Lead UI Designer

Native Design Co.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Enhanced parental leave

Private healthcare (Bupa)

Wellbeing & fitness discounts

Professional development opportunities

Studio culture & events

Location: Shoreditch studio

Independent studio

Job summary

Native Design is seeking a Lead UI Designer to shape visual direction across multi-modal digital and AI experiences, including motion, AR/3D, and more. You will line-manage designers, own accounts, and contribute to new business while setting high standards for craft and collaboration.

You will work with designers, developers, anthropologists, strategists, and engineers who excel in their fields, and you will help grow the studio by winning work and delivering exceptional output.

Qualifications

• Track record delivering high-impact visual and UI work across industries in a fast-paced creative agency.
• Ability to set design direction and lead clients on a design journey.
• Experience line-managing designers and giving constructive feedback.
• Experience owning client relationships and accounts.
• Interest in new business and opportunities within existing accounts.
• Cross-disciplinary work spanning UI, motion, 3D, and UX thinking.
• Familiarity with AI tools and integrating them into workflows.
• Rigorous craft with typography, hierarchy, layout, and interaction.

Responsibilities

• Set visual design direction across multi-modal digital and AI experiences, including motion and 3D.
• Line-manage and mentor designers at senior and junior levels.
• Own accounts and contribute to new business opportunities.
• Lead client relationships, manage expectations and maintain trust.
• Collaborate with engineers, strategists, anthropologists, and developers to shape experiences.

Skills

Agency experience

Leadership

Client management

Visual design direction

Motion design

AI-fluent

Tools

Motion & 3D tooling

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Job description

We're looking for an exceptional Lead UI Designer - someone with the craft, the creative authority, and the leadership experience to raise the bar across our digital output and help shape where the studio goes next.
We're an independent design and innovation consultancy hired to create wholly new products and experiences. The work is genuinely varied and often complex - spanning consumer electronics, tech, healthcare, wellness, and automotive. At Lead level, you won't just be delivering outstanding work yourself; you'll be setting the standard for others, owning client relationships, and playing an active role in how we grow.
As Lead UI Designer, you'll set visual design direction across multi-modal digital and AI experiences, including motion 3D, augmented reality and more - you'll bring the rigour and perspective to take our work from concept to reality. You'll line-manage and mentor designers at senior and junior level, own accounts, and contribute meaningfully to new business. This is a role for someone ready to make their mark - and build something.
You'll work alongside designers, developers, anthropologists, strategists, and engineers who are genuinely excellent at what they do. The expectation is that you are too.

Your profile

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.

Why us?

Here's what you can expect from us:

• 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.

About us

Native is an independent design and innovation firm, with a unique blend of industrial, digital, and service design expertise. We pioneer ground-breaking products and services for some of the world’s most innovative brands across consumer electronics, healthcare, wellness and automotive.

We pride ourselves on having assembled a world class team of designers, developers, anthropologists, strategists, engineers, and tastemakers. They have come to our studios from all over the world and share a passion for brilliant creative thinking and a ruthless attention to detail.