Design Systems Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Design Systems Designer

Company: Cohere Health

Location: Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Design Operations / Product Design

Date Posted: 2026-06-26T08:36:00

Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the evolution and maintenance of a comprehensive design system, encompassing design tokens, components, and patterns, to ensure consistent user experiences across multiple product surfaces.

• Champion design system adoption and governance by partnering closely with product designers, engineers, and product managers to maintain technical feasibility, accessibility, and high-quality standards.

• Leverage Figma expertise to design, refine, and scale systematic elements that address complex workflows and diverse user needs within enterprise digital products, particularly in the healthcare domain.

• Develop and maintain clear, organized documentation, examples, and usage guidelines to facilitate seamless adoption and understanding of the design system across the product organization.

• Contribute to continuous discovery and improvement by evaluating new design tools, workflows, automation opportunities, and best practices to push the design system forward.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Design Systems Designer," the description indicates a hybrid role that will evolve into a blend of design systems and product design. This suggests an opportunity for candidates to influence both the foundational elements of the design system and the direct user experience of Cohere Health's products. The emphasis on solving complex design and operational problems points towards a strategic role within the product organization.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the comprehensive design system, including design tokens, reusable components, and established patterns, ensuring consistency and scalability across all Cohere Health products.

• Design and refine new systematic elements and components that cater to complex workflows, diverse product areas, and varied user needs, while maintaining system integrity.

• Collaborate closely with product designers and engineers to ensure all designed components are technically feasible, accessible, resilient, and meet high-quality standards.

• Prototype interaction patterns and component behaviors to validate usability and identify potential edge cases before broad implementation.

• Create and maintain clear, organized, and accessible documentation, including usage examples and best practice recommendations, to promote effective design system adoption.

• Champion design system standards and governance through active participation in accessibility reviews, quality assurance processes, change management, and release cycles.

• Provide direct support to designers through onboarding, training sessions, dedicated office hours, and design reviews to enhance overall design quality and consistency.

• Partner with user researchers to validate design system decisions and component efficacy through usability studies, heuristic evaluations, and direct user feedback loops.

• Proactively identify opportunities for design system advancement by evaluating emerging design tools, optimizing workflows, exploring automation, and adopting industry best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a proactive and ownership-driven approach expected from the candidate. The emphasis on "championing" and "pushing the system forward" suggests a need for strong influence and strategic thinking beyond just execution. The inclusion of user research validation and continuous discovery indicates a commitment to data-informed design decisions.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Human Factors, or a related field.

• Equivalent practical experience will also be considered. Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in software product design, with a significant portion dedicated to working with or on a design system.

• Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing components, tokens, and patterns within Figma.

• Proven track record of successful collaboration with cross-functional agile teams, including Product Management, Engineering, Design, Research, and Quality Assurance. Required Skills:

• Design Systems: Deep understanding and practical experience in creating, maintaining, and scaling design systems.

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced skills in Figma for designing components, tokens, patterns, and creating detailed documentation.

• Interaction Design: Strong foundation in designing intuitive and effective user interactions.

• Visual Design: Excellent visual design skills with a keen eye for aesthetics, typography, and layout.

• Accessibility Standards: Comprehensive knowledge of WCAG and other accessibility guidelines to ensure inclusive design.

• Component Architecture: Understanding of how to structure and organize design system components for scalability and maintainability.

• Design Tokens: Experience in defining and implementing design tokens for consistent theming and branding.

• Prototyping: Ability to create interactive prototypes to test and validate design concepts and component behaviors.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with diverse teams (PM, Eng, Design, Research, QA) in an agile environment.

• Responsive Design: Expertise in designing for various screen sizes and devices.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for enterprise digital products in complex domains such as healthcare, fintech, or analytics.

• Familiarity with frontend technologies and concepts, including React, HTML/CSS, and Design Tokens standards, to facilitate collaboration with engineers.

• Knowledge of Google's Material Design principles and application.

• Experience with usability studies and user research methodologies to validate design decisions.

