Design Systems Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Design Systems Designer

Company: Genius AI

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / Design Operations

Date Posted: 2026-09-15

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Remote Solely

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the vision, strategy, and execution of Genius AI's design system to ensure product consistency and scalability.

• Architect, maintain, and evolve a comprehensive component library and design token system for seamless integration across web and mobile platforms.

• Foster strong partnerships with engineering and product teams to optimize the design-to-development handoff process and champion adoption.

• Elevate the overall craft, accessibility, and quality standards of the product through robust system governance and documentation.

• Play a pivotal role in a company-wide rebrand, translating new visual language into systematic design components and patterns.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the role is a "Design Systems Designer," the emphasis on "Senior" and "driving its vision," "raising the bar for craft," and "force multiplier" suggests a significant strategic and leadership component, aligning it with Design Operations or Design Infrastructure specializations within the broader product design field. The requirement for minimal oversight and influencing cross-functional partners further solidifies this.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and own the long-term vision and strategic roadmap for the design system, aligning it with company objectives and product scaling needs.

• Architect and meticulously maintain a scalable, reusable component library, ensuring high-quality UI elements for both web and mobile applications.

• Lead the development and implementation of design tokens, Figma libraries, variables, and standardized naming conventions to establish a cohesive visual language.

• Collaborate closely with engineering teams to ensure seamless integration of design components into production code, reducing friction and improving release velocity.

• Champion and enforce accessibility standards, quality benchmarks, and best practices for UI craft across all system assets.

• Develop and manage comprehensive documentation and governance models for the design system, facilitating understanding, adoption, and contribution across the organization.

• Actively participate in and lead the systematization of the company-wide rebrand, ensuring consistent application of the new visual identity.

• Identify and implement tooling efficiencies, including exploring AI-powered workflows, to enhance team productivity and the quality of design output.

• Mentor and guide other designers, fostering a culture of shared learning and elevating the overall design craft within the company.

• Influence product roadmap decisions by providing strategic insights on design system priorities and development timelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic ownership, technical execution (component libraries, tokens), cross-functional collaboration, and mentorship, typical of a senior role within a design systems function. The mention of AI-powered workflows and a company-wide rebrand indicates a dynamic and forward-thinking environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Specific educational requirements are not detailed, but a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent knowledge and experience is expected.

Experience: 4+ years of product design experience, with a substantial and hands-on focus on design systems, component libraries, or design infrastructure. Proven track record of owning and scaling a design system in a production environment is essential.

Required Skills:

• Expert-level proficiency in Figma, including advanced use of components, variables, auto layout, libraries, and prototyping capabilities.

• Deep understanding of systems thinking and the ability to design for scale, anticipating edge cases and future needs.

• Proven experience in leading the development and evolution of a design system from inception or significant scaling.

• Strong capabilities in architecting and maintaining reusable UI component libraries.

• Expertise in defining and implementing design tokens, variables, and visual language standards.

• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to align engineers, PMs, and designers effectively with minimal oversight.

• Strong communication skills for articulating and defending design decisions clearly and persuasively.

• Mobile-first design mindset, with the ability to naturally design within this context.

• Experience contributing to key design system pillars: Tokens, Accessibility, working with code/developers, Documentation, and Contribution models.

• High empathy for customers and a strong desire to understand and address their needs, particularly small business owners. Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with Storybook, Tokens Studio, and Style Dictionary.

• Experience with rebrand initiatives or significant platform evolution projects.

• Curiosity and experience with AI tools such as Cursor or Claude for workflow enhancement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "owning" and "leading" the design system, rather than just contributing, points to a senior individual contributor role that requires significant autonomy and strategic influence. The required experience level (4+ years) and "expert-level Figma skills" are critical indicators for candidates.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing strong UI craft, end-to-end product thinking, and a deep understanding of design systems.

• Demonstrations of ownership and leadership in scaling a design system within a production environment.

• Examples of architected component libraries, including documentation and adherence to standards.

• Case studies detailing the implementation of design tokens, variables, and visual language consistency.

• Evidence of collaboration with engineering teams and successful design-to-dev handoff processes.

• Projects highlighting contributions to accessibility, quality, and craft standards within a system. Process Documentation:

• Examples of well-documented design system guidelines, making the system easy to understand and adopt.

• Portfolios should illustrate the candidate's approach to system governance and contribution models.

• Showcase how the candidate has identified and implemented tooling efficiencies or AI-powered workflows to improve team velocity.

