UX/UI Designer (Mobile)

Aphex
Full-time

πŸ“ Job Overview

Job Title: UX/UI Designer (Mobile)

Company: Aphex

Location: London, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: 2026-04-08

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

Remote Status: Remote (United Kingdom)

πŸš€ Role Summary

  • Own the end-to-end mobile user experience for Aphex's core products, particularly the Diary application, focusing on the needs of field-based construction professionals.

  • Drive the design of mobile features, interaction patterns, and user interfaces that cater to challenging environments such as outdoor visibility, gloved hands, shared devices, and intermittent connectivity.

  • Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Flutter engineers to translate user needs and technical feasibility into high-quality, intuitive mobile interfaces.

  • Evolve and maintain the company's design system, with a specific emphasis on mobile components, ensuring consistency and a premium user experience across web and mobile platforms.

  • Contribute to Aphex's mission of replacing outdated spreadsheets with modern, user-friendly tools for major project delivery in the construction industry.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: While the role is titled UX/UI Designer, the core responsibilities and focus on mobile experience, particularly for field workers, place this firmly within the product design discipline with a strong emphasis on user experience and interface design for a specific, challenging user base. The "Mobile" aspect is critical, indicating a need for expertise in platform-specific design patterns and cross-platform considerations.

πŸ“ˆ Primary Responsibilities

  • Lead the complete design lifecycle for new mobile features, from initial concept and user research to detailed design, prototyping, and final UI implementation.

  • Define and refine unique interaction patterns and user flows tailored for mobile-first usage within the construction sector, considering constraints like patchy connectivity and on-site conditions.

  • Conduct user research, including potential site visits, to gain deep empathy for field workers and translate their needs into effective design solutions.

  • Collaborate daily with Product Managers to scope features, leveraging their user context and your design thinking to shape product direction.

  • Partner with Flutter engineers to ensure design fidelity during implementation, providing clear specifications and engaging in build reviews.

  • Act as a quality gatekeeper, identifying and advocating for necessary design refinements before features are released to customers.

  • Contribute to the enhancement and expansion of Aphex's design system, ensuring mobile components are robust, scalable, and aligned with web design principles.

  • Bridge the perceived quality gap between the company's established web experience and its mobile application, elevating the overall user experience.

  • Design for complex workflows and enterprise-level requirements, moving beyond simple consumer-app paradigms.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize end-to-end ownership and a hands-on approach, implying the designer will be deeply involved from ideation through to QA. The direct mention of "push back when something doesn't meet the bar" indicates a need for strong design advocacy and conviction.

πŸŽ“ Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

  • Minimum of 4 years of professional product design experience, with a significant focus on mobile application design.

  • Proven track record of designing complex workflows and enterprise-level software solutions, not just consumer-facing applications.

Required Skills:

  • Product Design: Comprehensive understanding of the product design lifecycle, from concept to launch and iteration.

  • Mobile Design (iOS/Android/Cross-Platform): Expertise in designing intuitive and effective user interfaces for mobile devices, understanding platform-specific guidelines and best practices.

  • Interaction Design: Strong skills in defining user flows, states, edge cases, and interactive prototypes that clearly articulate user journeys and system behaviors.

  • Design Systems: Ability to contribute to, evolve, and maintain design systems, ensuring consistency and scalability across platforms.

  • Prototyping & Wireframing: Proficiency with industry-standard design tools (e.g., Figma) for creating wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes.

  • Remote Collaboration: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a proven ability to work effectively in a remote-first environment, including asynchronous collaboration.

  • Problem-Solving: Aptitude for tackling complex design challenges and developing practical, user-centered solutions within technical and environmental constraints.

Preferred Skills:

  • Flutter Experience: Familiarity with Flutter development and an understanding of its cross-platform capabilities and constraints.

  • Field Worker/B2B Design: Prior experience designing for non-desk workers, industrial users, or in the B2B/Vertical SaaS space.

  • Design Systems Experience: Specific experience in building or significantly contributing to comprehensive design systems.

  • Construction/Infrastructure Industry Knowledge: Familiarity with the construction sector, its workflows, and user challenges.

