AVAILABLE POSITIONS Lead UX Designer

Lead Experience Designer at Zynga:

• Do you possess the delicate balance of research, analysis, and visual thinking? 
• Do you have a passion for gaming as a player and as a User Experience designer?
• Do you aspire to continuously learn and develop new, unique methodologies with the best in the domain?
• Zynga is looking for a creative, dynamic Lead Experience Designer like you to join our team!
• You will be responsible for crafting user-centered design solutions that promote ease of use, establish/employ best-in-class game/interaction design, and optimize the user experience universally.
• This includes all phases of the design process including conceptual design/development, Interaction models, prototypes, user/task flows, usability evaluation and interface design. 
• You will work closely with the UX Director, General Manager to establish, maintain the comprehensive visual integrity, interaction methods, brand standards, and consistency for the game, and collaborate with partner functions to execute the final product. 

Responsibilities:

• Approach work with consideration for the overall experience and flow of a product. Employ a strategic, methodical design process that organizes the needs of the players, development, and business goals that considers the scope as well as limitations of the pipeline. 
• Collaborate with stakeholders to set the North Star for a product and then break that into smaller achievable and measurable outcomes. 
• Approach deliverables, for example, UI Kits, with a systems-oriented mindset that is organized, easy to use by all, and extensible for the future.
• Use well-known interaction models and patterns when designing for learnability, engagement, and delight to appeal to a broad audience. 
• Utilize pre-visualization techniques such as user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes to quickly explore and assess various directions to help build consensus and guide the project toward a final conceptual target. 
• Actively analyze other top-performing, innovative games and genres in the marketplace to identify and understand trends and behaviors with other developers and audiences and then apply that insight to our product development. 
• Work to understand, support, and conduct research activities (Qualitative & Quantitative) and apply learnings. 
• Actively build a technical understanding of the platform’s abilities and limitations and engage best practices.
• Deliver high-quality presentations that are well organized and easy to understand by non-UXers. Moderate design critiques that allow people to be heard while keeping the discussion on track and moving forward and always keeping the player experience (user empathy) the center of attention.
• Apply principles of Visual and Graphic Design (contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity) to increase ease of use, enforce hierarchies, and help the product meet its player and business objectives. Create designs that consider and maximize the effectiveness of typography, icons, grid, and color systems to layout screens for best results. 
• Use storyboarding and prototyping to plan for delightful animation by orchestrating typography, color, imagery, form, technology, and content to create ‘motion with meaning’ that entertains and communicates. Direct attention to design interactions and animations that reinforce the product by providing player feedback, simplifying the cognitive load, preventing change blindness, and improving recall.
• Demonstrate a broad understanding of pipelines and toolchains in a production environment. Actively look for opportunities to automate or otherwise streamline production processes.
• Maintain an empathetic mindset and an understanding of user accessibility needs – for example, color blindness or dyslexia. Ensure UI art reinforces a product to be robust, understandable, and specific.

Required Skills:

• 7+ years’ experience in UX Design.
• 2+ years’ supervisory/managerial experience.
• Online portfolio with case studies (Instagram links and applications without working portfolio links will be disregarded)
• Strong graphic/visual design skills.
• Expertise in initial data gathering, competitive analysis, stakeholder interviews, information architecture, usability evaluation, interaction design for co-creation of the spec and driving product conversations, strategy in new/large features, optimizations, and experiments.
• Experience in conducting user research and willingness to adapt/build non-traditional research methodologies.
• Should have worked in a team of UI and UX designers.
• Should be able to supervise, manage, mentor the juniors, establish OKR goals and follow up.
• Should be able to operate independently with minimal supervision and check-in.
• Expected to evangelize the UX methodologies across the production pipeline, evaluate and establish best practices.
• Hands-on experience or knowledge of Unity 3D and motion design is a plus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, articulation.
• Excellent presentation and articulation skills.
• Real passion for gaming.
• Bachelor’s or Master's degree in graphic arts, interaction design, or equivalent industry experience in design discipline.

What is it like working in Gaming?

○ Creative

○ Collaborative

○ Fun (no points for guessing!) 

○ Engaging 

○ Challenging

• All of the above!

What we offer you:

• Work in a studio that has complete P&L ownership of games
• Create next-gen games that will be played and loved by millions of players around the world
• Work in a collaborative team that invests in your development and growth on-the-job
• Competitive salary and bonus plan
• Extended Health coverage, disability, critical illness and life insurance
• Child care facilities for women employees and discounted facilities for male employees
• Virtual mental health and neurodiversity support programs
• Family planning support program
• Additional leave options for most employees
• Employee Assistance Programs
• Frequent employee events
• Flexible working hours on many teams
• A diverse team of friendly, fun and supportive co-workers
• Culture of diversity and inclusion including employee resource groups that connect Zyngites through culture, lifestyle and fun