UX/UI Design Contractor

About inquirED inquirED was founded by teachers to bring rigorous and joyful learning to every student. We’re a fast-growing start-up, serving more educators and students every day. Inkwell, our integrated ELA and social studies curriculum, brings two core subjects studies together into one coherent instructional experience that builds knowledge and literacy skills, saves time and resources, and supports meaningful learning for both students and teachers. Inquiry Journeys, our elementary social studies curriculum, is used in schools and districts across the country to help students develop deep social studies knowledge and the inquiry skills essential for a thriving democracy. Join our team of designers, advocates, guides, thought leaders, and makers to help us make an even greater impact. Together, we can shape the future of education. About the role Description We’re looking for a Part-Time UX/UI Design Contractor to provide UX/UI design services for product initiatives and feature development projects across our digital platforms. This role will collaborate closely with Product Managers, Design Leads, and Engineering partners to design thoughtful, user-centered experiences that support teachers and students. We’re looking for a designer who is passionate about creating meaningful educational experiences, enjoys working within established product ecosystems, values collaboration and feedback, and can balance creative problem-solving with practical execution. What You’ll Do:

• Design user flows and create low-fidelity to high-fidelity wireframes for web-based product experiences, with occasional prototyping as needed
• Communicate design decisions, interactions, responsive behaviors, states, usability considerations, accessibility requirements, and implementation considerations effectively
• Create clear, detailed design documentation and developer handoff packages in Figma to support smooth implementation
• Contribute to and work within established design systems and product patterns
• Extend existing experiences while maintaining consistency across the platform
• Participate in feedback cycles, design reviews, and iterative product development
• Coordinate with project stakeholders and utilize project-management tools (ex. Jira) as needed to deliver agreed-upon work products within established workflows

Ideal Contractor Profile: You are a collaborative designer who communicates proactively and shares work early and often. You embrace feedback and iteration as a critical part of an effective design process. You enjoy exploring ideas, challenging assumptions, and bringing creative solutions to the table while maintaining a cohesive product experience and respect for existing design systems. You value attention to detail and creating experiences that feel intuitive, scalable, and maintainable over time. You are curious, collaborative, and motivated by the opportunity to help create better learning experiences for students and teachers.

Requirements

• Proficiency in Figma
• Experience designing responsive web applications with a strong understanding of usability, WCAG, and inclusive design best practices
• Experience creating detailed design documentation and developer handoff packages that communicate interactions, responsive behavior and reflow across standard MUI breakpoints, accessibility requirements (e.g., ARIA), and implementation considerations
• Experience working with established design systems and component libraries
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Ability to manage priorities and maintain momentum across multiple projects
• Ability to meet agreed-upon project milestones and deadlines

This is a contract position. Hours and duration will be discussed based on experience, availability, and project needs.