UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Designer
Company: Certara
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Job Type: Full-Time
Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Product Design
Date Posted: 2026-01-05
Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years)
Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is instrumental in enhancing the user experience of complex, data-intensive B2B software solutions within the biosimulation and cheminformatics industries.
• The UX Designer will be responsible for elevating UX maturity within product teams, ensuring a consistent and intuitive user journey across sophisticated scientific tools.
• A key focus will be on driving cross-functional collaboration to foster a shared understanding of user needs and design decisions, translating them into high-fidelity prototypes and UI designs.
• The position requires a proactive approach to ideation, validation, and user research support, contributing to the strategic vision of products like Marvin, a core chemistry drawing tool.

📝 Enhancement Note: The job title "UX Designer" combined with the company's focus on "biosimulation software" and "cheminformatics" strongly suggests a role within a B2B SaaS environment, specifically for scientific or research-oriented users. The mention of "data-heavy B2B tools" and "scientists" as daily users further solidifies this. The hybrid work arrangement with specific office days indicates a need for on-site collaboration in Budapest.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Proactively drive the increase of UX maturity within product teams, leveraging frameworks like the CXN maturity model.
• Clearly communicate design decisions and their underlying rationale to foster a common understanding across cross-functional teams.
• Deliver comprehensive design documentation, including high-fidelity prototypes, UI screen designs utilizing the Origin design system, user flow diagrams, and detailed developer handoffs.
• Facilitate workshops and cross-discipline ideation sessions to encourage creative problem-solving and innovation.
• Employ various prototyping methods to effectively validate design ideas and user hypotheses.
• Actively support user research initiatives, emphasizing user needs, involving team members, and ensuring research knowledge is accessible.
• Contribute to horizontal Design Operations activities, promoting best practices and consistency across the organization.
• Proactively engage internal stakeholders to ensure cross-collaboration and alignment on design strategies.
• Develop and implement UX strategies that directly support the product vision and overarching business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly indicate a hands-on UX design role with a strong emphasis on process, collaboration, and strategic contribution. The mention of "Origin design system" and "Figma" points to specific tooling requirements. The need to "dive into chemistry" suggests that while formal chemistry education isn't required, an openness to understand scientific domains is crucial for effective UX design in this context.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a background in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design, Psychology, or a related field is typically expected for UX Design roles. Experience: 2-5 years of progressive experience in UX Design, with a demonstrated ability to contribute to complex software products, preferably in a B2B or scientific/technical domain. Experience working within cross-functional product teams and contributing to design systems is highly valued.

Required Skills:

• Energetic personality with excellent communication and presentation skills.
• High attention to detail and patience for intricate design challenges.
• Proven collaboration skills, working effectively with UX teams, product owners, and domain specialists.
• Fluency in core UX processes, including Design Thinking and the Double Diamond methodology.
• Strong foundation and practical application of Interaction Design principles.
• Deep understanding and practical application of Information Architecture principles.
• Comprehensive knowledge of various prototyping tools and techniques (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD).
• Hands-on experience with facilitation and workshop techniques (e.g., brainstorming, journey mapping).
• Basic knowledge and experience in generative and evaluative user research methods (e.g., user interviews, usability studies, surveys).
• Basic understanding of Visual Design principles and their application in UI design.
• Basic understanding of key UX metrics (e.g., task success rate, time on task, satisfaction scores) and how to interpret them.
• Basic knowledge of agile development processes and how UX integrates within them.
• High proficiency in spoken and written English.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience working with or contributing to design systems, particularly Figma-based systems like Origin.
• Familiarity with the cheminformatics or biosimulation domain, or a demonstrated ability to quickly learn complex technical subject matter.
• Experience with accessibility standards and best practices (e.g., WCAG).
• Familiarity with user research methodologies beyond basic understanding.
• Experience with data visualization principles for scientific data.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "2-5 years" experience level is inferred from the "Mid-Level" AI classification and the depth of responsibilities described, which go beyond entry-level tasks. The focus on "basic knowledge" in certain research and metrics areas suggests that while not a senior researcher, the candidate should have foundational understanding and be willing to learn and collaborate with specialists.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated selection of UX design projects demonstrating a strong understanding of user-centered design principles and problem-solving methodologies.
• Case studies that clearly articulate the user problem, your design process, the solutions implemented, and the impact of your work (quantifiable results are highly preferred).
• Examples showcasing your ability to create high-fidelity prototypes, UI screen designs, and user flow diagrams.
• Demonstrations of how you've used or contributed to design systems, with specific examples if possible.
• Evidence of your facilitation and workshop experience, perhaps through project outcomes or documented processes.

