700+ Design & UX Jobs in Washington, DC

Observed local pay is solid but broad rather than role-perfect. For the wider arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupational family in Washington, BLS reports a $90,060 annual median, $127,060 at the 75th percentile, and $167,610 at the 90th percentile for 2025. Direct UX-style local government data is older: BLS reported $96,100 for web and digital interface designers in May 2023, while current sampled posted salary ranges in the local market center on about $90k to $140k. Proxy readings suggest visual-design tracks sit lower, with graphic designer median pay at $85,420 and UX/UI proxy pay around $97,000.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 542 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $84,970 at the 25th percentile, $110,000 at the median and $148,002 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of October 15, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

Open all in AI Job Search

What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

This is still a worthwhile market for design work, but it is selective rather than easy. Washington-area unemployment was 3.8% in August 2026, yet metro employment was down -1.6529% year over year, with Information down -4.7045% and Professional and Business Services down -2.1022%. At the same time, the local sample still showed more than 175 postings across more than 125 companies over the last 90 days, so openings exist, but they are spread across many employers and not concentrated in easy-entry roles.

Best positioned: The best odds right now belong to a mid-career UX or product designer who can show Figma, prototyping, and design-systems work, especially for consulting, public-sector, or software teams; Figma appears in about 50% of sampled postings, prototyping in about 35%, and design systems in about 25%.

Main caution: Do not assume this is a broad remote or junior-friendly market: about 55% of sampled roles are on-site, about 30% hybrid, only about 10% remote, and only about 10% entry level.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 701 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Jacobs Engineering Group: 23 open roles
2. Steampunk, Inc.: 21 open roles
3. Sargent & Lundy: 18 open roles
4. Northrop Grumman Corp.: 17 open roles
5. Booz Allen: 10 open roles
6. WSP Global Inc.: 10 open roles
7. Accenture PLC: 7 open roles
8. Amazon: 7 open roles
9. AECOM Corporation: 6 open roles
10. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC: 6 open roles

Where the openings are

• Washington: 161
• Baltimore: 56
• McLean: 56
• Arlington: 42
• Reston: 31
• Herndon: 24
• Chantilly: 23
• Vienna: 17

Work arrangement

on-site 433 (63%), hybrid 207 (30%), remote 52 (8%)

Where the demand is

The clearest concentration is in design work attached to delivery organizations rather than standalone studio hiring. In the sampled local postings, IT services and consulting account for about 25% of demand, government and public sector about 20%, software development about 15%, and advertising services about 15%. The most consistently active named employers are Steampunk, Inc., Booz Allen, CACI, MetroStar Systems, LLC, and Spire Communications, which reinforces the consulting-plus-public-sector tilt. This is also a fragmented market, not a one-employer market. The sample captured more than 175 postings across more than 125 companies, and employer concentration is described as fragmented. That is good news in one sense: there are multiple doors in. But it also means blasting generic applications is inefficient, because each employer is hiring for a slightly different mix of research, interface, systems, or communications work. The weak spots are junior-generalist and remote-first searches. Only about 10% of sampled roles are entry level, about 55% are on-site, and about 10% are remote. If you only want fully remote creative work, or only present as a broad visual generalist, you will miss much of what this market is actually buying.

• Federal digital services and contractors (high): This is the strongest local pocket, driven by consulting and public-sector work, with active employers including Steampunk, Booz Allen, CACI, and MetroStar Systems, LLC.
• Software and product teams (moderate): Software development makes up about 15% of sampled demand, and these roles tend to reward Figma, prototyping, wireframing, and design-systems work.
• Agency and communications design (moderate): Advertising services are also about 15% of sampled demand, and Spire Communications shows up among the active employers, making this a viable path for candidates with stronger visual and brand execution portfolios.
• Remote-first junior generalist roles (limited): This is the weakest local segment because only about 10% of sampled roles are remote and only about 10% are entry level.

Where to focus: Focus on consulting, federal contractor, and software-adjacent teams where your portfolio can prove systems thinking, not just visual taste.

