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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for UI Officer

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

The UI Officer is a specialist focused on translating product requirements and user research into polished, accessible and performant user interfaces. Working closely with product managers, UX designers, engineers and QA, the UI Officer owns interface implementation, design system contributions, prototyping, and the continuous improvement of visual and interaction quality across platforms. This role suits candidates with a blend of visual design sensibility, front-end technical skills (HTML/CSS/JavaScript), and practical experience applying accessibility (WCAG) and responsive design principles.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior UI / Visual Designer with hands-on front-end experience
  • Front-end Developer transitioning toward design-led product work
  • Interaction Designer or Product Designer focused on interface execution

Advancement To:

  • Senior UI Officer / Senior UI Engineer
  • Lead UI/UX Designer or Design Lead
  • UI Manager / Head of Interface Design
  • Product Design Manager or Head of Product Design

Lateral Moves:

  • UX Researcher
  • Product Manager
  • Front-end Engineering (React/Angular lead)
  • Design Systems Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead the design and delivery of pixel-perfect user interfaces for web and mobile applications, ensuring visual consistency with brand guidelines and product requirements across platforms.
  • Translate product requirements, user stories, and UX wireframes into interactive prototypes and high-fidelity UI mockups using tools like Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD to align stakeholders and accelerate development.
  • Implement responsive designs using HTML5, CSS3 (including Flexbox and Grid) and modern CSS methodologies (BEM, SMACSS, utility-first) to ensure interfaces function seamlessly across devices and screen sizes.
  • Build and maintain accessible interfaces by applying WCAG 2.1 guidelines, ARIA roles, keyboard navigation, and semantic markup to improve usability for users with disabilities.
  • Work closely with front-end developers and engineering teams to convert designs into production-ready code (vanilla JavaScript or frameworks such as React, Angular, or Vue) while ensuring performance and maintainability.
  • Own and evolve the design system, including reusable UI components, design tokens, style guides, and component documentation to accelerate product development and maintain visual cohesion.
  • Conduct usability testing and heuristic evaluations (moderated and unmoderated) to validate interactions and gather actionable insights for iterative UI improvements.
  • Optimize front-end performance by applying best practices: asset optimization, code splitting, lazy loading, and reducing render-blocking resources to improve load times and perceived performance.
  • Create and maintain interactive prototypes and proof-of-concepts to validate complex interactions, animations, micro-interactions, and transition states prior to development.
  • Collaborate with Product Management to prioritize UI improvements, scope interface requirements, and estimate implementation effort during sprint planning.
  • Ensure cross-browser compatibility (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) and resolve UI defects identified during QA or in production with clear triage and remediation processes.
  • Use analytics and qualitative feedback (heatmaps, session recordings, user feedback) to identify friction points and measure the impact of UI changes on UX metrics (task success, time-on-task, conversion).
  • Mentor and review work of junior UI designers and front-end developers, providing constructive feedback on craftsmanship, accessibility, and design system usage.
  • Maintain version control practices with Git, collaborating on feature branches, pull requests, and design-to-development handoffs that include clear acceptance criteria.
  • Partner with back-end and QA teams to define API contracts, localization needs, and edge cases that affect UI behavior and error handling.
  • Develop and maintain component libraries in code (React/Vue components) with comprehensive documentation, stories (Storybook) and test cases to support rapid and consistent UI implementation.
  • Design and document interaction patterns, motion guidelines and microcopy that reduce cognitive load and guide users effectively through flows.
  • Drive cross-functional workshops and design reviews to align stakeholders, prioritize accessibility fixes, and achieve consensus on UI direction.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of UI trends, front-end frameworks, accessibility legislation, and emerging web standards to recommend improvements to the product roadmap.
  • Lead UI QA by creating visual acceptance criteria, conducting visual regression checks, and ensuring that implemented UIs match designed intent across environments.
  • Coordinate localization and internationalization efforts that impact UI layout, directionality (LTR/RTL), and text expansion to ensure scalable global interfaces.
  • Prepare and present UI impact analyses and RICE-style prioritization for interface initiatives that improve conversion, retention, or customer satisfaction.

