Product Designer – Design Systems

About the Role

A well-funded seed-stage AI infrastructure startup is looking for experienced Design Systems specialists to help build the data layer that teaches AI models what great design looks like. You'll work on production-grade design systems used to evaluate and train AI design tools — building them, implementing them in code, and assessing how well AI systems ingest and reproduce them.

This is a contract, fully remote role with async flexibility and quick turnarounds. You can join on one of three tracks:

• Design Track: Build complete design systems in Figma — tokens (color, type, spacing, radius), component libraries with variants and states, and golden screens composed exclusively from library components.

• Product Design Track: Envision product designs from scratch using and implementing existing design systems, maintaining strict adherence throughout.

• Engineering Track: Implement design systems as coded component libraries using React, Storybook (v8), token pipelines (e.g., Style Dictionary), and variant patterns (e.g., CVA).

What You'll Do

• Prompt AI models to generate and refine design work from a brief across multiple conversation turns

• Evolve the underlying design system: refine color ramps, type scales, spacing and radius tokens, and component treatments

• Evaluate AI outputs on design-system coherence, visual quality, and fit to the brief — flagging where adherence breaks down

• Compare outputs, select the stronger one, and write clear rationale and reproduction prompts grounded in expert judgement

• Vote and rank preferences to help train models on what a cohesive, high-quality design system looks like

What We're Looking For

Dealbreakers (must-haves):

• 3+ years of professional experience building and owning token-based design systems (color ramps, type scales, spacing and radius tokens, components with variants and states)

• You have personally built and owned a token-based system end-to-end — not just consumed one

• Portfolio with at least 3 examples of end-to-end design work

Required:

• Experience reasoning about design systems expressed in code (HTML/CSS/tokens) and identifying interface breaks from system specifications

• Professional experience building, maintaining, or applying design systems in an in-house team, agency, or design-engineering role

• Experience with React or Figma variables for design system implementation

• Sharp eye for adherence — you notice when a corner radius, casing rule, or spacing value drifts from spec

• Ability to write structured, specific creative direction grounded in design-systems principles

Nice to Have:

• Proficiency with AI design tools (Claude, Figma AI, or similar)

• Experience with Storybook v8, Style Dictionary, or CVA

• Eagerness to work at the frontier of AI-assisted design tooling

Compensation & Benefits

• Rate: $60–$100 per hour (USD)

• Contract / freelance engagement

• Fully remote and async-friendly

• Visa sponsorship: Not available

Location

This role is fully remote and open globally. The primary hiring timezone is aligned with New York, United States.