Principal UI Artist

Hidden Variable Studios is looking to hire a full-time Principal UI Artist with immediate availability. If you’re reading this, this could be you!

A little bit about us — we’re a small, experienced team of independent developers in Los Angeles . Our hit titles — Bag It! , Tic Tactics , Threes! , Skullgirls Mobile, and Skullgirls 2nd Encore — have all launched to critical acclaim and app store features. In fact, they've been downloaded more than 30 million times to date.

It’s an especially exciting time to join Hidden Variable, as we’re on the cusp of major, exciting updates to our titles and are exploring new, original content as well. Interested in building fun, varied, and innovative games from the ground up? You’ve come to the right place!

At Hidden Variable, we’re looking for wildly talented individuals eager to put their creativity, enthusiasm, and passion to work. It’s that passion that helps us turn the mundane into the incredible and the average into the extraordinary. Come help us continue to make that dream a reality.

This role is intended to be a hybrid position, combining in-office hours at our brand new headquarters in Pasadena, CA with work-from-home time as well. US citizenship or a valid visa is required to apply.

About

Hidden Variable is looking for a Principal UI Artist to shape the visual direction of the UI and user experience in Skullgirls Mobile as well as upcoming titles. Alongside a talented team of interdisciplinary developers, you will conceptualize and implement best-in-class UI that is aesthetically inviting, intuitively responsive, and seamlessly effective in serving its functional purpose.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will reflect each of these key qualities:

• UX Guru - You are able to create intuitive interfaces from complex systems and have expert knowledge of usability principles.
• Precisionist - You build your work with attention to detail and visual consistency. Your output is highly organized and labeled.
• Artisan - You possess top-tier aesthetic sensibilities and ninja-level Photoshop skills, allowing you to illustrate stunning icons, frames, borders, and other UI assets.
• Mobile Savant - You understand the unique challenges of building assets for a range of devices, aspect ratios, and hardware configurations. You are able to translate your beautiful concepts into practical, lightweight assets.
• Interface Geek - You have a passion for fonts, iconography, visual hierarchy, and tone. You know how to push the boundaries because you have your finger on the pulse of the UX/UI world.
• Ambassador - You have the ability to clearly communicate ideas both verbally and visually. You can give and receive feedback with equanimity, style, and grace.

Bonus Features

Extras we hope to see in the most competitive candidates:

• Gamer - You are aware of trends in the market’s top games, especially in the F2P mobile sphere.
• Completionist - You have experience shipping a mobile game and perhaps a F2P title as well.
• CC Native - You have excellent Illustrator skills. You might even have VFX and motion graphics experience, using After Effects or a similar program.
• Scrum Veteran - You have experience with Agile development and know the ins and outs of the sprint process.

Responsibilities

So, you know how to do a lot of stuff, but what do we expect from you?

• Develop dynamic, elegant, and intuitive UI for new and existing games.
• Draft UX guidelines for the studio to ensure a consistent visual language.
• Prepare UX flowcharts, wireframes, and other artifacts to effectively communicate your ideas to other departments.
• Collaborate with the art director and game designers to maximize clarity, achieve design goals, and maintain style integrity.
• Partner with engineers to build and optimize your vision directly in engine.
• Dive deeply into existing and new UI, implementing interface screens, iconography, and transitions.

Compensation

Below is the base salary range that HVS expects to pay applicants for this role in California. Salary offered will vary depending on experience, skill, and location.

$80,000 - 120,000

The Perks

There are a lot of great reasons to work at Hidden Variable! Some of the highlights include:

• Unlimited PTO Policy - When it comes to sick and vacation days, we don’t believe in tracking the hours our employees work or don’t work. If you need to take time off — be it for date night, a vacation, or even just a personal wellness day — we support you. We go out of our way to create a guilt-free office environment. Our goal is simply to create incredible products, which we believe is best achieved when you don’t have a manager looming over your shoulder, tracking the minutes you are in or out.
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Plans - We offer a generous yearly stipend, and have several premium plans available from major health care providers. Already have medical coverage? Keep the stipend as an end of year bonus.
• Matching 401k - Send a portion of your salary towards retirement, and we’ll match a certain amount. Free money!
• Career Growth - Developing the skills and training to advance in one's career is a shared responsibility. To that end, we frequently compensate for travel to conferences, fund tuition through online or in-person learning, and even reimburse game expenses (mobile or otherwise) to allow our teammates to maximize their full potential.
• Frequent Celebrations - We work hard, but we like to let off steam, too. You’ll find us playing board games, video games, trivia, and even the occasional field trip to an escape room or other attraction around the city, all courtesy of Hidden Variable.

Equal Opportunities

We believe diverse backgrounds and life experiences enable us to collectively build better and more inclusive games. We encourage applications from candidates from any background who are eager to celebrate their unique perspective.

How To Apply?

Hopefully, by the time you’ve scrolled this far, you’ve realized that we value high quality products and people who are passionate about what they do for a living.

Ready to apply? Please send us an email with the following requirements:

• Your resume
• A cover letter
• A link to your UI art portfolio

List the position (Principal UI Artist) in the subject line and send us a message at We can’t wait to hear from you!