Principal Experience Designer - Visual Systems, Remote

Kenyan Edu; United States; Remote; USD 190,000 - 315,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)

401(k) match + comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Workiva seeks a Principal Experience Designer to shape Unify’s visual language and design-system tokens for our enterprise platform. You’ll lead high-visibility visuals for conferences and executive audiences while guiding teams toward consistent, scalable design decisions.

Collaborating with product, PM, and engineering, you’ll evolve token architecture, create reference designs, and own documentation for designers, engineers, and AI workflows. Strong craft and storytelling are essential.

Qualifications

• Portfolio demonstrating exceptional visual craft and scalable product systems.
• Hands-on experience with AI-assisted design or prototyping workflows.
• Experience defining or evolving a design system’s visual language, including tokens, components, patterns, and documentation.
• Strong ability to create compelling product narratives for senior leaders and high-visibility audiences.
• Experience partnering with engineers and balancing design intent with system health.
• Track record of influencing and coaching teams without formal authority.
• Experience building reference sites, design-system documentation, or machine-readable guidance.
• Experience with semantic or multi-tier token systems, motion design, presentation design, or event experiences.
• Background in frontend development, developer tools, cross-platform systems, or regulated industries.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve Unify’s visual language across typography, color, spacing, iconography, motion, and brand expression.
• Partner with components and patterns sub-teams to ensure consistent visual design.
• Collaborate with product design, product mgmt and engineering to translate system decisions to production.
• Maintain a scalable token architecture supporting cross-product experiences over time.
• Create and maintain reference designs and guidance for designers and engineers.
• Lead visual design for high-stakes moments (conferences, exec presentations, partnerships).
• Coach designers and influence cross-functional partners with strong visual storytelling.
• Establish evaluation of AI-generated designs to strengthen tokens and guidance.

Skills

Advanced visual craft

Systems thinking

AI-assisted design

Design systems

Token architecture

Documentation

Cross-functional collaboration

Storytelling to leadership

Frontend collaboration

Education

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

Master's degree in Design (optional)

PhD with 6+ years experience (optional)

Tools

AI tooling for design

Design tooling (Figma/XD)

Job description

Workiva seeks a Principal Experience Designer to shape Unify’s visual language and design-system tokens for our enterprise platform. You’ll lead high-visibility visuals for conferences and executive audiences while guiding teams toward consistent, scalable design decisions.

Collaborating with product, PM, and engineering, you’ll evolve token architecture, create reference designs, and own documentation for designers, engineers, and AI workflows. Strong craft and storytelling are essential.