Secondary Functions

  • Support product discovery by contributing interface feasibility assessments, time and complexity estimates, and alternative solutions during early-stage design sprints.
  • Assist in maintaining shared design asset repositories, ensuring up-to-date component libraries, icons, and image assets for cross-team reuse.
  • Participate in accessibility audits and remediation projects, creating tickets and acceptance criteria for engineering teams to implement fixes.
  • Contribute to onboarding and training materials for new product designers and front-end developers on the design system, tooling, and UI standards.
  • Support cross-team design reviews and backlog grooming sessions by preparing visual examples, before/after comparisons, and impact summaries.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • High proficiency in UI design tools: Figma (preferred), Sketch, Adobe XD — including prototyping, component libraries, and collaboration features.
  • Strong front-end development skills: HTML5, semantic markup, CSS3, CSS preprocessors (Sass/LESS) and modern layout techniques (Flexbox, CSS Grid).
  • Practical JavaScript experience and familiarity with front-end frameworks/libraries such as React, Angular, or Vue for component-driven development.
  • Experience building and maintaining design systems and component libraries, including design tokens, Storybook documentation, and automated visual tests.
  • Accessibility expertise: WCAG 2.1 guidelines, ARIA attributes, keyboard accessibility, color contrast testing and assistive technology considerations.
  • Responsive and adaptive UI design experience across breakpoints and devices; mobile-first design approach.
  • Prototyping and interaction design skills: micro-interactions, transitions, animation best practices, and motion design principles.
  • Usability testing and research fluency: conducting tests, synthesizing findings, and converting results into prioritized product improvements.
  • Cross-browser compatibility troubleshooting and debugging, using developer tools and polyfills where necessary.
  • Performance optimization techniques for front-end: lazy loading, image optimization, critical CSS, code splitting and reducing layout thrashing.
  • Version control with Git, collaborative workflows (pull requests, code reviews) and basic CI/CD awareness for front-end deployments.
  • Familiarity with analytics and experimentation tools (Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Hotjar) to measure UI impact and inform design decisions.
  • Localization and internationalization awareness (i18n), including support for RTL languages and dynamic content sizing.
  • Experience with visual regression testing tools and methodologies (Percy, Chromatic, Cypress visual testing).

Soft Skills

  • Strong communication and stakeholder management: present UI rationale and trade-offs to product owners, engineers and executives.
  • Collaborative mindset: work effectively within cross-functional agile teams and design-review processes.
  • Problem solving and analytical thinking: break down complex interaction problems and propose pragmatic UI solutions.
  • Attention to detail and visual craftsmanship: maintain pixel-perfect standards and quality controls.
  • Empathy and user-centered thinking: advocate for users and translate research insights into actionable UI improvements.
  • Time management and prioritization: balance multiple UI initiatives and meet sprint commitments.
  • Coaching and mentorship: provide feedback and guidance to junior designers and front-end colleagues.
  • Adaptability and continuous learning: stay current with industry changes and implement best practices.
  • Conflict resolution and negotiation: manage competing priorities and align stakeholders on design decisions.
  • Strategic thinking: align UI work to product KPIs, accessibility goals, and brand strategy.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, Visual Communication, or a related discipline.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in HCI, Interaction Design, Computer Science with UX specialization, or Product Design.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Interaction Design / Product Design
  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
  • Computer Science or Software Engineering
  • Visual Communication / Graphic Design
  • Information Architecture

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–6 years of combined UI design and front-end implementation experience for product-focused teams.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of experience designing and building user interfaces in a product environment.
  • Demonstrated portfolio showcasing end-to-end UI work, responsive designs, design systems, and production code or prototypes.
  • Prior experience working in agile/scrum teams and collaborating with product managers and engineering leads.
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