Senior Product Designer, Gamification

Sago Mini is seeking an experienced Senior Product Designer specializing in Gamification for a one-year remote contract. This role focuses on optimizing and evolving the mobile reading app, Superfonik, by applying user experience principles, a product growth mindset, and data analysis. The designer will drive experimentation, refine gamification strategies, and iterate on UX/UI improvements to maximize user engagement and retention. Collaboration with Product Management, Engineering, and Data teams is essential to ensure designs align with strategy and are technically feasible.

Must Have

• Analyze user behaviour data to identify UX/UI bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement
• Advise on how and when to test (drafting testing plans, qualitative playtesting, virtual testing)
• Design, refine, and optimize meta-game and incentive structures (points systems, achievement badges, progress visualization, parent sharing mechanics)
• Propose, design, and rapidly iterate on UX/UI improvements
• Set up and run rigorous A/B and multivariate tests
• Propose, scope, and design new product features grounded in user needs and business goals
• Work closely with Product Management, Engineering, and Data teams

Good to Have

• Experience in the EdTech, fitness, or media/entertainment space where long-term engagement and habit building are central to success
• A strong portfolio demonstrating strong visual design and successful UX optimization projects that tangibly moved key product metrics (e.g., retention, conversion)
• Experience designing for kids, understanding how kids play and perceive things

Perks & Benefits

• Open and inclusive culture
• Opportunity to work with smart, curious and collaborative folks
• Challenging, deeply rewarding and always fun work
• Accessible and inclusive application and selection process
• Reasonable accommodation to job applicants who may require provisions

Sago Mini strives to create an accessible and inclusive application and selection process and is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to job applicants who may require provisions to participate in the recruitment, selection and/or assessment processes. Should you require an accommodation, please contact Tiffany Lopes, Talent Acquisition Manager by email at tlopes@sagomini.com or by phone at 416-703-6459 and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs.

Sago Mini is an award-winning company devoted to play. With three subscription services and over 10 million monthly active users, Sago Mini creates apps that seed imagination, grow wonder, and bring thoughtful design to life for preschoolers and parents worldwide. Proudly Canadian, Sago Mini is a subsidiary of Spin Master, a leading global children’s entertainment company. Along with sister studios Toca Boca and Originator, Sago Mini is part of the Piknik bundle – a collection of the world’s best apps for kids in one subscription.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and highly analytical Senior Product Designer to drive the optimization and evolution of our new mobile reading app, Superfonik (https://superfonik.com/). This role is unique - it requires a designer who is deeply skilled in user experience principles, possesses a strong product growth mindset, and has a proven track record with experimentation, and data analysis to improve a gamified product.

This is a one-year contract position.

This role is remote, and requires the successful candidate to attend virtual meetings and collaborate with the team in the Eastern Standard Time zone.

You’ll thrive in this role if you…

• Have a passion for design: You love creating playful, interactive, and intuitive experiences with a strong visual design sensibility. Your attention to detail turns good experiences into great ones.
• Love optimization: Can work from an existing design and suggest improvements and new ways of approaching problems
• Are user-centric: You’re empathetic and deeply committed to understanding your users, ensuring that every experience is designed with them in mind.
• Own your work: You take pride in ownership, bringing a proactive and solution-oriented approach to every project.
• Collaborate effortlessly: You work well in a team, valuing collaboration, shared creativity, and collective success.
• Tell compelling stories: You craft your presentations with storytelling at the core, engaging and inspiring your audience.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Data-Informed Design: Be the primary partner and collaborator with the Product Manager, working with them to analyze user behaviour data (e.g., usage patterns, drop-off points, feature engagement, A/B test results) to identify core UX/UI bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement. You will also advise on how and when we test (e.g., drafting testing plans, qualitative playtesting, virtual testing).
• Gamification Strategy: Design, refine, and optimize the overarching meta-game and incentive structures within the app. This includes points systems, achievement badges, progress visualization, and parent sharing mechanics to maximize user engagement and habit formation.
• UX Optimization & Testing: Take ownership of the existing product framework to propose, design, and rapidly iterate on UX/UI improvements. Set up and run rigorous A/B and multivariate tests to validate hypotheses and measure the impact of design changes on key metrics like DAU (Daily Active Users), session length, and retention.
• Feature Prototyping: Propose, scope, and design new product features grounded in user needs and business goals, specifically targeting increases in usage frequency and long-term engagement with the reading app.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Product Management, Engineering, and Data teams to ensure designs are technically feasible, aligned with product strategy, and accurately implemented and tracked.

Qualifications and Skills

• 7+ years of professional experience in UX/UI design, preferably for a mobile application or platform with high user volume.
• 2+ years of direct experience integrating gamification principles into consumer-facing products.
• Expert-level ability to interpret and translate quantitative and qualitative user data into actionable design strategies. Experience with tools like Mixpanel, or similar.
• Proven ability to design for and manage A/B and multivariate testing programs for core product features.
• Proficiency with modern design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD).
• Comfortable using a mix of internal and third-party AI tools at every step of your creative process

What will make you stand out

• Experience in the EdTech, fitness, or media/entertainment space where long-term engagement and habit building are central to success.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating strong visual design and successful UX optimization projects that tangibly moved key product metrics (e.g., retention, conversion).
• Experience designing for kids, understanding how kids play and perceive things.

About the Process

• You’ll get an email response confirming we’ve received your application, and we’ll let you know within a few weeks if we’d like to schedule a follow-up.
• If you’re moving ahead, we’ll book a call to learn more about your experience.
• If that goes well, we’ll send you a short homework assignment to get a better feel for your skillset.
• If the assignment goes well, we’ll book a few more interviews with you and the hiring team to dive deeper prior to making a decision.

We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Based in Toronto, Sago Sago Toys is a subsidiary of Spin Master Limited a leading global children’s entertainment company that creates, designs and manufactures a diversified portfolio of innovative toys, games, products and entertainment properties. We hire humble and collaborative people who care about doing great work. Sago Mini is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity at our company.