Lead UI Designer - Star Wars at Zynga

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At NaturalMotion, we make games that wow people. We innovate to create experiences that previously were impossible and that would not exist without us. We take pride in making titles that reach a large audience and in creating communities that last. For the past six years, NaturalMotion Studios has been named one of the Best Places to Work in the UK games industry by gamesindustry.biz.

We embrace a hybrid work environment. Within this role, you would work 2 days per week (Tuesday and Wednesday) in our London office and the remaining days at home.

Job Purpose

We are looking for Lead UI Designer to join us in creating Star Wars™: Hunters, a competitive arena combat game for the Nintendo Switch system and mobile devices. Star Wars: Hunters will bring players together to engage in thrilling, team-based, multiplayer battles featuring a diverse array of distinctive new Star Wars characters.

The Lead UI Designer assists Franchise Leads in developing the UI vision of a product(s) and carrying out that vision. This role leads the effort in innovative and ground breaking design solutions to create user-centered design solutions that promote ease of use, employ best-in-class game/interaction design, and optimize the user experience universally in response to user testing.

Work closely with Franchise Stakeholders to establish and maintain the visual integrity, interaction methods, brand standards, and consistency for the game and collaborate with Product Management and Engineering for execution of design.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

Collaborate with the UX, product and design teams to conceptualize, define, and develop features that yield outstanding experiences for our players
Synthesize the needs of players and all game departments to find solutions that work for all.
Create art and visual design for user interfaces
Create high-fidelity mock-ups for pre-visualization during pre-production
Develop mood boards and help guide the visual design of features
Lead and participate in company-wide UI community events, critiques, product reviews, and feature retrospectives
Be responsible for the task management and career development of other UI members
Collaborate with the art team to define/adhere to a thematic art style
Design (and create) functional animation for user interactions
Participate in the planning and moderating of user testing
Conduct market competitor research and deconstructs
Participate in researching consumer insight, developing personas, and analysing data
Conduct heuristic evaluations of internal & external products
Set examples, guides, and standard methodologies in UI for others in your game team
Collaborate with UI staff from other game teams to share findings and develop standard methodologies across the organization
Demonstrates proactive self-development with interest in levelling up personal, interpersonal, and craft skills
A mastery in classic graphic design principles

Required Experience & Skills

Experienced in traditional game development methods and processes
Skilled with standard creative software such as the Adobe Creative Suite
An accomplished expert with UI layout & design tools (Figma, Sketch, or similar tools)
Competent in designing and authoring functional UI animation
Expert in user interface layout design, hierarchy, color theory, and information architecture
Highly proficient written and verbal communication skills, including technical writing.
Ability to prioritize tasks, work efficiency, handle time effectively, and complete your work with minimal oversight.
Ability to adapt and work in a fast-paced setting. Be able to rapidly develop new skills and behaviours in response to changing circumstances.
Experienced in collaborating and partnering with technical team members such as Tech Art and Engineering

Desirable Skills & Experience

Unreal Engine, or similar game engine experience
Axure, Framer, or other interactive prototyping packages

What we offer you:

Competitive salary and discretionary annual bonus scheme
Create next-gen games that will be played and loved by millions of players around the world
Work in a family-oriented, collaborative team that invests in your development and growth on-the-job
A diverse team of friendly, fun and supportive co-workers
Flexible working hours & crunch-free working culture
Communal music and laid-back atmosphere
Summer/Christmas parties and Happy Hour in the studio each Friday
26 days holiday + bank holidays, 2 paid personal days
6 months of fully paid maternity/adoption leave or 16 weeks of fully paid paternity leave (eligibility criteria apply)
Pension plan with a double matching employer contribution (capped at 8%)
Private medical insurance, dental insurance and healthcare cash plan
Life insurance, accident insurance and long-term disability insurance
Company Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) (eligibility criteria apply)
Fitness Reimbursement plan worth £600 per annum
Charitable Giving Platform to which the Company contributes a 2:1
Annual season ticket advance and cycle to work scheme

#LI-Hybrid

Zynga does not engage in financial exchanges during the recruitment or onboarding process. We do not conduct job interviews over third-party messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp or others. We will never ask you for your personal or financial information over unofficial chat channels. Our in-house recruitment team only contacts individuals via official company email addresses (i.e., via a zynga.com or naturalmotion.com email domain).

If you believe you have been the victim of a scam, you may wish to contact the authorities. In the United States, you may file a complaint with the FBI. More information is available here: https://www.ic3.gov.

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