UX/UI Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX/UI Designer Company: ZIZO Location: Buffalo, New York, United States Job Type: FULL_TIME Category: UX/UI Design & Product Development Date Posted: October 07, 2025 Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years) Remote Status: Remote OK

🚀 Role Summary

• Product Design & User Experience: This role is central to ZIZO's mission of crafting intuitive and engaging experiences by translating strategic visions into user-centric designs, with a strong emphasis on user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) principles.
• Design System Integration: A key responsibility involves seamlessly integrating the established Design System with the evolving product offerings, ensuring consistency and scalability across all platforms.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: The UX/UI Designer will collaborate extensively with sales, marketing, onboarding, and customer success teams, transforming diverse feedback and ideas into polished, functional design elements.
• Development Partnership: This position requires close partnership with developers to bring designs to life, understanding and navigating technical constraints while advocating for user needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is ideal for a mid-level designer who thrives in a collaborative, results-oriented environment and is comfortable working with a remote-first team across different time zones. The emphasis on "gamify" and "data-driven metrics work" in the company description suggests a unique approach to product design, potentially involving gamification elements and performance analytics integrated into the user experience.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design Synthesis: Merge the existing ZIZO Design System with the overarching product vision and evolving user needs to create cohesive, forward-thinking, and aesthetically pleasing interfaces.
• Cross-Team Ideation to Design: Collaborate with sales, marketing, onboarding, and customer success teams to gather insights, understand business objectives, and translate complex ideas and user feedback into intuitive and functional design elements.
• Developer Partnership & Implementation: Work closely with the development team to ensure accurate implementation of designs, providing clear specifications, understanding technical limitations, and iterating based on feasibility and performance.
• User-Centric Refinement: Continuously refine and adapt UX practices to create intuitive and engaging interfaces that effectively solve real user challenges and enhance the overall user journey.
• Design System Evolution: Actively contribute to the growth and maintenance of the ZIZO Design System, ensuring its consistency, scalability, and evolution across all product lines and platforms.
• 3D Element Enhancement: Leverage experience with 3D design tools to elevate and integrate existing 3D elements within the product interface, enhancing visual appeal and user engagement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibility to "prioritize efficacy of design over personal attachment" highlights a critical aspect of this role: a data-driven and user-focused approach to design iterations, valuing outcomes and user satisfaction above individual design preferences.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Industrial Design, or a related field is typically expected for this level of role. Equivalent practical experience will also be strongly considered.

Experience: Proven experience as a UX/UI Designer, with a portfolio demonstrating successful projects in designing intuitive, user-centric interfaces that are development-ready. A minimum of 2-5 years of professional design experience is anticipated for a mid-level role.

Required Skills:

• UX/UI Design Expertise: Demonstrated ability to create wireframes, mockups, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs that solve user problems and meet business objectives.
• Figma Proficiency: Strong command of Figma for design, prototyping, and collaboration, including experience with component libraries and design system management within the tool.
• Design System Management: Experience in contributing to, maintaining, or evolving a comprehensive design system to ensure UI consistency and accelerate design and development workflows.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with diverse teams (Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Development) to gather requirements and iterate on designs.
• User-Centric Design Principles: Deep understanding of user-centered design methodologies, user research, and usability testing principles.
• Technical Constraint Awareness: Ability to understand and work within technical limitations, collaborating with developers to find feasible design solutions.
• Self-Management & Results Orientation: Demonstrated ability to manage workload independently, prioritize tasks effectively, and deliver results with minimal direct supervision.
• Adaptability & Iteration: Willingness to iterate on designs based on feedback, data, and evolving project requirements, prioritizing design effectiveness.