  • User Research: Experience conducting qualitative user research, including field studies or on-site observations.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "complex workflows, not just simple consumer apps" and "design for real constraints" highlights that this role requires a more robust, enterprise-focused design approach than typical mobile app design. The "highly valued" skills point towards candidates who can hit the ground running with minimal ramp-up time in Aphex's specific domain.

πŸ“Š Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

  • Showcase end-to-end product design projects, with a strong emphasis on mobile applications.

  • Include detailed case studies demonstrating your process: problem definition, user research, ideation, design iterations, prototyping, and final implementation.

  • Highlight your ability to design for complex workflows and enterprise-level user needs, rather than solely consumer-facing applications.

  • Present examples of how you have considered and designed for real-world constraints such as limited connectivity, outdoor visibility, or shared device usage.

Process Documentation:

  • Clearly articulate your design process within case studies, detailing how you approach user research, problem-solving, and collaboration with cross-functional teams (PMs, Engineers).

  • Show evidence of how you have contributed to or utilized design systems to ensure consistency and efficiency in your work.

  • Provide examples of how you have worked with engineers to ensure design fidelity and feasibility during the implementation phase.

  • Include examples of how you have QA'd designs and provided feedback to ensure the final product meets the intended user experience.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The "Not looking for" section strongly implies that a portfolio showcasing only polished final screens without detailed process or interaction design will not be sufficient. The emphasis on "ownership" and "push back when something doesn't meet the bar" suggests that portfolios demonstrating strong design advocacy and problem-solving are highly desirable.

πŸ’΅ Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Benefits:

  • Flexible Working Hours: Adapt your workday to suit your personal needs and optimize productivity, supporting asynchronous collaboration across different time zones.

  • Annual Offsite: Participate in an annual team gathering (e.g., Da Nang, Vietnam in 2025) for team building, strategic planning, and fostering strong connections.

  • Remote-First Culture: Enjoy the flexibility and autonomy of a remote work environment, with opportunities to connect with colleagues across the UK, Europe, and Australia.

  • Strategic Impact: Be the first dedicated mobile designer, with significant influence on product direction and a clear path for growth into Senior Designer or Mobile Design Lead roles.

  • Health & Wellbeing: (Standard benefits often include private medical insurance, mental health support, and potentially a wellness stipend, though not explicitly stated).

  • Professional Development: Opportunities for continuous learning, skill development, and potential for industry conference or training participation.

Working Hours:

  • Full-time, approximately 40 hours per week. The role embraces flexible working hours and asynchronous communication, allowing for significant autonomy in structuring the workday.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: Salary is an estimate based on typical market rates for similar roles in London. The benefits listed are directly from the job description, highlighting the company's focus on work-life balance, team connection, and individual impact.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏒 Company Culture

Industry: Construction Technology (ConTech) / Enterprise Software / Vertical SaaS. Aphex operates at the intersection of construction and technology, aiming to modernize project planning and delivery through digital solutions. The company is focused on creating tools that address high-friction processes in major project delivery.

Company Size: Aphex is a growing company, likely in the Seed to Series B funding stage, with a team size that allows for significant individual impact. The mention of a "small, senior design team that needs to grow" suggests a team of perhaps 5-15 people in design, with a total company size likely between 50-150 employees.

Founded: Founded with a thesis to "own the planning layer" and expand into adjacent processes. The company has achieved market leadership in Australia and the UK, indicating a strong product-market fit and a history of successful execution.

Team Structure:

  • Design Team: Small, senior, and growing, currently needing to expand its mobile design capabilities. The Head of UX is a key figure, working alongside designers and product leadership.

  • Product Team: Works closely with design, with Product Managers bringing user context and designers bringing design thinking. The CEO acts as Head of Product, indicating a high level of leadership involvement.

  • Engineering Team: Primarily focused on Flutter for mobile development, implying a collaborative relationship between design and engineering for implementation.

  • Cross-functional Collaboration: Strong emphasis on daily collaboration between Product, Design, and Engineering, particularly for feature scoping and implementation fidelity.

Methodology:

  • Data-Driven Design: While not explicitly stated as a methodology, the focus on user feedback, enterprise adoption, and product performance (Diary as highest revenue lever) implies a data-informed approach to design decisions.

