Director, User Experience (UX)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Director, User Experience (UX) Company: Comply Location: London, England, United Kingdom / York, England, United Kingdom Job Type: Full-Time Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Product Design Leadership Date Posted: November 14, 2025 Experience Level: 5-10 Years (Mid-Senior to Director Level) Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Leads and mentors a team of product designers, fostering a collaborative and high-performing design culture within a growing product and design department.
• Drives the creation of visually compelling, user-friendly interfaces for B2B SaaS products, directly impacting user adoption and satisfaction in the financial services sector.
• Translates complex user research, wireframes, and user journeys into intuitive, modern, and accessible interface designs and scalable design systems.
• Collaborates cross-functionally with product management, business analysts, and engineering teams to ensure seamless design-to-development handoff and product lifecycle integration.
• Champions a user-first mindset, leveraging data analytics, user research, and accessibility best practices to continuously refine and elevate the user experience of Comply's compliance software solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Director level, indicating significant leadership responsibilities and strategic input into the product design function. The emphasis on B2B SaaS and financial services compliance suggests a need for a designer with experience in complex enterprise environments, where usability and regulatory adherence are paramount.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Directly manage, mentor, and support a team of product designers, fostering their professional growth, skill development, and adherence to design best practices.
• Interface Design & Development: Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Business Analysts to translate user research findings, wireframes, and user flows into intuitive, modern, and accessible UI designs for web applications.
• Design System Management: Create, maintain, and evolve scalable design systems, style guides, and component libraries to ensure consistency, efficiency, and brand alignment across all Comply's software products.
• Developer Handoff & Collaboration: Provide detailed design specifications, assets, and documentation to engineering teams, facilitating a smooth and accurate implementation process.
• User Experience Optimization: Apply best practices in UI design, interaction design, and visual hierarchy to craft thoughtful and effective user experiences, ensuring products are both intuitive and on-brand.
• Design Review & Iteration: Actively participate in design reviews and conduct usability evaluations, incorporating feedback from stakeholders and users to drive continuous design improvement and iteration.
• Trend & Technology Awareness: Stay abreast of the latest UI/UX trends, design tools, and emerging technologies, identifying opportunities to innovate and enhance the quality and relevance of Comply's product offerings.
• User Advocacy: Champion the user experience by integrating insights from data analytics, user research, and accessibility best practices into the design process, ensuring products meet diverse user needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus on team leadership and hands-on design execution. The emphasis on B2B SaaS and compliance implies a need for designs that balance sophisticated functionality with ease of use, often for users in regulated environments.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While formal education requirements are not specified, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for a Director-level role. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of dedicated experience in UI or visual design for digital products, with a strong preference for B2B SaaS or enterprise software environments.
• At least 1 year of experience in a leadership or team management capacity, demonstrating the ability to mentor and guide a design team.

Required Skills:

• UI/Visual Design: Expertise in creating aesthetically pleasing, intuitive, and functional user interfaces.
• Design Systems: Proven experience in developing and maintaining scalable design systems, style guides, and component libraries.
• Prototyping & Wireframing: Proficiency in creating interactive prototypes and detailed wireframes to articulate design concepts.
• Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work effectively within cross-functional agile teams, collaborating with product managers, business analysts, and engineers.
• Communication & Presentation: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate design decisions and advocate for user needs to diverse stakeholders.
• User-Centricity: A deep understanding of user-centered design principles and a passion for advocating for the user.
• Design Tools Proficiency: Mastery of industry-standard design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, XD), and relevant prototyping platforms.

Preferred Skills:

