Founding UI/UX & Graphic Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Founding UI/UX & Graphic Designer

Company: Clera

Location: London, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: 2026-08-26

Experience Level: 5-10 Years (Mid to Senior)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• This is a foundational design role at a Y Combinator-backed startup, offering the chance to shape the entire visual identity and user experience of a consumer wearable product.

• You will be responsible for end-to-end UI/UX design of the iOS application, ensuring a cohesive and premium user experience across all digital touchpoints.

• The role demands leadership in defining and maintaining a unified consumer design language for the brand, from the app interface to marketing materials and digital communications.

• Opportunity to grow into a design leadership position as the company scales, with significant early-stage equity.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "UI/UX & Graphic Designer," the description emphasizes ownership of the "entire visual presence" and "end-to-end UI/UX design for the iOS app," strongly indicating a Product Design focus with significant UI/UX responsibilities. The graphic design aspect will likely support brand identity and marketing collateral. The "founding" nature implies a high degree of autonomy and strategic input.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own and execute the complete UI/UX design lifecycle for the Clera iOS application, from concept and wireframing to high-fidelity prototyping and user testing.

• Drive the visual design strategy for the company's website, ensuring brand consistency and optimal user engagement.

• Develop and maintain brand identity elements across all consumer-facing channels, including social media graphics, email communications, and digital advertisements.

• Create compelling launch collateral and marketing materials, such as event invitations and product launch assets, that align with the premium consumer hardware brand aesthetic.

• Establish and document a comprehensive consumer design language, ensuring its consistent application across all user touchpoints and product iterations.

• Collaborate closely with product management and engineering teams to translate user needs and business requirements into intuitive and aesthetically pleasing design solutions.

• Champion user-centered design principles, advocating for user needs throughout the product development process.

• Proactively identify opportunities for design innovation and process improvement within the product development cycle.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities have been expanded to reflect the "founding" nature of the role, implying a broader scope beyond just execution, including strategy, documentation, and process definition. Emphasis is placed on end-to-end ownership and cross-functional collaboration, common in early-stage startups.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is often preferred for foundational design roles. Equivalent practical experience and a strong portfolio can often substitute formal education.

Experience: 2–8 years of professional design experience, with a strong emphasis on consumer-facing products. Experience in a startup environment, particularly at the early stage, is highly advantageous.

Required Skills:

• UI/UX Design: Proven ability to design intuitive, user-friendly interfaces for mobile applications (iOS specifically) and web platforms, with a strong understanding of user-centered design principles and interaction design.

• Graphic Design Fundamentals: Exceptional aesthetic sensibility, with a demonstrated mastery of visual hierarchy, typography, color theory, and layout principles.

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced skills in Figma for wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity design, including component libraries and design system management.

• Consumer Product Experience: Demonstrated experience delivering polished, user-facing designs for consumer products, ideally in the hardware or wearable technology space.

• Brand Identity Development: Ability to define, articulate, and consistently apply a brand's visual language across diverse touchpoints.

• Marketing Collateral Design: Experience creating engaging visual assets for marketing campaigns, social media, email, and launch events.

• Independent Ownership: Proven ability to work autonomously, manage multiple projects simultaneously, and take full ownership of a wide design remit in a fast-paced environment.

• Portfolio: A standout portfolio showcasing a strong foundation in graphic design, exceptional taste, and end-to-end UI/UX design projects for consumer products.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with animation or motion design for UI elements.

• Familiarity with design systems and their implementation.

• Basic understanding of front-end development principles (HTML, CSS) to inform design feasibility.

• Experience in a Y Combinator-backed company or similar high-growth startup.

• Experience with consumer hardware product design or wearables.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience range of 2-8 years has been interpreted as Mid to Senior level, aligning with a "founding" role. The "broad consumer design stack" has been specified to include mobile, web, and marketing collateral. The portfolio requirement is emphasized as critical for this role.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Case Studies: Showcase 2-3 detailed case studies demonstrating your process from problem identification to final design solution for consumer-facing products (iOS app or web).

