UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Designer

Company: Oceanus Marine Technologies

Location: El Segundo, California, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Product Design

Date Posted: 2026-06-01

Experience Level: Mid-level to Staff (4+ years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end user experience design for a cutting-edge operating platform in the maritime industry, focusing on operator command interfaces, onboard vessel displays, and web/mobile applications.

• Translate complex maritime operations, autonomy, and sensor data into intuitive and highly usable interfaces tailored for demanding offshore environments.

• Develop and maintain a robust design system to ensure consistency and trust across all product surfaces.

• Collaborate closely with software, hardware, and systems engineers to deliver cohesive, production-ready user experiences that perform under real-world conditions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned at the intersection of critical operations technology and user-centric design. The emphasis on "shipping complex software products to production" and designing for "real operating conditions" indicates a strong need for practical, results-oriented UX professionals who can bridge the gap between theoretical design and tangible operational impact. The mention of "safety-critical workflows" and designing for a "pitching seaway" highlights a high-stakes environment where usability and reliability are paramount, demanding a deep understanding of human factors and operational constraints.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the complete user experience lifecycle for Oceanus products, encompassing operator command interfaces, onboard vessel displays, web/enterprise dashboards, and mobile applications, ensuring a seamless and effective user journey.

• Transform intricate maritime operations, autonomy concepts, and real-time sensor data into interfaces that are not only functional but also highly usable and reliable in challenging offshore maritime environments.

• Design and develop detailed interaction flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity mockups that clearly articulate user journeys and interface solutions.

• Construct, nurture, and evolve the Oceanus design system across web, mobile, and onboard display platforms, ensuring a cohesive, trustworthy, and scalable user experience for all products.

• Define and implement interaction patterns for safety-critical workflows, prioritizing attention, effective alerting, robust error recovery, and overall system reliability.

• Foster strong partnerships with software, hardware, and systems engineers, ensuring that the designed user experience is seamlessly integrated and functional throughout the entire end-to-end system.

• Establish and elevate the design standards and practices at Oceanus, creating rituals and review processes that enable design quality to scale effectively with team and product growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities suggest a significant degree of autonomy and leadership for the UX Designer. Owning "end-to-end user experience" and "setting the design bar" implies that this individual will not only execute design tasks but also shape the design strategy and processes for the company. The emphasis on translating "complex maritime operations, autonomy, and sensor data" points to a need for a designer capable of deep domain understanding and abstract thinking.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors, or a closely related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 4+ years of professional UX/product design experience shipping complex software products to production. The role is open to mid-level through staff-level candidates, with scope and compensation calibrated accordingly.

Required Skills:

• Expert proficiency in digital design tools such as Figma, with a strong understanding of component libraries, design tokens, and the practicalities of maintaining a production-level design system.

• Demonstrated ability to translate highly technical and domain-specific complexities into clear, intuitive, and learnable user experiences.

• Proven experience in conducting user research, including interviews and contextual inquiry, and effectively synthesizing findings into actionable product decisions.

• Strong command of interaction design principles and the ability to prototype user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity mockups.

• Expertise in visual design, with a keen eye for aesthetics and usability in complex operational contexts.

• Experience with usability testing and iterating on designs based on user feedback and operational performance data.

• Excellent written and visual communication skills, capable of articulating design rationale clearly to cross-functional teams, including engineers and executives, as well as end-users.

• Must be a U.S. Person as defined by ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations).

Preferred Skills:

• Direct experience designing for operator-facing or mission-critical systems within industries such as maritime, aerospace, defense, autonomy, energy, robotics, industrial control, or transportation.

• Experience designing Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) for vehicles or vessels, including onboard displays, control panels, or embedded UI.

• Familiarity with human factors principles relevant to high-workload environments, including situational awareness, alerting hierarchies, workload management, and error tolerance.

• Experience building and scaling design systems across multiple form factors (desktop, embedded display, mobile) and for ruggedized or non-standard hardware.

• Comfort working with data-dense interfaces, such as charts, maps, real-time telemetry, fleet views, sensor, and video feeds.