• User Research: Experience conducting user research, usability testing, and employing data analytics to inform design decisions.
• Accessibility Standards: Knowledge of WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and experience designing accessible interfaces.
• Interaction Design: Strong understanding of interaction design principles for complex web applications.
• Agile Methodologies: Familiarity with agile development processes and experience adapting designs within an iterative development cycle.
• Financial Services / Compliance Domain: Previous experience designing for the financial services or regulatory compliance sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for 5+ years in UI/visual design and 1+ year in leadership strongly suggests a candidate ready to step into a Director role, capable of both strategic oversight and hands-on contribution. Proficiency in Figma is particularly important given its widespread adoption in modern design teams.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Design System Examples: Showcase a well-documented design system or component library that demonstrates scalability, consistency, and reusability across multiple products or platforms.
• Complex Problem Solving: Present case studies detailing how you've tackled complex user problems within B2B SaaS or enterprise environments, highlighting your design process and solutions.
• UI/Visual Design Excellence: Include a range of high-quality UI designs that exemplify strong visual hierarchy, aesthetic appeal, and attention to detail, relevant to enterprise software.
• Process Documentation: Demonstrate your ability to document design decisions, specifications, and user flows clearly, facilitating effective developer handoff and collaboration.
• Impact & Iteration: Feature projects where you've used data analytics, user research, or usability testing to iterate on designs and achieve measurable improvements in user experience or business outcomes.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design: Illustrate your process for translating user needs and business requirements into detailed wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes.
• Design System Development: Detail your methodology for creating, managing, and evolving design systems, including component creation, documentation, and governance.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Provide examples of how you've documented and communicated design concepts and specifications to engineering and product teams to ensure alignment and successful implementation.
• User-Centric Iteration: Show evidence of how you incorporate user feedback, analytics, and research into iterative design cycles, documenting the changes and their impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio is critical for this role. It should not only display aesthetic talent but also demonstrate strategic thinking, process maturity, and the ability to manage design systems and collaborate effectively within an enterprise context. Specific examples of B2B SaaS design and design system work will be highly valued.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on London/York, England market rates for a Director-level UX role with 5-10 years of experience in B2B SaaS, the estimated salary range is £75,000 - £110,000 per annum. This range accounts for the leadership responsibilities, specialized industry experience (SaaS, FinTech), and the cost of living in major UK cities.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Access to private medical insurance plans.
• Generous Paid Time Off: Including vacation days, public holidays, and sick leave.
• Pension Scheme: Company contributions to a retirement savings plan.
• Professional Development: Opportunities for training, conferences, and skill enhancement relevant to UX leadership and design.
• Flexible Working Arrangements: While the role is on-site, Comply may offer some flexibility within the standard working week.
• Employee Assistance Program: Support services for personal and professional well-being.
• Stock Options/Equity: Potential for participation in company equity programs.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are typically 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Some flexibility may be available, but the role requires on-site presence in London or York.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on industry benchmarks for similar Director-level UX roles in the UK tech sector, considering the company's focus on B2B SaaS and financial services. Benefits are aligned with standard offerings for professional roles in the UK tech industry.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services Technology (RegTech/Compliance SaaS) Company Size: While not explicitly stated, with "hundreds of employees across the globe" and "more than 5,000 clients," Comply is a well-established, mid-to-large-sized tech company. This size implies structured processes but also room for innovation and individual impact. Founded: Comply was founded to address the growing complexity of regulatory obligations in the financial sector, suggesting a culture driven by expertise, problem-solving, and a commitment to client success.

Team Structure:

• Product & Design Team: This team is integral to Comply's offering, working closely with Product Management and Engineering. The UX team is led by this Director, overseeing a group of product designers.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Expect strong partnerships with Product Managers, Business Analysts, Engineers, and potentially Sales and Customer Success teams to gather insights and deliver cohesive product experiences.
• Agile Environment: Comply operates within an agile framework, requiring designers to be adaptable and responsive to evolving requirements and feedback.

Methodology:

• User-Centric Design: The company emphasizes creating user-friendly interfaces, indicating a strong commitment to understanding and meeting user needs through research and iterative design.
• Data-Driven Decisions: The role requires leveraging data analytics and user research to inform design choices, suggesting a culture that values evidence-based strategy.
• Scalability & Consistency: Building scalable design systems points to a focus on efficiency, maintainability, and consistent user experiences across a growing product suite.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Comply operates in a regulated industry, which often translates to a culture that values precision, reliability, and deep domain expertise. The B2B SaaS focus means design decisions will be heavily influenced by customer needs, efficiency gains, and the ability to integrate complex regulatory requirements seamlessly.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Director, User Experience (UX) - This role signifies a senior leadership position within the product design function. It involves strategic decision-making, team management, and significant influence over the user experience of Comply's entire product portfolio. The scope extends beyond individual contributions to shaping the design direction and processes for the organization.

Reporting Structure: The Director of UX likely reports to a VP of Product, Chief Product Officer (CPO), or a similar senior executive overseeing product development. They will, in turn, manage a team of Product Designers.

