UX/UI Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX/UI Designer

Company: Kinetic Software

Location: Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: UX/UI Design, Product Design, Software Development

Date Posted: 2026-03-08T21:54:02

Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Designing user experiences for complex, B2B operational software within the higher education sector, focusing on user needs and workflow efficiency.

• Leading the establishment and implementation of design systems, component libraries, and consistent design standards across a portfolio of products.

• Conducting in-depth user research and analysis to inform product strategy and validate design decisions, ensuring a deep understanding of domain-specific operational challenges.

• Collaborating closely with Product Owners and engineering teams to translate requirements into intuitive interfaces and ensure accurate implementation of designs.

• Championing user advocacy in product roadmap discussions and strategic decision-making processes, balancing user needs with business and technical constraints.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as the first dedicated UX/UI Designer, indicating a significant opportunity to shape design practices, establish foundational design systems, and influence product direction from the ground up within Kinetic Software. The focus on complex operational software for higher education and events signifies a need for a designer who can handle intricate workflows and multiple user types, rather than consumer-facing applications.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive user research, including interviews with university staff (accommodation managers, catering directors, conferencing teams) and students, to deeply understand operational workflows, pain points, and actual needs.

• Analyze customer feedback from NPS surveys, support tickets, and direct conversations to identify recurring usability issues and patterns.

• Design user experiences for new SaaS features and incremental modernization efforts, employing a "strangler fig" approach to gradually replace legacy systems while ensuring seamless coexistence with existing interfaces.

• Develop and maintain reusable component libraries and design systems that enforce consistency in interaction patterns, spacing, typography, and color palettes across multiple products.

• Collaborate directly with Product Owners to translate complex operational requirements into user-centered design solutions and with React engineering teams to ensure accurate and efficient implementation of designs.

• Actively participate in roadmap prioritization discussions, advocating for user needs and presenting evidence-based design rationale to leadership and stakeholders.

• Design solutions for intricate, multi-user workflows, considering factors such as accommodation allocation, resource booking, catering management, and event coordination.

• Balance strategic design initiatives, such as long-term product vision, with tactical support for immediate usability issues impacting customer implementations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a hands-on approach to both strategic and tactical design work, requiring the candidate to be a self-starter capable of establishing processes while also executing day-to-day design tasks. The explicit mention of "strangler fig" modernization and balancing legacy with modern interfaces highlights a specific challenge and required skill set.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong educational foundation in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for roles of this nature. Equivalency through extensive experience and a robust portfolio is also highly valued.

Experience: Minimum of 3 years of dedicated UX/UI design experience within product development companies, with a strong preference for B2B SaaS or enterprise software environments. Experience in the education or events technology sectors is advantageous.

Required Skills:

• 3+ years of UX/UI design experience in product companies (B2B SaaS or enterprise software preferred).

• Proven ability to conduct user research, including interviews, usability testing, and synthesizing findings into actionable design decisions.

• Proficiency with modern design and prototyping tools, with a strong preference for Figma (or equivalent like Sketch, Adobe XD).

• Solid understanding of front-end development capabilities and constraints, particularly with React, to design feasible interfaces.

• Demonstrated experience designing for complex workflows and multi-user systems (e.g., operational software, enterprise applications).

• Excellent communication skills for articulating design decisions to technical and business stakeholders.

• Ability to work independently and own design initiatives from inception to delivery with minimal supervision.

• Pragmatic approach to design, balancing ideal solutions with delivery realities, technical debt, and business constraints.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in B2B SaaS or enterprise software, particularly multi-user operational software.

• Knowledge of the education sector, specifically how universities manage accommodation, catering, or events.

• Experience building and implementing design systems and component libraries across multiple products.

• Familiarity with legacy system modernization strategies, such as the "strangler fig" pattern.

• Understanding of API and integration UX principles.

• Experience working in product-led organizations with Product Owners, Product Managers, and engineering teams.

• Knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive design principles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end design process" and "user research capabilities" are critical requirements. The preference for Figma and understanding of React constraints directly informs the technical proficiency expected. The "Nice to Have" section provides clear pathways for candidates to differentiate themselves.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase end-to-end design process: Clearly demonstrate how you move from initial user research and problem identification through wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and ultimately to successfully shipped products.

• Case studies of complex workflow design: Highlight specific examples of designing for intricate, multi-user operational systems, detailing the challenges, your approach, and the outcomes.

• Design system contributions: If applicable, include examples of your involvement in establishing or contributing to design systems, component libraries, or style guides, demonstrating an understanding of reusability and consistency.

• Problem-solving focus: Present projects where you identified a user problem and designed a solution that demonstrably improved usability, efficiency, or user satisfaction.

Process Documentation:

• Research methodologies: Be prepared to discuss your preferred methods for conducting user research, synthesizing findings, and translating them into design requirements.

• Design iteration: Explain your process for iterating on designs based on user feedback, stakeholder input, and technical feasibility.

• Collaboration workflows: Describe how you typically collaborate with Product Owners, engineers, and other stakeholders throughout the design lifecycle.

• System implementation: Detail your approach to ensuring designs are implemented accurately by engineering teams, including any review processes you employ.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily geared towards demonstrating practical application of UX/UI principles in a complex, enterprise software context. Candidates should curate their portfolios to explicitly address these points, focusing on depth and process rather than just visual polish.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £45,000 - £55,000 per annum.

Benefits:

• 25 days of holiday, increasing with tenure, plus bank holidays.

• Two paid wellbeing days annually with a budget for personal enjoyment.

• Enhanced pension contributions.

• Two paid volunteering days per year for community or sustainability projects.

• Salary sacrifice schemes for electric vehicles and cycle-to-work programs.

• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme for confidential support.

• Annual full health check.

• Flexible benefits platform offering life assurance, learning opportunities, retail discounts, and more.

• Performance-related bonus scheme.

• Regular social events and team-building activities.

• Opportunities to attend group conferences, away days, and learning forums.

• On-site amenities include free breakfast, fresh fruit, hot/cold drinks, and tuck shop items.

Working Hours: Standard working hours are expected to be around 40 hours per week, with flexibility implied through the company's "people-first culture" and various benefits.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a mid-level UX/UI Designer in the UK, particularly within the enterprise software sector. The comprehensive benefits package emphasizes employee well-being and professional development, aligning with a "people-first" culture. The "Hybrid" work arrangement suggests a blend of office and remote work, supporting a balanced lifestyle.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software (Higher Education Technology, Event Management Software, Operational Excellence Solutions)

Company Size: Kinetic Software is a £15.7M revenue business, employing a significant number of individuals (likely between 50-200 based on revenue and global presence). The company serves over 350 institutions worldwide.

Founded: Kinetic has over 25 years of experience in the market, indicating a stable, established company with deep domain expertise.

Team Structure:

• The UX/UI Designer will report to the Head of Product, signifying a direct line to product strategy and leadership.

• The role will be embedded daily with Product Owners and engineering teams, emphasizing close collaboration within agile product development squads.

Methodology:

• Product Modernization: Kinetic is undergoing a transformation from on-premise solutions to a cloud-first SaaS model, utilizing a "strangler fig" approach to incrementally modernize its product suite.

• User-Centric Design: The company values understanding actual user needs and pain points in complex operational environments, not just superficial requests.

• Quality & Reliability: Customers prioritize stability, reliability, and "systems that just work" over flashy, trend-driven features.

• Collaboration: The culture emphasizes empowerment, community, continuous growth, and giving employees the tools, support, and freedom to excel.

Company Website: https://kinetic.teamtailor.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's long history combined with its current SaaS transformation presents an exciting dynamic. The emphasis on quality and reliability for an institutional customer base means design solutions must be robust and well-tested, supporting mission-critical operations. The "first dedicated hire" aspect is a key differentiator, offering significant autonomy and influence.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-Level UX/UI Designer, with the potential for significant growth into a senior or lead design role as the design function matures within Kinetic. The scope includes strategic input and foundational work, which is often associated with more senior positions.

Reporting Structure: The designer will report directly to the Head of Product. This provides a clear reporting line and direct access to product leadership, facilitating strategic influence and career development discussions. The designer will also work closely with Product Owners and engineering teams on a day-to-day basis.

Operations Impact: The UX/UI Designer's work will have a direct and tangible impact on the efficiency, user satisfaction, and operational effectiveness of hundreds of higher education institutions globally. By improving complex software used for critical functions like student accommodation, catering, and event management, the designer will contribute to smoother operations, better student experiences, and potentially increased revenue for their clients. This role moves beyond superficial UI changes to directly impacting core business processes.

Growth Opportunities:

• Foundational Role: As the first dedicated UX/UI Designer, there is a significant opportunity to build and shape the design practice, processes, and culture at Kinetic. This could lead to leadership opportunities as the team scales.

• Skill Development: Exposure to complex B2B SaaS, legacy modernization, and design system implementation provides a rich learning environment. The company also supports professional development through conferences, learning forums, and a flexible benefits platform.

• Domain Expertise: Deepening knowledge in the higher education and events operational software domain offers specialization and expertise that can be valuable for future career progression.

• Strategic Influence: Direct involvement in product strategy and roadmap discussions offers a pathway to influence product direction and grow into more strategic design or product management roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "first dedicated hire" status is a significant factor for career growth, offering the chance to establish a function and potentially lead it in the future. The role blends strategic influence with tactical execution, providing a well-rounded development experience.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Kinetic offers a hybrid work environment, indicating a blend of remote and in-office work. The company provides a "welcoming office environment" with amenities designed to support employees.

Office Location(s): The primary office location is Milton Keynes, UK, at 249 Silbury Blvd, MK9 1NA. The company also has a global presence, serving institutions worldwide.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The office is designed to be welcoming and conducive to collaboration. The hybrid model suggests opportunities for in-person team interaction, while remote work allows for focused individual tasks.

• Tools & Technology: While specific tools are detailed in the "Tools & Technology Stack" section, the environment supports modern design and development practices, with engineering teams utilizing React.

• Team Interaction: Regular social events, team get-togethers, and an emphasis on a "people-first culture" foster strong team connections, both within the immediate product team and across the wider organization.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, with an estimated 40 hours per week. The hybrid arrangement and company culture suggest a degree of flexibility in how and where work is performed, balancing operational needs with employee well-being.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature of the role, combined with the company's emphasis on office amenities and social events, suggests an environment that values both focused work and strong team cohesion. Candidates should clarify specific expectations regarding in-office days.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will likely review applications and portfolios to assess basic qualifications and alignment with the role's core requirements.

• Portfolio Review & Discussion: A dedicated session to walk through your portfolio, discussing your process, design decisions, and the impact of your work. Expect questions about your approach to user research, complex workflows, and design systems.

• Technical Interview/Design Challenge: This may involve a practical design exercise, either take-home or live, focused on solving a problem relevant to Kinetic's product suite. It will assess your problem-solving skills, design thinking, and ability to work within constraints.

• Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with the Head of Product, Product Owners, and potentially engineering leads to assess your collaboration style, communication skills, and domain understanding. These interviews will focus on how you advocate for users and integrate into product teams.

• Final Interview: Possibly with senior leadership to discuss strategic alignment, cultural fit, and long-term career aspirations.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Process: Clearly articulate your thought process for each project. Explain why you made certain design decisions, supported by research and user insights.

• Showcase Complexity: Highlight projects involving complex workflows, multiple user types, or enterprise/B2B applications. Detail how you managed this complexity.

• Demonstrate Impact: Quantify the impact of your designs where possible (e.g., improved task completion rates, reduced support tickets, positive user feedback).

• Highlight Design System Work: If you have experience with design systems, component libraries, or establishing design standards, make this a prominent feature.

• Tailor to Kinetic: Emphasize experience relevant to operational software, legacy modernization, and B2B SaaS. Show an understanding of the higher education sector's unique challenges.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research Kinetic's products (KxWelcome, KxStudent, KxEngage, Conferencing, Catering) and the operational challenges faced by universities.

• Practice Workflow Design: Be ready to sketch out or discuss how you would approach designing a complex workflow, considering various user roles and system integrations.

• Design System Thinking: Prepare to discuss how you would approach building a design system from scratch or for a legacy modernization effort.

• Communicate Rationale: Practice articulating your design decisions clearly and concisely, especially when presenting solutions under time pressure.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on portfolio review and a potential design challenge suggests that practical application and demonstrated process are key evaluation criteria. Candidates should prepare to deeply discuss their past work and problem-solving approaches.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (strongly preferred), Sketch, Adobe XD. Proficiency in at least one is essential, with Figma being the target tool.

• User Research Tools: Tools for conducting interviews, surveys, and usability testing (specific tools not mentioned, but proficiency in standard practices is expected).

• Collaboration Tools: Likely Jira, Confluence, Slack, or similar platforms for team communication and project management.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

Development Technologies:

• Front-end: React (significant understanding required as designs need to be feasible within this framework).

• Back-end/Legacy: .NET, Delphi (awareness of these technologies is helpful for understanding the context of legacy modernization).

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is highlighted as the preferred design tool. A strong understanding of React's capabilities and limitations is crucial for this role, as designs must be implementable by the engineering teams. Familiarity with .NET and Delphi provides context for the legacy systems being modernized.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User Empathy: A genuine care for making software easier and more effective for people performing critical work.

• Curiosity & Learning: A willingness to dive deep into the specifics of higher education operations and related domains.

• Collaboration: A preference for building consensus and working collaboratively rather than dictating solutions, involving Product Owners, engineers, and customers.

