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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Partner 20, Design Systems Lead - **Company:** Z16A LLC - **Location:** San Francisco, CA, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $210,000.0 - $245,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Midjourney, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Artificial Intelligence, Design of User Interfaces, Markdown, Visual Systems, Application Enhancement Tool, Material UI, Figma, Gsuite - **Published:** June 14, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=6564973aa3d42121 ## About the Role Do you have experience in UI design systems?, * 4+ years of experience in brand design, design systems, product design, or a related field * A deep command of visual identity: quick to sense when something's off, and able to diagnose and resolve it systematically * Strong Figma skills, including building and maintaining design systems, libraries, and component structures others actually use * Fluent in typography, layout, and the details that separate considered design from competent design * Experience writing and scaling AI skills, not just prompting, but structuring reference frameworks, markdown files, and instruction sets that produce reliably on-brand outputs * Comfortable vibe-coding: you've built lightweight apps, generators, or custom tools for design use cases, and you know where the edges are * AI is already part of how you work, not something you're experimenting with; you've used tools like Claude, Codex, Krea, Midjourney, or similar and you're curious about what's next. * You see the forest and the tree(s): if given a recurring design problem, your instinct is to build something comprehensive, not just solve it once * A natural collaborator with low ego and high empathy: you work well across teams and can translate between design thinking and the needs of people who don't speak it ## Description We're hiring a Design Systems Lead to own and evolve that infrastructure. This is a clear ownership role: you're the person accountable for the quality, consistency, and reach of our design systems, and for what gets built next. The work itself is equal parts brand design and systems building: half deep, intuitive command of the a16z visual language, half thinking in components, workflows, and repeatable outputs. You'll translate our brand into component libraries, AI skills, AI-powered tools, and self-serve templates the whole firm can use. That means writing clean markdown files, building high-functioning AI skills from scratch, and vibe-coding lightweight apps purpose-built for design use cases. What you're building is the invisible design framework for the firm. The work it produces shouldn't be., * Take clear ownership of the a16z design systems function: setting the direction, maintaining the standards, and being accountable for what gets built and how well it works * Translate a16z brand systems into scalable templates, components, and modular frameworks across Krea, Figma, Google Workspace, Claude, Codex, Gamma, and many other core platforms with enough command of the brand to make those systems feel designed, not just functional * Build repeatable systems for high-volume design needs (presentations, social assets, event materials, charts) so these don't require a designer every time * Write and maintain markdown-based brand documentation, style references, and skill instruction files that serve as the source of truth for AI-generated outputs * Build high-functioning AI skills from scratch: structured prompts, reference frameworks, and training inputs that produce design work that's distinctly and consistently a16z * Vibe-code lightweight apps and custom tools purpose-built for design use cases (generators, formatters, asset builders, etc.) using whatever combination of AI models, APIs, and front-end code gets the job done * Create tools and templates that let non-designers produce polished, on-brand work independently, without the output looking like it came from a template * Partner with designers to distill complex visual systems into usable building blocks, and keep those systems current as the brand evolves * Spot patterns in repeatable work, build toward them, and continuously improve what's running based on real usage and feedback * Occasionally train people across the firm on the tools and systems we build (whether that's written documentation, a quick video walkthrough, or a 1:1) so what we make actually gets used the way it was intended * Work with the project manager and new media ops team to track adoption and efficiency gains across the firm ## Related Videos - [Boost Productivity with AI: Figma & Playwright MCP Workflows - Aris Markogiannakis](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1768-boost-productivity-with-ai-figma-playwright-mcp-workflows-aris-markogiannakis) - [Why Is Software Documentation Still Static – And Why Modern Browsers Deserve Better](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2054-why-is-software-documentation-still-static-and-why-modern-browsers-deserve-better) - [Design Systems for the Machines - How to Make AI Understand Your UI](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100019-design-systems-for-the-machines-how-to-make-ai-understand-your-ui) - [Fireside Chat with Kris Rasmussen, CTO at Figma](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/982-fireside-chat-with-kris-rasmussen-cto-at-figma) - [Designing the Future of Human<>Agent Collaboration](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1447-designing-the-future-of-human-agent-collaboration) - [Bridging the Gap](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/794-bridging-the-gap) ## Related Articles - [Are design and development really just the same thing?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/520-are-design-and-development-really-just-the-same-thing) - [Dev Digest 120 - Apple and peers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/455-dev-digest-120-apple-and-peers) - [10 Essential Figma Plugins for Frontend Developers in 2023](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/262-10-essential-figma-plugins-for-frontend-developers-in-2023) - [Dev Digest 121 - AI goes offline](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/456-dev-digest-121-ai-goes-offline) - [Navigating the AI Shift](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/629-navigating-the-ai-shift) - [Declarative Design and a fresh take on collaboration with developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/595-declarative-design-and-a-fresh-take-on-collaboration-with-developers)