Please note that this is a hybrid position based in Cardiff, requiring 3 days onsite each week, with the option for remote work on the remaining days.

Part of the Rocket Science Group, Atomic Theory comprises a multinational team of seasoned AAA veterans with roots extending from Blizzard, PUBG, Epic, and Unity. We have a track record of delivering player-centric, AAA-quality experiences, and we're unwavering in our commitment to performance, accessibility, and the meticulous attention to the engineering tools and frameworks that underpin exceptional gameplay.

But Atomic Theory is more than just a studio; for us, it's a place where our diverse experiences intersect to solve the toughest challenges in modern game development. With offices in Albany, NY; Austin, TX; and Cardiff, UK, we thrive at the opportunity to slay on a global scale.

About the Role:We are seeking a skilled and experienced UI/UX Design Manager to join our team in the UK. In this role, you will lead a talented group of UX designers and UI artists responsible for crafting intuitive, engaging, and visually compelling user experiences across our projects. You will champion player-first design thinking, guide the creation of high-quality UI art assets, collaborate closely with engineering and production teams, and ensure the highest standards of usability, accessibility, visual cohesion, and artistic execution.

In addition to shaping our design and art strategy, you will mentor and develop your team, fostering an environment of creativity, innovation, and professional growth. Your leadership will help us deliver elegant, accessible, and high-performing UI/UX solutions that elevate our games and delight players worldwide.

What You'll Do:

• Promote Transparency: Communicate design and art direction, rationale, and priorities clearly, keeping stakeholders informed on progress, decisions, and challenges.

• People Management: Lead, inspire, and empower a multidisciplinary team of UX designers and UI artists, providing regular feedback, growth opportunities, and clear career progression.

• Art & Design Integration: Ensure that UX flows and UI visuals work in harmony—guiding the production of UI art assets from concept to in-game implementation, while maintaining stylistic consistency and technical quality.

• Force Multiplication: Collaborate across disciplines to ensure design and art needs are met, balancing creative aspirations with technical feasibility and production realities.

• Hands-On Contribution: When needed, produce high-quality UX deliverables (wireframes, prototypes) and UI art assets (mockups, iconography, HUD elements, and final in-game visuals), setting the standard for the team.

• Lead Client Engagements: Serve as the primary design and art lead for client projects—fostering trust, translating their vision into actionable plans, and ensuring projects reach successful outcomes through clear communication and thoughtful guidance.

What We Value

• Leadership Skills: Proven experience as a Lead or Manager in UI/UX for games or related industries, including coordinating small- to medium-sized teams of UX designers and UI artists.

• Design & Art Mastery: Deep understanding of UX principles, interaction design, information architecture, and accessibility best practices, combined with strong knowledge of UI art asset creation pipelines, style guides, and implementation workflows.

• Player-Centric Mindset: Empathy for players’ needs and behaviours, with a passion for delivering seamless, intuitive, and visually engaging experiences.

• Collaboration: Strong communication and facilitation skills, with a track record of building trust and working effectively across multidisciplinary teams.

• Creative Problem-Solving: Ability to translate complex systems into elegant, usable interfaces without compromising on aesthetics or performance.

• Continuous Improvement Mindset: A passion for driving the organisation to embrace better practices, evolve processes, and consistently deliver work of the highest quality.

• Operational Resilience: The ability to navigate complex or less-than-ideal project environments, streamlining communication and optimising delivery pipelines to set projects up for success.

What We Can Offer:

• Competitive Salary and Benefits Package: Your health and wellbeing is important to us, so we offer a variety of benefits including:

  • Private Pension via Salary Sacrifice

  • Optional Private Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage

  • Annual Leave, Plus Bank Holidays and Winter Break Office Closure

• Annual Research Credit: We always encourage personal growth, so we provide all of our team members with an annual credit to further enhance your skills!

• Professional Development: We offer biannual reviews, as well as opportunities to collaborate across disciplines, internal tech talks, and the chance to learn from specialists with backgrounds from across the games and software development industries.

• Work-Life Balance: We really believe that home life comes first and we promote a flexible working environment. And as an added bonus: We don’t crunch!

• Family Friendly: We understand the importance of family, which is why we offer 6 weeks full of Maternity, Paternity, and Adoption Leave to support you during this exciting time!

• Office Perks: In addition to everything above, we also provide:

  • Weekly Team Lunches

  • Snacks, Including the Good Tea (Yorkshire)

  • Fully Equipped Team Lounge, Including our Favourite Consoles and Games

  • And, most importantly, a supportive and creative working environment made up of talented and friendly people, as well as the opportunity to work on some pretty cool games and projects – if we do say so ourselves!

A Friendly Note from the Recruitment Team:

Let us do the work for you: Even if your profile isn’t an exact match for all of the qualifications listed above, we still want you to apply. Our team members come from a variety of different industries, not all of which are immediately relevant to game or software development, and we welcome all candidates of similarly varied backgrounds, communities, and identities.

Rocket Science is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a worry-free workplace void of discrimination or harassment. Rocket Scientists are expected to foster and champion an environment in which everyone has the opportunity to feel included and is afforded the respect and dignity they deserve.

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