• UI/UX Design Process: Clearly articulate your approach to user research, wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and iterative design for mobile applications.

• Visual Design & Branding: Include examples of strong graphic design work, brand identity development, and marketing collateral that highlight your aesthetic sensibility and ability to create a cohesive visual language.

• Figma Mastery: Demonstrate your proficiency in Figma, ideally showing examples of design systems, component libraries, or complex prototyping.

• Problem-Solving: Highlight how you tackled specific design challenges, the rationale behind your decisions, and the impact of your solutions.

Process Documentation:

• Showcase examples of how you've documented design decisions, user flows, or established design guidelines for past projects.

• While formal process documentation might be built in this role, demonstrating an understanding of its importance for scalability and team collaboration is key.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are tailored to a founding design role, emphasizing end-to-end ownership, visual design excellence, and strategic thinking. The expectation is to see not just final outputs but the process and rationale behind them.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £70,000 GBP annually.

Benefits:

• Meaningful Early-Stage Equity: Up to 1-2% equity, providing a significant stake in the company's future growth and success.

• Founding Team Member: Opportunity to be part of the core founding team, influencing the company's direction and culture.

• Design Leadership Growth: Clear path for career progression into a design leadership role as the company scales.

• Impactful Work: Direct influence on the product's visual identity and user experience from inception.

• Visa Sponsorship: While not explicitly stated for all candidates, H1B transfers are supported, suggesting potential for visa assistance for qualified individuals.

Working Hours: Approximately 40 hours per week, typical for full-time employment. As a founding team member, there may be an expectation of flexibility and dedication beyond standard hours, especially during critical launch phases.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary is fixed at £70,000 GBP. The equity is highlighted as a key component of the compensation package due to the early-stage nature of the startup. The "meaningful early-stage equity" is a significant draw for candidates looking for high-growth potential. Visa sponsorship is clarified as H1B transfers being supported, not general sponsorship.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Consumer Wearables / Hardware Technology. Clera is a Y Combinator-backed startup focusing on developing innovative consumer wearable technology. This places them in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market, demanding cutting-edge design and user experience.

Company Size: Early-stage startup (specific number of employees not provided, but implied to be small and growing, likely <50). As a founding designer, you'll be one of the earliest hires in a non-engineering function.

Founded: 2023 (implied by Y Combinator backing in 2023 batch). Being a Y Combinator company suggests a culture of rapid iteration, data-driven decision-making, and a strong focus on product-market fit.

Team Structure:

• As a founding designer, you will likely report directly to the CEO or CTO.

• You will be the sole designer initially, working closely with a small, core team of engineers and product leads.

• Cross-functional collaboration will be paramount, requiring close communication and alignment with all departments. Methodology:

• Agile Development: Expect a fast-paced, iterative development process common in startups, with frequent feedback loops.

• Data-Driven Design: Decisions will be informed by user feedback, analytics, and A/B testing where applicable, especially as the product matures.

• User-Centricity: A strong focus on understanding and solving user problems through design.

Company Website: https://www.getclera.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company context is built around being a Y Combinator startup in the consumer wearables space, which dictates a culture of rapid innovation, lean operations, and a strong emphasis on product-market fit. The founding designer role implies a flat hierarchy and direct impact.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Founding Designer / Senior Product Designer. This role is positioned at the senior to lead level, offering the unique opportunity to establish the design function from scratch. The responsibilities include strategic input on product direction and brand vision.

Reporting Structure: You will likely report directly to one of the company's founders (e.g., CEO or CTO), providing high visibility and direct access to leadership.

Operations Impact: Your work will have a direct and immediate impact on Clera's ability to attract and retain customers. The visual appeal and user experience of the product and brand are critical for a consumer hardware startup, directly influencing market perception, adoption rates, and revenue.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: The primary growth path is to build and lead a design team as the company scales, establishing design processes, hiring, and mentoring junior designers.

