UX/UI Designer - ChessKid

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX/UI Designer - ChessKid

Company: Chess.com

Location: Remote

Job Type: Full-time, Salaried

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: 2026-06-03

Experience Level: 2-5 Years

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Design intuitive and engaging user interfaces and experiences for ChessKid, a platform targeting young and scholastic users.

• Drive the end-to-end design process for new features and improvements, from conceptualization to code implementation, ensuring strong design-to-code alignment.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and fellow Designers to define problems, develop solutions, and deliver high-quality user-centric products.

• Contribute to and leverage a robust design system to ensure consistency, scalability, and cohesive user experiences across web and mobile platforms.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within the Product Design discipline, focusing on UX/UI for a consumer-facing educational gaming platform. The emphasis on a young audience and the integration of chess learning suggests a unique blend of user engagement, educational psychology, and gamification principles.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design simple, clear, and fun user interactions for both web and mobile platforms, ensuring seamless conversion of design concepts between these mediums.

• Take ownership of design projects from initial ideation and wireframing through to final implementation, actively partnering with engineering teams to ensure accurate and efficient execution.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Design teams to clearly define user problems, explore potential solutions, and deliver impactful product outcomes.

• Develop comprehensive user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes to effectively explore design concepts and communicate design decisions to stakeholders.

• Utilize and actively contribute to the company's design system, ensuring the creation of scalable, consistent, and cohesive user experiences across the ChessKid ecosystem.

• Present design work, articulate design decisions, and justify choices based on user needs, product objectives, and available data or user insights.

• Iterate on designs based on feedback from Product Managers, user insights, UX research findings, and performance data to continuously improve the user experience.

• Actively participate in design critiques, providing and receiving constructive feedback to elevate the quality of design work across the team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a full-cycle design role, requiring a candidate who can manage projects independently while also being a strong collaborator. The emphasis on "converting mobile designs to web experiences and vice versa" indicates a need for cross-platform design thinking.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a background in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Graphic Design, Interaction Design, or a related field is highly beneficial.

Experience: 3+ years of experience in product design, with a proven track record in consumer-facing products or games.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated expertise in UX Design, UI Design, and Product Design principles.

• Proficiency in Figma for designing, prototyping, and collaborating.

• Experience in developing, maintaining, and scaling design systems, including tokens and pattern libraries.

• Strong understanding of user flows, wireframing, and interactive prototyping.

• Solid grasp of typography, layout, visual hierarchy, and interaction design best practices.

• Ability to design for responsive behavior across various screen sizes and devices.

• Experience with AI-assisted design tools such as Figma Make, Cursor, or Claude Code.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, essential for effective collaboration in a remote, distributed team environment.

Preferred Skills:

• B2B/enterprise product design experience, particularly designing for teachers, school districts, or institutional users.

• Familiarity with kids gaming and ed-tech platforms.

• Experience designing complex or data-rich products.

• Frontend engineering experience (web, iOS, or Android) or design engineering capabilities.

• Experience with accessibility (WCAG) and inclusive design practices.

• Direct-to-consumer (DTC) and enterprise software platform design experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for specific AI-assisted design tools and the mention of both B2B (for teachers/schools) and DTC (for kids) aspects indicate a nuanced product strategy. The "get chess" requirement suggests a need for a candidate who can intuitively grasp the core mechanics and appeal of the game.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A strong portfolio showcasing your design process, UX thinking, and high-quality UI execution.

• Examples demonstrating your ability to translate complex problems into simple, user-friendly solutions.

• Case studies that clearly articulate the problem, your design approach, the solutions you developed, and the outcomes or impact.

• Evidence of contributions to or experience with scaling design systems, including examples of tokens and pattern libraries.

Process Documentation:

• Case studies should detail your end-to-end design process, including research, ideation, prototyping, user testing, and iteration.

• Demonstrate how you collaborate with engineering to ensure design-to-code alignment and efficient implementation.

• Showcase how you leverage design systems to maintain consistency and scalability.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a UX/UI role, the portfolio is paramount. Candidates should focus on demonstrating their problem-solving process, their ability to work within or build design systems, and their understanding of user needs, especially for a younger demographic.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: As this is a remote, full-time salaried position without a specified range, industry benchmarks for experienced UX/UI Designers in the tech sector can be estimated. For a candidate with 3-5 years of experience in a fully remote role, the typical salary range in the US could be between $100,000 - $150,000 annually, depending on specific skills, experience, and geographic cost of living adjustments.

Benefits:

• Full-time salaried position.

• 100% Remote work environment (work from anywhere).

• Opportunity to contribute to a popular and engaging educational gaming platform.

• Collaborative and supportive team culture focused on learning and growth.

• Potential for involvement in designing for both direct-to-consumer and enterprise segments.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week, with flexibility inherent in a remote, fully distributed team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The absence of specific salary and benefits information means candidates should prepare to inquire during the interview process. The "work from anywhere" aspect is a significant perk for remote candidates.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, Gaming, Education (Ed-Tech), Online Services. Chess.com and ChessKid operate within the rapidly growing online gaming and digital learning sectors, leveraging the enduring popularity of chess.

Company Size: Chess.com is a well-established company with a significant global user base, indicating a mid-to-large size organization with specialized teams.

Founded: Chess.com was founded in 2007, giving it over a decade of experience in building and scaling its platform. ChessKid is a dedicated platform for younger learners, launched to cater to this specific demographic.

Team Structure:

• The design team likely operates within a product-led organization, collaborating closely with product management and engineering.

• Expect a structure where designers own specific product areas or feature sets.

Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making is implied, with designers expected to present work using user insights and data.

• Agile or iterative development methodologies are likely employed, requiring designers to adapt to feedback and evolving requirements.

Company Website:

• https://www.chess.com/about

• https://www.chesskid.com/

• https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-chess-com-virtual-team-works-together

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on both the broad chess community (Chess.com) and the educational segment for children (ChessKid) presents a unique opportunity for designers to impact diverse user bases with distinct needs and motivations. The company's remote-first culture is a significant aspect for potential hires.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is for an experienced Product Designer, likely at a mid-level. It involves taking ownership of projects, contributing to a design system, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. It's a step beyond junior roles, requiring independent work and strategic thinking.

Reporting Structure: The candidate will likely report to a Head of Design, Design Manager, or Lead Product Designer, working within a product team structure.

Operations Impact: The designer will directly influence the user experience of millions of young learners, impacting their engagement with chess, their learning journey, and their overall enjoyment of the platform. This role has a significant opportunity to shape the product's success and growth within the educational gaming market.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in UX for children, gamification, educational technology, or complex system design.

• Design System Leadership: Grow into a role responsible for evolving and maintaining the design system.

• Project Ownership: Take on larger, more complex product initiatives or lead design for new feature areas.

• Mentorship: Potentially mentor junior designers as the team grows.

• Cross-functional Influence: Develop stronger product strategy and collaboration skills by influencing roadmap decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers a clear path for growth within product design, particularly within the niche of educational gaming. The emphasis on design systems and cross-functional collaboration provides opportunities to develop leadership and strategic skills.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. This means the work environment is decentralized, with team members distributed globally.

Office Location(s): Not applicable, as the position is 100% remote. Candidates can work from anywhere.

Workspace Context:

• The work environment is fully distributed, requiring strong self-discipline, proactive communication, and comfort with asynchronous collaboration tools.

• Access to modern design tools (Figma) and potentially AI-assisted design tools will be standard.

• Collaboration will primarily occur through digital channels like Slack, video conferencing (Zoom, Google Meet), and project management tools.

• Opportunities for design critiques and brainstorming will be facilitated virtually.

Work Schedule: While the core work is 40 hours per week, the remote nature allows for flexibility in structuring the workday, provided collaboration needs and deadlines are met. Coordination across different time zones will be a key aspect of the work schedule.

📝 Enhancement Note: For candidates accustomed to in-office environments, adapting to a fully remote setup requires developing strong self-management and communication strategies. Proactive engagement in virtual team activities will be important for success.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter or hiring manager to assess basic qualifications, interest, and cultural fit.

• Portfolio Review: A dedicated session where the candidate presents their portfolio, walking through 2-3 key case studies. This is where UX thinking, problem-solving, design process, and UI execution are evaluated.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: Candidates may be given a take-home design challenge or a live design exercise to assess their design skills, problem-solving approach, and ability to work under timed constraints.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers and Engineers to evaluate collaboration style, communication skills, and technical understanding.

• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader to discuss overall fit, career aspirations, and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Selectively: Choose 2-3 projects that best showcase your skills relevant to this role (consumer-facing, gamified/educational, strong UX/UI, design system experience).

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the constraints, your process, the solutions you designed, and the impact or learnings. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight Process: Emphasize your thought process, how you arrived at decisions, and how you iterated based on feedback or data.

• Showcase Design System Work: If you have experience with design systems, dedicate time to explaining your contributions and how you ensured consistency.

• Address the Target Audience: Tailor your presentation to demonstrate an understanding of designing for young users and potentially educators.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Product: Familiarize yourself deeply with ChessKid and Chess.com – their features, target audiences, and design language.

• Anticipate Design Problems: Think about common UX challenges for educational games for children (e.g., onboarding, engagement loops, progression, safety, clarity).

• Practice Articulation: Be ready to clearly explain your design decisions, trade-offs, and rationale.

• Focus on Core Skills: Ensure your approach demonstrates strong UX fundamentals, UI polish, and an understanding of design systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio presentation is a critical component. Candidates should prepare to speak extensively about their process and rationale, demonstrating not just design output but also strategic thinking and collaborative capabilities.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design and prototyping tool. Proficiency is essential for UI design, wireframing, prototyping, and collaboration.

