Interaction Designer

Job Overview

Salary: £38,000 per annum
Contract: Permanent
Grade/Band: E / Higher Executive Officer
Closing date: Thursday 5th February 2026 at midnight


At The National Archives, we safeguard, preserve and open up the UK’s documentary heritage, from born digital government records to court judgments and historic datasets. Our work supports democratic accountability, strengthens the public’s right to know, and enables researchers, legal professionals and the public to explore evidence that shapes our collective memory. You’ll join the Access to Digital Records team to design inclusive, intuitive services that make this heritage usable at scale and with confidence.

Why this role matters:

We’re progressing a significant programme of user experience improvements across two high profile services:
• Find Case Law — evolving search and discovery to keep pace with a rapidly growing corpus of judgments.
• Access Your Records — scaling search, rendering and accessibility so born digital public records are easier to discover and use.

These changes need dedicated interaction design expertise to deliver at pace while safeguarding quality, accessibility and trust.

What you’ll do:

• Design end to end journeys, flows, wireframes and prototypes; iterate with user research and data led insight.
• Apply accessibility first principles (WCAG 2.2), progressive enhancement and web standards to ensure our services work for everyone.
• Collaborate in agile, multi disciplinary teams; partner with engineers to turn designs into robust, performant interfaces.
• Contribute to shared patterns and libraries (e.g. Figma); participate in critiques, show and tells and our internal design community.
• Communicate design decisions clearly to colleagues and external stakeholders, supporting a culture of inclusive, user centred design.

What you’ll bring:

• Solid experience of user centred and interaction design for complex or live services.
• Strong prototyping skills and clear documentation that makes implementation straightforward.
• Confidence working with user researchers, interpreting findings and iterating designs.
• Practical understanding of accessibility and inclusion (WCAG 2.2).
• Experience collaborating in agile teams and contributing to shared design practices.
Desirable: familiarity with GOV.UK Design System patterns and service standard assessments.

Working pattern & eligibility:

This role is based at Kew with hybrid working; most staff spend at least 60% of their time on site (more when new to role or during development phases).

This is a full time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department.

Applicants must be resident in the UK and eligible to work in the UK Civil Service.

What we offer:

• The chance to design services with real public value and long term impact.
• A supportive, collaborative design community and opportunities to mentor and be mentored.
• Flexible, hybrid working with our base at Kew.

How to apply:

Interviews will take place onsite in Kew week commencing 23rd February 2026. The interview will include a technical element.

Please upload your CV and a short statement telling us a specific piece of interaction design work you personally contributed to ( this could be in a work, academic or personal context) in the last 18 months.

Describe:
1. the context (service, problem, your role),
2. the part you played — for example, insights you brought, options you sketched, questions you raised, or evidence you surfaced,
3. a moment where you influenced the team’s direction (even if you were not the decision maker),
4. one constraint or accessibility consideration you had to work within, and
5. what you learned that you would apply to future work.

If available, include links to representative work that show your process as well as outcomes.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.  Please visit the Civil Service Careers website where you can find further information on the use of AI in the application guidance section.

SC clearance/willingness to obtain SC clearance will be required for this role. This requires candidates to have been resident in the UK for at least the past three years. Please do not apply if you have been resident in the UK for less than three years as your application will be rejected.

Sponsorship:

We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Job Description

Job Purpose

As an Interaction Designer in the Access to Digital Records team at The National Archives, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of how the UK’s documentary heritage is accessed and experienced. Our mission is to preserve and provide access to records that underpin democracy, accountability, and public trust.

In this role, you will be instrumental in developing and maintaining digital services that are accessible, inclusive, and user-centred—ensuring that our public-facing platforms, such as Access Your Records and Find Case Law, meet the highest standards of usability and compliance. Your work will directly influence how millions of users—ranging from researchers and legal professionals to members of the public—interact with our digital collections.