Operations Impact: The UX Director's impact is critical to Comply's success. By ensuring intuitive, efficient, and user-friendly software, they directly contribute to:

• Customer Acquisition & Retention: A superior user experience is a key differentiator in the competitive SaaS market.
• Product Adoption & Usage: Intuitive interfaces encourage deeper engagement with Comply's compliance tools.
• Operational Efficiency: Streamlined workflows within the software reduce the burden on compliance officers, enhancing the value proposition.
• Brand Reputation: High-quality design contributes to a professional and trustworthy brand image in the financial sector.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Influence: Opportunity to shape the long-term product design strategy and roadmap for Comply.
• Team Expansion: Potential to grow and build out the UX team, attracting and retaining top design talent.
• Cross-Departmental Leadership: Develop deeper expertise in product strategy, market analysis, and business operations through close collaboration.
• Industry Specialization: Become a recognized expert in UX for RegTech and financial compliance, a rapidly evolving field.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a significant opportunity for an experienced UX professional to move into a director-level position, providing strategic leadership and having a tangible impact on a company serving a critical industry. The growth potential is tied to both design leadership and broader product strategy.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is designated as "On-site," indicating a traditional office-based work environment, with presence required at either the London or York office. This suggests a preference for in-person collaboration, team synergy, and access to office resources.

Office Location(s): London, England, and York, England. These locations offer access to major talent pools and business hubs within the United Kingdom.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: Offices likely feature collaborative areas designed to foster team interaction, brainstorming, and cross-functional meetings, crucial for agile product development.
• Design Tools & Technology: Access to modern design software, hardware, and potentially specialized UX research tools will be standard.
• Team Interaction: The on-site nature facilitates spontaneous discussions, design critiques, and a strong sense of team camaraderie among designers, product managers, and engineers.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is expected, typically Monday to Friday. While on-site roles often imply less flexibility than remote positions, Comply may offer some degree of flexibility within the core working hours to accommodate team needs and individual productivity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement suggests that Comply values in-person collaboration and team cohesion. Candidates should be comfortable working from a physical office location in either London or York for the majority of their working week.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: HR or Recruiter call to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and salary expectations.
• Hiring Manager Interview: In-depth discussion with the hiring manager (likely VP of Product or CPO) focusing on leadership experience, strategic thinking, and team management philosophy.
• Portfolio Presentation: A dedicated session where candidates present their portfolio, showcasing key projects, design process, leadership contributions, and impact. This is a critical stage for assessing hands-on skills and strategic approach.
• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Business Analysts, and Engineering Leads to evaluate collaboration skills, understanding of agile development, and ability to translate technical constraints into design solutions.
• Final Interview/Executive Meeting: Potential meeting with a more senior executive for final assessment of cultural fit and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your strongest projects that best showcase your leadership, B2B SaaS design experience, design system work, and problem-solving skills.
• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process (research, ideation, iteration), the solutions you designed, and the measurable impact or outcomes.
• Highlight Leadership: If possible, include examples of mentoring designers, driving design strategy, or influencing product decisions.
• Showcase Design Systems: Dedicate specific slides or sections to your experience with design systems, illustrating components, guidelines, and their impact on consistency and efficiency.
• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design philosophy, your approach to conflict resolution within teams, how you handle design critiques, and your experience with accessibility and data-driven design.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Exercise: You might be given a hypothetical design challenge related to Comply's product suite. Focus on demonstrating your process, not just the final output. Think aloud, ask clarifying questions, and outline your approach to user research and problem definition.
• System Design Discussion: Be ready to discuss your experience in creating and scaling design systems. How do you ensure adoption? How do you manage contributions and updates?
• Leadership Scenarios: Prepare to discuss how you would manage underperforming team members, resolve design disagreements, or advocate for design resources.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio presentation is paramount. Candidates should prepare a compelling narrative that bridges their individual contributions with their leadership capabilities, demonstrating how they elevate design within an organization. Focus on showcasing impact and strategic thinking relevant to a B2B SaaS environment.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI design, prototyping, and collaborative design system development. This is likely the primary tool.
• Sketch: May be used, especially if there's a legacy component or for specific workflows.
• Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, and potentially Adobe XD for various design tasks, asset creation, and historical project work.
• Prototyping Tools: InVision, Marvel, or Figma's built-in prototyping capabilities for creating interactive user flows.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Google Analytics / Adobe Analytics: For understanding user behavior on web applications.
• Hotjar / FullStory: For heatmaps, session recordings, and user behavior analysis.
• Tableau / Power BI / Looker: Potentially used by product teams for reporting, which UX designers may need to interface with or provide data for.