• AI-assisted Design Tools: Experience with tools like Figma Make, Cursor, or Claude Code is explicitly mentioned as a plus. This indicates the company is exploring AI integration in its design workflows.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed, designers are expected to use user insights and data. Familiarity with analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude) and how to interpret user behavior data is beneficial.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to the UX/UI designer role, but understanding how user data flows from the product to CRM or marketing automation systems can provide broader context.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of AI-assisted design tools suggests that candidates who are early adopters or have experience with these emerging technologies will have a competitive edge. Figma proficiency is a non-negotiable requirement.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A strong focus on understanding and serving the needs of young learners and their guardians/teachers.

• Collaboration: Emphasis on working effectively within a distributed team, with clear communication and mutual respect.

• Iteration & Improvement: A culture that values continuous refinement of the product based on feedback, data, and user insights.

• Simplicity & Fun: A commitment to making complex topics like chess accessible and enjoyable for children.

• Craftsmanship: Attention to detail and a dedication to producing high-quality, well-crafted designs.

Collaboration Style:

• Remote & Asynchronous: Expect a primary reliance on digital tools for communication and collaboration, with an emphasis on clear documentation and proactive updates.

• Cross-functional Partnership: Designers are expected to be active partners with Product and Engineering, contributing to problem definition and solution development.

• Design Critiques: Regular participation in design reviews to give and receive feedback, fostering a culture of shared learning and quality improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's values likely reflect a passion for chess, education, and creating positive online experiences for young users. Candidates should demonstrate an alignment with these values in their application and interviews.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Young Audiences: Balancing simplicity, fun, and educational value while maintaining a user-friendly interface for children.

• Cross-Platform Consistency: Ensuring a cohesive and delightful experience across web and mobile interfaces.

• Scalability: Designing components and patterns that can scale with the growth of the ChessKid platform and user base.

• Remote Collaboration: Effectively communicating and collaborating in a fully distributed team environment across different time zones.

• Integrating AI Tools: Learning and effectively integrating new AI-assisted design tools into the established workflow.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized UX Knowledge: Deepen expertise in UX for children, gamification, and educational technology.

• Design System Mastery: Gain experience in building and scaling robust design systems.

• Emerging Technologies: Explore and implement AI-assisted design tools.

• Cross-functional Acumen: Develop stronger product strategy and collaboration skills by working closely with Product and Engineering.

• Impactful Projects: Contribute to a product that has a significant positive impact on millions of young users worldwide.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role presents opportunities to tackle unique design challenges within the ed-tech and gaming space, with a strong emphasis on continuous learning and adapting to new technologies.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Tell me about a time you designed a feature for a young audience. What were the key considerations?" (Focus on child psychology, safety, engagement).

• "How do you approach translating a mobile design concept to a web experience, and vice versa?" (Discuss responsive design, platform conventions, user flow mapping).

• "Describe your experience with design systems. How have you contributed to or scaled one?" (Highlight component creation, token usage, pattern definition, consistency enforcement).

• "Walk me through a project where you used data or user research to inform your design decisions." (Emphasize the problem, your process, the insights, and the resulting design changes).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in ChessKid and Chess.com specifically?" (Show genuine interest in chess, education, and the product's mission).

• "How do you approach collaboration in a remote, distributed team?" (Discuss communication strategies, async work, proactive updates).

• "What are your thoughts on AI-assisted design tools and how they might fit into a design workflow?" (Demonstrate curiosity and a willingness to explore new technologies).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Begin with a high-level overview of the company and the problem your project addresses.

• Deep Dive into Process: For each case study, clearly articulate the "Why," "What," and "How." Don't just show pretty pictures; explain the rationale behind every decision.

• Quantify Outcomes: Whenever possible, present metrics or user feedback that demonstrate the success of your designs.

• Showcase Design System Contributions: If applicable, clearly present how you utilized or evolved the design system.

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your role, decisions, trade-offs, and learnings. Practice concise and clear answers.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should be ready to demonstrate not only their design skills but also their understanding of the product's mission, their ability to collaborate effectively in a remote setting, and their forward-thinking approach to design tools.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX/UI Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Chess.com careers page.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience relevant to consumer-facing products, educational technology, gamification, and design systems. Use keywords from the job description such as "UX Design," "UI Design," "Figma," "Design Systems," and "remote collaboration."

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best demonstrate your UX thinking, UI execution, and design process, specifically focusing on aspects relevant to designing for children and/or complex platforms. Ensure case studies clearly articulate problems, solutions, and outcomes.

• Prepare Your Portfolio Presentation: Practice walking through your chosen projects, being ready to discuss your design rationale, collaboration process, and any impact metrics. Be prepared to discuss your experience with Figma and AI-assisted design tools.

• Research ChessKid and Chess.com: Familiarize yourself with the products, their target audiences, and their overall brand. Understand the mission of making chess accessible and fun for children.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description provides a comprehensive overview based on industry standards and the provided job details. Specific requirements, benefits, and interview processes may vary. Candidates are encouraged to verify all details directly with Chess.com during the application process.

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