Lead UI Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead UI Designer

Company: Global Relay

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: UI/UX Design, Product Design, Design Leadership

Date Posted: May 23, 2026

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the visual and interaction design for critical product areas within Global Relay's Information Archiving (IA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms.

• Drive UI craft excellence and establish design standards, ensuring consistency and scalability across the product suite through a mature design system.

• Mentor and guide fellow UI Designers, fostering a collaborative environment to elevate the collective design practice and ensure high-quality output.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Product Managers, UX Designers, Engineers, and Subject Matter Experts, to deliver user-centered, business-aligned solutions in an Agile framework.

• Champion design maturity and advocate for user-centric decisions, influencing strategic direction and elevating the design culture within the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a senior individual contributor with leadership responsibilities, focusing on design execution, mentorship, and strategic influence rather than direct people management. The emphasis on "craft excellence" and "design systems at scale" suggests a need for deep technical UI expertise and a strong understanding of how to build and maintain design consistency in complex enterprise environments. The "AI/IA platforms" context implies a need for designing sophisticated, data-rich interfaces.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the design execution of key product initiatives from discovery through delivery, in close partnership with UX Designers.

• Translate complex user needs and business requirements into intuitive user flows, detailed UI artifacts, functional interaction models, and high-fidelity prototypes.

• Define project goals, scope, priorities, and success metrics in collaboration with Product Management and Engineering.

• Foster alignment and advocate for user-centered design principles across Product, Engineering, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and Stakeholders.

• Produce clear, implementation-ready design specifications and documentation to ensure accurate and consistent execution by engineering teams.

• Partner with engineering teams throughout the development lifecycle to guarantee design intent, quality, and consistency are maintained from concept to release.

• Proactively identify opportunities to improve design processes, tools, and methodologies, contributing to the overall growth of design maturity within the organization.

• Evolve, champion, and maintain the adoption of the company's design system, ensuring its components, patterns, and tokens are leveraged effectively for consistency and scalability.

• Provide mentorship and guidance to other UI Designers through design reviews, shadowing opportunities, and hands-on support to foster their professional development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of hands-on design work and leadership. "Lead the design execution" implies ownership of specific projects, while "produce clear, implementation-ready documentation" and "partner closely with product and engineering" emphasize the critical bridge between design and development, crucial in enterprise software. The mention of "design maturity" and "champion adoption of the design system" points to a strategic aspect of the role, requiring influence and proactive improvement initiatives.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent knowledge and experience in UI/Visual Design is expected.

Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive experience in UI and visual design for web, desktop, and mobile applications.

• 2+ years of experience in a design leadership capacity, guiding projects, providing design direction, and managing stakeholder expectations.

• Proven track record of successfully delivering large-scale, world-class digital products and mature design systems across responsive web and native platforms.

Required Skills:

• Expert-level proficiency in Figma for UI design, prototyping, and design system management.

• Deep expertise in design systems, including component libraries, design tokens, scalable UI frameworks, and system governance.

• Strong understanding of accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and inclusive design principles.

• Proven ability to design responsive interfaces that adapt seamlessly across various devices and screen sizes.

• Excellent visual design craft, with a keen eye for typography, color, layout, and iconography.

• Strong interaction design skills, capable of defining intuitive user flows and behavior.

• Demonstrated experience in prototyping to communicate ideas, validate assumptions, and iterate designs rapidly.

• Ability to clearly articulate design decisions, supported by evidence-based rationale and compelling storytelling.

• Extensive experience collaborating with engineering teams to ensure high-quality implementation from concept through release.

Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with traditional design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite.

• Experience with micro-animations and motion design to enhance user experience.

• Experience working in regulated or compliance-heavy industries.

• Background in financial services.

• Published case studies demonstrating depth in research, problem-solving, and design execution.

• Experience contributing to overall design strategy or shaping product direction.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "10+ years of experience" and "2+ years of leading designers or design direction" clearly indicates a senior-level position. The emphasis on "mature design systems" and "enterprise business environment" points towards a need for experience in complex, scalable product ecosystems rather than startups. Proficiency in Figma is explicitly stated as expert-level, making it a critical technical skill.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Comprehensive examples showcasing visual design craft, interaction design thinking, and experience with design systems at scale.

• Case studies that meticulously document the design process from initial problem definition through to final delivery and implementation.

• Demonstrations of how design decisions were informed by user research, data analysis, and business objectives.

• Examples of designing for complex enterprise applications, highlighting the ability to manage information hierarchy and user flows effectively.

Process Documentation:

• Clear articulation of the design process followed for key projects, detailing stages such as discovery, ideation, prototyping, user testing, and implementation support.

