Digital Accessibility & Quality Assurance Analyst

Digital Accessibility Champion/Engineer/Analyst: Taoti was built on a core set of principles focusing on diversity and inclusion, which doesn’t just end at our EEO statement at the end of this job ad. We bake this mindset into every design deliverable, code push, thought leadership, and are looking for someone to help push Taoti forward with these initiatives. To be successful in this role you’ll need to have the problem-solving mindset for a technical space where the answers aren’t as 'google-able' as others. As our designers and developer keep pushing the envelope of what’s possible, it’s your job to figure out how we can make the end product accessible without sacrificing design or technology. Your passion for this type of work will be critical – you’ll be expected to do regular research on the perpetually changing laws/regulations dictating how digital accessibility is changing web development space, participate in client presentations with an accessibility focus, and maybe even write a piece of thought leadership or two to help share Taoti’s advancements in the field with the rest of the world – after all, gaining knowledge is only the first step, sharing it is to better humanity (and the web) as a whole.

Quality Assurance Analyst: Like any web and software development role, your primary objective will be to aid in the increased quality of everything that Taoti outputs whether it’s a website, a virtual events platform, a design-only deliverable, or literally anything. However in this role you’re not just testing the tasks assigned to you as they reach the part of the build process, you’re working hand in hand with both the Project Managers and Developers to design, implement, and execute the strategy best for the project at hand. You’ll need to be able to take a view of the project from 40,000 feet and weigh the different project objectives against the time and resources available to get the job done efficiently and of course, on time. Whether there are 20 QA hours or 200, complex builds or not, all sites need and deserve a second set of eyes from a dedicated QA expert capable of being more detached look at the project, rather than someone who has been buried in the weeds and is biased.

Business Analysis & Project Support: Although this type of support is less frequently needed, it is easily the most time-consuming (and frankly the most important, depending on the project). Generally speaking, if a project needs functional/user stories or technical requirements (due to scope or internal necessity), this is known at the beginning of the process and will be planned for by the PM of any project at Taoti. These types of documentation are time-intensive and require significant back/forth with both the PM and client but must be done extremely carefully as it dictates how the client and Taoti agree upon functionality and is a roadmap for the development team when it comes time to put our money where the code is. This is a natural cross-over between the BA and QA side of the role, both requiring significant involvement of both time and importance on projects.

Some things we’re looking for…

1-3 years of experience working to make the web a more accessible place for users with disabilities, whether in design, build, thought leadership, etc. (bonus points for bringing examples of past work products to the table).

Extensive demonstrated knowledge of WCAG 2.X, Section 508, and other various accessibility standards both in practical application and theory.

1-3 years of experience as a Quality Assurance / Business Analyst professional or relevant experience.

Demonstrated ability to translate highly technical mumbo-jumbo to non-technical stakeholders.

A passion for solving the puzzles of high-level functional debugging, and diving into the nooks and crannies of sites until you’ve found every single bug in both function and design.

Performs the functions of a content expert in the relevant site material in support of quality assurance in system maintenance and development.

An unmatched attention to detail and ability to analyze usage of a site from every angle, and then granularly document each combination of user path, while keeping various complex variables in the back of your head that might affect each path.

You’re calm and collected during firefighting of high urgency and high impact scenarios – able to not get distracted by things as they come up but continue to intelligently work the problem in a way that balances time, resources, and priorities to reach final delivery.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Rockstar presentation skills and an ability to own rooms. This is essential.

The ability to consistently meet deadlines while juggling multiple projects at a time.

While it goes without saying that you need to be an empathetic, active listener, you need to be comfortable learning any subject well enough to have an opinion in a room of experts.

A creative mind – Don’t get us wrong, client work is what keeps the lights on around here, but we also do some really cool stuff internally, and require minds that live outside of the box and laugh in the face of their comfort zones.

Logistics

This is a full time role based out of our Washington, DC office. You can be 'mostly remote' most of the time (as is our default in a post-pandemic world), but sometimes the client (or team member) just needs some face time, so we'd prefer you be in the DC area so that coming in to the office isn't a big deal if needed.

Please note that while Taoti has generally embraced a 'mostly remote' (or "up to you") workplace policy for the post-pandemic world, we do still have a preference for this particular role to be filled by someone in the DC area (so that you are easily able to attend key, in-person meetings with the team and/or clients). That said, we are open to both W2 and remote contractor scenarios.

