Mobile Design Engineer

About Payward and Kraken

Payward, the parent company of Kraken and other financial services, has spent 15 years developing a cutting-edge, globally accessible financial infrastructure aimed at advancing an open financial system worldwide. Kraken, founded in 2011, is a renowned cryptocurrency platform trusted by over 10 million users globally, providing services such as spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC, catering to individual and institutional investors.

Team and Product Focus

The Consumer Mobile team is responsible for the Kraken app, used by millions to manage their funds. The team works primarily in React Native, focusing on creating an intuitive and satisfying user experience where performance and feel are prioritized to build user trust.

Role Overview

This role blends design and engineering into one discipline. The engineer will oversee the animation and interaction experience throughout the Kraken app. Key responsibilities include managing motion timing, gesture responses, transitions, haptics, and sound elements that influence user trust during sensitive financial interactions.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the creation and refinement of the app's motion and interaction layer including easing, gestures, transitions, haptics, and sound feedback.
• Maintain and develop the mobile design system’s components such as gesture handlers, transition tools, animated containers, and motion tokens as well as the governing standards.
• Collaborate closely with product designers to elevate the implementation of motion and interaction designs from concept through production.
• Analyze and optimize rendering and performance, particularly on lower-spec Android devices to prevent frame drops.
• Participate in architectural decisions related to UI responsiveness, including state management and rendering pipelines.
• Set high standards for mobile user experience through code reviews, example projects, and establishing best practices.

Candidate Qualifications

• A portfolio showcasing interaction design work, demos, or examples of delivered projects demonstrating craft excellence.
• Expertise in React Native, particularly with Reanimated and gesture handling. Ability to profile JS and UI thread activities to optimize performance.
• Strong sense of motion design, including knowledge of easing curves and spring dynamics, with ability to critique and improve animation quality.
• Good product judgment capable of identifying underlying problems from briefs and delivering superior solutions beyond initial specifications.
• Experience incorporating AI tools like Cursor, Copilot, or Claude to enhance workflow efficiency.
• Proficiency in English communication, both written and spoken, to function effectively in a distributed team environment.

Desirable Skills

• Familiarity with React Native Skia and shader or custom canvas rendering techniques.
• Native coding skills in Swift or Kotlin sufficient for bridging modules and platform-specific insights.
• Contributions to motion libraries, design systems, or reusable interaction components utilized by other developers.
• Background in visual or motion design and prototyping using tools such as Figma or After Effects.
• Experience in high-stakes domains like fintech, trading, or healthcare where UI accuracy is critical.

Additional Information

Applications are ongoing unless otherwise specified. Candidates may remove personal identifying information related to age or education from resumes. The company practices fair hiring assessing candidates fairly, including those with criminal histories, in accordance with applicable legislation. Payward values diversity and inclusion, hiring based on merit and encouraging applicants passionate about crypto even if they don't meet all listed criteria.

Equal opportunity employment with zero tolerance for any discrimination or harassment based on protected characteristics.