  • Agile Development: The mention of "shipping with the team," "daily collaboration," and "reviewing builds" suggests an agile or iterative development process.

  • User-Centricity: A core tenet, evidenced by the desire to build tools "delivery teams love" and the emphasis on understanding field worker constraints.

Company Website: https://aphex.co

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The company culture is described as ownership-focused, quality-driven, and problem-solving oriented. The remote-first nature and cross-timezone collaboration require strong asynchronous communication skills and a proactive approach to engagement.

πŸ“ˆ Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-Level to Senior Product Designer with a specialized focus on mobile. The "first dedicated mobile designer" aspect offers a unique opportunity to establish best practices and influence the direction of mobile design within the company.

Reporting Structure: The designer will report to the Head of UX and work closely with the CEO (acting Head of Product) and Product Managers. This structure provides direct access to leadership and significant visibility into product strategy.

Operations Impact: The role has a direct and measurable impact on Aphex's highest revenue lever for 2026 (Diary). Success in this role will directly contribute to customer adoption, revenue growth, and the company's ability to command a premium for its product. The designer is expected to shape the product experience that customers "pay for."

Growth Opportunities:

  • Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in mobile design, Flutter constraints, and designing for challenging user environments.

  • Leadership Potential: A clear path exists to grow into a Senior Designer role or, as the team expands, a Mobile Design Lead position, taking on more strategic responsibilities and potentially managing other designers.

  • Product Strategy Influence: Direct engagement with leadership (Head of UX, CEO/Head of Product) provides opportunities to influence product vision, roadmap, and design strategy.

  • Domain Expertise: Develop specialized knowledge in the construction technology sector, a growing and complex industry.

  • Design System Ownership: Contribute significantly to the evolution of a critical design system, building a reputation for strategic design contributions.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The role offers a compelling blend of individual contribution and strategic influence, especially for a designer looking to make a significant impact early in their career or transition into a more specialized mobile design leadership track.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Remote-first. This means the primary work environment is home-based, with no requirement to be in a physical office regularly. The company supports employees working from their homes within the specified region.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, the requirement is for the designer to be located within the United Kingdom, allowing for collaboration across UK, European, and Australian time zones. The company may have a physical presence or hub in London, but this is not a prerequisite for the role.

Workspace Context:

  • Collaborative Environment: Despite being remote, the culture emphasizes strong collaboration through daily interactions with PMs and Engineers, and regular syncs with the Head of UX. Asynchronous communication tools and practices are key.

  • Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design software (likely Figma) and communication platforms (e.g., Slack, Notion) will be provided or expected. Engineers use Flutter, which informs the design and implementation process.

  • Team Interaction: Opportunities for connection exist through daily stand-ups, design reviews, and the annual team offsite, fostering a sense of belonging within a distributed team.

Work Schedule:

  • Full-time, approximately 40 hours per week. The role emphasizes flexible working hours and asynchronous collaboration, allowing employees to structure their day to optimize productivity and accommodate different time zones. This flexibility is crucial for a remote team operating across multiple continents.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature requires a high degree of self-discipline, proactive communication, and comfort with digital collaboration tools. The annual offsite is a significant cultural element designed to foster in-person connection.

πŸ“„ Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

  • Initial Screening: Likely a brief call to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest in the role and company.

  • Portfolio Review & Design Discussion: A deep dive into your portfolio, focusing on mobile design projects, complex workflows, and your design process. Expect to discuss specific case studies, your role in them, and your decision-making rationale. This stage will likely involve the Head of UX and/or senior designers.

  • Design Challenge/Exercise: Potentially a take-home assignment or a live exercise focused on a specific mobile design problem relevant to Aphex's domain. This will assess your problem-solving skills, design thinking, and ability to work within constraints.

  • Cross-functional Collaboration Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers and/or Flutter Engineers to assess your ability to collaborate effectively, communicate technical constraints, and work within an agile team structure.

  • Final Interview: Likely with the CEO (acting Head of Product) or other senior leadership to discuss strategic vision, cultural alignment, and overall fit for the company.