Process Documentation:

• Projects that highlight your application of Design Thinking or Double Diamond frameworks.
• Examples of how you've supported or collaborated on user research activities, detailing your involvement and the insights gained.
• Documentation of your developer handoff process and how you ensure design integrity during implementation.
• Case studies that illustrate how you've driven ideation and validated concepts through prototyping.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the role's emphasis on driving UX maturity, collaboration, and delivering design artifacts, a portfolio is essential. The "Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements" section is designed to guide candidates on what specific types of work and documentation will be most impactful for demonstrating their capabilities in this role.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a UX Designer with 2-5 years of experience in Budapest, Hungary, the estimated annual salary range is approximately €30,000 - €45,000 (HUF 11,500,000 - 17,300,000). This estimate is based on current market data for mid-level UX designers in Budapest, considering the tech industry and the hybrid work model.

Benefits:

• Hybrid work arrangement (8 days/month home office) offering flexibility.
• Private health insurance through Medicover, ensuring comprehensive medical care.
• Daily entry access to Life1 Fitness Clubs, promoting employee well-being.
• Generous annual training budget to support continuous professional development, including off-site training, international conferences, and e-books.
• Opportunity to work with global Top500 companies and leading academic institutions, providing exposure to dynamic industries.
• Inspiring work environment with leisure and recreation areas, a children's play corner, English lessons, a yearly user conference with social programs, and innovation days.
• Membership in a creative and supportive agile team with everyday English usage in a multicultural setting.

Working Hours: The role is full-time, with an expected workload of approximately 40 hours per week. The hybrid model allows for flexibility in how these hours are managed, with 8 days of home office per month.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on aggregated data for similar roles in Budapest, Hungary. Actual compensation may vary based on specific experience, qualifications, and negotiation. The benefits listed are directly extracted from the job description and tailored for clarity.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology (Software, Biosimulation, Cheminformatics), Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Research & Development. Certara's acquisition of Chemaxon positions it as a leader in model-informed drug development and scientific software solutions. Company Size: Certara is a significant player in its field, with Chemaxon being an established cheminformatics company. The combined entity likely operates with hundreds to thousands of employees globally. This size offers stability and resources while the smaller, agile product teams maintain a sense of innovation. Founded: Chemaxon has been operating for over 25 years, and Certara is a well-established US-based company. This long history suggests a stable company culture with deep domain expertise.

Team Structure:

• The UX team consists of four UX Researchers and two full-time UX Designers, suggesting a collaborative and well-supported UX function.
• The UX Designer will be embedded within cross-functional product teams, working directly with Product Managers, Developers, and UX Researchers.
• There's a "horizontal operation" for UX, indicating a community of practice where UX maturity, design principles, and system-wide initiatives are discussed and advanced.

Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making is implied through the emphasis on UX metrics, user research, and the "data-heavy" nature of the products.
• Agile development processes are mentioned, indicating iterative workflows and close collaboration with engineering.
• Design Thinking and Double Diamond are explicitly stated as fluency requirements, highlighting a structured yet flexible approach to design problem-solving.
• A strong focus on "UX maturity" suggests a commitment to continuous improvement and the adoption of best practices.

Company Website: https://careers.certara.com (and implicitly, chemaxon.com for the product context)

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is described as agile, innovative, and friendly, with opportunities for collaboration and cross-training. The acquisition of Chemaxon by Certara adds a layer of growth and dynamism. The emphasis on working with scientists and understanding their domain is a key cultural aspect relevant to this role.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-Level UX Designer, requiring 2-5 years of experience. It involves significant autonomy in driving UX within a product team and contributing to broader UX initiatives, but also requires collaboration with senior team members and researchers. Reporting Structure: The UX Designer will report into a UX lead or manager, likely within a broader UX/Product organization. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering leads within their assigned product team. The "horizontal operation" for UX suggests interaction with a wider UX community. Operations Impact: The UX Designer's work directly impacts the usability and effectiveness of critical scientific software tools used by researchers and biopharmaceutical companies. By improving user experience, they contribute to faster drug discovery and development cycles, directly influencing Certara's mission and its clients' success. This role has a direct impact on user adoption, satisfaction, and the perceived value of the software.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in cheminformatics UX, biosimulation interfaces, or advanced interaction design for scientific data visualization.
• Leadership: Potentially grow into a Senior UX Designer role, leading design efforts on larger projects or mentoring junior designers.
• Cross-functional Movement: Develop strong domain knowledge and potentially move into Product Management or UX Research leadership roles within Certara.
• Skill Development: Utilize the generous training budget to attend international conferences, gain certifications in specialized UX areas, or pursue advanced studies.
• Design System Contribution: Become a key contributor or lead for the Origin design system, influencing its evolution and adoption.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career path for a UX Designer in a company like Certara, especially with its focus on specialized scientific software, can lead to deep domain expertise and influence. The "Growth Opportunities" are tailored to typical progression paths within design and product organizations in tech companies.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in Budapest, Hungary, at the Váci Greens Office Park. The description implies a modern office environment with collaborative spaces, leisure areas, and amenities, supporting a hybrid work model. Office Location(s): Budapest, Váci Greens Office Park. This location is likely well-connected within Budapest. Workspace Context:

