Design Systems Lead
Role details
Job location
Tech stack
Job description
One North is looking for a Design Systems Lead with deep expertise in UX/UI, Figma, and enterprise-scale design systems, with a strong focus on AI-centered product experiences and workflows. This role will help shape and evolve design systems that enable consistency, speed, accessibility, and innovation across digital products, while also defining how AI capabilities are translated into scalable, usable, and responsible experience patterns.
As part of the Design team, this individual will work alongside embedded client teams in Agile environments to create high-quality digital experiences, drive design systems strategy, and establish reusable patterns that support both traditional product interfaces and emerging AI-driven experiences. This person will also provide leadership to other designers on projects, helping guide execution, elevate quality, and embed design system best practices across workstreams.
This role will ideally be based in the Chicago area, but we are open to remote locations across the U.S. and Canada., * Lead the design and evolution of enterprise design systems, including components, patterns, foundations, documentation, and governance.
- Define and scale AI-centric design system patterns for experiences such as assistants, copilots, recommendations, generated content, conversational interfaces, and intelligent workflows.
- Create highly polished, high-fidelity UX/UI designs that align to design system standards and user-centered best practices.
- Establish frameworks for how AI interactions should behave across products, including guidance for transparency, trust, feedback loops, error handling, human-in-the-loop workflows, and responsible use.
- Partner with strategists, researchers, technologists, and client stakeholders to translate business needs and emerging AI opportunities into scalable design solutions.
- Help teams operationalize AI-supported design workflows, including ways AI can accelerate ideation, content generation, documentation, prototyping, system maintenance, and production efficiency.
- Guide and mentor other designers on projects, providing direction, feedback, and support to ensure strong execution and consistency across deliverables.
- Leverage advanced Figma capabilities, including Auto Layout, Variables, components, prototyping, and Dev Mode, to build scalable systems and workflows.
- Present work clearly and confidently in client sessions, articulating rationale, tradeoffs, and recommendations.
- Ensure design system outputs align with accessibility standards and inclusive design principles.
Requirements
- Expertise in Figma and its advanced features, including Auto Layout, Variables, Dev Mode, advanced prototyping, and scalable component architecture
- Strong experience building or evolving design systems for complex digital products
- Hands-on experience designing AI-enabled product experiences and translating them into reusable system patterns
- Experience establishing AI-centered workflows for design teams, including how AI can support concepting, iteration, documentation, and system scalability
- Strong point of view on designing for AI interactions, including trust, explainability, user control, fallback states, and responsible UX
- Experience guiding other designers on projects, providing feedback, direction, and quality oversight
- Expertise translating designs across desktop, tablet, and mobile
- Strong understanding of accessibility requirements and inclusive design practices
- Ability to thrive in a multidisciplinary environment with design, strategy, client services, product, and technology teams
- Passion for staying current on evolving AI, design systems, and digital product trends
Your weapons (wield them wisely):
- 10 or more years of experience in product design, UX/UI, or design systems within an in-house team, consultancy, or agency environment
- Proven experience creating or scaling AI-centric design systems, interaction patterns, or workflows for digital products
- Experience leading design work across projects and supporting the growth and success of other designers
- Strong portfolio demonstrating high-fidelity design, systems thinking, strategic problem solving, and examples of AI-enabled or intelligent product experiences
- Exceptional visual design skills, including typography, color, layout, and interaction design
- Advanced skills in Figma
- Solid understanding of front-end constraints, responsive design, and collaboration with engineering teams
- Strong communication, facilitation, and collaboration skills
Benefits & conditions
This is a Permanent position based out of Chicago, IL.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $125000.00 - $187400.00/yr.
We reserve the right to pay above or below the posted wage based on factors unrelated to sex, race, or any other protected classification. Additional earnings may be available through incentive programs like annual bonuses, profit sharing, etc. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan or program terms. Our benefit plans include the following: · Medical, dental & vision · 401(k)/Roth · Insurance (Basic/Supplemental Life & AD&D) · Short and long-term disability · Health & Dependent Care Spending Accounts (HSA & DCFSA) · Transportation benefits · Employee Assistance Program · Tuition Assistance · Time Off/Leave (PTO, Paid Family Leave)
Workplace Type
This is a fully remote position.