Senior Accessibility Engineer in Guildford

Senior Accessibility Engineer in Guildford

Guildford Full-Time 60000 - 80000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
Unily

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Join our UI Team to create accessible designs and improve user experiences.
  • Company: Unily, a leader in employee experience with a vibrant team culture.
  • Benefits: Generous salary, flexible work options, and 25 days holiday plus your birthday off.
  • Other info: Enjoy a modern office, sustainability initiatives, and opportunities for professional growth.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact on accessibility in tech while working with innovative tools.
  • Qualifications: Deep knowledge of WCAG standards and strong HTML/CSS skills required.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.

With 20+ years of expertise, Unily unites people, technology, and knowledge into action through the only AI-native employee experience platform. As the intelligent digital front door to work, Unily helps enterprises from 1,000 to 100,000+ employees, including Estée Lauder Companies, CVS Health, and British Airways, remove friction, increase clarity, and accelerate productivity so work moves faster.

Unily is committed to delivering an accessible platform that meets best-in-class standards and follows accessibility best practices, with our priority being to ensure the product is usable and not just compliant. This role spans methodical conformance work across our established platform alongside greenfield work where accessibility can be built into the design system and component library from day one. It sits in the UI Team within the Design organisation, working closely with Product Designers, the Design System team, and UI Developers, and partnering directly with the Digital Accessibility Manager on Unily’s accessibility roadmap and governance.

Main Responsibilities

  • Work within the UI Team alongside Product Designers, the Design System team, and UI Developers to deliver accessible UI across both established and greenfield product surfaces.
  • Partner with the Digital Accessibility Manager to deliver Unily’s accessibility roadmap, governance model, and WCAG 2.2 AA conformance targets.
  • Contribute directly to the design system accessibility goal of ≥90% AA conformance for design system components.
  • Build accessibility into greenfield work from the outset, working with designers to shape accessible patterns at design time before they harden.
  • Lead methodical remediation of known accessibility gaps in the established platform, prioritising fixes by user impact and ensuring key journeys are usable with keyboard and assistive technologies.
  • Apply deep knowledge of WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 success criteria to interpret standards and translate them into usable interaction patterns in HTML, ARIA, and CSS (e.g., clear focus, predictable navigation, and understandable names and instructions).
  • Help set and uphold the accessibility quality bar for the design system, core product surfaces, and the mobile app, partnering with design, engineering, and QA to drive consistent standards.
  • Explore and evaluate emerging AI-assisted tooling across accessibility analysis, design, and implementation, piloting where it adds value to surface issues earlier and streamline remediation.
  • Drive adoption of accessible patterns across feature teams through code review, pairing, and internal training, helping teams build accessibility into their day‑to‑day development.
  • Identify and implement enhancements to the accessibility process to ensure continuous improvement.

Requirements

  • Deep, practical knowledge of WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 Level AA success criteria and the ability to interpret them and apply them to real product surfaces.
  • Strong command of semantic HTML and the ARIA Authoring Practices Guide, including knowing when not to reach for ARIA.
  • Excellent CSS skills, particularly for focus indication, prefers‑reduced‑motion, forced‑colours, text spacing, reflow, and high contrast.
  • Proven experience working closely with Product Designers and contributing to UX artefacts (wireframes, prototypes, design reviews) through an accessibility lens.
  • Experience contributing to a design system or shared component library, including in a greenfield context.
  • Hands‑on testing fluency with NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver.
  • Experience integrating Axe or equivalent tooling into CI.
  • Experience with an Agile environment where Development teams practice Continuous Delivery.
  • Excellent spoken and written communication skills.

Nice to have

  • Experience with mobile accessibility on iOS and Android.
  • Experience with the atomic design methodology.
  • Exposure to AI‑assisted testing or analysis tooling.
  • IAAP CPACC or WAS Certification.
  • Experience with internationalisation, RTL layouts, and localisation, and how they interact with accessibility.
  • Experience testing with TalkBack, Dragon, switch control, or other less common assistive technologies.

Why Work For Unily?

  • In addition to a generous base salary and discretionary company bonus, we offer an awesome team culture focused on achieving results as a team and having fun while doing it.
  • We are proud of our ever‑evolving product, and we provide the tools and resources for you (and our clients) to become a Unily expert.
  • We operate on a hybrid basis, recognising that life happens during the 9-5.30 and encourage a sustainable work/life balance.
  • Our bright and modern office spaces are designed to feel like home, with a well‑stocked kitchen and the option to bring your dog to work.
  • We offer a fantastic suite of benefits, including 25 days holiday plus an extra paid day off to enjoy your birthday, Vitality life cover, Aviva pension, life assurance, income protection, and more.
  • We are committed to sustainability and giving back to the community, offering 1 fully paid volunteering day per year, an employee matching charity donation scheme, and options to lease an Electric Vehicle through our salary sacrifice scheme.