Roles worth searching next

• Front-end web developer: BLS groups web developers and digital designers together in its national outlook, which reflects real overlap between interface thinking and implementation.
• Digital accessibility specialist: Interaction design, user research, and the local tilt toward public-sector work make accessibility a practical bridge, especially where inclusive design matters.
• Business analyst for digital transformation: Consulting and government work make up a large share of local design demand, so requirements-heavy delivery roles sit close to UX workflow mapping and research synthesis.

What postings ask for

• Figma (table_stakes | immediate): It appears in about 50% of sampled postings and is also flagged nationally as the core tool for product and UX work. Who: Everyone targeting UX, UI, product design, or digital-service roles.
• Prototyping (table_stakes | immediate): It shows up in about 35% of sampled postings, which means employers want more than static mockups. Who: Entry-level and mid-career candidates who need to show interactive thinking fast.
• Design systems (premium | immediate): Design systems appear in about 25% of sampled postings and are a strong signal that you can work in scaled, cross-functional environments. Who: Mid-career designers aiming for consulting, software, or enterprise roles.
• User research (differentiator | immediate): It appears in about 20% of sampled postings and helps separate true UX candidates from visual-only applicants. Who: Career switchers and visual designers trying to move toward UX.
• Adobe Creative Suite (differentiator | near-term): Adobe Creative Suite appears in about 20% of sampled postings and matters more in agency, communications, and visual-design-heavy work. Who: Graphic, brand, motion, and agency-leaning candidates.
• U.S. government Public Trust security clearance (premium | near-term): It is the most commonly cited credential in the sample, showing up in about 5% of postings, which is meaningful in a market tilted toward government and contractor work. Who: Candidates targeting federal contractors, civic-tech work, or public-sector digital programs.

Questions about this market

What do Design, Creative & UX roles pay in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV?

Observed local pay is solid but broad rather than role-perfect. For the wider arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupational family in Washington, BLS reports a $90,060 annual median, $127,060 at the 75th percentile, and $167,610 at the 90th percentile for 2025. Direct UX-style local government data is older: BLS reported $96,100 for web and digital interface designers in May 2023, while current sampled posted salary ranges in the local market center on about $90k to $140k. Proxy readings suggest visual-design tracks sit lower, with graphic designer median pay at $85,420 and UX/UI proxy pay around $97,000. Washington can pay very well, but the better money usually sits in digital product, consulting, software, and public-sector modernization work rather than in general creative hiring alone.

Where is demand for Design, Creative & UX roles in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV concentrated?

The clearest concentration is in design work attached to delivery organizations rather than standalone studio hiring. In the sampled local postings, IT services and consulting account for about 25% of demand, government and public sector about 20%, software development about 15%, and advertising services about 15%. The most consistently active named employers are Steampunk, Inc., Booz Allen, CACI, MetroStar Systems, LLC, and Spire Communications, which reinforces the consulting-plus-public-sector tilt. This is also a fragmented market, not a one-employer market. The sample captured more than 175 postings across more than 125 companies, and employer concentration is described as fragmented. That is good news in one sense: there are multiple doors in. But it also means blasting generic applications is inefficient, because each employer is hiring for a slightly different mix of research, interface, systems, or communications work. The weak spots are junior-generalist and remote-first searches. Only about 10% of sampled roles are entry level, about 55% are on-site, and about 10% are remote. If you only want fully remote creative work, or only present as a broad visual generalist, you will miss much of what this market is actually buying.

Which employers are hiring the most Design, Creative & UX talent in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV?

Recent postings show the most activity from Steampunk, Inc. (15 postings), Booz Allen (5 postings), CACI (5 postings), MetroStar Systems, LLC (5 postings), Spire Communications (5 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Design, Creative & UX roles in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 10% are remote and 30% hybrid, with 55% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Explore related openings

Design, Creative & UX jobs in other metros

• Pittsburgh, PA
• Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
• Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
• Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
• Columbus, OH
• Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
• Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
• Salt Lake City-Murray, UT

Other roles in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

• Social Services, Counseling & Community
• Healthcare Practitioners
• Human Resources, Recruiting & People Operations
• Healthcare Support & Healthcare Administration
• Sales, Customer Success & Account Management
• Administrative & Office Support
• Protective Services & Public Safety
• Personal Care & Fitness

Browse all job openings | Browse jobs by title and state | Browse all job market reports