3 Critical Roles to Hire for Better Accessibility Compliance

Accessibility is no longer just a “nice to have.” It’s a legal, ethical, and business necessity.

Failing to meet accessibility standards like ADA, WCAG, or EN 301 549 doesn’t just limit who can use your platform—it puts your company at risk of lawsuits, lost users, and stalled enterprise deals.

This post explores common blockers that undermine accessibility efforts, what’s at stake when you miss the mark, and how accessibility engineers hiring for software compliance helps you build more inclusive products while reducing risk.

Why Accessibility Compliance Often Falls Short

Accessibility is a cross-functional effort, but it often gets lost between design, engineering, and QA priorities. This leads to gaps that compound over time.

Common Challenges:

• Design systems lack accessible components, creating UI elements that fail keyboard or screen reader use.
• Developers lack training on semantic HTML or ARIA roles.
• Automated tests are prioritized over manual user testing with assistive tools.
• No central ownership of accessibility across design, build, and test.
• Accessibility is retrofitted instead of being built in from day one.

Business Implications:

• Risk of lawsuits or complaints under ADA, Section 508, or EU standards.
• Failed compliance audits block deals with governments and enterprises.
• Frustrated users churn due to poor usability or exclusion.
• Dev teams waste time fixing avoidable issues post-launch.

How to Address This:

• Integrate accessibility into design and development workflows.
• Audit existing components and templates against WCAG 2.1+.
• Prioritize inclusive UX as a core product metric.

Once these foundational efforts are in place, hiring accessibility experts will help you scale and systematize your compliance program.

Accessibility Gaps and the Specialists Who Close Them

Improving accessibility isn’t just about audits—it’s about ongoing integration. Here’s how different roles help.

Key takeaway: Accessible design isn’t automatic. Hiring the right specialists ensures accessibility is part of how your product is built, tested, and maintained.

How to Build a Compliance-Ready Accessibility Team

Building accessible software takes people, not just plugins. Here’s how to structure your accessibility hiring plan.

1. Recruit Accessibility-Focused UX/UI Designer (or Accessibility Design Lead)

This role champions inclusive design from the outset. Their focus is on proactive accessibility integration into the design process. Key responsibilities include:

• Guiding UX teams with accessibility best practices.
• Building and maintaining accessible design systems and component libraries.
• Ensuring visual elements like color contrast, component sizing, and focus states meet WCAG standards.
• Partnering closely with product teams to embed accessibility considerations early in the product lifecycle.

2. Hire Accessibility-Expert Front-End Engineers with A11Y Expertise (or Accessibility Technical Lead)

This role ensures that accessible designs are translated into compliant and functional code. Their focus is on technical implementation and remediation. Key responsibilities include:

• Implementing semantic HTML and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) effectively.
• Conducting manual testing using screen readers (NVDA, VoiceOver, JAWS) and keyboard navigation.
• Identifying and fixing accessibility issues in both new and legacy codebase.
• Educating other engineers on accessibility best practices.

3. Bring in Accessibility QA Testers (or Accessibility Analyst) to Validate Real-World Use

This role provides crucial validation from a user perspective, ensuring real-world usability for individuals with disabilities. Their focus is on verification and identifying issues beyond automated checks. Key responsibilities include:

• Testing applications and websites using various assistive technologies (screen readers, magnifiers, etc.).
• Identifying and logging accessibility defects that automated tools might miss (e.g., logical flow, readability).
• Providing detailed and actionable feedback on navigation, structure, and overall user experience for people with disabilities.

Use Talent-as-a-Service to Fill Gaps Quickly

Hiring individuals with these specific skill sets and focus areas will create a strong foundation for building and maintaining accessible digital products. Having a specialized vendor makes it happen faster.

• Access multilingual accessibility experts for global apps
• Hire short-term consultants to audit or redesign flows
• Scale compliance support ahead of launches

When to Hire Accessibility Engineers

• You’re preparing for a Section 508 or ADA audit
• You’ve received user complaints about access issues
• Support tickets related to UX are rising in specific user groups
• You’re entering government or enterprise sales cycles

If any of these apply, accessibility engineers hiring for software compliance will help you meet the moment with confidence and integrity.

Ubiminds Helps You Build Inclusive, Audit-Ready Teams

Ubiminds connects you with accessibility professionals who:

• Have experience meeting WCAG, ADA, and Section 508 standards
• Integrate with product, engineering, and QA workflows
• Help reduce risk, support sales, and improve real user experiences

📞 Book a discovery call to build software that works for everyone—compliance included.

FAQs: Accessibility Engineers Hiring for Software Compliance

Scheila Farias Silveira

International Marketing Leader, specialized in tech. Proud to have built marketing and business generation structures for some of the fastest-growing SaaS companies on both sides of the Atlantic (UK, DACH, Iberia, LatAm, and NorthAm). Big fan of motherhood, world music, marketing, and backpacking. A little bit nerdy too!