Principal Designer

Government Technology Agency; Singapore; On-site; SGD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading public agency in Singapore seeks a Principal Designer to lead the design vision for crucial government products. The role demands extensive experience in making complex systems user-friendly, alongside strong mentorship skills and a commitment to accessibility. Join us to shape the future of digital services that serve millions.

Benefits

Flexible work arrangements

Learning and development opportunities

Inclusive workplace

Qualifications

• 12–15 years of experience designing and shipping digital products end-to-end.
• Portfolio demonstrating ability to simplify complex systems.
• Familiarity with APIs and system integrations.

Responsibilities

• Lead design vision for multi-stakeholder platforms.
• Use research to frame the right problems.
• Mentor and coach designers.

Skills

Design standards

Problem framing

Communication

Mentorship

Accessibility

Job description

What the role is:

GovTech is the lead agency driving Singapore’s Smart Nation initiatives and public sector digital transformation. As the Centre of Excellence for Infocomm Technology and Smart Systems (ICT & SS), GovTech develops the Singapore Government’s capabilities in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Application Development, Smart City Technology, Digital Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity.

At GovTech, we offer you a purposeful career to make lives better where we empower our people to master their craft through robust learning and development opportunities all year round.

Play a part in Singapore’s vision to build a Smart Nation and embark on your meaningful journey to build tech for public good. Join us to advance our mission and shape your future with us today!

Learn more about GovTech at tech.gov.sg.

What you will be working on:

At GovTech, we design and build the digital services that millions of people in Singapore rely on every day. As a Principal Designer, you’ll set the standard for design craft and vision across some of our most complex and important products.

This is a role for a designer who can turn complexity into clarity — framing the right problems, shaping ambitious solutions, and inspiring teams to deliver services that are simple, inclusive, and trusted.

What you’ll do

• Lead the design vision for multi‑stakeholder platforms and large‑scale government products.
• Use user insights and research to frame the right problems and set product direction.
• Create systems, standards, and patterns that bring clarity and consistency to services at scale.
• Lead by doing — prototype and model approaches for technically complex products, showing what good looks like and setting benchmarks for quality.
• Partner with engineers, product managers, and policymakers to bridge user needs with technical and business realities.
• Mentor and coach designers, helping them grow their craft and confidence.
• Build design capability across GovTech and the wider public sector, embedding design as a strategic strength.
• Define and track measures of success to show the impact of design across products.

What we are looking for

• 12–15 years designing and shipping digital products end‑to‑end — from insight to impact.
• A portfolio that shows how you’ve made complex systems simple — across enterprise platforms, workflow solutions, or other large‑scale products.
• Experience shaping design direction and standards at scale, raising the quality of products and teams.
• Mastery in problem framing, research, and storytelling — turning insight into action and inspiring others around it.
• Comfort working at the edge of tech and design — fluent enough in APIs, system integrations, data‑driven interfaces, and permissions models to co‑create with engineers.
• Commitment to accessibility and inclusive design (WCAG), ensuring services work for everyone.
• Clear communication and storytelling skills to bring stakeholders together around a bold design vision.
• Proven leadership in growing design teams and culture — and leading by example when the challenge demands it.

What will make you stand out

• Proven success launching platform‑scale or low‑code/no‑code products that empower non‑technical users to create and adapt services.
• Expertise in AI‑enabled services, data‑informed design, or shared cross‑government platforms such as identity, payments, or messaging.
• A track record of building design systems, toolkits, or frameworks that raised the bar across multiple teams.
• Experience building design capability — from running training programmes to shaping communities of practice.
• Work that shows real‑world impact — whether in civic tech, public sector, or other mission‑driven organisations.

Why this role matters

Design at GovTech is about more than interfaces. It’s about shaping services that people trust and rely on, and building the foundations of how government works in a digital age.

As Principal Designer, you’ll define what good looks like, push the boundaries of how we design for complexity, and help government grow its capability to deliver products that are not only functional — but clear, inclusive, and human.

GovTech is an equal‑opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive workplace that values diverse voices and perspectives, as we believe it is key to innovation.

Our employee benefits are based on a total rewards approach, offering a holistic and market‑competitive suite of perks.

We champion flexible work arrangements (subject to your job role) and trust you to manage your time to deliver your best.

Learn more about life inside GovTech at go.gov.sg/GovTechCareers

About Government Technology Agency

The Government Technology Agency (GovTech) is the lead agency driving Singapore’s Smart Nation initiatives and public sector digital transformation. As the Centre of Excellence for Infocomm Technology and Smart Systems (ICT & SS), GovTech develops the Singapore Government’s capabilities in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Application Development, Smart City Technology, Digital Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity. At GovTech, we offer you a purposeful career to make lives better. We empower our people to master their craft through continuous and robust learning and development opportunities all year round. Our GovTechies embody our Agile, Bold and Collaborative values to deliver impactful solutions. GovTech aims to transform the delivery of Government digital services by taking an "outside‑in" view, putting citizens and businesses at the heart of everything we do. Play a part in Singapore’s vision to build a Smart Nation and embark on your meaningful journey to build tech for public good. Join us to advance our mission and shape your future with us today! Learn more about GovTech at tech.gov.sg.