Preferred Skills:

• 3D Design Tools: Experience with 3D design software (e.g., Blender, Cinema 4D, Maya) to enhance visual elements and product aesthetics.
• Gamification Design: Familiarity with designing elements and experiences that incorporate gamification principles to drive user engagement.
• Data-Driven Design: Experience using analytics and user data to inform design decisions and measure design impact.
• Agile/Scrum Methodologies: Familiarity with agile development processes and how UX/UI designers fit into sprint cycles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of "efficacy of design over personal attachment" and the preference for 3D design tools suggest that candidates who can demonstrate a pragmatic, results-driven approach to design, and who can integrate visually rich elements, will be highly competitive.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Comprehensive Case Studies: Showcase 2-3 detailed case studies that highlight your design process, from initial problem definition and user research to final design solutions and their impact.
• Development-Ready Designs: Include examples of interfaces that demonstrate a clear understanding of responsive design, usability, and the ability to be readily translated into code by developers.
• Figma Work Samples: Provide direct links or clear exports of Figma files showcasing your proficiency, including examples of component usage, prototyping, and design system contributions.
• Impact and Metrics: Quantify the impact of your design work whenever possible, using metrics related to user engagement, conversion rates, task completion, or user satisfaction.

Process Documentation:

• User Research & Ideation: Document your approach to understanding user needs, conducting research (if applicable), and brainstorming solutions, demonstrating how you translate insights into design concepts.
• Design System Contribution: Illustrate how you have contributed to or utilized a design system, showcasing consistency, scalability, and efficiency gains.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration Workflow: Provide examples of how you've collaborated with stakeholders from different departments (e.g., Sales, Marketing, Engineering) to gather feedback and align on design decisions.
• Iterative Design Process: Clearly articulate your process for iterating on designs, incorporating feedback, and refining solutions based on user testing or performance data.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the emphasis on "development-ready designs" and "technical constraints," your portfolio should clearly demonstrate how you bridge the gap between design vision and technical execution. Including a specific example of how you adapted a design due to technical limitations would be highly beneficial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry averages for a mid-level UX/UI Designer in Buffalo, NY, with remote work flexibility and the specified skill set, a competitive salary range is estimated between $75,000 to $105,000 annually. This estimate considers the demand for skilled designers, the company's industry (technology/software), and the mid-level experience requirement.

Benefits:

• Impactful Role: Opportunity to be central to ZIZO's product ethos, with contributions directly influencing product direction and success.
• Collaborative Environment: Work within a team of skilled professionals passionate about building innovative products and fostering a supportive atmosphere.
• Continuous Learning: Access to opportunities for professional development, staying updated with the latest design trends, tools, and challenges.
• Creativity & Ownership: Freedom to own projects from concept to execution, fostering a sense of accomplishment and direct influence.
• Remote Work Flexibility: The "Remote OK" status offers significant flexibility, allowing for a better work-life balance.
• Detail-Oriented Culture: Thrives in an environment where design precision and quality are highly respected and elevated.

Working Hours: The role is designated as FULL_TIME, typically implying around 40 hours per week. The company operates across two main time zones (GMT-4 and GMT+3), suggesting a need for flexibility and potentially staggered working hours to ensure overlap for collaboration and meetings.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on typical market rates for this role and location. Actual compensation may vary based on the candidate's specific experience, skills, and the company's compensation philosophy. The mention of working across GMT-4 and GMT+3 indicates potential flexibility in daily hours but requires significant availability for cross-time zone communication.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, Software, potentially with elements of Data Analytics and Gamification. ZIZO focuses on enhancing "users' everyday working lives" through a blend of "data-driven metrics work and innovative gaming techniques." Company Size: ZIZO is likely a growing company, potentially a startup or scale-up, indicated by the need for designers to evolve a design system and work across teams without micromanagement. The exact size is not specified, but the culture described suggests a dynamic and evolving environment. Founded: The founding date is not provided, but the company's focus on innovation and user experience suggests a modern approach to product development.

