Senior UI / UX Designer

Astrid is a gaming studio that brings together accomplished world builders and game developers to create multiplayer creative experiences. Our first project is a cooperative open-world sim, designed to foster connection, problem-solving and shared discovery. Players embark on a profound social experience in a richly imagined world shaped by dynamic systems, immersive storytelling and community-driven play. Our team spans the US, the UK and beyond. We are taking a fully remote approach, but have regular in-person meetups to synchronize, huddle and build our culture. We are currently seeking a Senior UI/UX Designer to become a vital part of our team. A huge amount of this game lives in its UI - inventory, crafting, building, decorating and dialogue - alongside the tools and items players use to explore the world, solve problems and meet the creatures in it. You will own that player-facing experience end to end, working closely with a UI engineer and guiding outsourced graphic designers. WHO YOU ARE Above all, we’re looking for someone with solid gaming experience who cares about UX - not just how things look, but how they work and how they feel. The brief is broad appeal, but with layers of optional depth: a low floor and a high ceiling, where the floor stays low as the ceiling rises. It’s easy to allow the depth for advanced players to complicate things for everyone; we want the opposite, complexity players discover and opt into rather than have forced upon them. Simple shouldn’t mean sterile, though: we love the small animations and satisfying feedback that give a UI charm, the Nintendo-like sense of play that makes it a pleasure to use. If you can make something rich for experts, welcoming to newcomers and a joy to use, you’re who we’re looking for. In order of priority, the skills we're looking for are: UX - Making the game simple to pick up but deep to master. This matters most, by a clear margin Unreal (UMG) - Able to implement your own designs in-engine, working alongside a UI engineer Graphic Design - A strong visual sense is a bonus rather than a requirement WHAT YOU WILL DO Own the UX across the game's core systems: flows, information architecture, interaction and layout Design the HUD, menus, screens and moment-to-moment input so they read clearly and feel great to use Produce wireframes, prototypes and mock-ups and take them through to final implementation Build and wire up your UI in Unreal (UMG), working alongside a UI engineer Define and maintain a UI design system that the team and external vendors can build to Direct outsourced graphic designers on iconography, colour and visual polish Run playtests and iterate quickly as the game evolves 5+ years designing UI/UX for games, with at least one shipped title or substantial in-development work A strong portfolio of UI/UX work on systems-rich games that shows your process and thinking Proven ability to make complex systems simple and intuitive without flattening their depth Demonstrable understanding of cosy / life-sim / management games and adventure games, since you'll be designing a hybrid of the two Hands-on experience building UI in Unreal (UMG). We'll consider an exceptional UX candidate with lighter Unreal, but some practical experience here is strongly expected Fluency with Figma and / or Adobe Suite Great compensation package and equity Private health insurance Pension Unlimited vacation days. We trust our team! Flexible remote work hours as long as team members deliver results We are committed to continuing to expand our benefits and perks to support our team