Interaction Designer III: 26-02697

Akraya, Inc.; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 103,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Akraya is seeking a Senior Design Technologist to bridge design and engineering by building technical foundations for prototyping and leading a UI refresh across modern design systems. This role improves how design work moves from Figma to production, collaborating with Product Design to speed development.

The ideal candidate has strong front-end experience, hands-on design system work, and a bias for action to reduce rework and accelerate delivery.

Qualifications

• Strong front-end engineering background with experience in design systems and component libraries.
• Experience owning a GitHub/Git repository end-to-end, including structure and branching.
• Hands-on experience with Figma, design tokens, Code Connect, or similar tooling.
• Experience building prototyping libraries or technical foundations for design teams.
• Proven experience partnering with Product Designers to improve handoffs.
• Strong understanding of component-based development and modern UI patterns.
• Ability to identify and resolve technical blockers quickly.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a scalable prototyping library/repository that design teams can use as a technical foundation.
• Establish clean GitHub practices including repository structure, branching, versioning, contribution guidelines, and scalability.
• Lead the technical kickoff for the UI refresh across IDS, GBSG, and CGDS.
• Determine which design systems and components should be used across different products and teams.
• Define implementation patterns and ensure the UI refresh is completed correctly without technical debt.
• Partner with Product Design to make design experiences code-ready and production-ready faster.
• Define and improve design-to-development handoff processes to reduce rework and shorten turnaround time.
• Work hands-on to unblock teams and solve technical challenges during prototyping and implementation.
• Support the adoption of modern design system tooling, components, and design-to-code workflows.

Skills

Front-End Engineering

Design Systems

Component Libraries

GitHub/Git

Figma

Design Tokens

Code Connect

Tools

GitHub

Code Connect

Figma

Job description

Primary Skills: Front-End Engineering (advanced), Design Systems (advanced), Component Libraries (advanced), GitHub/Git (advanced), Figma (advanced), Design Tokens (advanced), Code Connect (advanced)

Contract Type: W2

Duration: 12 Months

Location: San Diego, CA (#LI-Hybrid)

Pay Range: $75-$80/hr #LP

Job Summary:

This role is for a Senior Design Technologist who will bridge design and engineering by building technical foundations for prototyping, leading a UI refresh across modern design systems, and improving how design work moves from Figma to production. The ideal candidate has a strong front-end engineering background, hands-on experience with design systems and component libraries, and the ability to work directly with Product Design teams to make development faster and more efficient.

Key Responsibilities:

• Build and maintain a scalable Claude prototyping library/repository that design teams can use as a technical foundation.
• Establish clean GitHub practices including repository structure, branching, versioning, contribution guidelines, and scalability.
• Lead the technical kickoff for the UI refresh across IDS, GBSG, and CGDS.
• Determine which design systems and components should be used across different products and teams.
• Define implementation patterns and ensure the UI refresh is completed correctly without creating additional technical debt.
• Partner with Product Design to make design experiences code-ready and production-ready faster.
• Define and improve design-to-development handoff processes to reduce rework and shorten turnaround time.
• Work hands-on to unblock teams and solve technical challenges during prototyping and implementation.
• Support the adoption of modern design system tooling, components, and design-to-code workflows.

Must-Have Skills:

• Strong front-end engineering background with hands-on experience building or working with design systems and component libraries.
• Experience owning a GitHub/Git repository end-to-end, including structure, branching, contribution guidelines, versioning, and CI.
• Hands-on experience with Figma, design tokens, Code Connect, or similar design-system/design-to-code tooling.
• Experience building and maintaining prototyping libraries or technical foundations for design teams.
• Proven experience partnering directly with Product Designers to improve design-to-development handoffs.
• Strong understanding of component-based development and modern UI implementation patterns.
• Ability to identify and resolve technical blockers quickly.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Pragmatic, hands‑on approach with the ability to execute rather than only provide technical architecture.

Nice-to-Have Skills:

• Experience leading a large-scale UI refresh or design-system migration.
• Experience working across multiple design systems or product organizations.
• Experience with Code Connect or similar Figma-to-code workflows.
• Experience establishing reusable prototyping frameworks for designers and engineers.
• Experience reducing technical debt through standardized UI/component implementation.
• Experience working in a product organization closely with Product Design, Engineering, and Design Systems teams.

Industry Experience:

This role is ideal for candidates with experience in front‑end engineering, design systems, design technology, UI development, prototyping, SaaS, or technology environments. Candidates who have worked as a Design Technologist, Front‑End Engineer, UI Engineer, Design Systems Engineer, or similar hybrid design/engineering professional would be highly relevant.

ABOUT AKRAYA

Akraya is an award‑winning IT staffing firm consistently recognized for our commitment to excellence and a thriving work environment.Most recently, we were recognized Inc's Best Workplaces 2024 and Silicon Valley's Best Places to Work by the San Francisco Business Journal (2024) and Glassdoor's Best Places to Work (2023 & 2022)!

Industry Leaders in IT Staffing As staffing solutions providers for Fortune 100 companies, Akraya's industry recognitions solidify our leadership position in the IT staffing space.We don't just connect you with great jobs, we connect you with a workplace that inspires!

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