UX Design Lead
Airship Syndicate
Posted 1 year ago
Located in thriving Austin, Texas, Airship Syndicate was founded by four industry vets formerly of Vigil Games - the house that Darksiders built. Led by visionary comic artist Joe Madureira, we work with a wide group of talented contributors located both in our studio and around the world. Our projects include Battle Chasers: Nightwar, Darksiders Genesis, and the upcoming Ruined King: A League of Legends Story.
Our goal is simple: build a lean, fun, independent game studio to create top-quality games for a variety of gaming platforms.
The UX Design Lead will oversee the design and delivery of UX and UI content for Wayfinder. They will collaborate closely with directors and department leads to flesh out game features and refinements. This role will require a candidate that is flexible and can adapt to ongoing player feedback.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Work with leadership to establish usability and information delivery goals across the project
- Develop UX designs and specifications for a wide variety of gameplay features and systems.
- Create interactive user flows and mockups that effectively visualize the intended player experience.
- Oversee implementation of UX designs into game engine
- Review the content of internal team and external partners. Provide feedback to ensure quality of designs and UI assets.
- Uphold and refine ongoing UX team processes and best practices
REQUIREMENTS
- At least one major game shipped as the UX Design Lead and/or 2+ years experience as a design lead
- Ability to translate abstract design concepts into a functional player experience
- Proficiency with visualization tools and working knowledge of Unreal UMG
- Strong communication skills with product stakeholders, able to present ideas clearly, and provide feedback and mentorship within the UX/UI team
- Online portfolio showcasing UX capabilities: wireframes, user flows, graphic design, and visual development examples
NICE TO HAVE
- Experience working on a live service game
- Experience developing for multiple platforms and form factors
- Experience working with Unreal Materials and VFX
Our Benefits:
Healthcare that includes: complete medical, dental, and vision plans that cover you and your dependents.
Life insurance plus short and long-term disability.
Generous matching retirement contributions so you can live the good life after you retire.
Flexible Spending Accounts
Open Paid Time Off
Profit-Sharing
Relocation packages
Perks Upon Perks:
A world-beating, custom-made board gaming table
Payday Friday Off
Flex Days, where working from home is optionally allowed
Office movie lunches at Alamo Draft House (when we're not in a pandemic)
Access to your favorite snacks and beverages
MAME cabinet
GrubHub Account w/ meal credits
How We Work
Autonomy through collaboration:
We remove as many barriers as possible between you and productivity. We’ll ask you to be self-reliant and self-motivated, with the expectation that you talk frequently with your lead and teammates to keep everyone aligned.
Focused project management:
We don’t manage just to manage. We’re building a system and process that is helpful, but not intrusive. If someone is asking you for a status update, it’s probably because they are working with you on the thing they are asking about, or are planning to use it.
Small team environment:
Size is relative (especially in today’s dev world), but we’re all about direct interaction with teammates, experimenting with ideas, and less bureaucracy.
Our Values
High Performance:
Average will never be our target. We work hard to put the special sauce in each game we create, and this forms the core of our identity. It also pushes us to evolve. As we strive to be better together, we grow together.
Mutual Respect:
We respect the time and extraordinary efforts of our employees by offering generous PTO, profit-sharing, WFH days (even pre-pandemic), and an understanding of personal circumstances. Making great games often takes a lot; we aim to give a lot in return, by committing to share our success with our team.
Approachability:
Making something “fun” is inherently subjective, and can’t come without disagreement. We value being open, honest, and approachable. Respect breeds communication and good communication means good games. If you aren’t approachable, in good times and bad, Airship isn’t for you.
Help Us Build It
We are still trying to achieve our goals, and probably always will be. We’re looking for thoughtful, creative folks to help us move the goalpost.