UX Lead / Senior Product Designer, WarMatrix

Code Metal is redefining code translation for mission-critical industries, helping defense partners move more quickly and reliably from algorithm to silicon. We are hiring a UX Lead / Senior Product Designer who will own the end-to-end design experience for mission critical platforms— translating complex geospatial, simulation, and mission-data workflows into interfaces that operators, analysts, and engineers can actually use.

Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end UX for a complex, data-dense geospatial and simulation platform — from early concept through production-ready design specifications
• Conduct user research with domain experts including operators, analysts, and mission planners. Surface mental models, workflow requirements, and pain points that users may not be able to articulate directly
• Translate highly technical, domain-specific requirements into clear interaction patterns, information architectures, and user workflows
• Build and iterate on prototypes (low to high fidelity) in close collaboration with the Product Manager — moving quickly from concept to testable artifact
• Own the design system. Define and maintain consistent, implementable UI standards that the frontend engineering team can build against with confidence
• Partner closely with frontend engineers to ensure design intent is executed correctly. Participate in implementation reviews and catch fidelity gaps early
• Facilitate design reviews and research readouts with technical and non-technical stakeholders — including engineers, product leads, and customer teams
• Manage and mentor UI/UX Designers and Researchers as the team grows, setting quality standards and design process
• Contribute to product strategy. Bring user insight into roadmap conversations and advocate for decisions grounded in research, not assumptions
• Document design decisions and rationale to support cross-functional alignment and institutional knowledge

Requirements:

• Strong user research skills — proficiency in interviews, contextual inquiry, usability testing, and synthesizing findings into actionable design direction
• Demonstrated experience designing data-dense or geospatial interfaces — maps, dashboards, operational displays, or similar complex information environments
• Proficiency in Figma, including prototyping, component libraries, and design system management
• Ability to work in ambiguous, domain-heavy environments where users cannot always articulate what they need — comfort turning incomplete requirements into clear design hypotheses
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills. Able to run a design review or research readout with engineers, PMs, and customer stakeholders equally effectively
• Experience working closely with a Product Manager as a peer — contributing to product thinking, not just executing on specifications
• Strong written communication skills for documenting design rationale, research findings, and workflow logic
• Comfort operating with high autonomy in a fast-moving environment with evolving requirements
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. security clearance
• 5+ years of experience in UX design, product design, or human factors engineering
• Experience designing for defense, aerospace, government, or other mission-critical software environments
• Familiarity with military operator workflows, mission planning interfaces, or command-and-control systems
• Experience designing for or within classified environments (SCIFs, air-gapped networks) where standard tooling and collaboration methods may be restricted
• Understanding of accessibility standards in operational or low-light environments
• Exposure to frontend engineering concepts (React, component libraries) sufficient to communicate implementation constraints with engineers
• Active U.S. security clearance (Secret or Top Secret)
• Experience building or scaling a design system from early-stage to production