• Experience collaborating with engineers using version control systems like Git/GitHub and familiarity with modern web stacks (React/TypeScript).

• Prior experience as an early design hire in a startup environment, with a proven ability to establish craft, standards, and processes for future design hires.

• Hands-on experience or deep understanding of environments like vessels, industrial operations, or other contexts where interface failures have significant consequences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Minimum Qualifications" emphasize practical experience in shipping complex software and handling domain-specific complexity, aligning with the operational focus of the role. The "Preferred Skills" highlight a strong preference for candidates with experience in high-stakes, mission-critical domains, directly relevant to Oceanus's maritime technology focus, and experience with embedded or specialized hardware interfaces. The ITAR requirement is critical for candidates to be aware of.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio demonstrating end-to-end ownership of design projects, from initial problem framing and user research through to interaction design, visual design, prototyping, and documented shipped outcomes.

• Case studies that clearly articulate the specific maritime or complex operational problem addressed, the user research conducted, the design decisions made, and the impact of the final product on operational efficiency, safety, or user satisfaction.

• Examples showcasing the ability to translate complex data (e.g., sensor data, autonomy status, fleet telemetry) into clear, actionable interfaces.

• Demonstration of experience in building, maintaining, or significantly contributing to a design system, including examples of component libraries, design tokens, and their application across different product surfaces.

Process Documentation:

• Detailed documentation of the design process employed for key projects, including user research methodologies, ideation techniques, prototyping iterations, and validation methods.

• Examples of how user feedback and operational performance data were used to iterate and improve designs post-launch.

• Documentation of how design systems were implemented and managed, including guidelines for usage and contributions.

• Showcase of how design considerations for safety-critical workflows were identified, designed for, and tested to ensure reliability and usability under pressure.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are highly specific, emphasizing the practical application of UX design in a challenging operational context. Candidates must demonstrate not just design skills but also an understanding of the operational domain, research rigor, and the ability to deliver production-ready assets that integrate with engineering workflows. The focus on "shipped outcomes" and "documented shipped outcomes" means theoretical or conceptual work alone will not suffice.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $130,000 - $210,000 USD per year.

• The final compensation will be determined based on the candidate's experience, skills, and the specific scope of the role, indicating flexibility for mid-level to senior/staff candidates.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.

• Generous Equity participation, reflecting the early-stage nature of the company and the significant impact expected from this role.

• Fully stocked kitchen and catered lunch every day, fostering a collaborative and convenient work environment.

• Onsite EV charging, supporting sustainable transportation.

• Flex Paid time off and company holidays, promoting work-life balance.

• 401(k) with both traditional and Roth options for retirement savings.

• Additional benefits designed to support overall health, professional growth, and well-being.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours, typically 40 hours per week, with an on-site work arrangement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is broad, reflecting the company's openness to candidates with varying levels of experience, from mid-level to staff. The inclusion of "Generous Equity participation" is a strong indicator of the company's growth potential and the value placed on key hires. The catered lunches and stocked kitchen are common perks at tech companies aiming to foster team cohesion and productivity. The on-site requirement is firm, with travel expected.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically developing an operating platform for the maritime industry, with a strong focus on autonomy and modern systems.

Company Size: Small, hands-on team. This suggests a dynamic, fast-paced environment where individual contributions have a significant impact.

Founded: The founding team's prior experience building and operating SpaceX's Autonomous Spaceport Droneships indicates a culture of high-stakes engineering, innovation, and operational excellence.

Team Structure:

• The team is described as "small, hands-on," implying a collaborative, cross-functional approach where designers, engineers, and domain experts (former mariners) work closely together.

• Reporting structure is likely flat given the size, with direct access to leadership and founding team members.

Methodology:

• Focus on practical, deployable technology that performs in real operating conditions.

• Emphasis on leveraging modern technology to redefine maritime operations, safety, automation, and coordination.

• A systems-thinking approach, drawing from experience in advanced autonomous systems.