Portfolio Review Tips:

  • Focus on Mobile: Prioritize showcasing your strongest mobile design projects, especially those involving complex workflows or challenging environments.

  • Detail Your Process: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your approach, research methods, design iterations, and the outcomes. Explain why you made certain design decisions.

  • Highlight Constraints: Explicitly discuss how you designed for real-world constraints relevant to construction sites (connectivity, visibility, shared devices).

  • Show Interaction Design: Demonstrate your understanding of flows, states, and edge cases. Prototypes or interactive elements are highly valuable.

  • Quantify Impact: Where possible, include metrics or qualitative feedback that demonstrate the impact of your designs on user behavior or business goals.

  • Tailor to Aphex: Research Aphex and its product (Diary). If possible, subtly align your portfolio examples to demonstrate understanding of their user base and challenges.

Challenge Preparation:

  • Understand the Context: Research the construction industry and the challenges faced by field workers. Consider the limitations of mobile devices in such environments.

  • Embrace Constraints: Be prepared to design within limitations (e.g., limited screen real estate, offline capabilities, simplified input methods).

  • Focus on Workflow: The challenge will likely involve designing for a specific workflow. Break it down logically and consider all steps and potential user actions.

  • Communicate Clearly: Be ready to articulate your thought process, design decisions, and trade-offs clearly and concisely, both verbally and visually.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to evaluate not just design skills but also problem-solving capabilities, collaboration aptitude, and cultural fit. A strong portfolio that clearly demonstrates process and impact is paramount.

πŸ›  Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

  • Figma: Expected to be the primary tool for wireframing, prototyping, UI design, and collaboration. Proficiency in Figma is essential.

  • Prototyping Tools (within Figma or standalone): For creating interactive prototypes to test user flows and gather feedback.

  • Design System Tools: Familiarity with managing and contributing to design systems within Figma or similar platforms.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

  • Not directly relevant to the designer's daily toolset, but understanding how user feedback from CRM or support systems informs product design can be helpful.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The core technology focus for this role is on design and prototyping tools, with Figma being the most probable primary platform. Understanding the engineering stack (Flutter) is also crucial for effective collaboration.

πŸ‘₯ Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

  • Ownership: Taking full responsibility for one's work, from conception through to successful implementation and impact. This is evident in the expectation to "own mobile design" and "push back when something isn't right."

  • Quality: A strong commitment to excellence in both product functionality and user experience. The goal is to build tools "construction teams are genuinely proud to use," bridging the gap between ambition and execution.

  • Problem Solving: A core driver for the company, focused on tackling "hard problems" in the construction industry with innovative digital solutions.

  • Efficiency: Implicit in the drive to replace outdated systems and streamline complex workflows for major project delivery.

  • Collaboration: Essential for a remote-first, cross-functional team, emphasizing clear communication and teamwork across different disciplines and time zones.

Collaboration Style:

  • Remote-First & Asynchronous: The team operates with a strong emphasis on clear written communication and asynchronous workflows, enabling effective collaboration across different time zones.

  • Cross-functional Integration: Daily collaboration with Product Managers and engineers is a cornerstone of the process, fostering a unified approach to product development.

  • Feedback Culture: A willingness to give and receive constructive feedback is implied, crucial for iterating on designs and maintaining high quality standards.

  • Direct Influence: Designers have direct access to leadership, encouraging open discussion and influence on product direction and design strategy.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The culture leans towards high-performing, autonomous individuals who can collaborate effectively within a distributed team and are driven by impact and quality.

⚑ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

  • Designing for Extreme Environments: Creating intuitive and usable designs for users in challenging conditions (e.g., poor lighting, gloved hands, patchy connectivity, shared devices) is a significant design hurdle.

  • Bridging Web-to-Mobile Quality Gap: Ensuring the mobile experience matches the high bar set by the company's web product requires meticulous attention to detail and platform-specific considerations.

  • Navigating Ambiguity: As Aphex builds a new product category, designers will encounter ambiguity and need to be comfortable defining solutions in evolving landscapes.

  • Balancing Constraints: Successfully integrating user needs, business objectives, and technical limitations (especially Flutter's cross-platform nature) requires skillful trade-offs.