• Product Strategy: Contribute significantly to product strategy and roadmap discussions, leveraging design insights to guide product development.

• Brand Stewardship: Become the ultimate custodian of the Clera brand, shaping its evolution and ensuring its consistent, high-quality representation.

• Specialization: Potential to deepen expertise in specific areas like wearable UI/UX, hardware product design, or consumer brand development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth analysis focuses on the unique trajectory of a "founding" role in a startup, highlighting the transition from individual contributor to potential team lead and strategic influencer.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: On-site, primary location in London, United Kingdom. This suggests a traditional office setup designed for collaboration among the core team.

Office Location(s): London, United Kingdom. Candidates based in San Francisco or elsewhere may also be considered, indicating potential for a hybrid or remote-first approach for exceptional candidates outside London, though the primary expectation is on-site.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: Expect a dynamic, open-plan or semi-open office environment fostering close collaboration with engineering, product, and leadership teams.

• Startup Culture: The workspace will likely be modern, functional, and reflect the innovative spirit of a tech startup, potentially with shared amenities.

• Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design software and hardware necessary for creating high-fidelity prototypes and visual assets.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time business hours (approximately 40 hours/week), with an expectation of flexibility and commitment inherent in a founding team role, especially during critical product development and launch phases.

📝 Enhancement Note: The work environment description is tailored to a London-based, on-site role at an early-stage tech startup, emphasizing collaboration and the dynamic nature of such settings. The note about SF/other locations acknowledges the secondary consideration mentioned.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess foundational skills, experience, and aesthetic fit.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A deep dive into your portfolio, focusing on key case studies. Be prepared to articulate your design process, rationale, problem-solving approach, and the impact of your work.

• Skills Assessment/Challenge: Potentially a design exercise or a discussion around a hypothetical design problem relevant to Clera's product, testing your problem-solving abilities and design thinking.

• Team & Founder Interviews: Meetings with founders and key team members to assess cultural fit, communication skills, and alignment with the company's vision and values.

• Reference Checks: Standard background and professional reference checks.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-4 of your strongest, most relevant projects that showcase end-to-end UI/UX and strong graphic design skills for consumer products.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly define the problem, your role, your process, the challenges faced, your solutions, and the measurable outcomes or impact.

• Highlight Figma: Demonstrate your proficiency in Figma by showcasing complex prototypes, design systems, or efficient workflow examples.

• Emphasize Taste & Aesthetics: Given the premium consumer hardware focus, ensure your portfolio clearly communicates your exceptional aesthetic sensibility and understanding of brand.

• Be Ready for "Why": Be prepared to thoroughly explain the "why" behind every design decision.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Product: Familiarize yourself with Clera's existing product (if publicly available) and the consumer wearable market.

• Think User-Centric: Approach any design challenge by first defining the user, their needs, and the problem you're solving for them.

• Focus on Process: Demonstrate a structured approach, even if you don't have time to fully execute a design. Articulate your thought process and next steps.

• Brand Alignment: Consider how your design solutions would align with a premium consumer hardware brand's aesthetic and values.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section provides actionable advice for candidates, focusing on how to present a portfolio effectively for a founding design role and how to prepare for the specific types of interviews and challenges common in startups.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core tool for UI/UX design, prototyping, and collaboration. Mastery is essential.

• Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects (for graphic design, image editing, potential motion graphics).

• Prototyping Tools: Potentially InVision, Principle, or other tools for advanced prototyping, though Figma's capabilities are often sufficient.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not directly a designer's tool, understanding how to interpret user analytics (e.g., from Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics) will be crucial for informing design decisions. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to the designer's primary tool stack, but awareness of how design impacts user onboarding and customer journeys within CRM systems could be beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: The tools listed are standard for UI/UX and graphic designers, with a strong emphasis on Figma as specified in the job description. The inclusion of analytics tools acknowledges the data-driven aspect of modern design roles.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Design Excellence: A commitment to creating visually stunning, high-quality, and user-friendly products.

