UX Designer II (People App, Games)

UX Designer II (People App, Games)

We are looking for a User Experience Designer II to help define and deliver a brand new, intuitive, and engaging casual game experience for one of our most important brands, PEOPLE. In this role you will craft engaging, functional, and elegant experience design solutions based on a deep and empathetic understanding of our user's needs. You will partner closely with our Product and Engineering teams to craft simple, habit-forming game experiences (such as puzzles, word games, and daily challenges) that engage and delight our audience on a daily basis, driving player engagement, retention, and long-term enjoyment. Listening to users and gathering feedback from them will also be super important in this role. Experience with user research is highly desirable. This role will also need to partner closely with our editorial staff, and seek out new ways to help them tell the stories that resonate with our audience. You must be collaborative in your approach to internal stakeholders, while simultaneously and vigorously championing the consumer experience.

As a UX Designer II at People Inc you will be responsible for collaborating on user research, translating business requirements into concrete ideas, and refining and iterating on those ideas for delivering to engineering teams. You will design the overall functionality of our products and iterate upon it to ensure a great user experience. To be successful in this role, we'd expect you to: Thoroughly understand the wants and needs of our users. Create and refine core gameplay mechanics and interaction patterns — designing them as scalable, reusable systems that support multiple titles and cross-game retention and monetization strategies. Translate user needs and business requirements into concrete ideas, wireframes, and mockups. Build interactive prototypes suitable for validating design decisions with users. Apply creative problem solving to the design, processes, and tooling of the system itself. Document design guidelines, share knowledge, and collaborate with the engineering team to ensure products ship on time and as designed. Help lead our efforts to build accessible digital products (A11y and WCAG), building awareness, and accountability across the rest of our product organization.

Essential Functions

60% - User Experience Design Design end-to-end user experiences for casual games, from onboarding flows to daily play. Use business requirements, user stories, and data to produce user flows, wireframes, prototypes, high fidelity mockups, and rigorous user interface specifications. Develop features and systems that encourage daily engagement (e.g., streaks, progression, hints, rewards) and long-term player retention. Set clear design standards and reusable templates to ensure a consistent player experience across our games. Establish how games should be updated and measured over time, and ensure designs are easy to adapt for a wide range of players. Prototype game concepts and test new game ideas quickly and iteratively. Create and document rigorous user interface specifications, ensuring the designs are accessible for a wide range of players.

30% - Collaborate with Design and Product teams Partner with UX researchers to validate assumptions, test designs, and understand user data Present design solutions and build consensus among a broad range of stakeholders Participate in and lead brainstorming and critique sessions that foster big-picture thinking while identifying opportunities to raise the bar on the details

10% - Process Management Collaborate with broader UX Team to develop and implement best practices

Assignment Details: 40 hours a week Start date: ASAP End date: 6 months with potential to extend Hourly Rate: $65 Location: NYC or Seattle Office - Hybrid Skills/Experience: Bachelor's degree, or equivalent education and experience 4-7 years as a UX Designer for mass-market Web and Mobile products Strong UX and Game Design skills, including user flows, wireframing, game mechanics, and interaction design. User experience skills including user research and usability testing Direct experience developing and shipping casual games (e.g., puzzles, word games, daily challenges) with a focus on player engagement and retention. Experience building interactive prototypes suitable for validating design decisions with users. Excellent written and verbal communication Strong visual design skills, especially visual interface and typography. Familiarity with atomic design methodology and an interest in the challenges that come with building and maintaining design systems Expertise in UX software such as Figma. Basic HTML and CSS skills are a big plus A solid grasp of user-centered design and testing methodologies, subsystems, and usability and accessibility concerns Be excited about collaborating and communicating closely with teams and stakeholders distributed across the country

People Inc. is the largest print and digital publisher in America. Nearly 200 million people trust us each month to help them make decisions, take action, and find inspiration. People Inc.'s over 40 iconic brands include PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, Verywell, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Allrecipes, REAL SIMPLE, Investopedia, and Southern Living. Please be aware of fraudulent recruiters offering opportunities at People Inc. If you are in conversations about a job opportunity and wish to confirm its validity, please reach out directly to View email address on click.appcast.io.