• Understanding of governance models and change management processes for design systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The distinction between required and preferred skills highlights the core competencies essential for success. The emphasis on "enterprise digital products" and specific domains like healthcare suggests that candidates with experience in regulated or complex industries will have an advantage. Familiarity with frontend technologies is crucial for effective partnership with engineering.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio or collection of case studies is mandatory.

• Must demonstrate direct experience with design systems, including:

  • Components: Examples of well-designed, reusable UI components.
  • Tokens: Clear articulation of design token strategy and implementation.
  • Patterns: Showcase of established design patterns and their application.
  • Documentation: Evidence of clear, organized, and accessible system documentation.
  • Rationale: Explanation of design decisions, system logic, and strategic thinking.
  • Tooling: Examples of how tools were leveraged to build and maintain the system.
  • Governance: Insights into processes for system management, updates, and adoption.
  • Adoption Impact: Quantifiable metrics or qualitative evidence of the design system's successful adoption and impact on product development efficiency and quality.

Process Documentation:

• Candidates should be prepared to discuss their approach to:
  • Workflow Design and Optimization: How they structure and improve processes for design system development and maintenance.
  • Implementation and Automation: Methods used to implement system updates and leverage automation for efficiency.
  • Measurement and Performance Analysis: Strategies for tracking the effectiveness and adoption of the design system.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are highly specific and critical for this role. Candidates must showcase not just design skills but strategic thinking around system building, governance, and demonstrable impact. The emphasis on "real adoption impact" means quantifiable results are highly valued.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Based on industry benchmarks for a Mid-Level Design Systems Designer with 3+ years of experience in Hyderabad, India, the estimated annual salary range is ₹1,000,000 to ₹1,800,000. This estimate considers the cost of living in Hyderabad, the demand for specialized design skills, and the company's focus on advanced technology in the healthcare sector. Benefits:

• Comprehensive health insurance coverage.

• Paid time off (PTO) and holidays.

• Opportunities for professional development and continuous learning.

• Access to modern design tools and technology.

• Collaborative work environment with a focus on innovation and employee well-being.

• Potential for hybrid work arrangements as the role evolves. Working Hours:

• Standard full-time working hours are expected, typically around 40 hours per week.

• While the role is on-site, flexibility may be offered based on project needs and team collaboration, particularly as the role may evolve into a hybrid capacity.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is estimated based on industry standards for a Design Systems Designer in Hyderabad, India, considering the specified experience level and the tech/healthcare industry. The benefits listed are typical for a full-time role in a growing tech company. The note about potential hybrid arrangements acknowledges the future evolution of the role as mentioned in the job description.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Healthcare Technology (HealthTech). Cohere Health operates at the intersection of healthcare, AI, and data analytics, aiming to optimize healthcare delivery, cost, and quality through its clinical intelligence platform and AI-powered solutions. This industry context implies a need for design that is not only user-friendly but also compliant, secure, and capable of handling complex, regulated data.

Company Size: Cohere Health is a growing company, indicated by its presence on Inc. 5000 lists and recognition as a notable startup. This size suggests a dynamic environment where roles can evolve, and individuals have the opportunity to make a significant impact. For operations professionals, this often means a faster pace, more direct influence, and opportunities to help build and refine processes.

Founded: Cohere Health was founded with a mission to connect health plans and providers, optimizing care. Its recent acquisition of ZignaAI has expanded its capabilities into payment integrity. This history of growth and strategic expansion indicates a forward-thinking organization that values innovation and seeks to broaden its market impact.

Team Structure:

• The design team is described as "stellar," indicating a high-performing group.

• The Design Systems Designer will be a key force multiplier for the entire product organization, implying close collaboration with product designers, engineers, product managers, and researchers.

• The team operates with a focus on empathy, candor, kindness, and care, embodying core values.

• The company is committed to creating a supportive and growth-oriented environment for diverse and inclusive teams.

• The team composition includes members in both the U.S. and Hyderabad, requiring strong communication skills across different geographic locations and time zones. Methodology:

• Data Analysis & Insights: The company leverages an "AI-native platform" and "clinical intelligence" to drive insights, suggesting a data-driven approach to problem-solving and decision-making.

