Head of UI/UX

Role Overview

Join Creative Assembly and craft deep and detailed games that last, entertaining millions of players across the globe for decades. As the Head of UI/UX Department, your primary focus is on building and leading the department. You will define a scalable resourcing strategy, balancing in-house expertise and external partnerships. You will define and scale the UI/UX team structure, ensuring the right mix of artists, designers, engineers, and researchers. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams (Game Design, Engineering, Art, Production) to integrate UI/UX seamlessly into the development pipeline. We are looking for a candidate with 10+ years of experience in UI/UX or related fields, with a proven track record of leadership and team development.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead the recruitment, training, and mentoring of top UI/UX talent, fostering a culture of excellence.
• Craft the vision and strategy for the UI/UX for the Franchise, with the UI Product Owner, following the franchise strategy – as defined by the Franchise Leadership Team – and the needs of the Projects – as defined by the Project Game, and Creative Directors.
• Work closely with Production to establish UI/UX budgets, timelines, and staffing needs. You will be accountable for the long-term UI/UX backlog as part of the wider Gameplay Platform initiative.
• Drive the establishment and maintenance of quality standards, best practices, design systems, documentation, and UI/UX guidelines, processes and workflows.
• Ensure a data-driven approach to UI/UX decision-making, leveraging player feedback and research for ensuring quality standards are met.
• Ensure the department stays ahead of industry trends, emerging technologies, and interaction models in gaming and beyond.
• Drive innovation in control schemes, accessibility, onboarding, and player journey design.
• Work closely with UX Testing & Research to validate player interactions, and be the primary liaison with them in the Franchise.
• Collaborate with the Project Leadership Teams and the UXR and audience research functionalities of the wider organization in the organization playtesting, A/B testing, eye-tracking studies, and user research.
• Act as the primary owner of translating player insights into actionable design improvements.
• Collaborate in maintaining player personas and behavioural models to inform game design.
• Collaborate closely with the Franchise Leadership Team and the Project Leadership Teams to identify challenges, opportunities, and interesting new initiatives to pursue, as well as any potential risks, planning for mitigations, and escalating where necessary.
• Represent and timely communicate the vision, strategy and status of the department, including highlighting perceived future opportunities and risks.
• Employ a data-informed, and player- and product centric, yet people-led mindset to support the Franchise and the delivery of the projects, and help build and maintain a positive, open, informed, and focused team.

Day-to-Day Operations

• Build and maintain a resourcing strategy for the department, and be responsible for its clear communication to stakeholders.
• Lead and mentor the UI/UX team, ensuring individual and collective growth.
• Build, refine and maintain guidelines, standards, workflows, processes, and documentations across the department.
• Collaborate with the Franchise Leadership to ensure the Department vision, strategy and operation aligns with and helps deliver the strategic roadmap.
• Build and maintain a future facing feature roadmap for the department, and be responsible for its clear communication to stakeholders.
• Collaborate with the Franchise Leadership Team and the Project Leadership teams to plan future strategic work and ensure the delivery of the projects.
• Act as a tiebreaker between Projects and the Franchise where Department related decisions must be made.
• Where tiebreak decisions will have significant impact on the Franchise, or on specific other projects, recognize and escalate accordingly (with recommendations) to the Franchise Leadership Team.
• Be involved in UI/UX reviews, looking at design concepts, providing strategic direction and hands-on feedback.
• Stay involved in high-level problem-solving, ensuring that UI/UX solutions align with player expectations.
• Collaborate in planning and overseeing UX research and playtests, analyzing data for usability improvements.
• Engage with external vendors and outsourcing partners, overseeing quality and integration of external work.
• Advocate for product- and player-centric design in franchise-wide discussions and leadership meetings.
• Monitor UI/UX trends and best practices, ensuring the team remains at the forefront of industry standards.

Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Strong leadership skills, with a track record of mentoring and managing UI/UX teams.
• Proven experience building and leading a UI/UX department, defining structure, hiring, and setting best practices.
• Ability to balance creative vision, business and technical constraints with player value and best practices.
• Expertise in UI/UX for games, including interaction design, accessibility, information architecture, and usability heuristics, including a good understanding of technical requirements and limitations.
• Strong knowledge of game control schemes, onboarding, and player psychology.
• Experience in outsourcing/vendor management, working with external UI/UX partners.
• A methodological and data informed approach.
• Experience in project management methodologies such as scrum and agile.
• Knowledge of project management software and tools.
• Excellent organizational, management and problem-solving skills and mentality.
• Excellent ability to connect people, with experience building and maintaining teams through cooperation and collaboration.
• Strong diplomatic skills, with an ability to unite multiple stakeholders with varied priorities and needs.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience working with in-house, or proprietary game engines (Unreal Engine UMG, Unity UI, or similar UI implementation tools).
• Understanding of Agile workflows and experience integrating UI/UX into iterative game development processes.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience in AAA or high-profile game development with a major UI/UX leadership role, preferably on multiple platforms.
• Strong visual design sensibility, able to work with artists and engineers to achieve high-quality UI aesthetics.
• Familiarity with motion design and UI animation principles for interactive feedback.
• Proficiency in UI/UX tools (Figma, Adobe XD, Axure, or equivalent).
• Passion for game accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG, Xbox Accessibility Guidelines).
• Experience in planning and delivering large scale AAA game projects.
• Knowledge of the broader game development, from inception to post release, the interplay and dependencies between different disciplines.
• Broad knowledge of games and an interest in relevant game industry trends.
• Experience working with data analytics for player behaviour analysis.
• Hands-on experience with UX research methods, including usability testing, playtests, and data-driven design.

Working at Creative Assembly

• Environment: Most roles are hybrid with 3 days a week in the studio.
• Benefits:
  • Work from Anywhere for a temporary period each year (restrictions apply such as VISAs).
  • Enhanced holiday allowance, maternity and paternity breaks, flexibility with core hours, and no-notice holidays.
  • Performance-based discretionary bonus scheme.
  • Bespoke relocation package for you and your dependents.
  • Private medical and dental insurance, life insurance and free health care screening.
  • Additional benefits ranging from free games and work parties to discounts on technology.
  • Wellbeing support and virtual confidential counselling.
• Perks:
  • Lunchtime gaming sessions in the lounge and Club SEGA.
  • Regular gaming tournaments and free SEGA games on Steam.
  • Fresh fruit and cereal provided daily.
  • Discounted gym membership, ride to work scheme, workout area, and bootcamps.
  • Weekly yoga classes and in-house massage therapy.
  • Regular lunch & learn sessions and company events.
• Equal Opportunities: Creative Assembly is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all qualified candidates regardless of background. Studio sites have disabled access.