Senior UX Designer, Puzzles

The Guardian; Greater London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days annual leave

Generous pension scheme

Volunteering days

Life cover and income protection

Gym membership access

Job summary

A leading media organization is seeking a Senior UX Designer to join its Puzzles team for a 12-month contract. The role focuses on creating a premium, engaging puzzles experience across platforms, driving both engagement and subscription growth. Candidates should have experience in UX design within cross-functional teams, and a portfolio showcasing digital products. The position is hybrid, requiring two days at the office, enhancing daily play and subscription interactions.

Qualifications

• Proven experience designing digital products in cross-functional teams.
• Strong portfolio showcasing end-to-end UX design for web and mobile.
• Experience working with design systems and component libraries.
• Deep understanding of interaction design, usability, and user behavior.
• Experience mentoring designers and contributing to a collaborative team.

Responsibilities

• Lead the UX design for the Puzzles proposition and enhance user journeys.
• Rapidly prototype new puzzle formats and gamification features.
• Champion a test-and-learn approach to optimize user engagement.
• Act as the UX voice in the Puzzles squad and communicate design rationale.
• Leverage the Guardian design system for high-quality user experiences.

Skills

UX design

Interaction design

Gamification

Accessibility

Cross-functional teamwork

Tools

Design systems

Component libraries

Job description

Join our team at the Guardian and be a part of a diverse and inclusive global organisation that delivers fearless, investigative journalism, and holds power to account. Our team of award-winning journalists, cutting-edge commercial professionals, and industry-leading digital experts are committed to making a difference and represent a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. We offer a challenging and exciting environment for career development, with a focus on training, growth and fostering an inclusive culture.

We are looking for a Senior UX Designer to join our Puzzles team, which is part of the newly formed Premium Propositions Product Group on a 12 month fixed term contract. You will lead the design of a world-class, cross-platform puzzles experience that drives daily engagement, subscription growth, and ad revenue. From a quick to cryptic crossword on your morning commute, to our Film Reveal puzzle (think Pointless meets cinema testing trivia), Guardian puzzles look to elevate our readers\' downtime.

This is a hybrid strategic-practitioner role: you will define the UX vision for the Puzzles proposition while being hands-on in crafting intuitive, engaging, and visually compelling experiences across web and mobile. Your work will transform The Guardian’s puzzles offering from a "nice-to-have" add-on into a premium destination for our supporters.

You will collaborate closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and Researchers, shaping experiences that are not only delightful and accessible but also commercially impactful.

About the Role

• Lead the UX design for the Puzzles proposition, from discovery and ideation to polished delivery, including engaging user journeys, wireframes, prototypes, and interfaces that encourage daily play, subscription conversion, and retention.
• Rapidly prototype new puzzle formats, gamification features, and subscription-focused interactions.
• Champion a test-and-learn approach to validate hypotheses and optimise user engagement, collaborating with researchers to conduct qualitative and quantitative user research,
• Act as the UX voice in the Puzzles squad, communicating design rationale clearly to Product, Engineering, and Commercial stakeholders, working closely with engineers to ensure designs are implemented accurately and efficiently across web and app platforms.
• Leverage the Guardian design system to deliver consistent, scalable, and high-quality experiences, contributing components, patterns, and best practices.
• Define the long-term UX vision for the Puzzles proposition, balancing user delight, business goals, and technical feasibility.
• Identify opportunities for gamification, cross-platform parity, and subscription-focused enhancements.

About You

• Proven experience designing digital products in cross-functional teams, ideally in subscription, gaming, or content-rich environments.
• Strong portfolio showcasing end-to-end UX design for web and mobile, including gamified experiences.
• Experience working with design systems and component libraries.
• Deep understanding of interaction design, usability, accessibility, information architecture, and user behaviour.
• Comfortable balancing business objectives, technical constraints, and user needs.
• Experience mentoring designers and contributing to a positive, collaborative team culture.
• Experience with casual or mobile gaming, gamification, or puzzles.

We actively encourage applications from groups traditionally underrepresented in the UK media.

We operate in a hybrid environment working 2 days a week from our offices in Kings Cross and 3 days a week remotely.

We value and respect all differences (seen and unseen) in all people. We aspire to have inclusive working experiences and an environment that reflects the audience we serve, where our people have equal access to career development opportunities, their voices are heard and can contribute to our future. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Many of our staff work flexibly and we will consider all requests for flexible working arrangements.

How to Apply

To apply, please upload your latest CV and a cover letter which outlines why you’d love to take on this role, and why you’re a great match for what we’re looking for. We’d also love to see some previous work examples or links to your portfolio.

We appreciate the time taken to prepare each application we receive. We do not use AI-assisted technology to review applications; every application is reviewed by a member of our recruitment team.

The closing date for applications is Thursday 26th February 2026.

All roles at the Guardian are open for everybody to apply. It is important to us that you feel supported and comfortable throughout your recruitment process, in order to perform your best. Please let us know if there are any changes we could make to help your application, this includes providing documents in accessible formats or personalising the process to better support your needs.

Benefits at the Guardian

You\'ll have 30 days of annual leave per year (plus bank holidays). Our pension scheme is generous; if you contribute 5% then we will contribute 8-12% (depending on your age). We believe in giving back, which is why employees are given 2 volunteering days annually and the option of payroll giving. Season ticket loans are also available.

You are entitled to life cover, income protection, and eye tests. You can also opt in to dental insurance.

We have enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave policies in place. We also support our employees by offering an IVF, menopause, baby loss, and trans equality policy.

Culture and Wellbeing

We want everyone to feel like they belong at the Guardian and we champion diversity of thought. Our various employee forums provide a platform to use their voice to foster an inclusive workplace. We became the first major media organisation to achieve B Corp status.

We offer tools to help you prioritise your wellbeing including access to our employee benefits platform which provides tailored support for health and wellbeing. In addition, we also offer free yoga and pilates classes. These run alongside our corporate gym membership and cycle to work scheme.

Our canteen has views overlooking the Regents Canal and caters for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Learning and Development

We encourage personal and professional growth. Employees have access to a broad range of tools and solutions, and we are happy to support the pursuit of professional qualifications through vocational courses and apprenticeships.

The Product & Engineering team offers ‘10% time’ - dedicated time for personal development, separate from time spent contributing to your team\'s delivery.