• Data-driven decision-making, with a strong emphasis on user research and operational performance metrics.

Company Website: https://oceanustechnologies.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's background, particularly the SpaceX droneship experience, suggests a culture that values rigorous engineering, problem-solving in extreme environments, and rapid iteration. The "small, hands-on team" implies a flat hierarchy and a direct impact for every team member. The focus on "practical, deployable technology" and "real operating conditions" means the design culture will likely be grounded in operational realities rather than pure aesthetics.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a critical design hire, open to mid-level through staff-level candidates. For a mid-level designer, it represents an opportunity to take significant ownership of product surfaces and gain deep expertise in a niche, high-impact industry. For a senior or staff-level designer, it offers the chance to set design direction across the entire platform, mentor junior designers, and shape the design culture of an early-stage company.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, in a small, hands-on team like Oceanus, a UX Designer would likely report to a Head of Product, CTO, or a founding team member. The role involves close collaboration with engineering leads and product managers.

Operations Impact: The UX Designer's work will have a direct and profound impact on the operational effectiveness, safety, and efficiency of maritime vessels and fleets. By designing intuitive interfaces for complex systems, the designer will enable operators, crews, and customers to perform critical tasks more reliably and efficiently, directly influencing the company's success and the transformation of the maritime industry. The emphasis on performance "at 3 a.m. in a pitching seaway" underscores the high-stakes nature of this impact.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Develop deep expertise in designing for mission-critical, operator-facing systems within the maritime and autonomy sectors.

• Leadership: Opportunity to define and scale design processes, build a design system from the ground up, and potentially grow into a design leadership role as the company expands.

• Cross-functional Mastery: Gain invaluable experience working closely with hardware engineers, software developers, and domain experts, enhancing understanding of complex system integration.

• Product Ownership: Take significant ownership of core product features and user experiences, driving their evolution from concept to deployment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "staff-level" option suggests potential for leadership and strategic influence. The growth opportunities are tied to the company's growth and the unique domain. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate how they can contribute to building the design function and influencing product strategy, not just executing design tasks.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is on-site at the company's office in El Segundo, CA. This indicates a preference for in-person collaboration, team cohesion, and direct interaction with the product and engineering teams.

Office Location(s): El Segundo, California. This location is part of the Los Angeles tech hub, offering a vibrant ecosystem.

Workspace Context:

• The environment is described as "small, hands-on," suggesting a collaborative and dynamic workspace where team members are actively engaged with each other and the product.

• Expect access to modern design tools and technologies, as well as opportunities to interact directly with engineers and former mariners to gain firsthand understanding of operational challenges.

• The workspace will foster direct collaboration, potentially with engineers sketching workflows alongside designers and opportunities for hands-on experience with prototypes or even hardware.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time working hours (approximately 40 hours per week) are expected, with an on-site presence. Occasional travel is also a requirement for this role.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "on-site with the team" and "hands-on" implies a culture that values direct interaction and co-creation. Candidates should be comfortable working closely with colleagues and engaging in frequent brainstorming and problem-solving sessions. The requirement for occasional travel to "vessels, shipyards, and operator sites" is crucial and indicates a need for flexibility and a willingness to experience the operational context firsthand.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your application, resume, and portfolio to assess qualifications and alignment with the role's requirements.

• Portfolio Presentation/Design Exercise: Candidates will likely be asked to present their portfolio, highlighting specific projects relevant to complex systems, operations, or high-stakes environments. A take-home design challenge or an in-person design exercise focusing on a problem relevant to maritime operations or autonomy may also be part of this stage.

• Team Interviews: Interviews with engineering, product, and potentially founding team members to assess technical understanding, collaborative skills, problem-solving approach, and cultural fit. Expect discussions about design thinking, process, and how you handle complex technical domains.

• Final Round: Discussions with senior leadership to cover strategic thinking, leadership potential, and overall fit with the company's vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: Clearly articulate the problem you solved, your process, your specific contributions, and the measurable outcomes or impact of your design. Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., "improved task completion time by X%", "reduced error rate by Y%").

