Lead UX/UI Designer

JOB TITLE: Lead UX/UI Designer

LOCATION: Brighton, UK

FUNCTION: Art/Animation

REPORTS TO: Game Director

CONTRACT: Perm

What We Need:

We see UX designers as the glue that holds all the parts of great video games together. Everything we build from a game design perspective you get your hands on; from systems to mechanics, from the HUD and menus to control schemes, from usability testing to player advocacy, you make sure that at all times, the player experience is at the forefront of your mind, and on the minds of the Directors, Leads, and Implementers responsible for putting our game together. We can’t create a great game without you.

As the Lead UX/UI Designer, you’re the glue-master. In addition to working with the Game Director to set the overall vision and direction for user experience, you are a master communicator; capable of ensuring that UX design is on the same page not only with each other, but with the UI artists and other team members that both rely upon and request help from the UX team.

What You Will Do:

• Lead a team of UX and UI professionals to hit the shared vision for the video game
• Coordinate with external groups both within and outside of 2K to put together usability testing that gives you the data you need to validate your decisions
• Understand what our players are doing and get to the bottom of why they’re doing what they do.
• Take complex game mechanics and use your knowledge of good interaction design to produce creative and effective UX solutions.
• Collaborate with Leads and Directors to define the overall vision, design and interface of next gen titles.
• Create documentation to communicate the vision, including but not limited to wireframes and flowcharts.
• Create working prototypes that demonstrate the design and reduce risk in the production phase of development.
• Take an iterative approach to development by working closely with the rest of the development team to improve the end user’s understanding of how to interact with the UI and improve the overall user experience.
• Champion the design department’s UX related work, guiding future approaches to UX.
• Ensure an overall high-quality level of UX design and User Experience.
• Collaborate actively with teams across the globe.

Who We Think Will Be A Good Fit:

• Experience in leading teams through all stages of UX development
• Experience in cross site communication of design, presentations and progress reporting
• Excellent communication skills - must be ready to work with teams across the globe.
• Shipped at least one AAA console project
• Understanding and experience of in-game stores and monetisation UX desirable
• Highly skilled in Wireframe Creation Software, Adobe Suite, primarily Photoshop, After Effects (Trapcode), Animate, or other tools that help you put together strong prototypes.
• Love for our players, and a dedication to usability testing and practices.
• Passion for games.
• Strong ability to digest complex and critical feedback and channel it into strong visual designs.
• Strong sense of aesthetics and how to communicate visually.
• Comfort in working with technical toolsets.
• Must be able to work well under pressure.
• Self-motivated.
• Humble at all times, not driven by personal ego.

Who We Are:

Hangar 13 is the internal 2K development studio behind the award-winning Mafia franchise. The studio is comprised of industry veterans drawn from a diverse range of studios, who have collectively shipped hundreds of titles across a wide variety of genres. Though we hail from all over the world, and our backgrounds are wildly different, one thing binds us all together – the belief that “Every Player’s Story is Unique.”

Hangar 13 is based in four locations: Novato (California), Brighton (UK), and Brno & Prague (Czech Republic).

We work collaboratively across our 4 locations to develop games as one global team. Each of our locations provides the opportunity to work on big-budget, AAA console in a diverse and inclusive environment!

Located just 45 minutes via train from London, Brighton is one of the UK’s most diverse and downright interesting cities. Sat right on the south coast of England, the city is home to a vibrant creative community and is known as an easy-going and tolerant place to live and work. Brighton is home to Victorian piers and palaces, brightly coloured stucco homes and a 5-mile long shingle beach which becomes a post-work social hub during the summer months.

Onsite amenities inside our state-of-the-art Brighton studio include a fully equipped kitchen, games room, gym (with showers) and our very own bar. We’re a 30 second walk from Brighton station.