CRM & Automation:

• Salesforce / HubSpot: Likely used by Sales and Marketing teams; understanding how UX impacts these systems is beneficial.
• Jira / Asana: For project management, bug tracking, and agile workflow management.
• Confluence: For documentation and knowledge sharing.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is almost certainly a core requirement. Experience with tools that support user research, analytics, and agile project management will be highly advantageous, as the Director will need to collaborate effectively with teams using these systems.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of compliance officers and financial professionals, ensuring our software makes their complex jobs easier and more efficient.
• Precision & Reliability: Operating in a regulated industry demands accuracy and dependability in both our product functionality and our design execution.
• Collaboration & Transparency: Fostering an environment where design, product, and engineering teams work seamlessly together, sharing insights and feedback openly.
• Innovation & Efficiency: Continuously seeking ways to improve user workflows, leverage technology, and streamline processes to deliver maximum value.
• Integrity & Expertise: Upholding the highest standards in our work, reflecting the trust placed in us by our clients in the critical area of compliance.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Design is deeply integrated into the product development lifecycle, working hand-in-hand with Product Managers and Engineers from concept to deployment.
• Iterative Feedback Loops: A culture that encourages regular design reviews, user testing, and open feedback sessions to refine solutions.
• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging designers to share best practices, learnings from research, and insights from industry trends to elevate the entire team's capabilities.

📝 Enhancement Note: Comply's values likely reflect the seriousness of the financial compliance sector. Expect a professional, detail-oriented, and collaborative environment where design is seen as a critical component of product success and client trust.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Complexity and Usability: Designing sophisticated compliance features in a way that remains intuitive and easy to use for busy professionals.
• Scaling Design Systems: Ensuring the design system effectively supports a growing product suite and evolving feature sets while maintaining consistency.
• Cross-Team Alignment: Effectively aligning design vision and execution across multiple product lines and development teams.
• Integrating User Insights: Proactively gathering and translating diverse user feedback and data into actionable design improvements within an agile cadence.
• Staying Ahead of Regulatory Changes: Designing flexible solutions that can adapt to evolving compliance landscapes.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• UX Leadership: Deepen expertise in managing design teams, establishing design processes, and contributing to broader product strategy.
• FinTech/RegTech Domain Expertise: Gain specialized knowledge in the unique UX challenges and opportunities within financial compliance technology.
• Design System Mastery: Become an expert in building and scaling enterprise-grade design systems.
• Strategic Product Influence: Contribute significantly to the product roadmap and company-wide design vision.
• Industry Conferences & Training: Opportunities to attend relevant UX, product, and FinTech conferences and pursue certifications.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents an excellent opportunity to tackle complex design challenges in a high-stakes industry, with significant potential for professional growth in both design leadership and domain expertise.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your approach to building and scaling a design system for a growing B2B SaaS product suite. What are the key considerations for adoption and maintenance?"
• "How do you balance the need for robust functionality in a compliance product with the requirement for an intuitive and user-friendly interface?"
• "Walk me through a time you had to advocate for a design decision that was met with resistance from product or engineering. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?"
• "How do you integrate user research and data analytics into your design process, especially within an agile development cycle?"
• "What is your philosophy on leading and mentoring a team of designers? How do you foster a collaborative and high-performing environment?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you specifically about Comply and our mission in the financial compliance space?"
• "Based on what you know about Comply, how would you approach building UX processes here?"
• "How do you see the UX team contributing to Comply's overall business objectives?"
• "Describe your ideal collaboration with product managers and engineers."

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure your presentation logically: Start with an overview of Comply, then introduce yourself and your UX philosophy.
• For each project: Clearly state the problem, your role, your process (emphasizing research and iteration), the solution, and the impact (quantifiable if possible).
• Highlight leadership: When discussing projects, point out instances where you led design efforts, mentored others, or influenced strategy.
• Design Systems: Dedicate a specific segment to showcasing your design system expertise, detailing its components, benefits, and how you managed it.
• Be ready for deep dives: Anticipate questions about specific design choices, trade-offs you made, your understanding of technical constraints, and your approach to accessibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to discuss their leadership style, their strategic approach to design systems, and their ability to navigate the complexities of B2B SaaS design within a regulated industry. Demonstrating a user-centric mindset and strong collaboration skills will be key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Director, User Experience (UX) position:

• Click the "Apply" button on the job posting and submit your application through the Lever platform.
• Tailor your Resume: Ensure your resume highlights your experience in UI/visual design, leadership, B2B SaaS, and any relevant domain experience (financial services, compliance). Use keywords from the job description.
• Prepare Your Portfolio: Curate a digital portfolio (e.g., personal website, PDF) showcasing 3-5 of your strongest projects. Focus on leadership, design systems, and complex B2B SaaS challenges. Be ready to present and discuss your work in detail.
• Research Comply: Thoroughly understand Comply's mission, products, target audience, and company values. Familiarize yourself with their existing user experience if possible.
• Practice Your Presentation: Rehearse your portfolio presentation, focusing on clear storytelling, articulating your process, and demonstrating leadership impact. Practice answering common UX leadership interview questions.

⚠️ 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.