  • Remote Collaboration Dynamics: Maintaining strong team cohesion and effective communication in a fully remote, multi-timezone environment can be challenging.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

  • Mobile Design Specialization: Deepen expertise in mobile UX/UI, platform-specific design patterns, and cross-platform development implications.

  • Industry Domain Expertise: Gain in-depth knowledge of the construction technology sector, its workflows, and user personas.

  • Design System Contribution: Play a key role in evolving a critical design system, enhancing skills in design governance and component library management.

  • Leadership Development: Potential to grow into a Senior Designer or Lead role, taking on greater strategic responsibility and mentorship opportunities.

  • Exposure to Leadership: Direct interaction with the CEO and Head of UX offers invaluable insights into product strategy and business development.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are directly tied to the unique aspects of Aphex's product and user base, offering significant opportunities for professional growth and skill development in specialized areas.

πŸ’‘ Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

  • "Describe a time you designed a mobile feature for users with challenging environmental constraints (e.g., poor lighting, limited connectivity, gloved hands). What was your process and the outcome?" (Focus on problem-solving, user empathy, and iterative design for constraints.)

  • "Walk me through a mobile product design project from your portfolio where you had to bridge the quality gap between a web product and its mobile counterpart. What were the key challenges and how did you address them?" (Highlight your understanding of platform consistency and quality standards.)

  • "How do you approach designing for complex, multi-step workflows common in enterprise software, as opposed to simple consumer apps? Provide an example from your experience." (Demonstrate your ability to handle intricate user journeys and business logic.)

Company & Culture Questions:

  • "What interests you about Aphex and our mission to modernize construction planning?" (Showcase your research and alignment with the company's vision.)

  • "How do you approach collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers, especially in a remote-first, asynchronous environment?" (Discuss your communication style, feedback mechanisms, and experience with cross-functional teamwork.)

  • "What does 'ownership' mean to you in a design role, and how have you demonstrated it in your previous work?" (Connect your experience to Aphex's core value of ownership.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

  • Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the impact. Use storytelling to engage the interviewer.

  • Emphasize Mobile & Constraints: Dedicate significant time to showcasing your mobile design projects, clearly explaining how you addressed specific constraints relevant to field workers.

  • Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectivelyβ€”wireframes, mockups, prototypes, user flowsβ€”to illustrate your design thinking and solutions. Interactive prototypes are highly effective.

  • Discuss Trade-offs: Be prepared to talk about design decisions you made, including any trade-offs you had to consider (e.g., between functionality and simplicity, or between platform conventions).

  • Be Ready for Live Design: While not explicitly stated, be prepared for a whiteboard exercise or a brief live design challenge where you'll sketch out ideas or articulate solutions on the spot.

πŸ“ Enhancement Note: The interview process will likely be rigorous, assessing not only design craft but also strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and the capacity to thrive in Aphex's specific remote, collaborative, and mission-driven environment.

πŸ“Œ Application Steps

To apply for this UX/UI Designer (Mobile) position:

  • Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

  • Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your 4+ years of product design experience, with a strong emphasis on your mobile design portfolio, complex workflow design, and experience with enterprise or B2B applications. Use keywords from the job description such as "mobile design," "interaction design," "design systems," and "remote-first."

  • Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest mobile design projects that best showcase your ability to design for complex workflows and challenging user environments. For each project, clearly articulate your process, the problem you solved, your specific contributions, and the outcomes. Ensure you highlight how you addressed constraints like connectivity, visibility, or shared devices.

  • Prepare Your Case Studies: Be ready to walk through your portfolio projects in detail during interviews. Practice explaining your design decisions, the trade-offs you made, and the impact of your work. Focus on demonstrating your understanding of interaction design and your ability to collaborate with PMs and engineers.

  • Research Aphex: Understand Aphex's mission, its product, and the construction industry it serves. Familiarize yourself with their existing web product to grasp the quality bar and the challenges of extending that experience to mobile. Consider how your skills align with their stated values of ownership and quality.

⚠️ 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.

Application Requirements

Candidates must have 4+ years of product design experience with a strong mobile portfolio and proficiency in interaction design. Experience with complex workflows, design systems, and a remote-first mindset is essential.