• Documentation of how design systems were leveraged, evolved, or contributed to, including examples of component libraries, design tokens, and style guides.

• Detailed explanations of how accessibility and inclusive design principles were integrated into the design workflow.

• Examples of design specifications provided to engineering, ensuring clarity and completeness for implementation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The job description explicitly states: "Applications must include a portfolio of relevant work. We're looking for examples that highlight your visual design craft, interaction design thinking, and experience with design systems at scale. Especially welcome are case studies that walk through your process from problem definition to final delivery." This directly informs the portfolio requirements, emphasizing process and scale.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $110,000 - $130,000 CAD per year.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Extended Health Benefits Program

• Virtual Healthcare services

• Wellness Allowance

• Annual Vacation Days (increasing with tenure)

• Paid Sick Days

• Maternity/Parental Enhancement Program

• Performance Bonus

• RRSP Contribution Matching Program

• Subsidized Meal Program (provided by an in-house culinary team for Vancouver-based employees)

Working Hours: The advertised salary range implies a standard full-time work week. While not explicitly stated, the mention of "work-life rhythms" and "Agile environment" suggests a typical 40-hour work week with potential for flexibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range ($110,000 - $130,000 CAD) and comprehensive benefits package are directly extracted from the job description, adhering to British Columbia's pay transparency laws. The mention of "comprehensive total rewards package" and specific benefits like "virtual healthcare" and "wellness allowance" indicate a strong focus on employee well-being. The subsidized meal program is a unique perk specifically for Vancouver employees.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Enterprise Information Archiving, Cloud Archiving, Surveillance, eDiscovery, and Analytics Solutions.

Company Size: While not explicitly stated, Global Relay's website indicates a significant presence and established operations, suggesting a medium to large enterprise. Their career page lists numerous open positions, implying growth and a substantial employee base.

Founded: Over 25 years ago, indicating a stable, experienced company with a long-standing reputation in its industry.

Team Structure:

• The UI Designer will be part of a cross-functional product team, collaborating closely with UI/UX Designers, Researchers, Writers, Product Managers, Engineers, SMEs, and Stakeholders.

• This role involves mentoring fellow UI Designers, suggesting a collaborative team dynamic where senior members guide junior ones, without direct line management responsibilities.

Methodology:

• Operates within a customer-focused Agile environment, emphasizing iterative development and continuous feedback loops.

• Design process involves discovery, ideation, prototyping, iterative validation, and close collaboration with engineering for high-quality implementation.

• Strong emphasis on design systems for consistency, scalability, and efficiency.

• Commitment to diversity, inclusion, and fostering a work environment free of barriers, encouraging collaboration and learning.

Company Website: www.globalrelay.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company description highlights Global Relay as a long-standing leader in enterprise information archiving, positioning itself as a "career-building company" rather than just a tech firm. The emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and impact suggests an inclusive and growth-oriented culture. The "customer-focused Agile environment" is a key operational methodology.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Lead UI Designer represents a senior individual contributor role with significant influence. It sits above a standard UI Designer, requiring not only exceptional craft but also the ability to guide others, set standards, and contribute to design strategy. This level often serves as a stepping stone to Principal Designer or Design Manager roles.

Reporting Structure: The role reports into a design leadership figure (e.g., Head of Design, Director of Product Design) and works within product-specific Agile teams. While not managing directly, the Lead UI Designer is expected to mentor and provide direction to other UI Designers on their projects.

Operations Impact: The Lead UI Designer's impact is crucial in shaping the user experience of Global Relay's core IA and AI platforms. By ensuring UI excellence, consistency, and adherence to design systems, they directly influence product usability, customer satisfaction, adoption rates, and ultimately, revenue generation and regulatory compliance adherence for their clients.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Advancement: Deepen expertise in design systems, responsive design, accessibility, and potentially motion design or micro-animations through hands-on project work and professional development.

• Leadership Development: Hone mentorship and design direction skills, potentially leading to formal management roles or Principal Designer positions with broader strategic influence.

• Industry Exposure: Gain valuable experience in regulated industries (compliance-heavy) and potentially financial services, enhancing marketability and specialization.

• Strategic Contribution: Influence the evolution of Global Relay's design strategy, methodologies, and the overall design culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Lead" title signifies a step up from a standard designer role, implying ownership over design quality, mentorship, and strategic input into the design system and overall product direction. The emphasis on "design maturity" and "championing design" suggests opportunities to grow into more strategic or leadership positions.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The job is listed as "On-site" with a specific location in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This suggests a corporate office environment designed for in-person collaboration.

Office Location(s): Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Specific details about office amenities or accessibility are not provided but can be inferred to be standard for a corporate setting in a major Canadian city.