You will apply specialist knowledge in interaction design, accessibility, and design systems to deliver solutions that support a diverse user base and uphold the integrity of our digital archive. By collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and external stakeholders, you will help drive innovation, improve service quality, and ensure our digital offerings remain authoritative and trusted. The role requires independent planning and prioritisation, a proactive approach to problem-solving, and a commitment to fostering a collaborative and supportive team culture.

Role and Responsibilities

As Interaction Designer, you will:

• Apply specialist, user-centred design techniques to deliver intuitive, inclusive services that meet user needs and align with the GOV.UK Service Standard.
• Use advanced design principles for scaling solutions, including component design, reusable patterns, and progressive enhancement.
• Work collaboratively within agile, multidisciplinary teams to iterate on existing products and contribute to new service features.
• Plan and carry out the design process, including user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and usability testing.
• Engage with front-end developers to ensure design solutions are practical, efficient, and meet web standards.
• Confidently use design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Lucid, Axure) and maintain design artefacts in shared libraries.
• Collaborate with user researchers to interpret insights and ensure designs respond to real user behaviour.
• Solve complex design problems to develop features that work for diverse users and remain intuitive across devices and older browsers.
• Apply an accessibility-first approach, demonstrating working knowledge of WCAG 2.2 to ensure outputs meet legal and usability standards.
• Handle ambiguity and apply iterative design principles to address complex problems effectively.
• Maintain accurate design documentation and workflows in tools like Jira and Confluence.
• Take a proactive role in team activities, including show-and-tells, retrospectives, and workshops.
• Participate in design critiques and contribute to The National Archives’ internal design community.
• Provide informal guidance and support to junior staff; no formal line management responsibility.
• Plan and prioritise your own work, managing tasks in an agile environment and escalating complex issues as needed.
• Communicate design solutions clearly to both internal colleagues and external stakeholders, adapting your style as appropriate.

Working Conditions

• Travel to other departments may be required for in-person research or meetings. Occasional overnight stays may be required.
• Normal office environment.
• Display screen equipment user.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

• Specialist knowledge of user-centred design principles, web standards, and accessibility (WCAG 2.2), with proven experience applying these in digital services.
• Ability to produce high-quality design outputs, including prototypes, wireframes, and clear design documentation.
• Experience working in agile delivery environments and collaborating effectively within multidisciplinary teams.
• Excellent attention to detail to ensure designs are accurate and easy to hand off to developers.
• Ability to interpret user research findings and apply them to improve service usability.
• Strong communication skills, able to present design solutions and rationale to both internal colleagues and external stakeholders.
• Self-motivated, well-organised, and able to work independently and collaboratively.
• Experience providing informal guidance or mentorship to junior staff.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience designing or iterating live digital services.
• Familiarity with Government Digital Service design patterns and service standard assessments.
• Awareness of data protection and information governance in user-centred service design.

Other Requirements

• Applicants must be resident in the UK and be eligible to work in the UK Civil Service.
• Applicants must be able to regularly travel to our Kew site. Staff are expected to spend at least 60% of their time in the office, this may be more for development roles or while staff are new to the role.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is
found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service
D&I Strategy
.

Benefits 

 

Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development.  Annual leave entitlement of 22 days per calendar year (rising to 25 after the first year, and incrementally to 30 days after six years) and 10½ days public and privilege holidays per annum.

 

Any move to The National Archives from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at  https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ (opens in new window)

Reasonable adjustments

 

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

• Contact The National Archives via careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs 

• Complete the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional

​

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.  

 

Security 

 

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. 

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks (opens in new window)

 

Nationality requirements 

 

This job is broadly open to the following groups: 

• UK nationals

• nationals of the Republic of Ireland

• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)

• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in new window)

 

Working for the Civil Service

 

The Civil Service Code  (opens in new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. 
 
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's 
recruitment principles. (opens in new window) 

 

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. 

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. 

 

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. (opens in new window)

 

Contact point for applicants:

• Name: The National Archives Recruitment Team 

• Email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk 

 

Further information 

 

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact The National Archives via email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/ (opens in new window)