Sr Software Developer, Design Systems

SAS • Cary, NC

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Digital Experience organization in R&D is seeking a Senior Software Developer Lead to drive technical excellence for SAS’s newest component offering in its design system, Filament, which supports marketing and post-purchase experiences. You’ll apply your deep front-end expertise to architect, build, and optimize the components that power customer-facing digital properties. You’ll partner with the Filament development managers, designers, and cross-functional teams to establish technical patterns, mentor developers, and ensure components are performant, accessible, and scalable. You’ll have the opportunity to make a significant impact by shaping technical direction, championing engineering best practices, and components that serve SAS customers at global scale.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field (or equivalent practical experience)
• 8 years of front-end development experience with strong expertise in building component libraries or design system implementations
• Expert knowledge of modern front-end technologies including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and component frameworks (particularly React, including meta-frameworks like Next.js), and Web Components, including performance optimization techniques
• Deep understanding of component API design, prop patterns, composition strategies, and design system architecture principles
• Demonstrated experience with design tokens, theming systems, and CSS architecture patterns
• Proven track record of leading technical initiatives and driving architectural decisions in a senior IC capacity
• Equivalent combination of related education, training and experience may be considered in place of the above qualifications.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Storybook and related component documentation tools such as JSDoc and TypeDoc, along with strong design-to-development handoff workflows
• Strong understanding of responsive design, mobile-first development, progressive enhancement, cross-browser compatibility, semantic HTML, and SEO best practices
• Experience with TypeScript, type-safe component development patterns, and code quality tools to support maintainable and reliable UI components
• Familiarity with front-end performance monitoring, Core Web Vitals, and optimization techniques
• Experience integrating design system components with content management systems or marketing platforms
• Proven experience working on complex, UI-intensive products and design systems
• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines, automated deployment workflows, and modern DevOps practices

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement complex front-end components and patterns, establishing technical standards and best practices for component development, testing, and documentation.
• Lead technical design discussions and code reviews, providing expertise and guidance to ensure code quality, performance, accessibility, and maintainability across the component library.
• Collaborate closely with designers to translate design specifications into technical implementations, identify edge cases, propose solutions, and ensure design intent is preserved.
• Establish and maintain component APIs, prop interfaces, and variant systems that provide flexibility while maintaining consistency and ease of use.
• Drive accessibility excellence by implementing WCAG compliant components, conducting accessibility testing, and partnering with the accessibility team to validate with assistive technologies.
• Partner with other Filament engineering teams to properly consume and extend foundational design tokens, base components, and shared patterns.
• Optimize component performance, bundle sizes, and rendering efficiency, establishing patterns for lazy loading, code splitting, and runtime optimization.
• Build and maintain development tooling, including Storybook documentation, automated testing suites, and CI/CD pipelines to support efficient development workflows.
• Mentor front-end developers on the team, conducting code reviews, pair programming sessions, and knowledge sharing to elevate technical skills across the organization.
• Be encouraged to participate in open-source projects on behalf of SAS.
• Ensure all applicable security policies and processes are followed to support the organization’s secure software development goals.
• Embrace curiosity, passion, authenticity and accountability. These are our values and influence everything we do.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, prescription, dental and vision plans.
• Medical plan options include: PPO with low annual deductible and copays.
• HDHP combined with a health savings account with a contribution from SAS (no access to on-site health care center).
• Onsite Health Care Center (HQ) that’s free to employees and family members enrolled in the PPO plan. There's a pharmacy too! Not local to HQ? The pharmacy will ship prescriptions for no additional charge!
• An industry-leading 401k plan.
• Tuition Assistance Program and programs and resources to support your development
• Generous time away including vacation time, a variety of paid holidays, and our much-loved U.S. Winter Wellness Break between December 25 and January 1.
• Volunteer Time Off, parental leave and unlimited paid sick days.
• Generous childcare benefits for all full-time employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior