Design System Lead - Product & Engineering

100 Shift4 Payments, LLC; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Shift4 seeks a Design System Lead to own the design system end-to-end across web, mobile, and POS products. You will define token architecture, component libraries, and accessibility standards, while steering AI-assisted tooling to unify platforms and accelerate production.

You will partner with product and engineering to migrate legacy interfaces, drive design-to-code workflows, and mentor designers on systems thinking and implementation-aware design.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in Product Design, Design Systems, or UX Engineering roles.
• Proven track record building, evolving, and implementing production-ready design systems at scale.
• Deep expertise in token architecture, theming, component variants, accessibility, and cross-platform design systems.
• Strong Figma skills and understanding of design system best practices, governance, and design-to-code workflows.
• Hands-on experience with React, ShadCN, and Tailwind CSS, as well as Kotlin/Jetpack Compose and Material 3, with a strong understanding of how design system components, tokens, and patterns are implemented in production code.
• Demonstrated ability to use AI-assisted tools to accelerate design system work, including migration, auditing, component generation or mapping, documentation, and design-to-code workflows.
• Strong understanding of front-end implementation and the ability to collaborate directly with engineers on production design system components.
• Clear communicator who can align design and engineering around shared conventions and technical constraints.

Responsibilities

• Assess the current state of our design systems across design and engineering, identify gaps and duplication, and establish a practical roadmap for unification, migration, and ongoing governance.
• Own, evolve, and consolidate our design system foundations across web, mobile, and POS products.
• Define and maintain scalable token architecture, component libraries, theming, accessibility standards, and cross-platform patterns.
• Lead the migration of existing and legacy interfaces to the shared design system, using AI-assisted tools and workflows to accelerate the process at scale.
• Drive design-to-code alignment between Figma and production, establishing practical workflows that connect design, design system code, and production.
• Partner closely with engineers to translate design system foundations into production, accelerate component migration, identify inconsistencies, and improve adoption across products.
• Identify and implement AI-assisted opportunities to automate repetitive design system work, including audits, component mapping, documentation, and migration.
• Establish clear design system standards and review mechanisms that prevent teams from creating redundant or non-compliant components and ensure new work aligns with the shared system.
• Work closely with Product and Engineering leads to ensure the design system accelerates product development rather than creating additional processes or rework.
• Mentor designers on implementation-aware design, token usage, systems thinking, and AI-enabled workflows.
• Create practical documentation, examples, and guidelines that help product teams correctly adopt and extend the design system.

Skills

Design systems

Figma

React

Tailwind CSS

AI workflows

Token architecture

Cross-functional collaboration

Front-end engineering

Accessibility

Communication

Tools

Storybook

Style Dictionary

Job description

Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) is boldly redefining commerce by simplifying complex payments ecosystems across the world. As the leader in commerce-enabling technology, Shift4 powers billions of transactions annually for hundreds of thousands of businesses in virtually every industry. For more information, visit www.shift4.com.

Design System Lead - Product & Engineering Summary

Our Product Design team works across multiple product lines, from web and SaaS to Android and POS hardware, as we move toward a shared foundation. We are looking for a Design System Lead to lead the next evolution of that foundation. You will own the design system end-to-end, from token architecture and component governance to AI-assisted tooling that closes the gap between Figma and production. You will define what should be standardized across platforms and what should remain platform-specific, creating a cohesive product experience without forcing a single technical implementation. This is a high-impact, high-autonomy role at the intersection of systems design, front‑end engineering, and modern AI workflows. This role is onsite and can be based at any of the following Shift4 locations: Tampa, FL (preferred) / Atlanta, GA / Center Valley, PA Relocation assistance may be available.

