Design System Lead

Kaluza; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Pension scheme

Discounts and benefits

Learning budget

Home office budget

Furthr climate action app

Discretionary bonus

Flex Fund 5% of salary

Job summary

Kaluza in the UK is seeking a Design System Lead within the UX team, reporting to the Head of UX. You will shape the future of Kaluza's design system and its global Agent Experience product, working as an equal partner to engineering, product and delivery.

Based in Bristol or London, you will work a hybrid pattern with three days in the office and the rest flexibly. You will design, prototype and ship components using AI-assisted tools, ensure WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility from the start, and coach

Qualifications

• Deep experience designing, building and evolving a design system at scale (tokens, components, docs, governance).
• Strong UX judgement with user-first approach; able to challenge engineers and designers.
• Practical knowledge of WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards.

Responsibilities

• Set and deliver the design strategy for the design system in partnership with the engineering lead.
• Uphold design and UX quality across contributions, including accessibility.
• Run the contribution process end-to-end across teams for proposals to adoption.
• Design, prototype and ship components, using AI-assisted tools and production-ready code, WCAG 2.2 AA from start.
• Coach and develop designers and engineers who contribute to the system.
• Represent the design system to stakeholders and advocate its value across the business.
• Champion accessibility and design thinking in architecture and technical decisions.

Skills

Design system leadership

Tokens & APIs

Accessibility WCAG

Cross-functional leadership

AI-assisted prototyping

Mentoring

Stakeholder advocacy

Tools

Figma

Job description

Kaluza is an energy intelligence platform that orchestrates millions of real-time decisions across homes, devices, markets and grids. It works with energy companies including OVO, AGL and ENGIE, as well as companies like Volvo and Volkswagen, helping them manage the shift to clean, electrified energy. The company has teams across Europe, Asia and Australia, and a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan.

The role

The Design System Lead sits within the UX team and reports to the Head of UX. The role exists to shape the future of Kaluza's design system and its global Agent Experience product, working as an equal partner to engineering, product and delivery. You would hold joint accountability for the system's direction alongside the engineering lead.

What you would do

• Set and deliver the design strategy for the design system in direct partnership with the engineering lead, with shared accountability for its direction
• Uphold design and UX quality across every contribution, including accessibility, and be comfortable challenging engineers and designers as well as being challenged yourself
• Run the contribution process end to end, so teams outside your own can propose, design and ship into the system, from first proposal through to full adoption
• Design, prototype and ship components yourself, 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 and contribute to the system
• Represent the design system to stakeholders across the business, advocating for its value and shaping how the wider company understands and invests in it
• Champion good design and accessibility thinking in architecture and technical decisions, working alongside senior engineering leaders as a peer

What they are looking for

• 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, with genuine comfort challenging and being challenged by engineers and other designers
• Practical knowledge of WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards and real empathy for users with accessibility needs
• Confidence working in code, 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
• A track record of 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 even when inconvenient, across engineering, product and the wider business
• Experience mentoring, coaching and developing other designers
• A bias to action, comfortable building momentum in the face of real uncertainty
• Existing right to work in the UK (visa sponsorship is not available for this role)

Working arrangements

The role is based in Bristol or London, UK, with a hybrid working arrangement of three days a week in the office. The remaining days can be worked flexibly. This role requires an existing right to work in the UK; visa sponsorship is not offered.

Pay and benefits

Kaluza offers 26 days' holiday, plus 26 weeks' full pay for new parents with no qualifying service period. Benefits include private medical insurance with a virtual GP, life assurance, a pension scheme, free mortgage advice and eye tests. There is a discretionary bonus, a Flex Fund of 5% of salary to spend on chosen benefits, retail discounts, a personal learning budget, a home office budget, and access to Furthr, a climate action app.