Design System Lead (HYBRID)

Brooklyn Arts Council; Vienna (VA); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 91,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vis

Employer-Paid Life Insurance

Employer-Paid Short-Term and Long-Term

401(k)

Paid Time Off (PTO) including Vacation

Educational Assistance

Job summary

BRMi is seeking a Design System Lead to guide strategy, governance, and adoption of the design system across an assigned product platform. You will partner with design, engineering, product, accessibility, and enterprise teams to ensure scalable, accessible, and consistent digital experiences.

The role translates enterprise standards into practical guidance, documentation, and governance while driving adoption across product teams. Minimum 5+ years in related fields are preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Design, HCI, CS, IS, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 5+ years of experience in design systems, UX/UI design, design operations, front-end engineering, or related discipline.
• Experience leading or governing design systems for enterprise or large-scale digital platforms.
• Working knowledge of HTML, CSS/SCSS, JavaScript/TypeScript, and modern component frameworks such as React or Vue.
• Experience with design tokens, component libraries, theming, and design system architecture.
• Understanding of CI/CD, version control, release management, and documentation workflows.
• Strong knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive design principles.
• Experience with Figma, Storybook, Zeroheight, or similar design and documentation tools.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, stakeholder management, and leadership skills.
• Ability to translate business, design, and technical requirements into scalable design system solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the platform design system strategy, roadmap, and governance in alignment with enterprise standards.
• Drive adoption of approved design tokens, components, patterns, and documentation across the platform.
• Partner with product, engineering, UX, accessibility, and enterprise design system teams to deliver consistent user experiences.
• Define and maintain platform-specific design system governance, contribution models, and implementation standards.
• Evaluate implementation feasibility and collaborate with engineering teams on reusable, scalable, and accessible components.
• Support design system delivery through CI/CD, versioning, release management, testing, and documentation best practices.
• Develop and maintain implementation guidance, documentation, and training materials using tools such as Storybook and Zeroheight.
• Facilitate design-to-development handoffs and improve cross-functional collaboration throughout the product lifecycle.
• Conduct design system audits to evaluate adoption, accessibility, consistency, and overall quality.
• Identify technical and process improvement opportunities to increase efficiency, reduce rework, and improve delivery speed.
• Monitor industry trends and recommend enhancements to design system practices, tooling, and governance.
• Represent platform needs within enterprise design system initiatives and communicate priorities, risks, and recommendations to leadership.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Design systems

UX/UI design

Leadership

Collaboration

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Design, HCI, CS, IS, or related field

Tools

HTML

CSS/SCSS

JavaScript/TypeScript

React

Vue

Job description

Overview

BRMi is seeking a Design System Lead who will be responsible for leading the strategy, governance, adoption, and continuous improvement of the design system for an assigned product platform. This role partners with design, engineering, product, accessibility, and enterprise design system teams to ensure scalable, accessible, and consistent digital experiences. The position serves as the platform-level design system leader, translating enterprise standards into practical implementation guidance, documentation, and governance while driving adoption across product teams.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance


• Employer-Paid Life Insurance


• Employer-Paid Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance


• 401(k)


• Paid Time Off (PTO) that includes Vacation Leave, Sick Leave, and 11 Paid Holidays


• Educational Assistance

Salary: $80K-$91K

Hybrid in Vienna, VA 3 days per week.

An In Person interview will be required for this role prior to any offer to prevent employment fraud.

Responsibilities

• Lead the platform design system strategy, roadmap, and governance in alignment with enterprise standards.


• Drive adoption of approved design tokens, components, patterns, and documentation across the platform.


• Partner with product, engineering, UX, accessibility, and enterprise design system teams to deliver consistent user experiences.


• Define and maintain platform-specific design system governance, contribution models, and implementation standards.


• Evaluate implementation feasibility and collaborate with engineering teams on reusable, scalable, and accessible components.


• Support design system delivery through CI/CD, versioning, release management, testing, and documentation best practices.


• Develop and maintain implementation guidance, documentation, and training materials using tools such as Storybook and Zeroheight.


• Facilitate design-to-development handoffs and improve cross-functional collaboration throughout the product lifecycle.


• Conduct design system audits to evaluate adoption, accessibility, consistency, and overall quality.


• Identify technical and process improvement opportunities to increase efficiency, reduce rework, and improve delivery speed.


• Monitor industry trends and recommend enhancements to design system practices, tooling, and governance.


• Represent platform needs within enterprise design system initiatives and communicate priorities, risks, and recommendations to leadership.


• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent experience).


• 5+ years of experience in design systems, UX/UI design, design operations, front-end engineering, or a related discipline.


• Experience leading or governing design systems for enterprise or large-scale digital platforms.


• Working knowledge of HTML, CSS/SCSS, JavaScript/TypeScript, and modern component frameworks such as React or Vue.


• Experience with design tokens, component libraries, theming, and design system architecture.


• Understanding of CI/CD, version control, release management, and documentation workflows.


• Strong knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive design principles.


• Experience with Figma, Storybook, Zeroheight, or similar design and documentation tools.


• Excellent communication, collaboration, stakeholder management, and leadership skills.


• Ability to translate business, design, and technical requirements into scalable design system solutions.

BRMi will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.

This is a W2 opportunity only

EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled

We are an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and commitment at all levels. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. Employment policies and decisions on employment and promotion are based on merit, qualifications, performance, and business needs. The decisions and criteria governing the employment relationship with all employees are made in a nondiscriminatory manner, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, or any other factor determined to be unlawful by federal, state, or local statutes.