Staff Design Technologist / Creative Technologist

RentSpree•Seattle, WA

41d•$180 - $210•Hybrid

About The Position

Join the Product Experience Design (PXD) department at RentSpree as a Staff Design Technologist! You will play a pivotal role in transforming how we approach design systems, AI integration, customer facing experiences, and design productivity tools. This role will be instrumental in delivering department goals through self-serve tools, design and research productivity enhancements, and cutting-edge AI integrations with our front-end. This position offers a unique opportunity to lead a small but mighty team (1 design technologist and 1 visual designer) while pioneering the future of AI-assisted design workflows, and customer experience. You'll work at the forefront of design systems evolution, creating adaptive experience systems that learn, optimize, and evolve. If you're excited about building the bridge between design and technology-and you're passionate about applying AI research to revolutionize CX, and creative workflows, we want you! Bring your innovative mindset and technical expertise to shape the future of product experiences at RentSpree. This role is based in Seattle with at least 2 days per week in-office.

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Computer Science, HCI, or related field
6+ years of hands-on experience in design systems development and maintenance, design operations, or creative technology roles
Proven track record of leading design technology initiatives and guiding a team (team lead)
Expert proficiency in Figma (plug-ins, libraries, tokens, auto-layout, variables, advanced functionality)
Strong front-end development skills (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React frameworks)
Experience with design system tools and methodologies (Storybook, design tokens, component libraries)
Familiarity with AI/ML tools and APIs (OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, or similar)
Knowledge of modern development workflows (GitHub, CI/CD, automated testing)
Experience integrating AI tools into creative workflows and productivity systems
Understanding of LLM capabilities, limitations, and prompt engineering
Knowledge of RAG systems, semantic data structures, and metadata frameworks
Experience with automation tools and workflow optimization
Deep understanding of design system principles, scalability challenges, and adoption strategies
Experience with design token architecture and multi-platform implementation
Knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive design practices
Track record of successfully rolling out design systems across multiple teams and products
Strong leadership skills with experience leading creative and technical team members
Excellent presentation and communication abilities across technical and non-technical audiences
Experience influencing stakeholders and driving adoption of new tools and processes
Demonstrated ability to balance strategic vision with tactical execution

Nice To Haves

SaaS or proptech industry experience, particularly in real estate, property management, or rental platforms
Experience working in fast-paced startup environments with rapid iteration cycles
Background in design operations, creative operations, or design system consulting

Responsibilities

AI-Driven Design System Leadership: Lead the evolution of our design system from static component libraries to adaptive, AI-powered experience systems. Transform our design tokens with semantic naming systems that enable LLMs and RAG systems to better understand, assemble, and optimize UI patterns.
Team Leadership & Development: Manage and mentor a focused team of design professionals (1 design technologist, 1 visual designer), fostering innovation while maintaining high standards for design system implementation and tool development.
Design Systems Architecture: Own the design system roadmap, developing component libraries, design tokens, pattern documentation, and self-serve tools that scales across Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success teams. Make systems "AI-readable" through metadata, tokens, and semantic tagging.
AI Integration & Automation: Pioneer AI adoption in design workflows, establishing frameworks that provide design inspection, usability audits, friction logs, and automated improvement suggestions.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work autonomously on high-impact projects while collaborating with Product, Engineering, and Data teams where dependencies exist. Bridge technical and creative domains to accelerate product innovation.
Productivity Tool Development: Create self-serve design tools and templates that enable non-designers across the organization to maintain brand consistency and design quality.
Future-Forward Innovation: Drive research and implementation of behavior-driven UI that adapts based on user context, personalization layers, and agentic orchestration-moving from fixed variants to dynamic, intelligent experiences.
Quality Assurance & Standards: Establish design quality metrics, automated testing protocols, and continuous improvement processes that reduce rework and increase design velocity.

Benefits

Compensation: $180-210k base
Equity Options: Share in the value we're creating-your work makes a real impact.
Team-First Culture: Join a group of talented, supportive teammates who inspire each other to do their best work and celebrate every win.
Learning & Development: Ongoing support for your growth through resources, coaching, and career development opportunities.
Health Coverage: Comprehensive employee + dependent medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as HSA/FSA options. Plus, enjoy additional health perks like access to Headspace Care+, gym membership discounts, and much more - because your well-being matters, inside and out.
Plan for your future: Life, disability, and Simple IRA retirement plan with company match to support your future.
Flexible Vacation Policy: We trust you to take the time you need to rest and recharge.
Holidays: Enjoy 12 holidays throughout the year, as a part of our commitment to honoring culture, history, and time to recharge.
Events: We make time to connect and celebrate through reimbursable weekly team lunches, game nights, events, and more, both in-person and remotely.
Recognition Programs: Team members can recognize their peers with Sprees, which are redeemable for gift cards and/or donations to an organization of your choice, or nominate a colleague for a S.P.R.E.E. Award to spotlight above-and-beyond contributions, which may be rewarded with a spot bonus. Our Work Anniversary Program also honors employee milestones with personalized tokens of appreciation!
Business Expense Allowance & Internet Reimbursement: Get the tools and support you need to do your best work.
Parental Leave & Fertility Support: Inclusive benefits to support you and your family, wherever you are in life.
Legal & tax benefits: We offer group legal benefits and tax support through RocketLawyer.
Seattle HQ: If you'll be working from our Seattle office, you'll receive a company-sponsored Orca card to cover the cost of public transportation to and from the office!