Game UI/UX Designer & Unreal Engine 5 UI Implementation

We are developing an early-stage multiplayer pirate roguelike and are looking for an experienced game UI/UX designer with strong Unreal Engine 5 implementation skills to help us design and build the game’s core interface. The game is a co-op pirate action roguelike with card-based upgrades, ship management, map exploration, combat encounters, loot rewards, stores, crew traits and boss encounters. Think a blend of naval action, roguelike buildcraft and co-op chaos, with inspirations including FTL, Slay the Spire, Vampire Survivors and Ship of Fools. We need someone who can help us turn the current design into a clear, thematic UI system inside UE5. We are looking for support across both UI design and implementation, including: * Combat HUD * Ship hull / health display * Card UI templates * Ship management / loadout screen * Run map UI with fog of war, encounter icons * Store UI for buying, selling, repairing and upgrading * Post-encounter reward screen * Multiplayer voting and ready-up UI * Basic menu/lobby flow if time allows ## Ideal candidate You should have: * Demonstrable experience designing UI/UX for games, ideally roguelikes, deckbuilders, RPGs, strategy games or action games * Proven Unreal Engine 5 UMG/CommonUI experience * Ability to implement clean, functional UI in Blueprint * Good understanding of gamepad and mouse/keyboard UI flows * Ability to work from an early design document and help identify what the UI actually needs to communicate * Experience creating reusable UI widgets and scalable UI systems * A good eye for readability, hierarchy and moment-to-moment player feedback * Strong English language and communication skills * A Portfolio that demonstrates all of the above. Bonus points if you have experience with: * Multiplayer UI * Card-based systems * Roguelikes * HUD design for action games * Nautical/pirate/fantasy visual styles * UI animation and game-feel polish * UE5 UI materials, icons and responsive layouts ## Scope of work We are looking for someone who can help us establish the foundation of the game’s UI language and implement a functional first pass in Unreal Engine. The initial work may include: 1. Reviewing our design documentation and proposed UI list 2. Advising on UX structure and screen flow 3. Creating wireframes or visual mockups for key screens 4. Building reusable UE5 UI widgets 5. Implementing the core combat HUD 6. Implementing the ship/loadout management screen 7. Implementing a simple card UI framework 8. Implementing basic reward/store/map UI as required 9. Working with us to identify UI risks and improve usability ## Deliverables Exact deliverables can be agreed based on your experience, but we expect something along the lines of: * Functional UE5/UMG prototype widgets * Combat HUD implementation * Card template implementation * Ship management/loadout UI implementation * Basic map/reward/store UI implementation * Clean, organised Blueprint/widget structure that our team can continue developing ## Project status The game is currently in early design/prototyping. We have a written design document and a first-pass list of required UI elements. We are now looking for someone to help us turn that into a practical UI system that can support gameplay testing. ## To apply Please include: * Examples of game UI work you have designed and/or implemented * Examples of Unreal Engine UMG/CommonUI work * Your availability * Your proposed rate for the project scope as described, or your day rate. We are especially interested in candidates who can think critically about UX, not just create attractive screens. The UI will need to support a lot of information without overwhelming the player, so clarity and usability are very important.