Front-End Developer / 508 Compliance Specialist

Front-End Developer / 508 Compliance Specialist

Reflexive Concepts is seeking a Front-End Developer / 508 Compliance Specialist to join our team!

We have an immediate need for a Front-End Developer with a strong concentration in Section 508 accessibility compliance to ensure the system's interfaces are fully usable by individuals with disabilities. The ideal candidate combines solid front-end engineering skills with deep, hands-on expertise in accessibility testing and remediation, including proficiency with screen reader technology. This role involves close collaboration with a cross-functional Agile team of software developers, systems engineers, and product owners to build and validate accessible, compliant, and high-quality user interfaces.

Responsibilities:

• Accessible Front-End Development: Design, develop, and maintain front-end components and user interfaces that conform to Section 508 and WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA standards.
• 508 Testing & Remediation: Perform comprehensive accessibility testing using JAWS and other screen readers, identifying and remediating issues related to keyboard navigation, focus management, ARIA implementation, color contrast, and semantic HTML structure.
• Audit & Documentation: Conduct manual and automated accessibility audits, document findings, and produce test reports as needed to support agency compliance requirements.
• Collaboration: Partner with UX/UI designers, developers, and product owners early in the design process to bake accessibility in by design rather than retrofit it, and provide guidance on accessible design patterns.
• Integration & Delivery: Work with QA and DevOps to integrate automated accessibility testing tools (e.g. axe-core, Pa11y, Lighthouse) into the CI/CD pipeline for continuous compliance monitoring.
• Ceremonies: Participate actively in Agile ceremonies (sprint planning, demos) and communicate accessibility requirements and tradeoffs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Required technical skills include:

• Proven experience developing front-end applications using modern JavaScript frameworks (Vue preferred)
• Hands-on expertise testing with the JAWS screen reader, with working familiarity of other assistive technologies
• Strong knowledge of Section 508 standards, WCAG 2.1/2.2 (Levels A/AA), and ARIA authoring practices
• Experience with semantic HTML, accessible form design, keyboard navigation patterns, and focus management
• Proficiency with accessibility testing and auditing tools (e.g. axe DevTools, WAVE, Pa11y, Lighthouse)
• Experience with version control systems (Git) and Agile collaboration tools such as Jira and Confluence

Desired technical skills include:

• Experience producing VPATs / Accessibility Conformance Reports for federal agency review
• Familiarity with integrating automated accessibility checks into CI/CD pipelines (e.g. GitLab CI/CD)
• Experience with Cypress or similar tools for automated UI and accessibility test scripting
• Familiarity with cloud-based architecture and deployment (Amazon Web Services)
• Familiarity with domain knowledge surrounding government agency reporting and dissemination policies