Lead Designer, Design System

Job Title: Lead Designer, Design System

Location: On-site
Job Type: Full-time
Experience: 6-7 years in design, with at least 3 years of experience working with design systems.

About the Role:
We are looking for a passionate and experienced Lead Design System Designer to join our team and spearhead the evolution of our design systems. As a Lead Designer, you will drive the creation, maintenance, and scaling of our design systems, ensuring they meet the highest standards of usability, accessibility, and consistency. You will mentor and guide a team of designers and developers, advocate for design system adoption, and align the system’s growth with product and organizational goals.

Key Responsibilities:

• System Strategy & Optimization: Lead the development of scalable design systems by optimizing components and subsystems to function cohesively within the broader ecosystem.
• Functional Excellence: Ensure components are designed for scalability, efficiency, and reusability while maintaining alignment with technical and functional requirements.
• Visual & Interaction Design: Oversee the visual and interaction design guidelines, ensuring they reflect best practices and elevate the user experience.
• Design System Management:
• Drive improvements in accessibility, design token usage, and comprehensive documentation processes.
• Advocate for and integrate inclusive design principles across all system components.
• Establish and enforce best practices for design token creation and management.
• Team Mentorship: Mentor junior and mid-level designers on system thinking and design principles. Shape team processes to enhance collaboration and impact.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner with product, engineering, and other stakeholders to align the design system roadmap with business goals and user needs.
• Advocacy & Evangelism: Promote the value of the design system across the organization, fostering buy-in and driving adoption.
• Critical Thinking: Proactively anticipate edge cases and guide solutions to address them holistically.
• Front-End Collaboration: Collaborate with developers to ensure seamless implementation and evolution of the system’s technical aspects.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in UI/UX or Product Design, with at least 3 years working directly on design systems.
• Proven ability to create scalable, reusable design components and systems in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong skills in system thinking, interaction design, and visual design principles.
• Hands-on experience with design tokens, accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG), and creating detailed documentation.
• Proficiency with design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD.
• Solid understanding of front-end technologies (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and experience collaborating with developers.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to mentor team members and advocate for design system practices.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience conducting accessibility audits and leading inclusive design practices.
• Familiarity with version control systems like Git for managing design system assets.
• Strong presentation skills to articulate design system goals and strategies to stakeholders.

What We Offer:

• A collaborative environment that values innovation and user-centered design.
• Opportunities to work on impactful projects at scale.
• Continuous learning and professional development opportunities.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.