• Showcase Domain Adaptability: Highlight projects where you successfully designed for complex technical domains, especially those involving critical operations, hardware integration, or data-intensive interfaces. Maritime or similar industry experience is a significant plus.

• Demonstrate Process Rigor: Walk through your design process, emphasizing user research, problem framing, iterative design, and collaboration with engineering. Show how you translated insights into tangible solutions.

• Design System Expertise: If you have experience with design systems, clearly articulate your role in their creation, maintenance, and application, especially across different platforms or form factors.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Expect to be asked detailed questions about your design decisions, trade-offs considered, and how you would approach specific challenges at Oceanus.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research maritime operations, autonomy, and the challenges of designing for offshore environments. Familiarize yourself with common maritime interfaces and operational workflows.

• Focus on Usability and Safety: Be prepared to address how you would prioritize usability, reliability, and safety in your design solutions, especially for critical workflows.

• Showcase Problem-Solving: For any design challenge, focus on your thought process, how you frame the problem, explore solutions, and justify your final recommendations, rather than just presenting a polished UI.

• Consider the Constraints: Think about the unique constraints of maritime operations (e.g., connectivity, display limitations, motion, workload) and how they influence design choices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to rigorously assess a candidate's ability to handle complex operational challenges and deliver practical design solutions. The portfolio review is paramount, requiring candidates to demonstrate a deep understanding of their process and impact, particularly in demanding, technical environments. The "design system" and "safety-critical workflows" aspects will be key areas of focus.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Explicitly mentioned as the primary digital design tool. Proficiency is expected for wireframing, high-fidelity mockups, prototyping, and collaboration.

• Modern Prototyping Tools: While Figma offers prototyping, familiarity with other advanced tools that enable complex interaction design and user flow testing is beneficial.

• Design System Tools/Methodologies: Experience with design tokens, component libraries, and frameworks for managing design systems (e.g., Storybook, Zeroheight) is highly relevant.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

Engineering Collaboration:

• Git/GitHub: Experience working with version control systems is preferred, indicating an understanding of software development workflows and collaboration.

• React/TypeScript: Familiarity with modern web development stacks is preferred, enabling better collaboration with front-end engineers and a deeper understanding of implementation constraints.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma and the preference for React/TypeScript experience strongly suggest that the successful candidate will be working closely with a modern web development stack and will need to understand the practicalities of handoff and implementation. The emphasis on design systems points to a need for structured, scalable design practices.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Pragmatism & Operational Excellence: A core value likely stems from the SpaceX droneship experience, emphasizing practical, reliable solutions that perform under extreme conditions. The focus is on "deployable technology" and what "performs at 3 a.m. in a pitching seaway."

• Systems Thinking: A holistic approach to problem-solving, considering the entire system from hardware to software to human operators.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Using research, testing, and operational data to inform design choices and measure impact.

• Collaboration & Ownership: A culture of hands-on teamwork where individuals take ownership of their contributions and work closely with others.

• Innovation with Rigor: Pushing technological boundaries while maintaining a high standard of engineering and operational integrity.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: The design team will work seamlessly with software, hardware, and systems engineers, as well as domain experts (former mariners). This involves frequent communication, joint problem-solving, and shared understanding of goals.

• Iterative Design & Feedback: A culture that encourages continuous feedback, rapid iteration, and learning from both successes and failures, particularly in real-world operational scenarios.

• Knowledge Sharing: Open sharing of insights from user research, design explorations, and operational observations to collectively improve the product.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's values are deeply rooted in its operational heritage, prioritizing reliability, efficiency, and deep understanding of the user's environment. Candidates should demonstrate an appreciation for these values and how they translate into design practice, moving beyond theoretical design to practical, impactful solutions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for High-Stakes Environments: Creating interfaces for safety-critical maritime operations where user error can have severe consequences, demanding extreme usability, clarity, and error prevention.

• Translating Complex Data: Effectively visualizing and interacting with vast amounts of complex, real-time data from sensors, autonomy systems, and fleet operations.

