Lead UI Designer
native-design · London ·
- Seniority
- Lead
- Category
- Design
- Company size
- 51-200
Lead a team of designers to set visual direction for complex digital and AI-driven experiences, from concept to delivery, while owning client relationships and mentoring junior staff.
Native designs products that get made. Since 1997 we've worked across the US, Europe and Asia for the companies that take the object seriously: Bowers & Wilkins, Bang & Olufsen, Audi, Coloplast, Baxter, Bentley, HP and others we can't name yet. Along the way we've collected more international design awards than any independent studio in Europe. We've turned down every offer to be acquired because independence is what lets us tell a client the truth.
Increasingly the object has a screen, or a voice, or a model running behind it. That is where you come in. We're hiring a Lead UI Designer to own how our products look, move and respond, from the first sketch through to what ships. You'll set direction on interfaces for loudspeakers, hearing systems, vehicle cabins and medical devices, work in the same room as the industrial designers, engineers and anthropologists shaping the rest of the product, and sit across from the client's CEO when the work is shown.
You'll lead a small team of designers, run accounts, and help us win the next ones. You'll have opinions about typography and motion, about what makes an interface feel obvious, and about where AI belongs in a product and where it doesn't. You'll have shipped something you're proud of, and you'll be able to tell us what you'd do differently. Here’s what we're looking for in our next Lead UI Designer:
Increasingly the object has a screen, or a voice, or a model running behind it. That is where you come in. We're hiring a Lead UI Designer to own how our products look, move and respond, from the first sketch through to what ships. You'll set direction on interfaces for loudspeakers, hearing systems, vehicle cabins and medical devices, work in the same room as the industrial designers, engineers and anthropologists shaping the rest of the product, and sit across from the client's CEO when the work is shown.
You'll lead a small team of designers, run accounts, and help us win the next ones. You'll have opinions about typography and motion, about what makes an interface feel obvious, and about where AI belongs in a product and where it doesn't. You'll have shipped something you're proud of, and you'll be able to tell us what you'd do differently. Here’s what we're looking for in our next Lead UI Designer:
- Experienced & Agency-Tested: You have a track record of delivering high-impact visual and UI work across a range of industries, in a fast-paced creative agency environment. You know how to navigate complexity and still produce exceptional output.
- Creative Authority: You set visual design direction with confidence. Your decisions are grounded in craft and strategic thinking, and you can bring a room with you - clients and collaborators alike. You have very strong communication skills and the ability to lead clients on a design journey.
- People Manager: You have direct experience managing designers. You give clear, constructive feedback, support people's development, and know how to get the best out of a team without micromanaging.
- Account Owner: You're comfortable leading client relationships - holding the big picture, managing expectations, and maintaining trust over the course of a project.
- New Business Minded: You understand the commercial side of a studio. You're interested in helping win work - whether that's contributing to proposals, showing up well in pitches, or spotting opportunities within existing accounts.
- Cross-Disciplinary & Motion-Capable: You have working knowledge of motion design and understand how it contributes to the overall experience - timing, transitions, and bringing UI to life across platforms. You work fluidly across disciplines, bridging visual craft with 3D, UX thinking, engineering constraints, and client strategy.
- AI-Fluent: You actively explore new AI tools and integrate them thoughtfully into your workflow - not for novelty, but to elevate speed, craft, and thinking. You also understand what it means to design for AI-driven experiences.
- Craft-Led: You're rigorous about detail, such as typography, hierarchy, layout, and interaction. Your standards are high and you hold others to them too.
- Adaptable: We iterate, test, and sometimes start again. At Lead level, that means staying steady under ambiguity and helping your team do the same.
- Passionate: A genuine passion for the work is essential. We believe the best creative leaders still care deeply about the craft itself.
- Annual Leave: 25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays. We actively encourage you to take your leave.
- Enhanced Parental Leave: Enhanced maternity and paternity pay.
- Private Healthcare: Bupa private medical insurance, including 24/7 GP access, mental health support, and specialist care. A health and wellness cashback plan.
- Wellbeing & Fitness: 40% discount across the Hussle Gym network. Access to YuLife wellbeing and fitness benefits, including mindfulness resources, company-wide challenges and cash rewards.
- Professional Development: Opportunities for learning and development, access to industry talks, exhibitions, and visiting speakers.
- Studio Culture: Regular company events and studio activities throughout the year.
- Location: Our Shoreditch studio is well connected and surrounded by a vibrant design and technology community.
- Independent Studio: Native has operated independently in East London for over twenty years. We are committed to long-term thinking, craft, and delivering thoughtful innovation without compromise.