Staff Product Designer, Design Systems

BetterUp•Austin, TX

4d•$198,000 - $276,000•Remote

About The Position

BetterUp is looking for a Staff Product Designer, Design Systems to own, evolve, and scale our design system across web and mobile platforms. This role sits at the intersection of craft, systems thinking, and AI-powered design—ensuring our product experiences are consistent, accessible, and built for velocity. You’ll define how our design system leverages AI for implementation, adoption, and continuous improvement, positioning BetterUp at the forefront of AI-augmented product design. Our team thrives at the intersection of human expertise and AI capability. As an AI-forward company, adaptation and continuous learning are part of our daily work. We're looking for teammates who are excited to evolve alongside technology – people who experiment boldly, share their discoveries openly, and help define best practices for AI-augmented work. These professionals thoughtfully integrate AI into their work to deliver exceptional results while maintaining the human judgment and creativity that drives real innovation. During our interview process, you’ll have opportunities to showcase how you harness AI to learn, iterate, and amplify your impact. As a Staff Product Designer, you’ll: See around corners, spotting shifts in AI technology, market dynamics, or customer needs before they land. Bring forward data-backed proposals that reimagine how design work gets done, then mobilize multiple functions to pilot, measure, and scale the highest-impact AI solutions—retiring legacy processes once evidence is clear. Anticipate industry-shifting AI capabilities in design tooling and position BetterUp to leverage them ahead of competitors Drive technical vision for how AI will reshape design system capabilities and product development practices over 3–5 year horizons Build AI research and experimentation programs within design that discover breakthrough applications before they become industry standard. During our interview process, you’ll have opportunities to showcase how you harness AI to learn, iterate, and amplify your impact. We encourage all candidates to share examples of how they’ve used AI tools in their work—whether Figma plugins, generative design tools, or AI-powered user research analysis.

Requirements

Extraordinary visual design taste—a rigorous, opinionated eye for typography, color, spacing, and detail that sets the quality bar for every surface of the product.
7+ years of product design experience, with at least 3 years focused on design systems at scale
Deep expertise in building and scaling design systems across web and mobile platforms, including token architectures, component APIs, and documentation frameworks
Demonstrated experience integrating AI tools into design and development workflows (e.g., AI-assisted prototyping, generative design, automated component generation)
Expert-level proficiency with Figma (including Figma Variables, Auto Layout, and component architecture), with experience evaluating and adopting emerging AI-powered design tools
Strong understanding of front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, React or similar frameworks) and how design systems bridge design and engineering
Track record of leading cross-functional initiatives that span multiple teams and disciplines
Exceptional communication skills with the ability to influence VP-level leaders and gain buy-in for strategic design system investments
Portfolio demonstrating systems-level thinking, craft excellence, and impact at scale

Nice To Haves

Experience building AI-native design system tooling or contributing to open-source design systems
Background in accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive design practices baked into system-level components
Experience with design-to-code automation tools and workflows
Familiarity with coaching, HR tech, or enterprise SaaS product domains
External thought leadership through speaking, writing, or open-source contributions in the design systems space

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end strategy, architecture, and evolution of BetterUp’s design system, ensuring it scales across web and mobile product surfaces
Define and drive AI-powered workflows for design system implementation—including AI-assisted component generation, code translation, and automated quality checks
Establish and maintain a comprehensive component library with clear documentation, usage guidelines, and contribution standards that enable product teams to move faster
Partner closely with Engineering, Product, and Brand to ensure the design system reflects both technical feasibility and brand integrity
Lead the evaluation and integration of cutting-edge AI design tools (e.g., Figma AI, generative design plugins, code-to-design bridges) into the design system workflow
Build governance frameworks and best practices for responsible, consistent use of AI in design processes across the organization
Mentor and coach designers across the organization on design systems thinking, AI-augmented workflows, and craft excellence
Anticipate industry shifts in design tooling and AI capabilities, positioning BetterUp to adopt them ahead of competitors
Drive measurable improvements in design-to-development handoff speed, component reuse rates, and cross-platform consistency
Serve as a trusted advisor to Design and Product leadership on design system strategy, AI capabilities, and long-term technical direction