Principal / Lead Designer, Design Practice

GovTech Singapore; Singapore; On-site; SGD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Market-competitive perks

Holistic rewards approach

Job summary

GovTech Singapore is seeking a Principal Designer to lead design standards and support product teams in building strong design cultures. With a focus on shaping the design landscape across the government, the ideal candidate has over 12 years of experience in design and the ability to influence through strong communication.

This role encompasses various aspects of design work, including mentoring, talent building, and engagement with emerging technologies like AI. Join us to make impactful contributions to Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in design, focusing on shaping standards and culture.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and drive change.
• Depth in design processes from research to delivery.

Responsibilities

• Shape design standards and playbook for teams.
• Support new product teams in establishing design culture.
• Build design talent and mentorship programs.

Skills

Strong communication

Design standards shaping

Mentoring

Influencing and argumentation

Problem framing

Active engagement with AI

Job description

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 by empowering 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!

GovTech’s Design Practice is the central design team for the agency, responsible for the standards, culture, and capabilities that design teams across government rely on. We have more to do than we have people to do it, and that’s the opportunity. As a Principal Designer, you’ll work across the full range of what the practice is building: from shaping design standards and the product‑first playbook, to supporting new product teams as they stand up, to growing design talent and the community that connects designers across government. The exact shape of your work will flex with the practice’s priorities and your own strengths. What stays constant is the seniority of the problems and the room to lead.

Responsibilities

• Helping shape design standards and the product‑first playbook that other practices build around.
• Supporting new product teams as they form, helping their leads find their footing and their teams build a strong design culture.
• Standing up the systems the practice runs on: hiring processes, role frameworks, evaluation rubrics, and the baseline for what good design looks like.
• Building design talent and capability across GovTech, through mentoring, reskilling programs, and growing the leadership community.
• Keeping designers connected and good work visible, through community spaces, events, and showcasing strong outcomes.

What You’ll Thrive Here If

• You care deeply about design, almost to a fault. This role is full of hard conversations that matter, and only someone who genuinely cares will have the energy for them.
• You’re comfortable being opinionated, and you can hold a position in a debate without needing to win it.
• You see your job as moving the whole field forward, not producing the most polished artifact in the room.
• You’re energised by ambiguity and the chance to define things that don’t exist yet.

What We Are Looking For

• 12+ years in design, with a track record of shaping standards, culture, or capability, not just shipping products.
• A demonstrated point of view on craft and quality, and the credibility to back it up with work.
• Evidence that you can drive change through influence and argument: frameworks others adopted, debates you moved, bars you raised.
• Depth across the design arc, from research and problem framing through to interface and delivery.
• A strong communicator who builds trust quickly and can hold the room in difficult, multi‑stakeholder conversations.
• Active engagement with how AI is reshaping design work is a strong plus.

What You Can Expect

• Work that is genuinely varied and rarely pre‑defined, spanning AI, policy, capability, and culture.
• Real influence over how design is understood and valued across government, with the seniority to set the bar.
• A mandate to build something that lasts, and the kind of hard, meaningful problems that make the work worth caring about.

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.