• A hybrid work model allows for a blend of focused individual work at home and collaborative, in-person interaction at the office.
• The office environment includes dedicated areas for leisure and recreation, fostering a positive and engaging atmosphere.
• The presence of a "playing corner for children" suggests a family-friendly approach to the workplace culture.
• Collaboration is a key aspect, with opportunities for direct interaction with developers, researchers, product managers, and other UX team members.

Work Schedule: The standard work schedule is full-time (~40 hours/week), with the flexibility afforded by the hybrid model (8 days/month home office). This schedule supports the need for deep work on design tasks while allowing for project meetings and collaborative sessions in the office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The description highlights a modern, flexible, and amenity-rich work environment designed to support both individual productivity and team collaboration, aligning with contemporary expectations for tech roles.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A brief call with HR or a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest in the role.
• Portfolio Review & Technical Interview: A session where the candidate presents their portfolio, discussing key projects, design process, and problem-solving approaches. This will likely involve discussions on interaction design, information architecture, and UX strategy. Expect to be asked about your experience with Design Thinking, Double Diamond, and prototyping tools.
• Team/Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Developers, UX Researchers, and potentially other designers. These interviews will focus on collaboration skills, understanding of agile processes, ability to communicate design rationale, and how you support user research.
• Final Interview: Discussion with a hiring manager or senior leader, focusing on strategic thinking, leadership potential, and alignment with Certara's mission and values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-4 of your strongest projects that best showcase your end-to-end UX process, problem-solving skills, and impact. Prioritize projects that demonstrate work on complex B2B software or scientific tools if possible.
• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the user research conducted, your design iterations, the final solution, and most importantly, the outcome and impact (quantify if possible).
• Highlight Process: Detail your methodology, including how you used Design Thinking, Double Diamond, user research, and prototyping. Explain why you made certain design decisions.
• Showcase System Use: If you have experience with design systems (especially Figma-based), highlight how you've used them or contributed to them.
• Prepare for Questions: Be ready to answer questions about your design choices, how you handle feedback, how you collaborate with developers, and your understanding of the scientific domain.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Challenge: Be prepared for a take-home or live design exercise. This might involve improving an existing feature of a scientific tool, designing a new workflow, or solving a specific user problem. Focus on demonstrating your process, not just the final UI.
• Workshop Simulation: You may be asked to demonstrate facilitation skills, perhaps by running a short ideation session or discussing how you would approach a user research planning workshop.
• System Thinking: Prepare to discuss how your designs integrate with existing systems and workflows, and how you consider the broader user journey.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process outlined is typical for UX roles in tech companies, with a strong emphasis on portfolio presentation and practical skills demonstration. The "Portfolio Review Tips" and "Challenge Preparation" are designed to give candidates actionable advice for succeeding in this specific hiring process.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma is explicitly mentioned as the tool for their design system (Origin). Proficiency in Figma is essential. Other tools like Sketch or Adobe XD might be transferable, but Figma expertise is key.
• Design System: Experience with or ability to quickly learn and work within a comprehensive design system (Origin).

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly mentioned, familiarity with analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel) and the ability to interpret UX metrics is beneficial. The role mentions "basic understanding of different UX metrics."

