Principal UI Artist
Apply NowCompany: Zynga
Location: Chicago, IL 60629
Description:
Level Up Your Career with Zynga!
At Zynga, we bring people together through the power of play. As a global leader in interactive entertainment and a proud label of Take-Two Interactive, our games have been downloaded over 6 billion times-connecting players in 175+ countries through fun, strategy, and a little friendly competition.
From thrilling casino spins to epic strategy battles, mind-bending puzzles, and social word challenges, our diverse game portfolio has something for everyone. Fan-favorites and latest hits include FarmVille, Words With Friends, Zynga Poker, Game of Thrones Slots Casino, Wizard of Oz Slots, Hit it Rich! Slots, Wonka Slots, Top Eleven, Toon Blast, Empires & Puzzles, Merge Dragons!, CSR Racing, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, Match Factory, and Color Block Jam-plus many more!
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in California, our teams span North America, Europe, and Asia, working together to craft unforgettable gaming experiences. Whether you're spinning, strategizing, matching, or competing, Zynga is where fun meets innovation-and where you can take your career to the next level.
Join us and be part of the play!
Position Overview
This is an exciting opportunity to join our awesome and award-winning "Wizard of Oz Slots" game team as a Principal UI Artist. We're looking for someone who loves creating and crafting outstanding user interfaces, is passionate about understanding and empathizing with the players of our game and creates experiences that are not only beautiful but also functional and appropriate to the spirit of the game. This is a unique opportunity to be part of a game that is based on the Wizard of Oz's universe of characters and storylines.
You will lead all phases of the design process, including conceptual design/development, graphic and interface design, interaction models, and art production.
You will work closely with the "Wizard of Oz" Franchise Stakeholders to establish and maintain the visual integrity, interaction methods, brand standards, and consistency for the game and collaborate with Product Management and Engineering to execute the design.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
Zynga offers a world-class benefits package that helps support and balance the needs of our teams. To find out more about our benefits, visit the Zynga Benefits site
The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $123,500 - $182,780 per year.
The pay range for this position in Chicago at the start of employment is expected to be between $163,400 and $169,300 per year
However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an "at-will position" and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, which means we are committed to creating and celebrating diverse thoughts, cultures, and backgrounds throughout our organization. Employment with us is based on substantive ability, objective qualifications, and work ethic - not an individual's race, creed, color, religion, sex or gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence or sex offenses, reproductive health decision, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.
As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing the necessary support and accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities, health conditions, or impairments (subject to any local qualifying requirements) to ensure their full participation in the job application or interview process. Please contact us at accommodationrequest@zynga.com to request any accommodations or for support related to your application for an open position.
Please be aware that Zynga does not conduct job interviews or make job offers over third-party messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or others. Zynga also does not engage in any financial exchanges during the recruitment or onboarding process, and will never ask a candidate for their personal or financial information over an app or other unofficial chat channel. Any attempt to do so may be the result of a scamp or phishing attack, and you should not engage. Zynga's in-house recruitment team will only contact individuals through their official Company email addresses (i.e., via a zynga.com, naturalmotion.com, smallgiantgames.com, themavens.com, gram.gs email domain).
At Zynga, we bring people together through the power of play. As a global leader in interactive entertainment and a proud label of Take-Two Interactive, our games have been downloaded over 6 billion times-connecting players in 175+ countries through fun, strategy, and a little friendly competition.
From thrilling casino spins to epic strategy battles, mind-bending puzzles, and social word challenges, our diverse game portfolio has something for everyone. Fan-favorites and latest hits include FarmVille, Words With Friends, Zynga Poker, Game of Thrones Slots Casino, Wizard of Oz Slots, Hit it Rich! Slots, Wonka Slots, Top Eleven, Toon Blast, Empires & Puzzles, Merge Dragons!, CSR Racing, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, Match Factory, and Color Block Jam-plus many more!
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in California, our teams span North America, Europe, and Asia, working together to craft unforgettable gaming experiences. Whether you're spinning, strategizing, matching, or competing, Zynga is where fun meets innovation-and where you can take your career to the next level.
Join us and be part of the play!
Position Overview
This is an exciting opportunity to join our awesome and award-winning "Wizard of Oz Slots" game team as a Principal UI Artist. We're looking for someone who loves creating and crafting outstanding user interfaces, is passionate about understanding and empathizing with the players of our game and creates experiences that are not only beautiful but also functional and appropriate to the spirit of the game. This is a unique opportunity to be part of a game that is based on the Wizard of Oz's universe of characters and storylines.