• Evidence of creating or maintaining Figma libraries, including components, variables, and auto layout best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is paramount for this role, needing to demonstrate not just design skill but also systems thinking, leadership in design infrastructure, and collaborative process ownership. Specific examples of design system components, token implementation, and collaboration with engineering will be crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Senior Design Systems Designer in Toronto, Canada, with 5-10 years of experience, a competitive annual salary range is estimated between CAD $120,000 - $170,000. This range accounts for the seniority of the role, the specialized nature of design systems expertise, the company's focus on AI and growth, and the Toronto cost of living.

Benefits:

• Competitive health and dental insurance options.

• Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) policy.

• Annual stipend for professional development and continued learning, supporting skill enhancement in design systems and related technologies.

• A unique $5,000 bonus for high performers at the 5-year mark, intended for personal recharge and well-being.

• Paid parental leave to support new parents.

• Fertility and adoption benefits provided through Carrot, offering comprehensive family planning support.

• Local events and in-person gathering opportunities throughout the year for the distributed team, fostering connection and collaboration.

Working Hours: The role is structured around a standard 40-hour work week, with flexibility often afforded to remote employees to manage their schedules effectively, provided core responsibilities and collaboration needs are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on general market data for senior design roles in major Canadian tech hubs and the specialized nature of design systems expertise. The benefits package is comprehensive, with unique offerings like the 5-year performance bonus and fertility/adoption support.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically focused on AI-powered solutions for local businesses, with core products like GlossGenius and Reception aiming to automate administrative tasks.

Company Size: The job description implies a growing company that is scaling significantly, investing in AI, and undergoing a major rebrand. This suggests a company in a growth phase, likely with a few hundred employees, balancing established processes with rapid innovation.

Founded: Genius AI was founded with a mission to help local businesses run themselves, indicating a customer-centric approach focused on empowering entrepreneurs.

Team Structure:

• The Design Systems team is growing, indicating an increasing investment in design infrastructure and quality.

• This role requires influencing and collaborating with multiple cross-functional partners, including engineers, Product Managers (PMs), and other designers.

• The structure likely involves a lead designer or design manager overseeing the design systems function, with this Senior Designer acting as a key individual contributor and strategic driver. Methodology:

• Emphasis on using AI across products and exploring AI-powered workflows for design efficiency.

• A commitment to data-driven insights, evidenced by metrics like admin hours saved and revenue earned by their products.

• A systematic approach to design, driven by the design system, to ensure consistency and scalability as the company grows.

• A focus on craft, quality, and accessibility as core tenets of their design process.

Company Website: https://genius.ai

📝 Enhancement Note: Genius AI appears to be a dynamic, growth-stage tech company leveraging AI to serve small businesses. The culture likely values innovation, customer impact, and high-quality execution, with a strong emphasis on design as a strategic differentiator, especially given the rebrand and design system investment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Senior Design Systems Designer, indicating a senior individual contributor level. It involves significant ownership, autonomy, and the ability to influence strategy and mentor others, rather than direct people management.

Reporting Structure: The role is part of a growing design systems team and will likely report to a Design Lead, Design Manager, or Head of Design. It requires close collaboration with Engineering Leads and Product Managers.

Operations Impact: The design system is critical for scaling Genius AI's products, ensuring a consistent user experience, and accelerating development velocity. This role directly impacts the efficiency of the design and engineering teams and the overall quality and marketability of Genius AI's offerings.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization & Leadership: Opportunity to become a recognized expert and thought leader in design systems within the company, potentially leading future design infrastructure initiatives.

• Skill Development: Deepen expertise in Figma, design tokens, system architecture, accessibility standards, and potentially AI tools for design. Mentorship opportunities will allow for skill sharing and refinement.

• Strategic Influence: Grow by influencing product roadmaps, contributing to company-wide rebrand strategy, and shaping the future direction of design at Genius AI. The potential to define new processes and adoption models for the design system offers significant growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for growth within the specialized field of design systems and design infrastructure. It's ideal for someone who wants to deepen their expertise, influence strategic decisions, and become a key architect of a company's design foundation, rather than moving into traditional people management.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote position, with the requirement that the candidate be located within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This suggests a hybrid approach where remote work is standard, but occasional in-person collaboration or local team events might occur.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, the geographic constraint to the Greater Toronto Area implies potential for local meetups or team events. The company's headquarters are likely in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, given the location requirement.