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to this UX design role, but understanding how user data flows from CRM or other systems into the product for analysis might be a plus for understanding the broader user context.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of "Figma" and the "Origin design system" makes these critical requirements. The emphasis on "basic understanding of different UX metrics" suggests that while the candidate isn't expected to be a data analyst, they should be comfortable with quantitative feedback on their designs.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of scientists and researchers. This is evident in the emphasis on user research and UX maturity.
• Collaboration: Working effectively in cross-functional teams and fostering a shared understanding of design goals and challenges.
• Innovation: A drive to improve complex B2B tools and transform traditional drug discovery processes through design.
• Agility & Adaptability: Embracing agile development processes and being comfortable in a dynamic, evolving environment, especially post-acquisition.
• Continuous Improvement: Proactively increasing UX maturity and seeking ways to enhance design processes and outcomes.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: The UX Designer is an integral part of product teams, working daily with Product Managers and Developers.
• Research Partnership: Close collaboration with UX Researchers to inform design decisions and validate hypotheses.
• Design Community: Participation in a horizontal UX operation for knowledge sharing, best practice discussions, and mentorship.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Proactive involvement of internal stakeholders to ensure alignment and gather diverse perspectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values and collaboration style are inferred from the description of the team, responsibilities, and company culture, focusing on aspects most relevant to a UX professional.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Domain Complexity: Understanding the nuances of cheminformatics and biosimulation to design effective tools for scientists. This requires a willingness to learn and adapt to a specialized scientific domain.
• Data-Heavy Interfaces: Designing intuitive user experiences for software that handles complex scientific data, where small details can have significant implications.
• Balancing UX Maturity and Agile Speed: Driving UX maturity while working within fast-paced agile development cycles.
• Cross-Team Alignment: Ensuring consistent UX across different product teams and integrating with a mature design system.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Domain Expertise: Gain in-depth knowledge of the drug discovery and development lifecycle through working with scientific users and complex data.
• Advanced UX Skills: Hone skills in interaction design, information architecture, and user research within a specialized field.
• Design System Mastery: Become an expert in working with and potentially contributing to a sophisticated design system (Origin).
• Professional Training: Leverage the generous annual training budget for specialized UX courses, conferences, or learning resources relevant to scientific software design.
• Mentorship: Benefit from working alongside experienced UX Researchers and a Senior UX Designer.

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges are identified based on the industry, product type, and role responsibilities, offering insights into potential hurdles and how to approach them. Growth opportunities are mapped to typical career progression and skill development within specialized UX roles.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• UX Strategy & Vision: "How would you approach developing a UX strategy for a new feature within Marvin, considering both user needs and business goals?" Prepare to discuss your process for aligning UX with product vision.
• Collaboration & Stakeholder Management: "Describe a time you had to influence a team to adopt a design decision they initially resisted. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?" Be ready to share examples of facilitating workshops and communicating design rationale.
• Problem-Solving & Innovation: "Imagine a scientist is struggling to accurately represent a complex chemical structure in our drawing tool. How would you approach diagnosing and solving this UX problem?" Prepare to walk through a hypothetical design process using Design Thinking or Double Diamond.

Company & Culture Questions:

• Domain Interest: "What interests you about working with scientists and in the cheminformatics/biosimulation domain?" Research Certara and Chemaxon's mission and products to articulate your genuine interest.
• Team Dynamics: "How do you typically collaborate with developers and user researchers? What are your expectations for working within a cross-functional team?" Prepare to discuss your preferred collaboration styles and how you integrate with agile workflows.
• Impact Measurement: "How would you measure the success of a UX improvement on Marvin? What UX metrics would you track?" Be ready to discuss basic UX metrics and their relevance to business objectives.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your presentation by project, clearly outlining the problem, your role, process, solution, and results. Use a narrative approach to engage the interviewers.
• Highlight Process & Rationale: For each project, emphasize how you arrived at your design solutions. Explain your decision-making process, research insights, and how you leveraged UX principles.
• Demonstrate Tool Proficiency: Showcase your Figma skills through prototypes and UI designs. Briefly mention how you handle developer handoffs.
• Showcase Collaboration: If possible, include examples or discuss how you collaborated with others (developers, researchers, stakeholders) on your projects.
• Tailor to Certara: If you have projects relevant to data-heavy B2B tools, scientific applications, or complex workflows, highlight these specifically.

📝 Enhancement Note: These interview preparation tips are designed to help candidates anticipate common questions, structure their responses effectively, and showcase their suitability for a UX role in a specialized scientific software company.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Certara careers portal (https://careers.certara.com).
• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features projects demonstrating your end-to-end UX process, problem-solving skills, and any experience with complex B2B software or scientific tools. Highlight your proficiency in Figma and your understanding of design systems.
• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight keywords from the job description, such as "UX Design," "Design Thinking," "Interaction Design," "Information Architecture," "Prototyping," "Figma," and "Agile." Quantify your achievements wherever possible.
• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio, focusing on storytelling and clearly articulating your design decisions and impact. Prepare to discuss your experience with user research, collaboration, and how you contribute to UX maturity.
• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Certara's mission, its acquisition of Chemaxon, and the types of products they offer. Understand their commitment to biosimulation and cheminformatics to better articulate your interest and fit for the role.

⚠️ 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.

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