Why We Serve: Owen Seely
By: U.S. Digital Service
Tags: Interview, Engineering, UX Design, Civictech

Why We Serve: Owen Seely

In this series you’ll hear stories from USDSers and learn why they decided to join, why they stay, and how their work is making an impact for all Americans. U.S. Digital Service Follow May 18 · 4 min read

Owen Seely (he/him), UX Researcher & Designer at USDS HQ. Previously at Defense Digital Service. From Fredricksburg, VA.

A love for studying and solving complex problems led me from physics to systems engineering then finally settling on human-computer interaction. Since then, I’ve been working in the federal government for the past 20 years, hacking the bureaucracy and applying human-centered design to the unique challenges that can mostly only be found in government.

What inspired you to join USDS?

Everyone’s journey to USDS is unique. Those differences in experiences, backgrounds, and journeys are part of what makes this place so special. I heard about USDS right after it was founded in 2014 and was immediately intrigued. USDS was a beacon of product and service design that was sorely needed in government. In 2017, I luckily ended up working with some USDSers from Defense Digital Service on a project. I was immediately impressed by the people, the results driven work, the culture of change, and the values they put into practice. Having hesitated to apply before, I knew I needed to finally submit my resume. The rest was history really. After a few years on the Defense Digital Service team, I recently moved over to USDS HQ team and continue to be proud to continue serve the important government mission in new and challenging ways.

What do you want to do after USDS?

I want to continue my work on the government mission more than ever. Before USDS, I was at a point in my career where I was navigating the difficult balance between inspiration with the government mission and frustration from defeatism. Joining the USDS family not only provided a more challenging range of technology projects, but with a broader view of the government mission and opportunity for impacts. Not that this is easy or the next thing will be easy either, but when you get to experience such a diverse, experienced, and impactful team, you see more clarity in the options of what’s next. What my next government gig will be, who knows. But, I’m excited for the possibilities.

What are you working on right now and how does it help people?

I’m working on amazing team focused on Unemployment Insurance (UI) modernization to better serve America’s workers. The pandemic has been particularly hard on UI systems with the roll out new benefits programs. But, even before 2020, the legacy technology in this space was long overdue for upgrades and, as such, full of problems in providing timely and user-centered government benefits to those in need. Our team has spent a great deal of time understanding the complexities of the UI process, various state system technologies, and partnering with leadership at Department of Labor (DOL) to work towards nationwide modernization of UI systems. It’s the most challenging problem space I’ve worked in my various government jobs. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this team, working with such inspirational colleagues at USDS and DOL, and serving such an important mission.

What has been the biggest challenge during your service?

It really depends on the week. Some weeks are just plain weird and you have to learn how to navigate those moments. Other weeks are full of new and unanticipated bureaucratic blockers that take some creative solutioning. But, most other weeks, it’s just about staying sharp. There is so much to not just know, but be an expert in all while executing effectively from a product, engineering, and design standpoint. These are relentlessly complicated problem spaces that also rely on building momentum and trusted partnerships to achieve results. We pour our hearts and souls into these jobs. USDS colleagues help keep each other sharp, not just from a technical standpoint, but through the culture and common passion for all that this job offers.