Senior UX Designer (Space Engineers Franchise)

At Keen Software House, we develop large-scale sandbox simulation games like Space Engineers 1 and Space Engineers 2, built around engineering, construction, destruction, physics, emergent gameplay, and player creativity, together with the proprietary technology that powers them.

We are looking for a Senior UX Designer to join our international team working across Space Engineers and Space Engineers 2.

Space Engineers is a complex sandbox game built around engineering, construction, exploration, survival, and player creativity. That complexity is part of what makes the game unique - but it also creates significant UX challenges.

We are looking for someone who can take real ownership of how players interact with our systems, identify usability problems, and turn complex mechanics and information into clear and intuitive player experiences.

Because we are a relatively small team, we are looking for a hands-on and versatile UX Designer who can contribute beyond UX theory, wireframes, and documentation. Strong UX expertise is the foundation of the role, but ideally you also bring visual/UI design skills or, alternatively, experience with technical UI prototyping, integration, or implementation. Visual/UI design is particularly valuable for us given the current composition of the team.

You will work closely with Game Design, Art, Engineering, Production, and QA, helping shape both existing and new features from early concepts through to implementation.

We expect you to act as a proactive UX partner - identify friction, challenge existing solutions when needed, test assumptions, and help us establish stronger UX principles across both games.

While our studio is based in Prague, we offer the flexibility to work remotely (CET +/- 2 hours).

If you enjoy challenging work, autonomy, impact, and responsibility, come and join us

Required profile

• 5+ years of professional experience as a UX Designer, Game UX Designer, or similar role, with significant experience working in the video game industry on PC and/or console games
• Proven experience designing UX for shipped video games, ideally across multiple features or systems
• Strong portfolio or case studies demonstrating your UX process, including problem definition, user flows, wireframes, prototypes, iteration, and final solutions
• Hands-on approach to UX design, with experience in at least one adjacent discipline that allows you to contribute beyond UX documentation – ideally UI/visual design, or alternatively technical UI prototyping, integration, or implementation
• Strong understanding of interaction design, information architecture, user flows, usability principles, navigation systems, and information hierarchy
• Experience working on sandbox, simulation, strategy, management, or other systems-heavy games
• Strong experience designing UX for complex and interconnected game systems, such as inventories, building systems, crafting, progression, control schemes, or similar mechanics
• Ability to make complex mechanics and information understandable and intuitive without removing their depth
• Strong wireframing and prototyping skills using Figma or equivalent tools
• Experience creating and evolving UX/UI design systems, interaction patterns, and reusable component libraries
• Experience designing UX for both mouse & keyboard and controller-based interaction
• Experience validating UX solutions through usability testing, playtesting, player research, player feedback, analytics, telemetry, or similar methods
• Knowledge of accessibility principles in game UX
• Strong design judgment – able to identify usability problems and their root causes, propose practical solutions, and explain design decisions using player needs, evidence, and clear reasoning
• Ability to work effectively with Game Design, UI Art, Engineering, Production, and QA, understand technical and production constraints, and incorporate them into UX solutions
• Proactive and self-driven, with the ability to work independently, iterate quickly, receive feedback, and adapt solutions when needed
• Fluent English, spoken and written 
• Shares and upholds our High Standards

Nice to have

• Strong visual/UI design skills, including typography, layout, iconography, visual hierarchy, and the ability to take UX concepts through to polished, production-ready interface designs
• Experience creating or adapting UI assets and working within an established visual language or art direction
• Experience implementing or integrating UI directly in a game engine or proprietary engine
• Experience combining UX design with UI/visual design and/or technical implementation within the same role
• Experience working on live games and improving established systems without disrupting existing player workflows or expectations
• Experience working on sci-fi, simulation, engineering, or other technically oriented games

Key responsibilities

• Report to the Production Director and be part of a Game design team
• Take ownership of UX across Space Engineers and Space Engineers 2, covering both existing systems and new features
• Identify player friction and usability problems, understand their root causes, and propose practical improvements
• Work with Game Design, UI Art, Engineering, Production, and QA from the early stages of feature development to shape solutions that balance player needs, game design intent, visual clarity, technical feasibility, and production constraints
• Translate complex mechanics, systems, and requirements into clear and intuitive player experiences

Define and improve:

• player flows and navigation
• information architecture and interaction patterns
• menus, HUD, and in-game interactions
• system feedback
• onboarding and discoverability
• Create user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and UX specifications, exploring and validating solutions early before significant development time is invested
• Take solutions beyond UX documentation where appropriate to your skill set – whether through polished UI/visual design, high-fidelity prototyping, or contributing to UI integration and implementation
• Use playtesting, player feedback, analytics, telemetry, and other available evidence to validate solutions and guide iteration
• Follow UX solutions through development, review implementation, and help ensure the intended player experience is preserved in the final product
• Establish and evolve consistent UX principles, interaction patterns, and design systems across both games
• Clearly communicate UX problems, design decisions, and trade-offs to stakeholders using evidence, player needs, and clear reasoning
• Balance usability with game depth, technical limitations, development cost, existing player expectations, and long-term maintainability
• Help improve UX practices across the wider development team and ensure UX is considered throughout development rather than treated as a final review step

What we value

• Hold yourself to A-player standards
• Player-first thinking without oversimplification – make complex systems understandable while preserving the depth that makes Space Engineers unique
• Hands-on, versatile design – UX should not stop at diagrams or recommendations; be comfortable turning ideas into tangible solutions and contributing beyond a narrowly defined UX role when needed
• Problem solving over screen production – understand the underlying player problem before designing the interface
• Systems thinking – understand how individual interactions connect to the broader player experience
• Strong judgment and prioritisation – recognise where UX problems have the greatest impact, understand trade-offs, and focus effort where it matters most
• Clarity over cleverness – favour solutions that players can understand naturally, without unnecessary complexity
• Iteration over attachment – explore quickly, test assumptions, take feedback well, and change direction when a better solution emerges
• Ownership and proactivity – do not wait for perfectly defined UX problems; identify what needs to be solved and help drive it forward
• Evidence over opinion – use player behaviour, usability principles, testing, and clear reasoning rather than personal preference
• Clear and direct communication – explain UX problems, decisions, and trade-offs clearly and challenge ideas constructively

What you’ll find at Keen Software House:

Impact

• Leave your mark on one of the most technically ambitious sandbox engineering games ever made.
• Join an international team tackling hard problems

How we work:

• Hybrid by default: work from home when you want
• Low bureaucracy, fast decisions

Time off & wellbeing

• 25 days of annual leave.
• Flexible sick leave.

Workspace

• Modern offices at Oranžerie, Prague - quiet focus zones, beautiful garden, great daylight, quality equipment, bike storage, gym and shower, fully stocked kitchen, lunches prepared by our private chefs

Community

• Regular team breakfasts, workshops, and relaxed meetups (BBQ, game nights, parties, teambuildings)