Staff/Principal Design Systems Lead

Render

. Set the design system’s vision and direction based on builder and customer needs .

Posted 10/23/2026full-timeRemote • United StatesSenior💰 $218,000 - $307,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in building and leading design systems, with a strong focus on visual and interaction design, technical architecture, and AI integration. Proven ability to develop teams, set strategic direction, and drive adoption across product teams.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Design Systems LeadershipVisual And Interaction DesignFront-End ArchitectureAI-Ready Design SystemsPrototyping And Coding

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Design SystemsVisual DesignInteraction DesignFront-End ArchitectureComponent API DesignPrototypingAI IntegrationSystems ThinkingQuality EvaluationTechnical Fluency

Soft Skills

Team LeadershipFeedback DeliveryProduct JudgmentDeveloper Empathy

Industry Keywords

Design EngineeringLayered PatternsHeadless PatternsMachine-Readable DocumentationAI-Generated Output

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Set the design system’s vision and direction based on builder and customer needs
Build the foundations hands-on, including architecture, components, guidance, and quality standards
Build and lead the team that owns the design system
Hire and develop team members, set priorities and ownership, give direct feedback, and maintain a high bar
Elevate Render’s visual and interaction design across typography, hierarchy, density, motion, responsive behavior, accessibility, and edge states
Make the design system legible to AI through machine-readable documentation, agent-accessible rules and tokens, and AI-ready architecture
Guide technical architecture with engineering across components, tokens, agent guidance discovery, and quality checks
Balance flexibility, coherence, performance, and ease of use using layered and headless patterns where appropriate
Define and measure quality through repeatable evaluations of real tasks and AI-generated output
Drive adoption by partnering with product teams and teaching through examples
Experiment as models and tools evolve and adapt based on evidence
Report to the Head of Design

Requirements

What you’ll need

Track record of setting direction and delivering outcomes in design systems or design engineering
Appetite to build a function from the ground up before leading a team
Exceptional visual and interaction design skills
Deep systems thinking and experience building systems other teams adopt
Strong technical fluency
Ability to prototype and build in code
Understanding of front-end architecture, including component API design, tokens, theming, and layered/headless patterns
Ability to work through implementation tradeoffs with engineers
Hands-on use of AI in design work
Point of view on AI-ready design systems
Understanding of where AI helps and fails and how to improve its output
Strong product judgment and developer empathy
Fluency with developers and technical products is a strong plus
Generally not eligible for new visa sponsorship; applicants requiring sponsorship must receive business authorization

Benefits

Comp & perks

4 weeks of paid vacation
14 weeks of fully paid parental leave for all parents
Long-term disability insurance
Life insurance
401K plans
100% employer-paid medical coverage for you and a dependent
99% employer-paid dental and vision coverage for you and a dependent
FSAs and HSAs
Monthly lifestyle stipend for wellness, mental health and therapy, hobbies, etc.
Monthly cell phone and internet subsidy
Commuter benefits for Renders in the Bay Area
Home office stipends for remote Renders
Continuous learning benefits and related support
Equity