Team Structure:

• Lean & Collaborative: The need for self-management and cross-functional collaboration without micromanagement suggests a lean team structure where individuals are empowered and work closely together.
• Cross-Functional Integration: Designers work directly with Sales, Marketing, Onboarding, and Customer Success, indicating a highly integrated product development approach.
• Reporting Dynamics: While a direct manager isn't specified, the emphasis on self-management implies a flat or matrixed hierarchy where designers have autonomy.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: ZIZO emphasizes "data-driven metrics work," suggesting that design decisions are informed by user data and performance analytics.
• Iterative Product Development: The "evolving challenges and opportunities" and the need to "refine and adapt UX practices" point towards an iterative approach to product and design development.
• Gamified User Engagement: The mention of "gamify" suggests that gamification techniques are employed to enhance user interaction and engagement within the product.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's description hints at a unique intersection of productivity software and gamified engagement, which could be a significant differentiator. Candidates should be prepared to discuss how they approach designing for both efficiency and engagement.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-Level UX/UI Designer. This means the individual is expected to be proficient in core design skills, capable of working independently on defined projects, and contributing to the evolution of design systems and processes. They are beyond junior-level tasks and are expected to drive design initiatives with some guidance.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Design Lead, Head of Product, or a similar senior role within the product or engineering department. The emphasis on "without micromanagement" suggests a reporting structure that values autonomy and trust.

Operations Impact: The UX/UI Designer's impact is directly tied to the user experience and engagement with ZIZO's products. Effective designs will:

• Enhance user adoption and retention.
• Improve customer satisfaction and reduce support load.
• Drive product engagement through intuitive interfaces and potentially gamified elements.
• Contribute to sales and marketing efforts by showcasing a polished and user-friendly product.
• Ensure brand consistency and aesthetic appeal across all touchpoints.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: As ZIZO grows, opportunities may arise to take on more senior design roles, mentor junior designers, or lead specific design initiatives.
• Specialization: Develop deeper expertise in areas like gamification design, 3D UI elements, or advanced user research techniques.
• Product Strategy: Gain exposure to product strategy discussions, influencing the direction of ZIZO's offerings from a user experience perspective.
• Cross-Functional Skill Development: Enhance collaboration and communication skills by working closely with various departments.
• Design System Ownership: Potential to become a key owner or architect of the ZIZO Design System.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "creativity & ownership" and "your work will directly influence our trajectory and success" suggests that ZIZO offers significant opportunities for impact and growth for designers who can demonstrate initiative and deliver high-quality, user-centric solutions.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The job is listed as "TELECOMMUTE" with "Remote OK," indicating a predominantly remote work environment. While the listing mentions Buffalo, NY, it's likely that the role is fully remote within the United States, with potential for occasional team meetups or company events if ZIZO has a physical presence there.

Office Location(s): Buffalo, New York, United States. However, the remote nature means this location is more for administrative or legal purposes than a requirement to be present. The company also operates across GMT-4 and GMT+3 time zones, suggesting a distributed global team.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration Tools: Expect a heavy reliance on digital collaboration tools like Figma, Slack, Zoom, and project management software to maintain communication and workflow.
• Flexible Work Setup: Candidates should be comfortable setting up and managing their own productive home office environment.
• Asynchronous & Synchronous Communication: The need to work across different time zones implies a balance between asynchronous communication (for flexibility) and synchronous meetings (for real-time collaboration).

Work Schedule: While typically 40 hours per week, the need to coordinate across GMT-4 and GMT+3 may offer some flexibility in daily start/end times, provided core collaboration windows are met. This requires strong time management and proactive communication to ensure seamless teamwork.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote nature and cross-time zone requirement necessitate a high degree of autonomy, excellent communication skills, and the ability to manage one's own schedule effectively to ensure team alignment and project progress.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess basic qualifications and alignment with the role's requirements.
• Portfolio Presentation & Technical Interview: Expect to present your portfolio, discussing your design process, key projects, and problem-solving approaches. This may include a deep dive into your Figma skills and design system experience.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration Interview: Interviews with members from sales, marketing, or customer success teams to evaluate your ability to collaborate, understand business needs, and communicate design effectively.
• Technical Challenge/Design Exercise: A practical design exercise, potentially in Figma, to assess your skills in a simulated work scenario. This could involve refining an existing interface or creating a new component based on given requirements.
• Final Interview: A conversation with a hiring manager or senior leader to assess cultural fit, long-term potential, and overall alignment with ZIZO's vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Storytelling: Frame your case studies as narratives that highlight the problem, your process, your contributions, and the quantifiable impact of your design solutions.
• Process Focus: Clearly articulate your design process, emphasizing user-centricity, iterative refinement, and collaboration. Show how you arrived at your solutions.
• Figma Proficiency Showcase: Ensure your Figma work is well-organized, demonstrates best practices (e.g., component usage, auto-layout), and includes interactive prototypes where applicable.
• Design System Examples: If you have experience with design systems, dedicate a section or case study to your contributions, highlighting consistency and efficiency benefits.
• Adaptability Proof: Include examples that show how you've adapted designs based on feedback, technical constraints, or new insights, demonstrating your flexibility and focus on outcomes.
• 3D Element Integration: If you have 3D design experience, showcase how you've integrated these elements into UI designs and the rationale behind their use.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand ZIZO's Context: Research ZIZO's products, target audience, and unique approach to "data-driven metrics work and innovative gaming techniques."
• Design System Thinking: Be prepared to discuss design system principles and how you'd approach building or extending one.
• Problem-Solving Scenarios: Practice articulating your thought process for common design challenges, focusing on user needs and business goals.
• Time Management: If a timed design exercise is given, practice working efficiently under pressure, prioritizing key elements of the design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will likely heavily weigh your portfolio and your ability to articulate your design process. Be prepared to discuss specific examples of how you've balanced user needs with technical realities and business objectives.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is explicitly mentioned as a required proficiency. Expect to use Figma for wireframing, prototyping, UI design, and collaboration.
• Design System Tools: Proficiency with tools that support design system creation and maintenance within Figma is crucial.
• 3D Design Software: Experience with tools like Blender, Cinema 4D, or Maya is highly valued, indicating a potential need for integration with these platforms or for creating assets.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Analytics Platforms: Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or similar platforms to understand user behavior and inform design decisions.
• A/B Testing Tools: Experience with tools that facilitate A/B testing for design optimization.

CRM & Automation:

