB specifications
7. Knowledge of UI design patterns including SPA, RIA, and AI/chat/voice interfaces
8. Knowledge of accessible metadata and tagging best practices for Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems
9. Knowledge of accessible real-time communication (RTC) applications for video, text and audio calls, text chat, file exchange, screen sharing and gaming
10. Knowledge of captioning, live transcription, sign-language, and real time user support for meetings, conferences, and presentations that are remote/virtual, in-person, or hybrid
11. Knowledge of XR Accessibility User Requirements (XAUR) for virtual, augmented or mixed reality, immersive environments, and related technologies
12. Knowledge of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles; accessibility requirements for instructional technologies, systems, courseware, and learning environments; and criteria for Equally Effective Alternative Access Plans (EEAAP)
13. Awareness of W3C Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 3 Working Draft
14. Awareness of European Accessibility Act and Accessible Canada Act