Lead UI Designer - Automotive & In-Vehicle HMI (m/f/d)

This is Edenspiekermann

We are Edenspiekermann - an independent design consultancy with 40+ years of experience helping world-leading organizations invent, build, and evolve their products. Our Product Strategy practice works directly with product teams at the intersection of market insight, design excellence, and AI-driven development.

Our interaction designers work in agile and interdisciplinary teams on websites and platforms for major brands as well as for startups. Our teams combine conceptual thinking, a sophisticated understanding of design and a deep knowledge of web and app development to develop a digital product or service with a user-centric approach. In doing so, we advise and coach our clients' teams to provide the best customer experience for their customers.

About the role

Reimagining in-vehicle digital experiences is what drives us. In a multi-year partnership with a leading vehicle manufacturer, we are shaping the future of mobility and in-cabin interfaces - from visionary early-stage R&D explorations to series-production HMI solutions across complex display ecosystems.

As Lead UI Designer , you will own the visual design language and drive UI craft across the entire digital cockpit. You'll set visual standards, scale design system architectures for multi-screen environments, mentor fellow designers, and act as the primary design authority working directly with OEM product leads, ergonomists, and embedded engineering teams.

Your tasks

• Define and elevate the end-to-end visual UI language across instrument clusters, CIDs, and passenger displays
• Build and govern scalable, multi-screen and multi-brand design system architectures ready for automotive series production
• Translate complex UX flows into pixel-perfect, high-performance UI layouts while respecting hardware and rendering constraints
• Lead visual design decisions in close collaboration with UX/UI designers, motion experts, ergonomists, and OEM product owners
• Establish design tokens, asset pipelines, and developer-ready documentation for seamless handoffs to embedded engineering teams
• Mentor and empower UI designers, fostering design excellence and automotive compliance across parallel development tracks
• Present design rationale, ergonomic choices, and your aesthetic vision convincingly to OEM decision-makers

Your profile

• Solid background in in-vehicle UI design (e.g., Android Automotive OS, infotainment systems, digital clusters, ADAS)
• Proven experience leading UI workstreams, steering visual direction, and mentoring designers in complex setups (OEM, Tier 1, or agency)
• Deep understanding of driver distraction principles, cognitive load, glance readability, and automotive contrast/luminance requirements (day/night modes)
• Advanced proficiency in Figma, including design tokens, responsive components, and multi-display architectures
• A strong portfolio highlighting typography, screen hierarchy, layout precision, and micro-interactions for complex interfaces
• Working knowledge of technical constraints in vehicle environments (e.g., embedded UI frameworks, real-time rendering pipelines)
• Confident presentation skills with an articulate design voice; fluent in English (written and spoken), German is a plus

Bonus:

• Experience designing for commercial vehicles
• Strong craft in custom iconography or technical illustration tailored to HMI contexts
• Hands-on experience with motion design and prototyping for functional UI transitions
• Experience preparing and optimizing assets for real-time 3D/embedded rendering engines (e.g., Kanzi, Unreal, Unity, Qt)

We offer

• Work at an internationally renowned agency known for setting high standards in digital product design, branding, and user experience of industry giants like Mercedes-Benz, The Economist, and Allianz
• We're fast learners who believe in real collaboration. With fresh perspective and unbiased advice, we build future-ready solutions and embed with your team until the change feels like home
• Enjoy the convenience of an on-site gym with sauna, making it easy to stay active and maintain a healthy work-life balance right at the office
• Benefit from free organic coffee and tea, a weekly team breakfast, and a Swedish-style Fika to connect with your colleagues
• Flat hierarchies and the opportunity to contribute and implement your own ideas
• Inhouse coaching and mentoring

We are pleased to meet you!

We value diversity and therefore welcome all applications - regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/beliefs, disability, age, and sexual orientation and identity.

If you are interested, please provide us with the following documents and information:

• Current CV
• Portfolio
• Earliest possible start date
• Salary expectations
• Certificates / diploma