• User-Centricity: Placing the user at the heart of all design decisions, aiming to solve real problems and create delightful experiences.

• Innovation: A drive to push boundaries, explore new design solutions, and stay ahead of industry trends.

• Collaboration: Valuing open communication, constructive feedback, and teamwork to achieve shared goals.

• Ownership & Accountability: Taking responsibility for design outcomes and driving projects to completion with a sense of urgency and purpose.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Working closely with engineering, product management, and founders to ensure design vision is aligned with technical feasibility and business objectives.

• Iterative Feedback: Embracing a culture of continuous feedback and iteration, where designs are constantly refined based on input from peers and stakeholders.

• Transparent Communication: Maintaining open channels of communication regarding design progress, challenges, and decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: These values are typical for a design-focused startup, emphasizing quality, user focus, innovation, and collaborative problem-solving. The "operations" values are interpreted as the core principles guiding the design team's work and interactions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Establishing Design Function: As the first designer, you'll need to build the design process, set standards, and advocate for design's role within the company.

• Balancing Aesthetics and Usability: Creating a premium, visually appealing product that is also highly functional and intuitive for a broad consumer base.

• Rapid Iteration: Working in a fast-paced startup environment often means quick turnarounds and adapting to changing priorities.

• Defining a New Brand: Creating a unique and compelling brand identity for a new consumer wearable product in a competitive market.

• Remote vs. On-site Balance: Navigating potential considerations for candidates not based in London if the company opens up to more flexible arrangements.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Gaining experience in team building, mentorship, and strategic design leadership.

• Product Strategy Involvement: Deepening understanding of product-market fit, business strategy, and how design contributes to overall company success.

• Industry Exposure: Staying abreast of cutting-edge trends in wearable technology, UI/UX design, and consumer hardware.

• Equity Growth: Potential for significant financial upside through early-stage equity as the company grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are framed around the unique position of a founding designer in a startup, while growth opportunities highlight the strategic and leadership potential of the role.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach establishing a design system for a new consumer hardware product from scratch?"

• "Describe your process for translating user needs into a compelling iOS app UI/UX for a wearable device."

• "Given a tight deadline and limited resources, how would you prioritize design tasks for a new product launch?"

• "How do you ensure a consistent brand identity across a mobile app, website, and marketing collateral?"

• "What are the key considerations when designing for a premium consumer hardware brand, and how would you apply them to Clera?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Clera's mission and the consumer wearable market?"

• "How do you handle constructive criticism on your designs?"

• "Describe a time you had to disagree with a founder or stakeholder on a design decision. How did you handle it?"

• "What is your experience working in a fast-paced startup environment?"

• "How do you see the role of design evolving within Clera as it scales?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, start with the problem, your role, your process, key decisions, and the impact.

• Focus on "Why": Be prepared to defend every design decision with user-centric reasoning or business objectives.

• Showcase Figma Skills: Highlight your workflow, component usage, and prototyping capabilities within Figma.

• Demonstrate Taste: Let your passion for aesthetics and brand come through. Explain your visual choices clearly.

• Be Concise and Engaging: Respect the interviewer's time while conveying the depth of your work and your strategic thinking.

📝 Enhancement Note: These interview questions are designed to probe the candidate's strategic thinking, design process, problem-solving skills, and cultural fit, specifically tailored for a founding designer role in a startup.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this founding design position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features 2-3 strong case studies demonstrating end-to-end UI/UX design for consumer products, with a clear emphasis on your graphic design fundamentals and aesthetic sensibility. Highlight your Figma proficiency.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize your experience with consumer-facing products, startup environments, and your ability to own design initiatives from conception to execution. Use keywords like "UI/UX," "Graphic Design," "Product Design," "Figma," "Brand Identity," and "Consumer Hardware."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, rationale, and the impact of your work. Prepare to discuss your approach to establishing design standards and your vision for Clera's brand.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Clera, its mission, the consumer wearable market, and the Y Combinator ecosystem. Understand their current visual presence and identify potential areas for enhancement.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

---