Design System Lead

Into Design Systems; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Kaluza is seeking a Design System Lead to shape and evolve the global design system within its UX team. The role is based in Bristol or London with a hybrid pattern (three days in the office) and reports to the Head of UX.

You will partner closely with engineering, product and delivery to drive strategy, governance and accessibility across the system. The ideal candidate has deep experience building design systems at scale, demonstrates strong UX judgment, and can lead cross-functional

Qualifications

• Experience designing, building and evolving a design system at scale, including tokens, component APIs, documentation and governance.
• Strong design and UX judgement, starting from the user.
• Experience running a contribution process across multiple teams or apps.

Responsibilities

• Shape the future of the design system and the global Agent Experience product as an equal partner to engineering, product and delivery.
• Create and deliver the design strategy for the system in direct partnership with the engineering lead, holding joint accountability for its direction.
• Set and uphold the design and UX quality bar across every contribution, including accessibility, and be comfortable challenging and being challenged.
• Run the contribution process end to end so teams can propose, design and ship into the system from first proposal through to full adoption.
• Design, prototype and ship components, including using AI-assisted tools to move from Figma to production code, built to WCAG 2.2 AA from the start.
• Coach and develop the designers and engineers who build with the system.
• Represent the design system to stakeholders across the business, advocating for its value and shaping company understanding and investment.
• Champion good design and accessibility thinking in architecture and technical decisions, working alongside senior engineering leaders as a peer.

Skills

Design system

WCAG 2.2 AA

AI tooling

Cross-functional

User-centric design

Engineering collaboration

Job description

Design System Lead at Kaluza, based in Bristol/London, UK, working hybrid (three days a week in the office). Permanent position on the UX team reporting to the Head of UX. The role requires an existing right to work in the UK (visa sponsorship is not offered). Kaluza describes itself as the Energy Intelligence Platform and lists customers including OVO, AGL, ENGIE, Volvo and Volkswagen.

What you'll do

• Shape the future of the design system and the global Agent Experience product as an equal partner to engineering, product and delivery
• Create and deliver the design strategy for the system in direct partnership with the engineering lead, holding joint accountability for its direction
• Set and uphold the design and UX quality bar across every contribution, including accessibility, and be comfortable challenging and being challenged
• Run the contribution process end to end so teams can propose, design and ship into the system from first proposal through to full adoption
• Design, prototype and ship components, including using AI-assisted tools to move from Figma to production code, built to WCAG 2.2 AA from the start
• Coach and develop the designers and engineers who build with the system
• Represent the design system to stakeholders across the business, advocating for its value and shaping company understanding and investment
• Champion good design and accessibility thinking in architecture and technical decisions, working alongside senior engineering leaders as a peer

What they're looking for

• Existing right to work in the UK; visa sponsorship is not offered
• Deep experience designing, building and evolving a design system at scale, including tokens, component APIs, documentation and governance
• Strong design and UX judgement, starting from the user, comfortable challenging and being challenged by engineers and other designers
• Practical knowledge of WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards and empathy for designing for users with accessibility needs
• Confidence working in code and using AI-assisted tools to take a component from design intent through to shipped reality
• Experience running a contribution or change process across multiple teams or apps, from proposal to full migration
• Track record setting and delivering technical and design strategy jointly with engineering, iteratively through genuine ambiguity
• Strong communication skills, able to hold opinions loosely and raise what matters across engineering, product and the wider business