Lead UI UX Designer

Appealing Points

• Work on advanced automotive products: instrument clusters (including ADAS and other advanced features), head-up displays and infotainment systems with complex 2D and 3D transitions and animations.
• Lead and mentor a design team, and contribute to UI/UX roadmap planning, prioritization and design craftsmanship validation.
• Partner closely with OEM design groups, product management and software engineering specialists in a multi-national, cross-functional team.

Annual Salary: ¥7.5 million – ¥10.5 million

Job Description

The Lead UX Designer understands the end-to-end user experience strategy and stakeholder expectations. They own deliveries across a product or product line to software teams. They bridge the gap between design concept and design execution, often managing or mentoring designers on the team. The role involves regular customer connects for scope clarity and effort estimation, establishing clear project parameters, and aligning project milestones with external and internal stakeholders. The goal is to plan Design Studio deliverables from concept creation to development, ensuring high-quality, user-centered outputs in an agile framework. The products in scope are instrument clusters (including ADAS and other advanced features), head-up displays and infotainment systems, along with advanced development applying the latest in-demand technologies.

Job Responsibilities

• Team leadership and mentorship: mentor and coordinate with designers, manage workloads and review design outputs for quality.
• Research and testing: oversee user research, usability testing and data analysis to identify pain points and validate design decisions.
• Wireframing and prototyping: build storyboards, user flows, wireframes and clickable high-fidelity prototypes.
• Design systems: establish and scale UI style guides and component libraries to maintain brand and interface consistency.
• Cross-functional collaboration: partner closely with product managers, developers and stakeholders to ensure seamless design handoff and implementation.
• Lead agile sprint planning to align team capacity with project deliverables, establishing sprint capacity and defining sprint deliverables based on estimation.
• Estimate effort and plan deliverables.
• Create innovative interaction concepts to match future usages and expectations.
• Specify complex interaction systems in alignment with HMI software developers.
• Communicate independently at a prominent level with a multi-national, cross-functional design team.
• Show a high affinity for recent technologies and a willingness to apply them in the automotive context.
• Collaborate closely with specialists and technical experts from product management and software engineering teams.
• Grow and maintain effective partnerships with the OEM design group.

Required Qualifications

• 5–8 years of relevant industry working experience in automotive UI/UX design (a must).
• Hands-on expertise spanning UX, interaction and visual design.
• A solid grasp of user-centered design and usability testing methodologies.
• Knowledge of the application of various aspects of ergonomics related to the role.
• Awareness of the different ISO standards applicable to vehicle cockpit interior design.
• Proficiency in interface design tools: Visio, Figma, Photoshop and Adobe XD (mandatory).
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft Office tools.
• High affinity for automotive user interfaces, processes and coordination, with a focus on constant workflow improvement.
• Stellar communication skills, including written, verbal and listening skills (mandatory).
• Degree or diploma in Product Design, Transportation Design, Interaction Design, User Experience Design or Visual Design from a reputed design institute (mandatory).

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in interactive prototyping with tools such as Figma, ProtoPie or similar (an advantage).
• Experience creating motion graphics with Adobe After Effects (an advantage).
• Prior experience working within an agile framework using Jira.
• Active driving experience and a strong understanding of vehicle cabin ergonomics and controls.

Language Required:

• Japanese: Fluent
• English: Business level

About Company:

A global technology leader is advancing software-defined mobility and AI-powered innovation. From digital cockpits and EV technologies to Edge AI platforms for enterprise applications, the company enables intelligent, connected experiences across automotive and industrial environments.

Working in close collaboration with global automakers and suppliers throughout the entire product lifecycle—from initial concept and design through development and manufacturing—the organization delivers solutions that are adaptable across all powertrain platforms. This deep integration in the automotive ecosystem enables the creation of next-generation technology solutions that transform both conventional and electric vehicles alike.

. Skillset Required: ux design, interaction design, visual design, figma, adobe xd, photoshop, visio, usability testing, design systems, automotive ergonomics