Senior UI/UX Designer

Studio Overview

We are Sports Interactive 🎮

The studio behind: ⚽ Football Manager.

Founded in 1994, Sports Interactive became a wholly owned subsidiary of SEGA Europe in 2006. Based at the Here East technology hub in Stratford, East London, the SI team continues to expand as we bring our titles to an ever-growing audience across an increasing variety of platforms.

To support our growth, we welcome the opportunity to connect with passionate people with the drive to match our ambitions and initiative to realise your individual potential.

Job Title:  UI/UX Designer
Team: Design
Reporting into: Lead UI/UX Designer
Working Model: Hybrid 2-3 days per week in Studio
Location: Here East, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, E15 2GW

Position Overview: 

We're looking for a Senior UI/UX Designer to help shape the future of Football Manager, the world's leading football management series.

Football Manager has one of the deepest, most detailed interfaces in games, and our players spend hundreds of hours in it. In this role, you'll lead improvements to the game's usability and UI. You'll turn complex systems into experiences that feel clear, intuitive and enjoyable. You'll work closely with Games Design, UI Engineering, Narrative, User Research, Business Intelligence, Production and QA, and you'll have real ownership of the features you design.

Accessibility is a key focus for us. We want more people than ever to enjoy our games, and you'll play a key role in making that happen.

You're organised and self-motivated, and you communicate confidently with every discipline, both within the design team and across the wider studio. You enjoy sharing your expertise, inspiring others around you, and pushing both your own work and the team's forward.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Game Design and Creative Leads to shape new and exciting features for future versions of Football Manager
• Own end-to-end UI/UX for features, from early concepts and wireframes through to high-fidelity designs and full specifications
• Tackle complex gameplay systems, turning deep information into clear, intuitive and enjoyable interfaces
• Champion user-centred design, working closely with User Research and Business Intelligence to inform decisions and validate them through testing and data
• Design for accessibility and across platforms and input methods, including mouse and keyboard, controller and touch
• Contribute to and help evolve the UI design system, producing high-quality components and assets and ensuring they're used consistently
• Work with engineers to prototype, implement and polish designs in Unity, making sure the final result matches the design intent
• Partner with Production to scope and estimate work, and keep producers and management updated on progress, risks and trade-offs
• Present and explain design decisions clearly to any discipline, acting as an advocate for the player
• Help raise the quality bar across the team through design critiques, feedback and sharing best practice
• Informally mentor and support junior members of the UI/UX team
• Stay current with developments in UI/UX practice and tools, and bring useful ideas back to the team

Knowledge, Skill and Experience 

• Professional UI/UX design experience in software or games, including features you've shipped from concept to release
• A portfolio that shows your design process as well as polished final work
• Strong grasp of UX principles, including designing for accessibility
• Proven ability to design clear, intuitive interfaces for complex data systems
• A strong visual design eye, producing high-quality, polished UI
• Experience creating user flows, wireframes, prototypes and detailed design specifications
• Experience building, maintaining or contributing to a design system
• Expert use of Figma, plus familiarity with collaboration tools such as Miro
• Experience with user research, usability testing and data to inform and validate design decisions
• Understanding of technical constraints and experience working closely with engineers through to implementation
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to present and present design decisions to any discipline and stakeholder
• A collaborative approach and experience supporting or mentoring other designers

Desirable 

• Experience with Unity 
• Animation or motion design skills (e.g. After Effects, Principle etc.) 
• Basic knowledge of HTML/CSS or similar 
• Experience of Adobe Suite (Illustrator/Photoshop) 
• Interest in Football Manager and Football, whilst very helpful, is not essential

 Benefits of Working at Sports Interactive:

• Private Healthcare and Dental Plans.

• A range of Gym Membership options through our Benefits partners.

• Travel Insurance for yourself and your family.

• Subsidised mental health, therapy, and coaching sessions are available.

• Access to our on-site physical and massage therapist services.

• Free access to games released under the SEGA Europe umbrella.

• Contributory Pension Scheme (up to 7% of annual salary).

• Regular events in collaboration with our partnered football clubs.

• Free onsite evening bar in our London HQ.

• A well-stocked breakfast bar with cereals, fruits, teas, and coffees.

• Multiple clubs and societies to join e.g., book club and art workshops.

• Your club’s shirt personalised upon passing probation.

• Trophies & gift cards for length of service milestones.

• Cupcakes delivered on your birthday.

What is it like to work here?

We approach everything with passion, whether that is making our mark on the football industries or doing our bit for the world around us. We want to share that outlook with everyone who shows up to work here each day.

For us, talent wins games, but teamwork wins titles. All our roles require a level of Studio attendance to help us collaborate effectively and stay connected as a team. Collaboration is the key to constantly topping our best. Everyone's contribution counts, no matter which part of the business you are in. We encourage and support our people in driving your own growth and realising your full potential. But, more than anything else, we are a team. A team with a down-to-earth dynamic, that has a lot of fun doing what we do.

And whether that’s technical tweaks or fine-tuning our creative process, everything is geared at producing the best game possible for our players. To do that, we need to be tenacious and ambitious and not be afraid of switching things up. It is these principles that have enabled us to produce a game that has defined year after year, and that will continue to push us for many more to come.

We’re also a London Living Wage employer and boast one of the lowest staff turnover rates in the industry.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from any relevant candidate irrespective of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion, or belief.

SI is proudly a Disability Confident Committed employer, and we are dedicated to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. Our studio has disabled access and facilities but please ensure you advise us if you require any other reasonable adjustments to be made to support you during the recruitment process.

Our Values:

• Keep collaborating: Teamwork wins titles - Here, ideas belong to everyone, whatever department you’re part of. Collaboration lets us score more as a team than we could individually.

• Be flexible: We think fast and adapt faster. The football and entertainment worlds never stand still, so we keep progressing and switching things up to stay ahead.

• Stay Tenacious: We don’t overlook the details. Everything we do is about producing the best game possible, in other words, never settle.

• Show Ambition: Let your drive lead the way - Your individual outlook can give everyone the edge. Make the studio’s purpose personal and let your drive lead the way.

• Bring the Passion: Have fun doing your thing - Don’t be fooled, what we do is not a game. Making our players’ passion come to life is our passion.

• Consider the Bigger Picture: Keep things in perspective - We want our impact to be a positive one. From built-in work/life balance to initiatives covering the most important topics of today, we have what matters in focus.