Senior Frontend Engineer, Design Systems

Tend; Washington; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work policy + stipend

ESOP

Paid parental leave

Group Salary Continuance Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Extra leave days & study/volunteer

Global working groups

Hackathons

EV leasing & internet reimbursement

Job summary

Deputy is seeking a Senior Engineer to shape and build our design system with a strong emphasis on AI-native workflows. This role sits in the design function and translates design into code while enabling AI to participate meaningfully in that process.

The role includes designer enablement—creating low-friction workflows, templates and coaching so designers can prototype rapidly and become confident design-and-build prototypers.

Qualifications

• 4–6 years in front-end engineering, design systems, or design engineering.
• Strong proficiency in HTML, CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript.
• Experience building UI components in modern frameworks (Vue, React).
• Solid design sense, attention to detail, and accessibility knowledge.
• Experience with design tools (Figma, tokens, variants).
• Interest or experience in AI-assisted design workflows.
• Ability to bridge design and engineering for scalable outputs.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain production-ready UI components reflecting design intent.
• Use AI tools to accelerate implementation, iteration, and refinement.
• Validate AI-generated outputs for quality, accessibility, and consistency.
• Shape design system tokens, components, and patterns to be AI-friendly.
• Enable AI-driven design-to-code generation with metadata for validation.
• Identify opportunities where AI reduces manual component work and testing.
• Collaborate with design to ensure scalable, implementable outputs.

Skills

Front-end Engineering

Design Systems

HTML/CSS/JS/TS

Vue/React

Figma Tokens Variants

AI-assisted Design

Accessibility

System Architecture

Cross-functional Collaboration

Tools

Figma

Design Tokens

Job description

Deputy is a global SaaS workforce management company with hubs in Sydney, Melbourne, San Francisco and London, plus team members working remotely across the United States. Our platform serves over 1.5 million workers and 375,000 workplaces across 100+ countries. We are backed by top global investors and recently achieved Unicorn status.

At Deputy, we’re improving the world of work, one shift at a time, for 80% of the world’s workforce: hourly workers. These are the dedicated employees who keep our world running – from baristas to nurses, cleaners to delivery drivers, florists to factory workers. Despite their vital role in society, most workplace technology has focused on those workers who sit behind a desk, but at Deputy, we transform the frontline. When businesses use Deputy, their workplaces thrive – the business is more profitable, compliant, and productive, while the workers are more engaged and happier at work.

We're becoming an AI-native company, a commitment that means you'll be empowered (and expected) to use AI tools and thinking in your day-to-day work. You'll have the training, support, and freedom to use AI responsibly and creatively to spark ideas, solve problems faster, and unlock new ways of working.

If you’re passionate about creating solutions that put people first and helping businesses and their teams thrive, join us at Deputy and make an impact where it matters most!

We’re looking for a Senior Engineer to help shape and build our design system with a strong emphasis on AI-native workflows. This role sits within the design function and focuses on translating design into code while enabling AI to meaningfully participate in that process.

The role also explicitly includes designer enablement – creating low-friction workflows, templates and coaching so designers can rapidly prototype and become confident ‘design-and-build’ prototypers. You will define how the design system is structured so it can power AI-driven design-to-code workflows, and ensure designs can be efficiently generated, validated and maintained in code.

Responsibilities

Design-to-Code Execution (AI-Enhanced)

• Build and maintain production-ready UI components that accurately reflect design intent
• Use AI tools to accelerate implementation, iteration, and refinement of components
• Validate AI-generated outputs to ensure quality, accessibility, and consistency

AI-Driven Design System Enablement

• Shape the design system (tokens, components, patterns) to be machine-readable and AI-friendly
• Contribute to workflows that enable design-to-code generation using AI, and ensure components include the metadata AI needs to generate and validate code.
• Identify opportunities where AI can reduce manual effort in component creation and maintenance, including using AI to scaffold components, run linting, generate tests and produce documentation.

Embedded Collaboration with Design

• Act as a core member of the design team, participating in critiques and explorations
• Provide technical perspective during design to ensure outputs are scalable and implementable
• Help designers understand how their work can better support AI-driven development

Tooling & Workflow Innovation

• Improve integration between design tools (e.g., Figma) and engineering outputs
• Use AI to generate documentation, specs, and component usage guidelines
• Explore AI-assisted approaches to testing (visual regression, accessibility) and validation
• Prototype and experiment with new AI-driven workflows for design systems

Consistency, Quality & Accessibility

• Ensure high fidelity between design and implementation
• Maintain accessibility and inclusive design standards across components
• Contribute to shared standards that improve system consistency across design and code

Adoption & Advocacy

• Create documentation and examples that serve both designers and engineers
• Support teams in using the design system effectively
• Advocate for workflows that improve speed without compromising quality

• A design system that can be effectively leveraged by AI for generation, validation, and maintenance
• Faster iteration from design to production through AI-assisted workflows
• High fidelity between design intent and shipped UI, even with AI in the loop
• Increased efficiency for both designers and engineers using the system

Skills & Experience

• ~4–6 years of experience in front-end engineering, design engineering, or design systems
• Strong proficiency in HTML, CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript
• Experience building UI components in modern frameworks (Vue, React, etc.)
• Strong design sensibility and attention to detail (visual and interaction)
• Experience working closely with design tools (e.g., Figma, tokens, variants)
• Experience or strong interest in AI-assisted design and development workflows
• Understanding of accessibility and inclusive design practices
• Familiarity with design tokens and system architecture across design and code
• Ability to operate fluently between design and engineering contexts

Employee Perks

• Enjoy a flexible work policy (with a work-from-home stipend to set you up for success)
• Own a piece of Deputy via our Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• Take paid parental leave to support you and your family
• Stay protected with Group Salary Continuance Insurance
• Access support through our Employee Assistance Program
• Enjoy additional leave days – including study assistance, celebration days and volunteering
• Join our global working groups focused on collaboration, belonging and connection
• Get creative at our annual Hackathons
• Take advantage of our novated leasing for electric vehicles, internet reimbursement and more

Deputy believes in equal opportunity and that inclusiveness and diversity promotes innovation. Our global team members are from a variety of cultures. And we welcome different perspective and skills.

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