• Workflow Planning & Optimization: The core of the Design Systems Designer role is to optimize workflows through a systematic approach, reducing friction and enhancing efficiency.

• Automation & Efficiency Practices: The company's focus on AI and technology implies an interest in leveraging automation to achieve greater efficiency and scale.

Company Website: https://coherehealth.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's industry and focus on AI and clinical intelligence are crucial context for operations roles. It implies a need for precision, attention to detail, and an understanding of complex data and regulatory environments. The emphasis on values like empathy and candor suggests a collaborative and supportive culture.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-Level Design Systems Designer. It requires significant hands-on experience (3+ years) with a strong focus on design systems. The position is expected to evolve into a hybrid design systems/product design role, offering a pathway for broadening skill sets and increasing impact within the product organization. The responsibilities involve owning critical aspects of the design system, which positions the candidate for potential leadership in design operations or advanced product design.

Reporting Structure: The candidate will join the design team and report to a Hiring Manager. They will work closely with product designers, engineers, product managers, and researchers. The description of being a "force multiplier" suggests a central, influential role within the product development ecosystem, even if not directly managing a team initially.

Operations Impact: The design system directly impacts the efficiency, consistency, quality, and accessibility of user experiences across all Cohere Health products. By empowering designers and engineers, the role contributes to faster value delivery, reduced friction, and enhanced collaboration. This has a direct impact on the speed and quality of product development, which in turn influences market competitiveness and customer satisfaction. The role's evolution into hybrid product design further amplifies its impact on user-facing features and overall product strategy.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design System Leadership: Potential to grow into a senior or lead design systems role, taking on more strategic ownership and potentially managing aspects of the system or team.

• Hybrid Product Design: Transitioning into a hybrid role offers the chance to deepen product design skills, work on core product features, and gain broader product strategy experience.

• Specialization: Opportunity to become a subject matter expert in design systems, accessibility, and scalable design within the HealthTech industry.

• Skill Development: Continuous learning opportunities through exposure to modern workflows, tools (Figma), AI-powered solutions, and complex healthcare data challenges.

• Cross-functional Expertise: Gaining deeper experience collaborating with engineering, product management, and research in a fast-paced tech environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career path outlined is one of increasing influence and skill diversification. The hybrid nature of the role's evolution is a significant growth opportunity, allowing for both specialized design systems expertise and broader product design responsibilities.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is specified as "On-site" with a requirement to "Reliably commute or planning to relocate" to Nacharam, Hyderabad, Telangana. This indicates a traditional office-based work environment.

Office Location(s): Nacharam, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. This specific location is the primary work hub for this role.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The description emphasizes being part of a "stellar design team" and a "force multiplier for the entire product organization," suggesting a highly collaborative workspace where interaction with designers, engineers, and product managers is frequent and essential.

• Operations Tools and Technology: The team is an "all-Figma-all-day team," highlighting Figma as the primary tool. The environment likely supports modern design workflows and access to necessary software and hardware for design system development.

• Team Interaction: The need to support designers with "onboarding, training, office hours, and design reviews" points to regular, structured, and informal interactions within the design and product teams. The presence of U.S.-based team members also implies a need for effective remote collaboration tools and practices for cross-time zone communication.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, with standard working hours (estimated at 40 hours per week). While on-site, the description hints at potential future flexibility as the role evolves, suggesting an adaptive approach to work arrangements. The need for collaboration with U.S. teams may require some flexibility in scheduling to accommodate overlapping work hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in Hyderabad is a key factor. The emphasis on collaboration and the use of Figma as the primary tool shape the day-to-day experience. The mention of U.S.-based colleagues suggests a global team dynamic and the importance of effective communication practices.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Connect with Talent Acquisition: Initial screening by the recruitment team to assess basic qualifications and fit.

2. Meet with the Hiring Manager: Deeper dive into experience, role expectations, and team fit.

3. Behavioral Interview(s): Assessment of soft skills, problem-solving approaches, collaboration style, and cultural alignment through behavioral questions.

4. Case Study: A practical exercise designed to evaluate design systems thinking, problem-solving abilities, and communication skills, likely involving a design challenge or a review of a past project.

5. Interview with Senior Leadership: Final evaluation by senior stakeholders to assess strategic thinking, alignment with company vision, and overall potential impact.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Design Systems: Ensure your portfolio prominently features your design systems work. Highlight specific contributions to components, tokens, patterns, and documentation.

• Showcase Process & Rationale: Clearly articulate your design process, the rationale behind your decisions, and how you approached challenges in building or evolving a design system. Explain why you made certain choices.

• Demonstrate Impact: Quantify your achievements whenever possible. Provide metrics or case study details that illustrate the adoption, efficiency gains, or quality improvements driven by your design system contributions.

• Detail Governance & Collaboration: Explain how you managed system governance, collaborated with engineers and designers, and handled feedback or disagreements.

• Prepare for Case Study: Be ready to discuss a hypothetical or real design system challenge, outlining your approach, potential solutions, and considerations for scalability, accessibility, and implementation.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Cohere Health: Research the company's mission, products (clinical intelligence platform, AI solutions), and values. Understand the healthcare industry context and its implications for design.

• Anticipate Design System Questions: Prepare to discuss your experience with Figma, design tokens, component libraries, and accessibility. Be ready to explain how you balance user needs with technical constraints and business goals.

• Practice Articulation: Work on clearly and concisely explaining complex design system concepts and your contributions to both technical (engineers) and non-technical (stakeholders) audiences.

• Portfolio Walkthrough: Be prepared to walk through your portfolio, highlighting key projects and answering in-depth questions about your contributions and impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is structured and progressive, culminating in interaction with senior leadership. The emphasis on a case study and portfolio review underscores the practical, results-oriented nature of this role. Candidates must be prepared to deeply articulate their design systems expertise and its impact.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Explicitly stated as the "all-Figma-all-day" tool, this is the primary design and prototyping platform. Proficiency is essential for component creation, system management, and collaboration.

• Design Systems Tools/Plugins (within Figma): Likely includes advanced Figma features, potentially plugins for version control, documentation generation, or component management.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly stated, a Design Systems Designer would likely interact with analytics to understand component usage or impact. Tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or Amplitude might be used indirectly by product teams, and insights from these could inform system evolution.

• Reporting on design system adoption and impact may involve creating dashboards or reports, potentially using tools like Tableau, Looker, or even advanced Figma features for analytics presentation. CRM & Automation:

• This role primarily focuses on design systems, so direct CRM or automation tool usage is less likely. However, understanding how design systems integrate with development workflows (e.g., Git for code, CI/CD pipelines) and how design decisions impact user journeys tracked in CRMs is beneficial.

• Familiarity with frontend technologies (React, HTML/CSS) suggests an understanding of how design systems translate into code, which is a form of integration.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is the core technology for this role. While direct experience with specific CRM or advanced analytics platforms might not be required, an understanding of how design systems support broader product development, user tracking, and automation efforts is advantageous for effective collaboration.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Empathy, Candor, Kindness, and Care: These are explicitly stated core values. Operations professionals are expected to embody these in their daily interactions, fostering a supportive and respectful environment.

• Data-Driven Approach: The company's reliance on "clinical intelligence" and "AI-powered solutions" implies a strong emphasis on using data to inform decisions and measure impact within the design system and product development.

• Efficiency and Scalability: The very nature of a design system is to drive efficiency and scale. Candidates are expected to be comfortable with optimizing processes and building systematic solutions.

• Quality and Consistency: A core tenet of design systems is ensuring high quality and consistency across user experiences. This value is paramount for the role.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: The role requires close collaboration with designers, engineers, product managers, and researchers. Open communication and a willingness to understand different perspectives are key.

• Process Review and Feedback: A culture that encourages feedback and iteration is implied, especially with the need for office hours, design reviews, and continuous discovery.

• Knowledge Sharing: Supporting designers through training and onboarding suggests a culture that values sharing knowledge and best practices to uplift the entire team.

• Innovation and Experimentation: Pushing the system forward through continuous discovery indicates an environment that supports exploring new tools, workflows, and automation opportunities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of core values like empathy and candor is important. For operations roles, understanding how these values translate into daily work—e.g., how empathy influences design decisions, or how candor is used in constructive feedback—is key to cultural fit.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing System Needs with Product Velocity: A common challenge in design systems is ensuring the system evolves effectively without becoming a bottleneck for product teams needing to ship features quickly. Candidates must be adept at prioritizing and negotiating.

• Ensuring System Adoption: Getting designers and engineers to consistently adopt and correctly use the design system requires ongoing effort, education, and support.

• Technical Feasibility and Collaboration: Negotiating with engineers to ensure components are technically sound and maintainable while adhering to design intent can be challenging.

• Scalability Across Complex Domains: Designing a system that scales across multiple complex product surfaces, especially in regulated industries like healthcare, requires foresight and robust architecture.

• Evolution of the Role: The transition from a pure Design Systems Designer to a hybrid role will present new challenges and learning curves in product design.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen Design Systems Expertise: Opportunity to become a leader in design systems, potentially influencing best practices across the organization and industry.

• Mastering Figma and Design Workflows: Continuous improvement in using advanced Figma features and modern design system tooling.

• Understanding HealthTech Product Design: Gaining in-depth knowledge of the healthcare industry's unique design challenges, user needs, and regulatory considerations.

• Product Design Acumen: Developing skills in core product design, user experience strategy, and feature development as the role evolves.

• Cross-functional Collaboration Skills: Enhancing abilities to partner effectively with engineering, product management, and research in a fast-paced, agile environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges highlight common friction points in design systems work, requiring strong problem-solving and interpersonal skills. The growth opportunities are tied to both specialization and diversification, offering a clear path for career development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to balance the needs of a product team with the integrity of the design system. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on negotiation, prioritization, and compromise.)

• "How do you ensure a design system remains accessible and inclusive? Walk me through your process for auditing and improving accessibility within a system." (Focus on knowledge of standards, testing, and proactive measures.)

• "Imagine we need to introduce a new complex component into our design system. What are the key steps you would take from concept to implementation and governance?" (Focus on process, collaboration, documentation, and release.)

• "How do you measure the success and adoption of a design system? What metrics are most important, and how do you track them?" (Focus on data-driven approach, ROI, and impact.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Cohere Health and our mission in the healthcare technology space?" (Show genuine interest and understanding of the company's impact.)

• "Our core values are empathy, candor, kindness, and care. How do you embody these values in your work, particularly when collaborating with engineers or designers?" (Connect values to practical work examples.)

• "How do you approach learning new design tools or workflows, especially as the role evolves into hybrid product design?" (Demonstrate adaptability and a growth mindset.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your role, the process, the solution (your design system contributions), and the impact (metrics, adoption).

• Highlight Design System Specifics: For design system projects, explicitly detail the components, tokens, patterns, documentation, and governance strategies you implemented.

• Showcase Collaboration: Explain how you worked with engineers, product managers, and other designers. Use examples of where you influenced decisions or resolved conflicts.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, present data-driven results. This could include metrics on design efficiency, reduced development time, increased component usage, or improved UI consistency.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, technical considerations, and the rationale behind your system's architecture.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation focuses on demonstrating strategic thinking, practical application of design systems principles, and cultural alignment. The emphasis is on not just what was done, but why and how it impacted the business and users.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Design Systems Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the greenhouse.io platform.

• Customize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight your 3+ years of experience in software product design with a specific focus on design systems. Emphasize your proficiency in Figma, interaction/visual design, accessibility, and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords from the job description like "design systems," "Figma," "design tokens," "component architecture," and "accessibility."

• Curate Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio prominently features your design systems work. Select 2-3 strong case studies that demonstrate your ability to design, maintain, and scale a design system, including examples of components, tokens, patterns, and documentation. Quantify impact where possible and be ready to articulate your process and rationale.

• Prepare for the Case Study: Research Cohere Health, their products, and the healthcare industry. Practice outlining your approach to a hypothetical design system challenge, focusing on scalability, accessibility, and collaboration with engineering.

• Research Company Culture and Values: Understand Cohere Health's mission and core values (empathy, candor, kindness, care). Be ready to discuss how you embody these values in a collaborative environment.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.