UI/UX Lead

About

Zama is an open source cryptography company building state-of-the-art Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) solutions for blockchain.

Zama was founded by Pascal Paillier, a pioneer in FHE, and Rand Hindi, a serial privacy entrepreneur.

If you would like to learn more about Fully Homomorphic Encryption, check out our 6-min introduction: https://6min.zama.ai/

Job Description

Most design roles ask you to improve something that already exists. This one asks you to invent something that doesn't.

Zama builds Fully Homomorphic Encryption for blockchain. Our products let smart contracts compute on encrypted data. Confidential tokens, encrypted DeFi, privacy-preserving applications. They're live today. But here's the design problem no one has solved: how do you build intuitive interfaces for things users can't see? When a balance is encrypted and a transaction is shielded, standard DeFi design patterns break down. Someone needs to figure out what replaces them.

You'll report to the CPO and partner with product managers and frontend engineers across Zama's full product suite. Wallet interactions, DeFi workflows, token issuance, and whatever comes next. 

You will:

  • Invent UX patterns for confidential interactions. How should a user feel confident about an encrypted balance they can't read? How do you communicate transaction status when details are shielded? These are open design problems, not variations on existing patterns.

  • Build a design system that holds across multiple products. Coherent identity, flexible enough for features that don't exist yet.

  • Design end-to-end user flows for confidential token interactions. Wallet management, DeFi operations, token issuance. Make cryptographic operations feel natural without hiding what's actually happening.

  • Own the experience through implementation, not just through handoff. Work tightly with frontend engineers to ensure what ships matches what you designed.

  • Turn product vision into high-fidelity designs and interactive prototypes. Make sure design drives product decisions, not just illustrates them.

  • Maintain an AI-native design workflow. Keep the design-to-code pipeline efficient. Stay current with how AI tooling is changing interface development.

Preferred Experience

  • 5+ years designing web applications, with meaningful time in blockchain, DeFi, or fintech. Enough to have opinions about what works and what doesn't.

  • Experience as a design lead or principal designer where you owned the UX vision. You've been the person making the calls, not just the mocks.

  • Deep familiarity with blockchain UX: wallet flows, transaction patterns, DeFi interfaces. You know what users expect, and where those expectations fail.

  • A track record of building design systems that actually get adopted. Not just documented.

  • Proficiency in Figma. Experience with AI-assisted design tooling is a strong plus.

  • Strong technical intuition. You don't write code, but you understand frontend constraints well enough to design things that can be built without compromise.

  • The ability to make confident design decisions with incomplete information. Defend them clearly. Change your mind when the evidence says you should.

  • Understanding of, or willingness to learn about, FHE and confidential computing. Specifically how encryption changes what can and can't be shown in a UI.

If you're bored of optimizing existing patterns and want to define new ones for a category that doesn't have a playbook yet, this is that role.

Recruitment Process

📋 Step 1: The Application Form

Start your journey by filling out our application form. This is your chance to introduce yourself and showcase your unique skills and experiences.

🏆 Step 2: The Challenge

Next up, tackle our challenge! This is where you can shine and show us how you approach and solve real-world problems.

💼 Step 3: The Technical Interview

Dive deep into your technical knowledge with our team. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and passion for the field.

🤝 Step 4: Cultural Fit & Compensation Chat

Meet with our COO to discuss our company culture and explore how you can thrive with us. We'll also discuss compensation to ensure we're on the same page.

🛠️ Step 5: The Hacking Trial

Put your skills to the test in a real-world hacking scenario. This trial helps us see your practical skills in action and how you handle challenges.

🔍 Step 6: The Reference Check & Offer

As a final step, we'll conduct a reference check to confirm your qualifications and past experiences. If all goes well, you will get an offer soon.

We provide more details on our process here. Exceptional candidates will hear from us as we advance through the recruitment process.

Zama values and promotes diversity. We give everyone a fair chance to be evaluated on their professional, academic, and personal skills. Our goal is to make the hiring process as pleasant, stress-free, and friendly as possible, even if it is longer and more involved than you might find elsewhere.

Additional Information

  • Contract Type: Full-Time
  • Location: Paris
  • Experience: > 5 years
  • Possible full remote