• Resilience: The ability to persevere through the challenges inherent in modernizing legacy products and navigating complex technical constraints.

• Design Maturity: Knowing when to advocate for core design principles and when to make pragmatic compromises based on business and technical realities.

• Comfort with Ambiguity: Embracing a ground-up role where definition of processes and practices is part of the job.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: The designer will be deeply embedded with Product Owners and engineering teams, participating in sprint planning and refinement. This suggests a highly integrated, agile collaboration style.

• Evidence-Based Advocacy: Design decisions and user needs are championed using data from research, testing, and customer feedback, rather than solely aesthetic preferences.

• Pragmatic Implementation: Close partnership with engineering ensures designs are not only user-friendly but also technically feasible and deliverable within the existing technology stack and modernization roadmap.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's values emphasize a practical, user-focused, and collaborative approach to design. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate these qualities, particularly resilience and comfort with ambiguity, given the role's foundational nature.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Legacy Modernization Complexity: Navigating the "strangler fig" approach means designing new features that must coexist and integrate with older systems, requiring careful consideration of user experience continuity and technical compatibility.

• Establishing Design Practices: As the first dedicated UX/UI designer, the challenge lies in defining and implementing design processes, standards, and a design system from scratch in a product organization that may not have had mature design input previously.

• Balancing User Needs with Technical Constraints: The need to design for complex operational software while respecting existing tech stacks (.NET, Delphi, React) and modernization timelines requires a pragmatic and adaptable approach.

• Domain Complexity: Deeply understanding the intricate operational workflows of universities (accommodation, catering, conferencing) is a significant learning curve and a continuous challenge.

• Stakeholder Alignment: Gaining buy-in and consensus from diverse stakeholders (Product Owners, engineers, leadership, and customers) for design decisions can be challenging.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design System Leadership: Opportunity to build and own the company's design system, becoming an expert and leader in this area.

• Strategic Product Influence: Direct involvement in product strategy and roadmap discussions offers a chance to grow influencing skills and gain strategic product development experience.

• Domain Expertise Specialization: Developing deep knowledge in higher education and events operational software provides a niche specialization.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Working closely with experienced Product Owners and engineers provides continuous learning in agile development methodologies and technical implementation.

• Industry Exposure: Attending group conferences, away days, and learning forums offers broader industry insights and networking opportunities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges align with the opportunities. The difficulty in establishing new processes is directly linked to the growth opportunity of shaping the design function. Candidates should frame their approach to these challenges as proactive and solution-oriented.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your process for designing a complex operational workflow. How do you ensure all user types and edge cases are considered?" (Prepare to walk through a case study showcasing your end-to-end process, emphasizing research, iterative design, and validation.)

• "How would you approach establishing a design system from scratch for a product suite with multiple legacy and modern components?" (Discuss your methodology for auditing existing UI, defining foundational elements, creating a component library, and establishing governance for adoption.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about designing for the higher education sector and complex B2B software, as opposed to consumer apps?" (Demonstrate your understanding of Kinetic's market and your motivation for tackling these specific challenges.)

• "How do you see yourself integrating into our existing product and engineering teams, given you're the first dedicated UX/UI hire?" (Discuss your collaborative style, how you'd build relationships, and your approach to working with Product Owners and developers.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly outline the problem, your role, the process you followed, the solutions you designed, and the outcomes/impact.

• Focus on the 'Why': Be ready to explain the rationale behind your design decisions, linking them back to user research and business goals.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use wireframes, prototypes, and visuals to illustrate your designs. If possible, show the evolution of a design based on feedback.

• Highlight Collaboration: Mention how you worked with other teams (Product, Engineering, QA) and how you incorporated their input.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about specific design choices, research methodologies, and technical considerations.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating practical problem-solving skills, a robust design process, and the ability to communicate effectively within a product development team. Be ready to defend your design choices with data and logic.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX/UI Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Kinetic Software careers page.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to prominently feature projects that demonstrate experience with complex workflows, B2B SaaS, legacy modernization, and design systems. Highlight your end-to-end design process with clear case studies.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to include keywords from the job description, such as "UX/UI Design," "B2B SaaS," "Figma," "User Research," "Design Systems," "React," and "complex workflows." Quantify achievements wherever possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process and rationale for key projects. Prepare to discuss your approach to user research, collaboration, and establishing design practices. Research Kinetic's products and the higher education operational software market.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Kinetic Software's mission, values, and current product offerings. Understand their "strangler fig" modernization strategy and their focus on quality and reliability.

⚠️ 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.