UX/UI Designer

About the company

Meetup is a platform focused on helping people find events, connect with others who share their interests, and build meaningful relationships in the real world. It is now part of Bending Spoons, which means this role sits within a broader group of digital products guided by innovation and strong operational execution. Depending on where you are placed, you may contribute to Meetup itself or to another product in the portfolio, while working in a collaborative setting designed for high impact.

Bending Spoons aims to build a long-lasting, highly effective company that creates value for customers and shareowners while maintaining strong ethical standards. The company acquires and improves digital businesses for the long term, making substantial changes to accelerate innovation and improve performance. Teams are intentionally small, strong, and highly capable, and the organization combines the speed and urgency of a startup with the stability of established products. AI is embedded deeply into everyday work so that human judgment and machine intelligence complement one another.

This role is intended for someone talented, motivated, and collaborative who wants to learn quickly, contribute meaningfully, and accelerate their career in a high-growth environment.

What you'll do

• Create strong product experiences by designing polished UX and UI from early ideas through final delivery, using modern tools to explore more options quickly and raise quality.
• Use AI as a starting point for thinking: clarify goals, draft concise specifications, and identify risks, edge cases, and possible approaches before moving into design tools.
• Turn ideas into interactive prototypes and production-ready frontend code with tools such as Cursor and Claude Code, moving between coding and Figma as needed to achieve the best outcome.
• Work closely with product managers and engineers from the beginning, define UX needs early, stay involved through QA and release, and make decisions with engineering constraints in mind.
• Test and improve designs by speaking with customers, running fast experiments, and using data such as funnels, retention, and adoption to evaluate impact.
• Spot the most valuable opportunities in the backlog, align stakeholders around them, and move quickly to deliver meaningful product improvements.

What we're looking for

• Strong reasoning and problem-solving ability, with a first-principles mindset and the ability to structure ideas clearly while avoiding bias.
• High drive, ambition, ownership, and persistence, along with a consistently high standard for your own work.
• Genuine team spirit: willingness to support others, back the best idea, stay practical, and work transparently and reliably.
• Professional fluency in English, both written and spoken.

What we offer

• Small, autonomous, highly talented teams where you work alongside strong peers in a results-oriented environment.
• Strong growth opportunities, with the chance to take on major responsibilities quickly if you show the ability.
• Competitive compensation plus access to equity in the company.
• For candidates with limited experience, the typical annual pay is £85,797 in London and €66,065 elsewhere in Europe.
• For candidates assessed as having substantial relevant experience, annual pay typically ranges from £112,189 to £250,512 in London and €107,837 to €188,848 elsewhere in Europe.
• In exceptional cases, compensation may go beyond the usual ranges when higher expected impact justifies it.
• If offered a permanent contract, you may be able to receive part of your pay in company equity at a discounted price.
• If you relocate to Italy, you may benefit from a 50% tax reduction.
• Flexible working hours, remote work options, unlimited learning and training support, top-tier health insurance, a strong relocation package, generous parental support, and an annual retreat to a beautiful location.

Commitment and contract

This is a full-time role on either a permanent or fixed-term contract.

Location and working setup

The role can be based in Milan, London, Madrid, Warsaw, or remote from selected countries. Although the long-term setup is flexible, the company recommends spending the first few months working from the Milan office to ramp up faster, learn the culture, and build trust with the team. Travel and accommodation support is provided for that onboarding period. After that, you may work from the Milan or London offices, or remotely from approved countries, depending on what is agreed at the offer stage.

Selection process

The hiring process focuses on verifiable evidence of excellence, regardless of years of experience. Every candidate is reviewed through the same process, with no special route based on background alone.

Candidates are encouraged not to rule themselves out if they feel underqualified or believe their CV is imperfect, as potential matters and growth over time is valued.

All applications must be submitted through the company careers page. Shortlisted candidates will complete one or more tests, which can be demanding, may involve unfamiliar problems, and can take several hours. The company notes that more details about the process are available elsewhere.

Because the hiring bar is very high, the position may stay open for months or be posted again multiple times if the right candidate has not yet been found.

Reasonable accommodations are available for candidates with disabilities.

Before you apply

If you have applied before and were not selected for an offer, it is recommended that you wait at least one year before trying again.

This is a demanding environment with very high expectations. The upside includes strong learning, achievement, and career growth, but it also requires substantial commitment.

To help new hires get up to speed, the company recommends spending the first few months working from the Milan office, regardless of the long-term location. Travel and accommodation support is offered for this period.

The role is open to candidates who are excited by a challenging environment and ready to contribute at a high level.