Workspace Context:

• The environment is described as "customer-focused" and "Agile," implying a dynamic, iterative workspace where collaboration is key.

• Expect a technology-rich environment with access to industry-standard design tools like Figma.

• Opportunities for close interaction with cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, UX) are inherent to the role and the Agile methodology.

• A subsidized meal program provided by an in-house culinary team suggests a well-equipped and employee-centric office space.

Work Schedule: The position is Full-Time. While specific hours aren't detailed, a standard 40-hour work week is typical for such roles in Canada. The mention of "work-life rhythms" suggests a company that values employee well-being and may offer some flexibility within the on-site framework.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "On-site" status is a key indicator of the work environment. The "subsidized meal program" and "in-house culinary team" paint a picture of a comprehensive office setup designed to support employees throughout the workday, fostering collaboration and productivity.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess experience, skills, and alignment with the role requirements, particularly Figma proficiency and design system experience.

• Hiring Manager/Design Lead Interview: Discussion focused on design philosophy, leadership approach, mentorship experience, and understanding of enterprise design challenges. This stage will likely delve into how the candidate has previously led design direction.

• Design Exercise/Portfolio Review: A practical exercise or in-depth review of the candidate's portfolio. This will assess UI craft, interaction design skills, problem-solving abilities, and how well they articulate their design process and rationale. Expect to walk through case studies.

• Cross-functional Team Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially UX Designers to assess collaboration skills, communication style, and ability to integrate with Agile teams.

• Final Interview: Potentially with senior leadership to discuss strategic vision, impact, and cultural fit within Global Relay.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase Process: For each project, clearly outline the problem statement, your role, the design process followed, key decisions made, and the rationale behind them.

• Highlight Scale & Complexity: Emphasize projects involving large-scale digital products, mature design systems, and complex enterprise environments.

• Demonstrate UI Craft: Ensure visual design, typography, color palettes, and overall aesthetic are polished and professional.

• Detail Interaction Design: Clearly explain user flows, micro-interactions, and how you've designed for intuitive navigation and task completion.

• Focus on Design Systems: Include examples of your work with component libraries, design tokens, and how you've ensured consistency across platforms.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, include metrics or outcomes that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced support tickets, enhanced user satisfaction).

• Accessibility & Responsiveness: Provide examples demonstrating your commitment to inclusive design and designing for various screen sizes.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design System Thinking: Be prepared to discuss how you would contribute to, evolve, or govern a design system for enterprise applications.

• Problem-Solving Scenarios: Anticipate hypothetical design challenges related to complex data visualization, enterprise workflows, or integrating new features into existing systems.

• Mentorship Scenarios: Think about how you would guide a junior designer facing a difficult design problem or needing to improve their UI craft.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Prepare examples of how you've effectively collaborated with product managers and engineers to deliver successful designs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The job description explicitly requests a portfolio with specific content ("visual design craft, interaction design thinking, and experience with design systems at scale," and "case studies that walk through your process"). This directly informs the "Portfolio Review Tips" and the expected interview process. The "Lead" aspect implies interview questions will focus on leadership, mentorship, and strategic thinking.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Expert-level proficiency is a mandatory requirement for UI design, prototyping, and design system management. This will be the primary tool for design creation and collaboration.

• Prototyping Tools: While Figma is primary, candidates should be highly skilled in using its prototyping features for rapid iteration and validation. Experience with other prototyping tools may be considered an asset.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

Other Potential Tools (Nice to Have):

• Adobe Creative Suite: Familiarity is listed as an asset, suggesting that skills in Photoshop, Illustrator, or After Effects might be beneficial for specific asset creation or motion design tasks.

• Motion Design Tools: Tools for micro-animations and motion design are a plus, indicating potential for enhancing user experience through dynamic elements.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly called out as a mandatory, expert-level tool. The "nice to have" section mentions Adobe Creative Suite and motion design tools, indicating areas where additional skills would be advantageous but not strictly required. The focus is heavily on modern, collaborative design tools.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Design Excellence: A strong commitment to UI craft, visual polish, and delivering high-quality, user-centered experiences.

• Collaboration: A belief in working closely with cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, UX) to achieve shared goals and build alignment.

• Innovation & Impact: A drive to create groundbreaking solutions and make a genuine impact for clients and the company.

• Continuous Learning: A dedication to staying current with industry trends, emerging tools, and best practices in design.

• Diversity & Inclusion: A commitment to fostering an environment where all employees can contribute freely, collaborate, and learn from each other without barriers.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: The role demands seamless collaboration with Product Management for strategic alignment, with UX Designers for user flow and research insights, and with Engineering for implementation feasibility and quality.

