UX/UI Designer

University of the Arts London; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

University of the Arts London seeks a UI/UX Designer to collaborate with product managers and developers to create mobile-first, accessible interfaces. You will lead usability testing, build scalable design systems, and produce high-fidelity prototypes for web and mobile.

You will translate user research into concrete design decisions, delivery-ready specs with tokens, and work within fast-paced environments leveraging AI-assisted design tools to accelerate iteration.

Qualifications

• Strong UI/UX design experience with a mobile-first mindset.
• Proven ability to translate user research into polished interfaces.
• Experience designing accessible interfaces that meet WCAG standards.
• Hands-on experience building and maintaining design systems and component libraries.
• Prototyping at high fidelity for web and mobile.
• Ability to communicate design rationale clearly and accept feedback.

Responsibilities

• Translate requirements and user insights into polished, dev-ready UI designs.
• Conduct usability audits and testing to identify friction points.
• Build and maintain reusable components within the design system.
• Create functional prototypes for fast developer handoff.
• Ensure accessibility from the start and include design tokens for specs.
• Stay current with UI/UX trends and AI-assisted design tools.

Skills

UI/UX design

Mobile-first design

Accessibility

Design systems

Prototyping

User research

Communication

Tools

Figma

AI-assisted tools

Job description

• Collaborate with the Product Manager and cross-functional team to translate product requirements and user research insights into polished, dev-ready UI designs.
• Conduct frequent usability audits and user testing sessions to identify friction points within the Syd Life AI ecosystem. Design high-fidelity screens, interaction flows, and micro-interactions for mobile and web applications in Figma.
• Build and maintain reusable components within our design system, ensuring consistency and scalability across features. Generate functional prototypes using modern tools (AI-assisted code generation, Figma prototyping) to accelerate developer handoff and reduce iteration cycles.
• Work directly with our developer to ensure seamless integration of design elements—providing specs with design tokens, not hardcoded values. Design for accessibility from the start: ensure all screens meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards including contrast, touch targets, and screen reader support.
• Stay current with industry trends, tools, and emerging technologies in UI/UX design and design-tocode automation.

Skills and Experience Required

Soft Skills

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills able to articulate design rationale clearly and take feedback well.
• Ability to work in a very fast-paced environment with a single-developer engineering team.
• Self-directed and proactive: comfortable taking ownership of design problems end-to-end.

Key Requirements:

• Advanced proficiency in Figma (auto-layout, components, variants, design tokens, prototyping).
• Proven UI/UX design experience with a strong portfolio demonstrating mobile-first, accessible interfaces. Demonstrated experience in planning and conducting usability testing to validate design hypotheses.
• Strong visual design skills with a keen eye for detail, typography, spacing, and colour systems.
• Understanding of responsive design principles across mobile, tablet, and web.
• Familiarity with design systems: building, maintaining, and documenting reusable component libraries.
• Experience with AI-assisted design and prototyping tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, v0, Locofy, or similar).
• Proficiency in translating research findings and usability test results into actionable design improvements.
• Working knowledge of WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards (contrast ratios, touch targets, screen reader considerations).
• User-centred design mindset: ability to justify design decisions with user research, data, or heuristic reasoning.

We are an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds, regardless of their race, disability, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and belief, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and caring responsibility. We are committed to offering a working environment where everyone is valued and feels appreciated.