Career Growth

That’s one of the best parts about this role, specifically at Taoti. In a larger shop, the creative hierarchy is usually large, layered, and not-so-flexible. Or at a smaller shop, you may have lots of flexibility, but not enough of a team to really benefit from true collaboration. Taoti is the Goldilocks of creative agencies. We have enough clout to let you do top-tier work while being small enough to allow for the flexibility for you to carve out your niche and grow in a way that makes sense for you. So, your career trajectory has far more to do with your own aptitude and initiative than it does with an org chart.

What’s the corporate culture like?

“Fun but focused,” as one Taoti put it, is a great way to sum up our culture. We’re a fun and casual shop. The kind of place where you can wear whatever, come and go as you please, and have autonomy over your own day for the most part. But we take the work seriously and believe deep in the mission to make meaningful and measurable impacts for our clients. All the perks and shenanigans and borderline irreverent tone are fun, but to really fit in here, you need to be about the work .

We believe in something we call our “QIST Culture.” Quality. Innovation. Service. And Teamwork. We are always striving to improve these four areas (to the extent that we have a fund of a quarter million dollars per year that anyone can spend from in the interest of going above and beyond towards any of these four values.

We also believe in total transparency and open communication across teams and across ranks. Instead of chain-of-command, we want everyone to have and share their own voice. Every other Thursday, the CEO holds ‘ CafeClutch’ just so he can hear ideas and feedback directly from the team instead of through the filter of management.

Want to see what life at Taoti looks like? Check out our Instagram or ‘ about us’ video. There’s even a 360 tour of the offic e.

What about benefits?

5 weeks PTO for starters (includes 10 federal holidays)

You can work mostly from home if you prefer (as is our default post-pandemic)

100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance. (50% for qualifying dependents.) And we have good insurance.

Paid family leave for men and women (including PTO plus short and long term disability options.)

3% retirement plan matching (plus access to a financial advisor).

Home buyer help (including a $1200 closing credit)

Mobile phone reimbursement

You can opt for a company-supplied PC or Mac laptop. Or if you want to use your own, we’ll reimburse you for it.

Charitable contribution matching

Tax-free metro benefits

A sincere respect for work/life balance

Money and time off allocated for professional development (also increases with tenure)

A diverse team hailing from over 15 countries last time we checked

A very hip/cool/funky/quirky office space on Barracks Row, in the heart of Capitol Hill. Just 2 blocks from the metro! (With the office space doubling in size next year as we build a new building in the parking lot next door to our building.)

Fun perks like a roof deck, wine/beer always on tap, regular company boat outings (boat is walking distance from the office), chill work environment, etc.

No real dress code (within reason, as long as you can be an adult about getting dressed for work)

Annual global retreat (where we bring the whole team together for fun, games, and teamwork)

Of course, the above is a quick list. See the handbook for all the gory details.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Great ideas happen when diverse perspectives come together. Those perspectives are Taoti’s secret sauce. So building a diverse team and culture where everyone has a voice and is included in the process is not just the right thing to do. It’s good for business. We’d love your own perspective to add to our mix! We're eager for new, diverse voices to join the team and sincerely hope people from every walk of life will apply!

A bit more about Taoti…

Established in 1996, Taoti Creative is a boutique, full-service creative agency located on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. We are privately owned and have no corporate overloads (nothing personal, WPP.) We do stuff like web development, social media management, branding, experiential marketing, video, AR/VR, etc. Our mission is to ‘move the needle’ for our clients. We leverage technology, creativity, and innovation to generate meaningful and measurable results for our clients—that’s what drives us. Speaking of clients, they’re about 60% non-profits, 20% commercial, and 20% federal government. Some of our customers include World Bank, USAID, DC Water, Discovery Education, American Chemical Society, Jane Goodall Foundation, and dozens of ‘National Association of _____________,’ etc. Our full time team of about 50 employees is about 65% in-house and 35% remote. We hail from over 15 countries. And for the last four years in a row, we’ve made the Inc5000 list of fastest growing companies in the United States. There’s of course plenty of additional information on our website. If you’ve not done so already, be sure to check out our culture video: https://vimeo.com/289302105 . Or if you’re feeling virtual, here’s guided tour of the office in 360 video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7KkzdmSGTM (Warning: not suitable for printers.)

Next Steps

If you’re qualified and interested, please apply on our website (https:// www.taoti.com/careers .) Please note that these job ads often get placed onto other websites with their own application systems (we’re looking at you Jooble!) and some sites (looking at you Indeed!) have made up random salary ranges. We aren't able to respond to applications that don’t come through our own website (Because we use software to manage our hiring process, and without it, it would be the wild west here. So please be sure you’re applying on our website.)

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time

Work Location: Multiple Locations
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