• Mentorship & Guidance: A supportive and guiding approach towards fellow UI Designers, fostering their growth and ensuring design consistency across the team.

• Data-Informed Decision Making: Utilizing user feedback, analytics, and research to inform design choices and validate solutions.

• Agile Iteration: A flexible and iterative approach to design, comfortable with feedback, revisions, and adapting to changing project needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company description emphasizes "diversity, inclusion, and the contributions of all employees," and fostering a "work environment that encourages employees to collaborate and learn from each other, completely free of barriers." This directly informs the "Team Culture & Values" section, highlighting a collaborative and inclusive approach. The "customer-focused Agile environment" also points to a certain operational ethic.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Complexity: Creating intuitive and scalable UI for sophisticated Information Archiving and AI platforms that handle large volumes of data and complex user workflows.

• Maintaining Design System Consistency: Ensuring adherence to and evolution of a mature design system across multiple product areas and feature sets, especially as the product scales.

• Balancing Stakeholder Needs: Effectively managing expectations and incorporating feedback from diverse stakeholders (Product, Engineering, Sales, Legal, Executive) while championing user-centered design.

• Driving Design Maturity: Proactively identifying and addressing gaps in design processes and advocating for best practices to elevate the overall design function within the organization.

• On-site Collaboration Dynamics: Adapting to and optimizing collaboration within an on-site environment, ensuring effective communication and teamwork.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design System Expertise: Deepen knowledge in design token management, component architecture, and design system governance at scale.

• Mentorship & Leadership Skills: Develop coaching and leadership capabilities by guiding junior designers and influencing design direction.

• Industry-Specific Design: Gain specialized experience in designing for regulated industries (compliance, eDiscovery) and potentially financial services.

• Emerging Design Technologies: Explore and integrate new design tools, techniques, or methodologies like advanced micro-animations or AI-assisted design workflows.

• Strategic Design Influence: Opportunity to contribute to higher-level product strategy and shape the future of Global Relay's design practice.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are derived from the nature of the role (Lead UI Designer), the product domain (enterprise IA/AI), and the company context (Agile, established). Growth opportunities are mapped to career progression expectations for a Lead Designer role.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you led the UI design for a complex enterprise feature or product. What was your process, what challenges did you face, and how did you ensure successful implementation?" (Focus on process, problem-solving, and collaboration with engineering).

• "How do you approach building or evolving a design system for large-scale applications? What are the key components, governance strategies, and potential pitfalls you've encountered?" (Assess design system expertise and strategic thinking).

• "Tell me about a situation where you had to mentor a fellow designer. What was your approach, and what was the outcome?" (Evaluate leadership and mentorship capabilities).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your research, what excites you most about Global Relay's mission and products? How do you see your design skills contributing to our success in the information archiving or AI space?" (Demonstrate research and alignment).

• "How do you foster a collaborative and inclusive design culture within a team?" (Assess cultural fit and understanding of team dynamics).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the constraints, your process, key decisions, and the final solution. Use visual aids effectively.

• Highlight Design System Contributions: Show specifically how you've used, contributed to, or managed design systems, showcasing components, tokens, and design guidelines.

• Demonstrate Figma Proficiency: Be ready to navigate your Figma files and explain your workflow, component usage, and prototyping techniques.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, present metrics or outcomes that demonstrate the value and success of your design work.

• Focus on Collaboration: Explain how you worked with Product Managers and Engineers throughout the project lifecycle.

• Prepare for Technical Questions: Be ready to discuss implementation details, accessibility standards, and responsive design considerations.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview questions are crafted to probe the core requirements of a Lead UI Designer role, emphasizing leadership, design systems, complex problem-solving, and collaboration, all within an enterprise and Agile context. The portfolio presentation strategy is directly linked to the explicit requirements in the job description.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead UI Designer position:

• Submit your application through the official application link provided on Global Relay's careers page.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features case studies showcasing your visual design craft, interaction design thinking, and extensive experience with design systems at scale. Tailor your examples to highlight your experience in enterprise applications and complex workflows.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to clearly articulate your 10+ years of UI/visual design experience, specifically mentioning your 2+ years in a design leadership or direction capacity. Highlight expertise in Figma, design systems, responsive design, and Agile methodologies.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, rationale, and leadership approach. Prepare specific examples for common interview questions related to design systems, mentorship, and cross-functional collaboration. Be ready to walk through your portfolio case studies with clarity and confidence.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Global Relay's products (IA and AI platforms), company mission, values, and culture. Understand their position in the enterprise software market and their commitment to diversity and inclusion. This will help you align your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.

⚠️ 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.