Responsibilities

• Assess the current state of our design systems across design and engineering, identify gaps and duplication, and establish a practical roadmap for unification, migration, and ongoing governance.
• Own, evolve, and consolidate our design system foundations across web, mobile, and POS products.
• Define and maintain scalable token architecture, component libraries, theming, accessibility standards, and cross-platform patterns.
• Lead the migration of existing and legacy interfaces to the shared design system, using AI‑assisted tools and workflows to accelerate the process at scale.
• Drive design‑to‑code alignment between Figma and production, establishing practical workflows that connect design, design system code, and production.
• Partner closely with engineers to translate design system foundations into production, accelerate component migration, identify inconsistencies, and improve adoption across products.
• Identify and implement AI‑assisted opportunities to automate repetitive design system work, including audits, component mapping, documentation, and migration.
• Establish clear design system standards and review mechanisms that prevent teams from creating redundant or non‑compliant components and ensure new work aligns with the shared system.
• Work closely with Product and Engineering leads to ensure the design system accelerates product development rather than creating additional processes or rework.
• Mentor designers on implementation‑aware design, token usage, systems thinking, and AI‑enabled workflows.
• Create practical documentation, examples, and guidelines that help product teams correctly adopt and extend the design system.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in Product Design, Design Systems, or UX Engineering roles.
• Proven track record building, evolving, and implementing production‑ready design systems at scale.
• Deep expertise in token architecture, theming, component variants, accessibility, and cross‑platform design systems.
• Strong Figma skills and understanding of design system best practices, governance, and design‑to‑code workflows.
• Hands‑on experience with React, ShadCN, and Tailwind CSS, as well as Kotlin/Jetpack Compose and Material 3, with a strong understanding of how design system components, tokens, and patterns are implemented in production code.
• Demonstrated ability to use AI‑assisted tools to accelerate design system work, including migration, auditing, component generation or mapping, documentation, and design‑to‑code workflows.
• Strong understanding of front‑end implementation and the ability to collaborate directly with engineers on production design system components.
• Clear communicator who can align design and engineering around shared conventions and technical constraints.

Nice‑to‑have

• Experience in fintech, commerce, POS, or SaaS product environments.
• Experience migrating legacy design systems or products to a new unified system.
• Experience using AI to automate or accelerate design system implementation, auditing, and migration.
• Experience contributing directly to design system code or front‑end repositories.
• Experience with Storybook, Style Dictionary, or other token pipeline tooling.
• Background in prototyping advanced or AI‑assisted user experiences.
• Comfort working with payment terminal UI constraints and hardware‑specific design patterns.

What success looks like

Legacy products have a clear path toward the shared design foundation, with migration prioritized based on product impact and engineering feasibility. The shared design system is successfully adopted across web, mobile, and POS products, with legacy experiences progressively migrated to the new foundation. Product teams ship faster because the design system accelerates decisions instead of creating rework. Figma and production stay tightly aligned, with designers and engineers working from a consistent source of truth. AI‑assisted workflows meaningfully accelerate design system migration, auditing, documentation, and design‑to‑code workflows. The design team produces more consistent, implementation‑aware work. New features move from concept to production faster without sacrificing UX quality. The system has modern, maintainable foundations that scale as Shift4 adds products, platforms, and people.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE OF COMMERCE

About Shift4 Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) powers the experience economy, enabling businesses to deliver the moments that matter. Transforming how people shop, dine, stay, and play, Shift4’s commerce technology allows for an seamless experience at any scale. From your neighborhood restaurant to the world’s largest event venues, Shift4 handles billions of transactions annually for hundreds of thousands of businesses around the world. For more information, visit shift4.com.

About Global Blue

Global Blue by Shift4 is the industry leader in Tax Free Shopping solutions, simplifying the tax refund process for international travelers and driving revenue for retailers through a fully integrated commerce experience. As a business partner for the shopping journey, we seamlessly connect shoppers and brands worldwide, powering over 40 million transactions each year. For more information, please visit globalblue.com and shift4.com.

A Global Leader in Financial Technology

75+ Countries $300+ Billion Processed Annually 300,000+ Customers 1,200+ Technology Integrations 5+ Billion Annual Transactions 100+ Payment Methods Shift4's experienced senior leadership team helps us push the boundaries of commerce innovation. Meet the Executive Team Shift4Cares We take corporate social responsibility seriously and strive to make a positive impact on the world around us. The Shift4 team is committed to making a difference in our local communities through volunteerism and other charitable contributions. Join Our Team Our people are our greatest asset, and we’re always looking for driven and innovative individuals to join our fast-growing team.