Principal UX Design Systems Lead (Hybrid-San Diego, CA or Acton, MA)

Insulet Corporation•San Diego, CA

7d•$189,000 - $283,500•Hybrid

About The Position

The Principal UX Design Systems Lead is responsible for building and leading the AI-native platform that transforms how digital experiences are built at Insulet. You will be responsible for building the AI-native platform that will eventually make the traditional design handoffs obsolete. Our Vision We envision a future where code is the primary source of truth. In this future, all functions work natively in code for quick experimentation and production automation. This frees teams to spend time learning faster and framing problems better. Figma becomes the final step to refine craft, communication, and regulatory documentation rather than the starting point. Why This Role Exists If you are one-third Designer, one-third Engineer, and one-third Community Builder, this role is for you. You have spent the last few years using AI to transform how products are built rather than simply how designs are created. We believe AI and Design Systems are a match made in heaven. Together, they eliminate repetitive work and embed quality by default. They enable teams to learn and ship faster without sacrificing experience quality, compliance, or consistency. At Insulet, we are building more than a Design System. We are building the product development platform that will power our AI-Driven Development Lifecycle (AIDLC) in a heavily regulated industry. Ultimately, this platform exists to help us deliver better products, faster and safer, for people living with diabetes. Most Design Systems exist to standardize interfaces. Ours exists to transform how digital experiences are built. You won't simply manage components. You will build the infrastructure that enables humans and AI to collaborate safely at enterprise scale. You will help automate the tedious tasks to deliver better experiences faster, improving the lives of people with diabetes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education & practical experience
5+ years of experience leading or building enterprise Design Systems.
Foundations: Deep understanding of tokens, theming, component architecture, and design-to-code workflows.
AI Integration: AI is part of your daily workflow.
Tech Stack: Proven experience connecting AI IDEs (Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code), Design Systems, Figma, and production code.
Experience in regulated industries is valuable but not required.

Responsibilities

Build the Platform: Lead the evolution of Insulet's Global Design System. Evolve tokens, theming, primitives, components, templates, and patterns. Establish a machine-readable architecture. Serve as the single source of truth for humans and AI. Ensure true design-to-code parity.
Build the AI Context Layer: Define and evolve structured context that enables AI to generate assets. Generate design specifications and documentation. Create quick prototypes and production-ready code. Automate accessibility validation and compliance checks. Drive automated visual QA. Explore how AI automates manual work safely.
Build the Community: Operate a Core + Extensions federated design system model. Manage the Core shared, unopinionated foundation. Support team-owned Extensions that contribute back. Establish contribution models, governance, and operating rituals. Drive adoption via workshops, office hours, and documentation. Measure success by what others build because of you.
Build an Observable System: Define and own metrics to continuously improve the platform. Track component reuse and design-to-code parity. Monitor percentage of reusable vs. custom code. Measure system adherence and contribution velocity. Track reduction in production defects. Quantify AI-generated output quality.