Lead Designer

Role Overview We are looking for an experienced design leader to join our team and lead design for high-impact national initiatives. As a Lead Designer, you will lead a team of designers, owning the end-to-end user experience, setting the standard for design quality, and working shoulder-to-shoulder with a skilled team of engineers, business analysts, and operations stakeholders to deliver services in the Singapore public space. Role and Responsibilities Design Leadership & Delivery • Own the end-to-end design of your engagement, from discovery through to delivery, and set the direction and quality bar for the work. • Establish and uphold design standards, run critiques and design reviews, and ensure consistency across the product. • Mentor and support designers on the engagement and contribute to Ufinity Design Team standards, knowledge-sharing, and capability-building. Discovery & User Research • Plan and lead research - interviews, surveys, usability testing, and stakeholder consultations - and synthesize findings into clear, actionable insights. • Facilitate discovery workshops with business users and stakeholders to map current-state workflows, identify pain points, and define the design scope. • Translate findings into personas, user journey maps, service blueprints, and design recommendations that inform product strategy and prioritization. Concept Development, Prototyping & Testing • Turn user insights and stakeholder requirements into wireframes, mock-ups, and high-fidelity interactive prototypes in Figma for user testing, stakeholder presentations, and development handover. • Develop design iterations and alternatives for stakeholder review, clearly articulating the rationale, trade-offs, and recommendations for each. • Drive continuous refinement based on user feedback, technical constraints, and evolving needs, simplifying complex systems to enhance usability. Design Systems & Technical Collaboration • Own and govern the design system on your project - its evolution, cross-channel consistency, and lifecycle - not only its initial creation. • Develop detailed UI specifications, interaction patterns, and visual design standards to support development teams during implementation. • Collaborate closely with engineers across the delivery lifecycle, from initial concepts to final delivery, to ensure accurate and feasible implementation. Stakeholder Management & Advisory • Act as the senior design point of contact with client stakeholders - product owners, agency leads, business analysts, and technical leads. • Influence design direction beyond your immediate remit; navigate ambiguity and competing priorities and manage escalations and sensitive conversations with discretion. • Present concepts, prototypes, and research findings to senior stakeholders in clear, compelling, and persuasive formats, aligning differing viewpoints toward a shared direction. • Translate business and policy context into a clear design direction and scope. AI & Modern Practice • Apply AI tools and workflows across the design process - accelerating research, exploration, and delivery - with sound judgment on where they add value and where they don't. • Run structured experiments and help evolve how the team's workflows adapt to AI and emerging practices. Skills and Qualifications Required • Diploma or bachelor's degree in design, HCI, IT, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. • 6 - 8 years of experience in product design , UX/UI design, or service design, including a track record of leading design on complex, multi-stakeholder projects. • Demonstrated stakeholder management: influencing senior stakeholders, navigating ambiguity, and managing escalations and difficult conversations - shaping outcomes, not simply working alongside stakeholders. • Strategic communication and presentation skills: able to synthesize, persuade, align differing viewpoints, and hold a credible, composed presence with senior audiences. • Practical AI-in-design capability: actively applying AI tools and workflows in your practice, with clear judgment on their appropriate and responsible use. • Strong proficiency in Figma and other prototyping tools; familiarity with Miro, Jira, or equivalent collaboration tools. • Confident across UX research methodologies, journey mapping, service blueprinting, visual and interaction design, and prototyping. • Experience in building and maintaining design systems, with a solid understanding of design fundamentals and accessibility principles (WCAG 2.1 AA). • Business and strategic thinking: able to translate business and policy context into design direction and scope. • Experience in government, public sector, or large-scale enterprise settings is preferred. • A portfolio demonstrating end-to-end design leadership, strategic thinking, and measurable impact is required. Who We Are and What We Offer We are a dynamic and enterprising design team, embarking on an exciting journey to shape the digital landscape in Singapore. As part of Ufinity, a custom software development company, we specialize in executing product design within an agile environment, while thriving on pushing boundaries and delivering on the objectives we are given. With a passion for innovation and a flair for user-centric design, we are committed to redefining what's possible. We seek creative visionaries who possess the drive to think beyond conventions, motivate others, and accomplish the seemingly impossible. In our fast-paced environment, we embrace experimentation and learning from failure. Collaboration is our cornerstone, fostering a supportive and inclusive atmosphere where we unite in pursuit of our mission. • A comprehensive skillset development program to build your career • Annual training budget for individual and team upskilling • Regular team gatherings for the sharing of work and non-work-related ideas • A dynamic and open working environment to learn and grow • An open and transparent support syste…