• Project Management Software: Tools like Asana, Jira, Trello, or Monday.com for managing design tasks and collaborating with development teams.
• Collaboration Platforms: Slack, Microsoft Teams, or similar for day-to-day communication.
• Prototyping Tools: While Figma is primary, experience with other prototyping tools might be beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Figma and 3D design tools indicates ZIZO's commitment to modern, visually rich, and interactive design. Candidates should be ready to discuss their experience with these specific technologies and how they leverage them for creating engaging user experiences.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Detail-Oriented Focus: ZIZO values meticulous attention to detail, believing that "success lies in the details," which translates to high-quality, polished design outcomes.
• User-Centricity & Efficacy: A strong commitment to solving real user challenges and prioritizing design effectiveness ("efficacy of design over personal attachment") is paramount.
• Innovation & Creativity: The company encourages "innovative gaming techniques" and provides "creativity & ownership," fostering an environment where new ideas are welcomed and designers can drive projects.
• Collaboration & Ownership: ZIZO promotes a collaborative culture where individuals can "own their projects from concept through execution" and work effectively across teams.
• Continuous Learning: The team values staying "sharp with the latest design trends, tools, and challenges," encouraging professional growth.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Expect a highly collaborative style where designers work closely with sales, marketing, onboarding, and customer success to ensure product alignment and user satisfaction.
• Empowered Autonomy: The culture supports self-management, meaning team members are trusted to manage their time and tasks effectively, contributing proactively to projects.
• Feedback-Driven Iteration: The emphasis on refining designs and prioritizing efficacy suggests an open feedback loop where constructive criticism is valued for improving the product.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core values revolve around precision, user-centricity, innovation, and autonomy. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate how they embody these values in their work and collaboration style.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Gamification with Productivity: Integrating "gamify" elements into "everyday working lives" and "data-driven metrics work" can be challenging, requiring a delicate balance to ensure engagement without distraction or trivialization of serious work.
• Cross-Time Zone Collaboration: Effectively communicating and collaborating with team members across GMT-4 and GMT+3 time zones requires proactive planning, clear documentation, and flexible scheduling.
• Evolving Design System: Continuously updating and expanding a design system to keep pace with product evolution and new features requires ongoing effort and strategic planning.
• Bridging 2D and 3D Design: Integrating 3D elements seamlessly into a 2D interface while maintaining usability and aesthetic coherence can present unique design and technical challenges.
• Remote Work Management: Thriving in a remote, self-managed environment requires strong discipline, communication, and proactive engagement.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced 3D UI Design: Deepen expertise in integrating 3D elements into user interfaces, potentially exploring new tools and techniques.
• Gamification Strategy: Develop skills in applying gamification principles to enhance user engagement and productivity in a professional software context.
• Design System Architecture: Gain experience in architecting and scaling robust design systems, potentially leading future design system initiatives.
• Data-Informed Design: Enhance abilities in leveraging user analytics and A/B testing to drive design decisions and measure impact.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Develop leadership skills by influencing product strategy through user-centric design advocacy across multiple departments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are directly tied to the unique aspects of ZIZO's product and operational model. Demonstrating how you've tackled similar challenges in past roles will be key.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Design Process & Problem Solving: "Walk me through a challenging UX/UI project from your portfolio. What was the problem, your approach, what were the key decisions you made, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on user-centricity, iteration, and measurable results.)
• Design System Philosophy: "How do you approach building or contributing to a design system? What are the key principles for ensuring its effectiveness and adoption across teams?" (Highlight your understanding of consistency, scalability, and collaboration.)
• Balancing User Needs and Technical Constraints: "Describe a situation where you had to compromise on a design due to technical limitations. How did you navigate this, and what was the eventual solution?" (Emphasize problem-solving and collaboration with developers.)
• Gamification Application: "How would you approach incorporating gamification elements into a productivity tool to enhance user engagement without compromising its core functionality?" (Think about intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, clear goals, and relevant rewards.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• ZIZO's Mission: "What excites you about ZIZO's mission to 'simplify, gamify, and enhance users' everyday working lives'?" (Show you've researched and understand their unique value proposition.)
• Remote Work & Collaboration: "How do you ensure effective collaboration and communication in a remote, distributed team environment, especially when working across different time zones?" (Highlight your proactivity, use of tools, and communication strategies.)
• Detail-Oriented Approach: "The company values a 'detail-oriented focus.' Can you provide an example of how your attention to detail significantly improved a design or product?" (Showcase your commitment to quality and polish.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Start with Impact: Begin your portfolio review by highlighting the business impact and user success of your most significant projects.
• Showcase Your Process: For each case study, clearly delineate the problem, your research/discovery phase, ideation, design iterations, collaboration points, and the final solution. Use visuals to illustrate each step.
• Figma Deep Dive: Be ready to share your Figma files, demonstrating your organization, component usage, prototyping capabilities, and any design system work.
• Quantify Results: Whenever possible, present metrics that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased conversion, reduced error rates, improved user satisfaction scores).
• 3D Element Integration: If applicable, clearly articulate your role in designing and integrating 3D elements, explaining the rationale and impact.
• Tailor to ZIZO: Emphasize projects that align with ZIZO's focus on user experience, data-driven approaches, and potentially gamification or enhancing working lives.

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare specific examples for each question, focusing on the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) where applicable, especially for behavioral and problem-solving questions.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX/UI Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Workable.
• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects that demonstrate your proficiency in Figma, design system contributions, user-centric design, and ideally, any experience with 3D design or gamification. Ensure case studies clearly articulate your process and impact.
• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to prominently feature keywords from the job description, such as "UX/UI Design," "Figma," "Design System," "User-Centric Design," "Collaboration," and "3D Design Tools." Quantify your achievements with specific metrics where possible.
• Prepare Your Presentation: Rehearse your portfolio presentation, focusing on storytelling, clarity of process, and demonstrating your ability to articulate design decisions and their impact. Practice discussing how you'd approach ZIZO's unique product challenges.
• Research ZIZO: Deeply understand ZIZO's mission, products, and company culture, particularly their unique blend of data-driven metrics and gaming techniques. Prepare thoughtful questions about their design philosophy and team dynamics.

⚠️ 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.