Work is anticipated to be performed off-site/remotely.
Resource Need
This request is for one full-time staff augmentation resource. Each vendor is allowed to submit one resource for consideration.
Incumbent
There is no incumbent for this Event.
Mode of Interview
The State will conduct interviews. The State reserves the right to remove a resource from consideration if the resource is unavailable for interview as requested by the State. Interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams.
Project Schedule

• Anticipated Begin Date: February 17, 2025
• Anticipated End Date: November 30, 2025

The State retains the option to extend the work order in increments determined by the State.

As the statewide administrator for USDA Child Nutrition programs, the Nutrition Program Services (NPS) Division of the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is keenly concerned with maintaining and improving the automated information technology systems used to operate and manage all Child Nutrition (CN) Programs (i.e., School Meal Programs, Summer Food Service Program and Child, Summer EBT and Adult Care Food Program). To ensure that NPS can successfully continue it statewide administration of USDA nutrition programs, a new application needs to be developed to handle the summer EBT program, maintained and, when necessary, enhanced. The goals of this project are to:

• Build a new application that meets the needs of the schools and the districts for the summer EBT program.
• Assist in ensuring Minnesota's compliance with USDA regulations.

Sample Tasks

• Collaborate with stakeholders to gather and understand user needs, business objectives, and technical constraints, ensuring user-first designs are created.
• Conduct user research, usability testing, and data analysis to inform design decisions and improve overall user experience.
• Develop UX architecture including sitemaps, journey maps, wireflows, and taxonomy designs to structure and organize the user experience.
• Design low- and high-fidelity prototypes to validate design concepts and make iterative improvements based on user feedback.
• Create reusable component libraries and design systems to ensure consistency and scalability across multiple platforms and applications.
• Develop web components that align with modern HTML/CSS standards, ensuring compliance with WCAG accessibility guidelines for an inclusive user experience.
• Collaborate with developers to implement pixel-perfect designs, ensuring technical feasibility and seamless integration of design with development.
• Provide knowledge transfer to State staff

Desired Qualifications and Skills

• 5 years of professional experience UI/UX design, with at least 3 years focused in design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Zeplin, Axure, Adobe XD, or similar.
• Professional experience directly creating human-centered designs with a deep understanding of UX/UI principles, accessibility, and usability along with expertise in building customer journey maps, information architectures, and solving design challenges using UX patterns.
• Ability to work seamlessly with cross-functional teams, including product managers, developers, and business stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills to present design ideas and rationales to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience in creating interactive, low- and high-fidelity prototypes to test ideas and concepts effectively.
• Experience with A/B testing, behavioral analytics, and using insights to inform design decisions.
• Experience in building reusable component libraries and design systems to ensure long-term scalability and consistency across projects.
• Strong user-first mindset with the ability to advocate for end-user needs in every design decision.
• Critical thinking and creativity to overcome design and technical challenges.