Product Designer – Design Systems

bareinsights · via Himalayas ·

Budget / Salary$60–100
TypeFull-time job
LocationUnited States
Posted3 hours ago
About the Role
A well-funded seed-stage AI infrastructure startup is looking for experienced Design Systems specialists to help build the data layer that teaches AI models what great design looks like. You'll work on production-grade design systems used to evaluate and train AI design tools — building them, implementing them in code, and assessing how well AI systems ingest and reproduce them.
This is a contract, fully remote role with async flexibility and quick turnarounds. You can join on one of three tracks:

Design Track: Build complete design systems in Figma — tokens (color, type, spacing, radius), component libraries with variants and states, and golden screens composed exclusively from library components.

Product Design Track: Envision product designs from scratch using and implementing existing design systems, maintaining strict adherence throughout.

Engineering Track: Implement design systems as coded component libraries using React, Storybook (v8), token pipelines (e.g., Style Dictionary), and variant patterns (e.g., CVA).

What You'll Do

Prompt AI models to generate and refine design work from a brief across multiple conversation turns

Evolve the underlying design system: refine color ramps, type scales, spacing and radius tokens, and component treatments

Evaluate AI outputs on design-system coherence, visual quality, and fit to the brief — flagging where adherence breaks down

Compare outputs, select the stronger one, and write clear rationale and reproduction prompts grounded in expert judgement

Vote and rank preferences to help train models on what a cohesive, high-quality design system looks like

What We're Looking For
Dealbreakers (must-haves):

3+ years of professional experience building and owning token-based design systems (color ramps, type scales, spacing and radius tokens, components with variants and states)

You have personally built and owned a token-based system end-to-end — not just consumed one

Portfolio with at least 3 examples of end-to-end design work

Required:

Experience reasoning about design systems expressed in code (HTML/CSS/tokens) and identifying interface breaks from system specifications

Professional experience building, maintaining, or applying design systems in an in-house team, agency, or design-engineering role

Experience with React or Figma variables for design system implementation

Sharp eye for adherence — you notice when a corner radius, casing rule, or spacing value drifts from spec

Ability to write structured, specific creative direction grounded in design-systems principles

Nice to Have:

Proficiency with AI design tools (Claude, Figma AI, or similar)

Experience with Storybook v8, Style Dictionary, or CVA

Eagerness to work at the frontier of AI-assisted design tooling

Compensation & Benefits

Rate: $60–$100 per hour (USD)

Contract / freelance engagement

Fully remote and async-friendly

Visa sponsorship: Not available

Location
This role is fully remote and open globally. The primary hiring timezone is aligned with New York, United States.
Originally posted on Himalayas
design-system-designer design-systems-specialist product-designer
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