Senior Digital Accessibility Engineer - Telecommute

Combine two of the fastest-growing fields on the planet with a culture of performance, collaboration and opportunity and this is what you get. Leading edge technology in an industry that's improving the lives of millions. Here, innovation isn't about another gadget, it's about making health care data available wherever and whenever people need it, safely and reliably. There's no room for error. Join us and start doing your life's best work.(sm)

United Design (part of UnitedHealth Group and Optum) is on a mission to create a healthier world, one person at a time. We believe this begins with innovative design thinking and technology aimed at delivering experiences that will make healthcare simpler, equitable and more effective. And dare we say even enjoyable.

The Accessibility Center of Excellence seeks energetic, motivated and resourceful individuals to join our growing team. The Accessibility Center of Excellence serves the UnitedHealth Group enterprise (Optum and UnitedHealthcare), providing guidance, training and talent to product teams as they build solutions that ensure everyone can access and use Optum and UHC products.

As a senior digital accessibility engineer, you will continue to progress skills learned and practiced as a digital accessibility engineer. In addition, you will collaborate with Accessibility Center of Excellence leadership to promote the need for accessible products and services across the enterprise. You will educate and train product teams on specific accessibility requirements and the use of tools that teams can use to incorporate accessibility early in the product development lifecycle.

With the opportunity to serve as a member of large projects or initiatives, such as the Engineering Standards (mobile and web), you will leverage prior experience to constantly evaluate and recommend improvements to the accessibility processes, our tools and training materials. You will actively contribute in one or more working groups for standards, research, tools development or other accessibility resources to help mature the practice of accessibility within the company and promote a culture of inclusive design, using best in class accessibility tools and techniques.

To be successful, you must show empathy towards people with disabilities, have a passion for helping to make products better for everyone, have a curious, inquisitive mind and self-awareness with an interest in continuing to improve your people and technical skills and be able to share your knowledge and talent with team members and clients by providing training and mentoring.

To know more about Optum Technology, click here.

You’ll enjoy the flexibility to telecommute* from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Primary Responsibilities:

Under the guidance of Accessibility Center of Excellence leadership, collaborate with product teams across the enterprise to promote the need for accessible products and services
Serve as the lead on client projects, providing direction to and mentoring digital accessibility engineers and Grow Your Own program participants, reporting status updates to project team leadership and Accessibility Center of Excellence leadership, and handling any issues that arise regarding talent, timelines and deliverables
Participate on a large project or initiative, such as the Engineering Standards (mobile or web), researching and documenting best practices for usability and accessibility, documenting and sharing use cases to help promote accessibility best practices, helping to promote decisions made to peers and clients
Assess and validate Optum and UHC digital properties to ensure that they comply with WCAG
Perform accessibility assessments. May include web pages, desktop applications, mobile applications and documents, such as PDFs, PPTs, etc., with the (preferred) ability to assess and remediate PDF, Word and other documents so they confirm to current standards, including WCAG and PDF/UA
Document assessment results via available reporting templates and tools
Write Rally or Jira user stories based on the standard accessibility user story template and following guidelines in place
Present findings to internal product teams and external clients, educating teams on specific accessibility requirements and the use of available tools to proactively include accessibility early in the lifecycle
Identify accessibility issues of visual and interactive designs, promoting the use of accessible design pattern library components and use of tools to improve the accessibility of designs
Research and stay aware of new development frameworks for the purpose of assisting developers in creating accessible products
Support the Accessibility Center of Excellence by researching and writing posts for team websites.
Write curriculum and lead accessibility training for peers and clients
Apply HTML, CSS, JavaScript and ARIA knowledge to digital properties as part of client engagements and governance processes
Identify new opportunities to support and contribute to the growth of the Accessibility Center of Excellence

You’ll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

8+ years working in a fast-paced and highly collaborative development environment with experience in large, complex software or web applications
5+ years working as a digital accessibility engineer
Knowledge of Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines and specifications
Advanced knowledge of user-centered design principles and tools
Advanced knowledge of assistive technology and accessibility-related software, including JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, ZoomText, Dragon NaturallySpeaking or other speech recognition software
Familiarity with WCAG
Advanced understanding of how to use design pattern libraries for client products
Preferred Qualifications:

BA/BS in information technology, information design, computer science, human computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, quality assurance, assistive technology or related field, or equivalent industry training and experience
Experience writing reusable frontend code for modern frameworks such as Angular, Backbone, etc.
Advanced knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript
Solid understanding of Agile development methodology
Self-motivated with a desire to improve products for people with disabilities
Mastery of working collaboratively and productively both with diverse teams and independently
Advanced soft skills and mastery of working with teams who may not have any understanding of inclusive design or accessibility

To protect the health and safety of our workforce, patients and communities we serve, UnitedHealth Group and its affiliate companies require all employees to disclose COVID-19 vaccination status prior to beginning employment. In addition, some roles and locations require full COVID-19 vaccination, including boosters, as an essential job function. UnitedHealth Group adheres to all federal, state and local COVID-19 vaccination regulations as well as all client COVID-19 vaccination requirements and will obtain the necessary information from candidates prior to employment to ensure compliance. Candidates must be able to perform all essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation. Failure to meet the vaccination requirement may result in rescission of an employment offer or termination of employment.


Careers with Optum. Here's the idea. We built an entire organization around one giant objective; make health care work better for everyone. So when it comes to how we use the world's large accumulation of health-related information, or guide health and lifestyle choices or manage pharmacy benefits for millions, our first goal is to leap beyond the status quo and uncover new ways to serve. Optum, part of the UnitedHealth Group family of businesses, brings together some of the greatest minds and most advanced ideas on where health care has to go in order to reach its fullest potential. For you, that means working on high performance teams against sophisticated challenges that matter. Optum, incredible ideas in one incredible company and a singular opportunity to do your life's best work.(sm)

Colorado, Connecticut or Nevada Residents Only: The salary range for Colorado residents is $82,100 to $146,900. The salary range for Connecticut / Nevada residents is $90,500 to $161,600. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, UnitedHealth Group offers benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements).