Contract Design Engineer

Stable Kernel•Atlanta, GA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Stable Kernel is seeking a Senior Design Engineer to bridge the gap between design systems, front-end architecture, and AI-augmented workflows. This role requires an engineering mindset to shape design decisions, considering implementation tradeoffs from the outset. The ideal candidate thinks in systems, operates confidently across abstraction levels, and actively uses AI tooling to enhance design and delivery processes. You will be responsible for designing and engineering component libraries and design systems, owning the Figma layer, integrating AI tools, and identifying implementation tradeoffs. You will also partner with leadership to align system design with product architecture, contribute to project estimation, and bring a clear perspective on AI's impact on design teams. This role involves serving as a liaison between design and engineering, mentoring designers, and communicating complex system decisions to stakeholders. You will take ownership of design system strategy, navigate AI tooling critically, and proactively identify and solve problems where design and engineering diverge. Additionally, you will advance the team's understanding of AI in design and advocate for a systems-first design culture. Key areas of familiarity include advanced Figma skills (variables, component architecture, design tokens, file organization, developer handoff), design token systems and their relation to front-end implementation, AI-assisted design and development tools (Claude Code, Figma MCP, agentic workflows), front-end development fundamentals (HTML, CSS, component-based frameworks like React), collaboration in agile environments, and accessibility standards as a system-level concern.

Requirements

5+ years of experience spanning product design and front-end engineering, with a portfolio that demonstrates both.
Demonstrable experience building or maintaining design systems at scale, with evidence of how the system connects to engineering output.
Degree in design, computer science, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
Figma at an advanced level: variables, component architecture, design tokens, file organization that mirrors engineering structure, and developer handoff tooling.
Design token systems and their relationship to front-end implementation (CSS custom properties, style dictionaries, multi-platform theming).
AI-assisted design and development tools in active use: Claude Code, Figma MCP, agentic workflow tooling.
Front-end development fundamentals: HTML, CSS, and at a minimum a working literacy in a component-based framework (React, React Native, Flutter, or equivalent).
Collaboration with engineering teams in an agile delivery environment, including experience contributing to or reviewing component libraries in code.
Accessibility standards as a system-level concern, not a checklist applied at the end.

Nice To Haves

Experience contributing to open-source design systems or component libraries.
Familiarity with tokens-as-code tooling: Style Dictionary, Theo, or equivalent.
Background in retail, e-commerce, loyalty, or other high-complexity consumer product contexts.
Experience with motion design defined at the system level (easing curves, duration scales, transition tokens).

Responsibilities

Designing and engineering component libraries and design systems where token architecture, file structure, and component behavior map directly to what engineering builds and ships.
Owning the Figma layer of the system: variables, component architecture, auto layout, and documentation structured for real developer handoff — not just visual reference.
Integrating AI-assisted tooling (Claude Code, Figma MCP, agentic workflows) into design and delivery processes, actively improving how the team works rather than experimenting in isolation.
Identifying and communicating implementation tradeoffs at the design stage, so engineering receives decisions that have already accounted for feasibility, performance, and maintainability.
Moving fluidly between product architecture conversations and single-interaction design decisions, keeping both levels coherent within the same engagement.
Partnering with product design and engineering leadership to align system-level design decisions with long-term product architecture, reducing downstream technical debt.
Contributing to project estimation and scoping with a realistic model of design-to-engineering effort, including the cost of ambiguity in component specs, handoff gaps, and design system divergence.
Bringing a clear point of view on what AI tooling means for how design teams are structured, how work is scoped, and how value is delivered to clients.
Serving as the connective tissue between design and engineering teams, facilitating shared understanding of constraints, conventions, and system decisions.
Mentoring product designers on systems thinking, Figma architecture, and engineering-informed design, translating technical depth into accessible guidance.
Communicating system decisions and tradeoffs clearly to non-technical stakeholders, framing complexity in terms of user and business outcomes.
Taking ownership of design system strategy and component library decisions, driving toward coherence even when project pressures push toward one-offs.
Navigating fast-moving AI tooling with a grounded and critical perspective — knowing when to adopt, when to adapt, and when to hold the line on craft.
Proactively identifying where design and engineering are drifting apart and proposing structural fixes—in the system, the process, or the handoff—before they become delivery problems.
Recognizing when a design decision has downstream engineering implications and raising it early, rather than leaving it to be discovered in implementation.
Advancing the team's collective understanding of AI's role in design practice, not as a novelty, but as a genuine shift in how designers think, collaborate, and ship.
Advocating for systems-first design culture, helping the broader design practice build habits and tooling that scale beyond individual projects.