You will lead all phases of the design process, including conceptual design/development, graphic and interface design, interaction models, and art production.
You will work closely with the "Wizard of Oz" Franchise Stakeholders to establish and maintain the visual integrity, interaction methods, brand standards, and consistency for the game and collaborate with Product Management and Engineering to execute the design.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
- Create high-fidelity mock-ups for pre-visualization during pre-production
- Create UI art and visual design for user interfaces
- Develop mood boards and help guide the visual design of features
- Collaborate with the art team to define/adhere to a thematic art style
- Highly competent in designing UI animation
- Collaborate with the product and design teams to conceptualize, define, and develop features that yield extraordinary experiences for our players
- Synthesize the needs of players and all game departments to find solutions that work for all.
- Be competent in creating user flows, interface wireframes, prototypes, and design documentation.
- Set examples, guides, and standard methodologies in UI/UX for others in your game team
- Prepare assets for implementation in the game engine
- Partner with technical artists and engineers to implement user interface game assets in the game engine
- Lead and participate in company-wide UI/UX community events, critiques, product reviews, and feature retrospectives
- Participate in critiques, product reviews, and retrospectives
- Collaborate with UI/UX staff from other game teams to share findings and develop standard methodologies across the organization
- Must submit a portfolio of existing work, with highlights on logo and graphic design/marketing art in addition to UI.
- Familiarity with monetization strategies, in-game purchases, and live operations processes to design effective, user-friendly interfaces that enhance player engagement and revenue generation.
- A mastery in classic graphic design principles
- Visual design skills with regard to color theory, layout, and typography.
- A veteran in adapting and adhering to an established visual style and building upon it
- Can consistently produce high-quality visual assets for user interfaces and purchase-oriented assets, with software fluency to quickly iterate on any feedback
- Highly skilled with standard creative software such as the Adobe Creative Suite
- An accomplished expert with UI layout & design tools (Photoshop, Figma, Sketch, or similar tools)
- Familiarity with collaborative virtual environments (Miro, FigJam)
- Ability to adapt and work in a fast-paced setting. Be able to rapidly develop new skills and behaviors in response to changing circumstances.
- Ability to prioritize tasks, work efficiently, handle time effectively, and complete your work with minimal oversight.
- Demonstrates proactive self-development and interest in leveling up personal, interpersonal, and craft skills
- Find opportunities to mentor, and share your knowledge, insight, and experiences with others.
- Able to present complex ideas to diverse audiences and articulate a convincing point of view
- Highly proficient in written and verbal communication skills, including technical writing.
- Ability to co-work and connect with multiple studio locations, teams, and partners
- Able to collaborate with proactive communication and a willingness to build consensus with potentially opposing perspectives.
- Experienced expert in designing for games vs. task completion, specifically supporting fun and engagement
- Experienced with prototyping design software (Figma, Sketch, or similar tools) and the prototype development process
- Slots experience is desirable but not required
- Education: A bachelor's degree in HCI, design, graphic design, industrial design, or a related area is required. A combination of education and experience may substitute for a Bachelor's degree.
- Experience in the gaming industry is desirable but not required
Zynga offers a world-class benefits package that helps support and balance the needs of our teams. To find out more about our benefits, visit the Zynga Benefits site
The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $123,500 - $182,780 per year.
The pay range for this position in Chicago at the start of employment is expected to be between $163,400 and $169,300 per year
However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an "at-will position" and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, which means we are committed to creating and celebrating diverse thoughts, cultures, and backgrounds throughout our organization. Employment with us is based on substantive ability, objective qualifications, and work ethic - not an individual's race, creed, color, religion, sex or gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence or sex offenses, reproductive health decision, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.
As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing the necessary support and accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities, health conditions, or impairments (subject to any local qualifying requirements) to ensure their full participation in the job application or interview process. Please contact us at accommodationrequest@zynga.com to request any accommodations or for support related to your application for an open position.
Please be aware that Zynga does not conduct job interviews or make job offers over third-party messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or others. Zynga also does not engage in any financial exchanges during the recruitment or onboarding process, and will never ask a candidate for their personal or financial information over an app or other unofficial chat channel. Any attempt to do so may be the result of a scamp or phishing attack, and you should not engage. Zynga's in-house recruitment team will only contact individuals through their official Company email addresses (i.e., via a zynga.com, naturalmotion.com, smallgiantgames.com, themavens.com, gram.gs email domain).