At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead design and creative direction for innovative AI products and marketing.
- Company: Exciting seed-stage startup revolutionising AI technology in high-stakes environments.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, dynamic work culture, and opportunities for rapid career growth.
- Other info: Join a collaborative team in a fast-paced, low-process environment.
- Why this job: Be a founding designer and shape the future of AI with your creativity.
- Qualifications: 2+ years in product design, strong prototyping skills, and a keen eye for detail.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 90000 £ per year.
A seed-stage startup building AI technology that runs live in high-volume, high-stakes production environments, making decisions worth billions of dollars, 24/7. Having recently closed a multi-million dollar funding round, the company is scaling quickly across the US and Europe, with a small, high-caliber team solving problems that span operations, physics and engineering, software, AI, and product design. The team spends real time with customers understanding problems firsthand and iterating fast to solve them.
The culture is famously low-process: no scheduled meetings, continuous discussion throughout the day, and features shipped to production daily, often designed, built, and deployed on the customer's site without a central planning cycle.
This is a single, high-ownership Founding Designer position covering two connected products. You'll own visual identity and product design end-to-end:
- Lead overall design and creative direction: logos, brand identity, marketing sites, and software products
- Build and maintain marketing websites and landing pages using modern web tech
- Run the full design lifecycle self-sufficiently: brand concepting, UI/UX discovery, rapid prototyping, shipping front-end interfaces
- Design at every level, from high-level concept and landing pages down to interface-level polish
- Balance immediate customer needs against long-term product strategy
What You'll Bring:
- 2+ years across product design with a strong understanding of prototyping with AI tools
- Strong intuition for translating user needs into intuitive products and web experiences
- A sharp eye for aesthetics, branding, typography, and detail
- Fluency in design/motion tools (Figma, Rive/Lottie) and modern front-end web tech (HTML/CSS, React, Next.js, Framer, Webflow)
- Backgrounds that tend to fit well: Product Designers with front-end build skills, Design Engineers/Creative Developers, or Visual/Brand Designers with strong software UI/UX experience.
Beyond the toolkit, they're looking for:
- Exceptional ability, demonstrated in whatever form that's taken for you: a key early role at a startup, a product/brand built end-to-end, or a standout side project or open-source work
- Comfort with freedom and low process, balanced with genuinely enjoying collaboration
- Genuine excitement for early-stage, high-growth environments, including some travel to customer sites
- Comfort operating in uncertain, fast-moving environments
Working Style: In-office, colocated with the team. This is not a remote or hybrid role. Some travel to customer sites is expected.
Founding Designer in City of London employer: Wave Group
Wave Group is an excellent employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration in the heart of London. Employees benefit from competitive salaries, flexible hybrid working arrangements, and opportunities for professional growth while contributing to impactful projects that modernize policing through advanced AI solutions.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Founding Designer in City of London
✨Show Off Your Portfolio
In the world of UX/UI design, your portfolio speaks volumes! Make sure it's packed with your best work and showcases your process, not just the final product. We want to see how you tackle design challenges, so consider adding case studies that reflect your thought process and user-centric approach.
✨Get Involved in Design Communities
Jump into local or online design meetups and workshops! Places like UXPA or local design events can be goldmines for networking and learning. Plus, mingling with fellow designers can introduce you to potential job openings that might not be listed elsewhere.
✨Tailor Your Applications
When you find a role that excites you, like the one at Wave Group for a Founding Designer, make your application count! Highlight specific projects and skills that directly relate to the job description. Hiring managers are looking for candidates who fit into their specific team, so show them you’re the one!
✨Leverage Social Media
Don't underestimate the power of social media in finding a UX/UI design job! Follow design leaders on platforms like Twitter or Instagram, share your work, and engage in conversations. It’s a great way to get noticed by recruiters and even catch wind of openings at companies like Wave Group before they go live!
We think you need these skills to ace Founding Designer in City of London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Design Process:When you're applying for a UX/UI Design role like Founding Designer at Wave Group, make sure to include examples that clearly highlight your design process. We want to see not just the final product but also the journey that led you there—wireframes, user personas, and iterations demonstrate your thought process and user-centric approach!
Tailor Your Portfolio:A tailor-made portfolio is crucial for a full-time design role! Curate your best projects that align with the kind of work Wave Group does. We suggest including 3-5 case studies that showcase a variety of skills such as wireframing, prototyping, and user testing to really make your application pop.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Your cover letter should not just be a summary of your CV. Use it to express why you’re excited about UX/UI Design and what draws you specifically to Wave Group. Mention any relevant experience, tools you’re proficient in (like Sketch or Figma), and how you can contribute to their projects.
Highlight Collaboration Skills:In the world of UX/UI Design, teamwork is crucial. Make sure to highlight any past experiences where you worked in cross-functional teams. Illustrate how you communicated design decisions and listened to feedback, as this will resonate well with the culture at Wave Group.
How to prepare for a job interview at Wave Group
✨Show Off Your Portfolio
When you're gunning for a full-time UX/UI design role, your portfolio is your best friend! Make sure you've got a solid selection of your work, showcasing not just the final designs, but the process behind them—think wireframes, user flows, and any user research you've conducted. During the interview with Wave Group, be prepared to discuss your design decisions and how they solve specific user problems.
✨Prepare for Design Challenges
Expect to face some practical design tasks during your interview. Wave Group might ask you to tackle a quick design challenge or critique an existing interface. Brush up on your problem-solving skills and try to articulate your thought process as you work through these scenarios. Showing how you approach a design problem is just as important as the final output!
✨Know the Tools of the Trade
Familiarise yourself with the tools commonly used in the industry—figma, Adobe XD, or Sketch should be second nature to you. Be ready to discuss your preferred tools during the interview and how they've shaped your design process at previous positions. This knowledge could give you an edge at Wave Group!
✨Show Passion for User Experience
In a full-time UX/UI design role, having a genuine passion for improving user interactions can set you apart. Be prepared to share instances when you went above and beyond to ensure a great user experience in your previous projects. This will demonstrate that you’re not just a designer, but a user advocate, which is exactly what Wave Group is looking for.