Senior Accessibility Engineer in Guildford employer: Unily

Unily is an exceptional employer that fosters a vibrant team culture focused on collaboration and enjoyment, making it a great place for a Senior Accessibility Engineer to thrive. With a commitment to work-life balance through hybrid working options and a modern office environment, employees benefit from generous holiday allowances, comprehensive health coverage, and opportunities for professional growth. Additionally, Unily's dedication to sustainability and community engagement enhances the overall employee experience, making it a rewarding workplace for those passionate about accessibility and innovation.

Unily

Contact Details:

Unily Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Senior Accessibility Engineer in Guildford

Show Off Your Portfolio

In the world of UX/UI design, your portfolio speaks volumes! Make sure it's packed with your best work and showcases your process, not just the final product. We want to see how you tackle design challenges, so consider adding case studies that reflect your thought process and user-centric approach.

Get Involved in Design Communities

Jump into local or online design meetups and workshops! Places like UXPA or local design events can be goldmines for networking and learning. Plus, mingling with fellow designers can introduce you to potential job openings that might not be listed elsewhere.

Tailor Your Applications

When you find a role that excites you, like the one at Unily for a Senior Accessibility Engineer, make your application count! Highlight specific projects and skills that directly relate to the job description. Hiring managers are looking for candidates who fit into their specific team, so show them you’re the one!

Leverage Social Media

Don't underestimate the power of social media in finding a UX/UI design job! Follow design leaders on platforms like Twitter or Instagram, share your work, and engage in conversations. It’s a great way to get noticed by recruiters and even catch wind of openings at companies like Unily before they go live!

We think you need these skills to ace Senior Accessibility Engineer in Guildford

Deep knowledge of WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 Level AA success criteria
Semantic HTML
ARIA Authoring Practices Guide
CSS skills for focus indication and accessibility features
Experience with Product Designers and UX artefacts
Contributing to design systems or shared component libraries
Hands-on testing with NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver

Some tips for your application 🫡

Showcase Your Design Process:When you're applying for a UX/UI Design role like Senior Accessibility Engineer at Unily, make sure to include examples that clearly highlight your design process. We want to see not just the final product but also the journey that led you there—wireframes, user personas, and iterations demonstrate your thought process and user-centric approach!

Tailor Your Portfolio:A tailor-made portfolio is crucial for a full-time design role! Curate your best projects that align with the kind of work Unily does. We suggest including 3-5 case studies that showcase a variety of skills such as wireframing, prototyping, and user testing to really make your application pop.

Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Your cover letter should not just be a summary of your CV. Use it to express why you’re excited about UX/UI Design and what draws you specifically to Unily. Mention any relevant experience, tools you’re proficient in (like Sketch or Figma), and how you can contribute to their projects.

Highlight Collaboration Skills:In the world of UX/UI Design, teamwork is crucial. Make sure to highlight any past experiences where you worked in cross-functional teams. Illustrate how you communicated design decisions and listened to feedback, as this will resonate well with the culture at Unily.

How to prepare for a job interview at Unily

Show Off Your Portfolio

When you're gunning for a full-time UX/UI design role, your portfolio is your best friend! Make sure you've got a solid selection of your work, showcasing not just the final designs, but the process behind them—think wireframes, user flows, and any user research you've conducted. During the interview with Unily, be prepared to discuss your design decisions and how they solve specific user problems.

Prepare for Design Challenges

Expect to face some practical design tasks during your interview. Unily might ask you to tackle a quick design challenge or critique an existing interface. Brush up on your problem-solving skills and try to articulate your thought process as you work through these scenarios. Showing how you approach a design problem is just as important as the final output!

Know the Tools of the Trade

Familiarise yourself with the tools commonly used in the industry—figma, Adobe XD, or Sketch should be second nature to you. Be ready to discuss your preferred tools during the interview and how they've shaped your design process at previous positions. This knowledge could give you an edge at Unily!

Show Passion for User Experience

In a full-time UX/UI design role, having a genuine passion for improving user interactions can set you apart. Be prepared to share instances when you went above and beyond to ensure a great user experience in your previous projects. This will demonstrate that you’re not just a designer, but a user advocate, which is exactly what Unily is looking for.