UI/UX Designer Lead

About the company:

We are a startup team within Papaya , a successful and established gaming company.

Our unit runs with full startup energy and agility, while benefiting from the stability and resources of Papaya.

We’re building a new competitive game platform – where games and challenges come together in one engaging experience.

About the role:

We are looking for an experienced UI/UX Designer Lead to join us and help shape innovative mobile gaming experiences.

This is a senior, hands-on individual contributor role for a designer with a strong background in gaming, exceptional UI/UX skills, and the ability to independently own complex product features from concept to launch.

You will combine creative problem-solving, strong product thinking, and outstanding visual execution to deliver intuitive, engaging, and polished player experiences.

We're looking for a fast-moving, highly creative designer who is passionate about gaming, embraces AI-powered workflows, and knows how to turn ambitious ideas into exceptional mobile experiences.

Responsibilities

• End-to-End Design Ownership: Independently own product features from concept and UX planning through wireframes, high-fidelity UI, interactive prototypes, and development handoff.
• Gaming UX: Design engaging player experiences around competitive gameplay, progression systems, rewards, monetization, and retention mechanics.
• UI Design Excellence: Create polished, playful, and visually compelling mobile interfaces with exceptional attention to detail, consistency, and usability.
• Advanced Figma Workflow: Build and maintain scalable components, interactive prototypes, and structured design files, leveraging Figma's advanced capabilities to improve quality, consistency, and efficiency.
• AI-Powered Design: Actively integrate AI tools into the design process to accelerate ideation, visual exploration, prototyping, asset creation, and iteration.
• Product Optimization: Identify UX challenges, propose creative solutions, and continuously improve player experiences based on product insights, feedback, and performance data.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Product Managers, Developers, and Designers to translate product requirements into high-quality experiences and ensure precise implementation.

Requirements

• 5+ Years of UI/UX Experience: Proven experience designing complex, mobile-first B2C digital products, with strong end-to-end ownership.
• Gaming Industry Experience – Required: Hands-on experience designing mobile games or gaming platforms, with a solid understanding of player behavior, game mechanics, progression, engagement, and retention.
• Expert-Level Figma – Required: Exceptional proficiency in Figma, including advanced Auto Layout, components, variants, variables, design systems, interactive prototyping, and developer handoff. Ability to work efficiently with complex design files and scalable component libraries.
• AI Proficiency – Required: Demonstrated hands-on experience using AI-powered design tools to enhance creativity, accelerate workflows, generate assets, explore concepts, and improve design efficiency. A proactive approach to experimenting with emerging AI technologies.
• Outstanding UI & UX Skills: A strong portfolio demonstrating excellent visual craftsmanship, intuitive user flows, and polished mobile experiences.
• Creative Problem Solving: Ability to think outside the box, challenge conventional solutions, and transform complex product challenges into engaging, user-friendly experiences.
• Speed & Execution: Ability to move quickly, iterate efficiently, and maintain exceptional design quality in a fast-paced product environment.
• Independent Ownership: Strong ability to manage complex design tasks autonomously, make informed design decisions, and drive features from initial concept through production.
• Motion Design – A Plus: Experience with After Effects, Rive, Lottie, or other motion and interaction design tools.