• Bridging Physical and Digital: Designing for experiences that span onboard vessel displays, command interfaces, and ashore web/mobile platforms, ensuring consistency and seamless transitions.

• Establishing Design Processes: As an early design hire, the challenge of setting up the design craft, standards, and processes that will guide future growth.

• User Research in Remote/Harsh Environments: Conducting effective user research and contextual inquiry aboard vessels or in shipyards, which may involve logistical complexities.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Domain Expertise: Develop deep knowledge of the maritime industry, autonomy, and operational technology.

• Human Factors Specialization: Gain extensive experience applying human factors principles to mission-critical systems.

• Design System Leadership: Lead the development and scaling of a critical design system for a complex product ecosystem.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Hone skills in working with diverse engineering disciplines and domain experts.

• Startup Growth Experience: Gain direct experience in building a product and a team from the early stages in a high-growth tech company.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are significant and directly tied to the unique nature of the company's product and industry. Candidates should be excited by these challenges and demonstrate a proactive approach to problem-solving and continuous learning. The growth opportunities are substantial for individuals looking to make a significant impact and develop specialized expertise.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design for a complex technical domain with significant safety implications. Walk us through your process and the outcomes." (Focus on your problem-framing, research, design decisions, and validation.)

• "How would you approach designing an alert system for critical maritime operations, considering factors like urgency, user workload, and potential for distraction?" (Demonstrate understanding of human factors, alerting hierarchies, and error tolerance.)

• "Imagine you need to design a dashboard for fleet operators that displays real-time telemetry, vessel status, and potential issues. What key data points would you prioritize, and how would you visualize them for clarity and quick comprehension?" (Showcase data visualization skills, prioritization, and understanding of operational needs.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in Oceanus Marine Technologies and the maritime industry specifically?" (Show genuine interest and research into the company's mission and domain.)

• "How do you collaborate with engineers and product managers, especially when there are differing opinions on design or functionality?" (Assess your teamwork and communication skills.)

• "Describe your experience with user research in challenging environments. How do you ensure you gather meaningful insights?" (Demonstrate your adaptability and research methodology.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Structure your portfolio presentations as narratives. Clearly define the problem, your role, your process, the solutions you devised, and the impact achieved.

• Context is Key: For each project, clearly articulate the domain, the users, and the specific challenges of the environment. For example, if presenting a maritime-related project, explain the context of operating at sea.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (wireframes, mockups, prototypes, research artifacts) to support your explanations. If possible, show how designs were implemented and what the final product looks like in action.

• Focus on Critical Projects: Select 2-3 projects that best showcase your ability to handle complexity, operational rigor, and end-to-end ownership, aligning with the requirements of this role. Emphasize projects that demonstrate your understanding of safety-critical systems or complex data visualization.

• Be Ready for Technical Questions: Anticipate questions about your tools, processes, and how your designs integrate with development stacks (e.g., React/TypeScript, Git).

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus heavily on demonstrating an understanding of the operational environment, the ability to handle complex data and safety-critical workflows, and a proven track record of shipping integrated software. The portfolio is the primary tool for showcasing these capabilities.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight experience in complex systems, operator-facing interfaces, human factors, design systems, and any relevant industry experience (maritime, aerospace, defense, autonomy, etc.). Ensure your portfolio clearly demonstrates end-to-end design ownership and impact.

• Resume Optimization: Use keywords from the job description (UX Design, Interaction Design, Design Systems, Figma, Human Factors, ITAR, Maritime, Autonomy, React, TypeScript) to ensure your resume is easily discoverable and clearly communicates your relevant skills and experience. Quantify achievements wherever possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, problem-solving approach, and impact through case studies. Be ready to discuss your experience with safety-critical systems and complex data visualization. Research Oceanus Marine Technologies' mission and recent developments.

• Company Research: Gain a deep understanding of Oceanus's mission, the maritime industry's challenges, and the role of technology in its transformation. Familiarize yourself with their existing product or areas of focus if publicly available.

⚠️ 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.