Workspace Context:

• A remote-first environment that values asynchronous communication and self-sufficiency, balanced with opportunities for synchronous collaboration.

• Access to modern design tools, including Figma, and potentially AI tools like Cursor or Claude for workflow enhancement.

• A collaborative culture where designers, engineers, and PMs work closely together, facilitated by strong documentation and clear processes.

• The company is undergoing a rebrand, suggesting a dynamic period of change and opportunity to shape new visual and systematic approaches.

Work Schedule: Standard 40-hour work week, with flexibility inherent in a remote role. The focus will be on output, collaboration, and meeting deadlines, rather than strict adherence to a 9-to-5 schedule.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "remote in the Greater Toronto Area" requirement is specific and suggests a need for local presence for potential future team events or networking, even though the day-to-day work is remote. This offers the benefits of remote work with the potential for local community building.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of portfolio and resume to assess alignment with requirements, particularly design systems experience and Figma proficiency.

• Design Exercise/Case Study: Candidates may be asked to present a case study from their portfolio focusing on a design system project, or complete a take-home exercise related to component design, system architecture, or problem-solving within a design system context.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with engineering and product team members to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to bridge design and development.

• Hiring Manager/Design Lead Interview: Deeper dive into strategic thinking, vision for design systems, leadership potential, and cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Ownership: Clearly articulate your role and impact in past design system projects, emphasizing leadership and strategic contributions.

• Showcase Craft & Systems: Present high-quality UI examples alongside evidence of systematic thinking, component reusability, and scalability.

• Detail Process: Explain your process for architecting components, defining tokens, collaborating with developers, and documenting standards.

• Demonstrate Problem-Solving: Include case studies that showcase how you've addressed challenges in design system adoption, consistency, or evolution.

• Figma Expertise: Ensure your portfolio clearly demonstrates advanced Figma skills, including components, variables, and auto layout.

• Rebrand/Evolution Experience: If applicable, highlight experience with major rebrands or platform evolution, showcasing your ability to manage significant change.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be Ready to Discuss: Prepare to articulate your philosophy on design systems, your approach to governance, and how you measure success.

• Technical Acumen: Be prepared to discuss how you collaborate with engineers and bridge the gap between design and code.

• Strategic Vision: Think about how you would approach evolving the design system at Genius AI, considering their AI focus and rebrand.

• Accessibility & Inclusivity: Be ready to discuss your commitment to accessibility and how you integrate it into system design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "owning the vision," "minimal oversight," and "influencing cross-functional partners" suggests that interviewers will be looking for a candidate who can operate independently and strategically, not just execute tasks. The portfolio review will be a critical gate, demanding clear evidence of senior-level design systems experience.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design tool. Expert-level proficiency required, specifically with components, variables, auto layout, libraries, and prototyping.

• Design System Tools:

  • Storybook (Preferred): For component documentation and development preview.
  • Tokens Studio / Style Dictionary (Preferred): For managing design tokens and their application across platforms.

• AI Tools (Curiosity/Nice to Have):

  • Cursor: AI-first code editor that may integrate with design workflows.
  • Claude: General-purpose AI assistant that could be used for documentation, ideation, or code generation assistance.

Analytics & Reporting: While not explicitly stated, a Senior Design Systems Designer would likely interact with analytics tools to understand component usage, user engagement with design elements, and the impact of design consistency on key metrics.

CRM & Automation: Not directly applicable to this role, but understanding how the design system integrates with the broader product development lifecycle is key.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma expertise is non-negotiable. Familiarity with Storybook and token management tools is highly desirable and indicates a candidate who understands the practical implementation of a design system. The mention of AI tools suggests an openness to integrating new technologies into the design workflow.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Empathy: A deep passion for empowering small business owners and understanding their needs is central to Genius AI's mission.

• Excellence & Craft: A commitment to raising the bar for design quality and craft across all products.

• Systematic Thinking: Designing with scale, consistency, and future needs in mind.

• Collaboration & Influence: The ability to work effectively with diverse teams and influence decisions through clear communication and strong rationale.

• Innovation: Embracing new technologies like AI to drive efficiency and improve outcomes.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Partnership: Close collaboration with engineering and product management to ensure seamless implementation and adoption of the design system.

• Mentorship & Knowledge Sharing: A willingness to mentor other designers and share expertise to elevate the team's overall capabilities.

• Data-Informed Decisions: Utilizing data and insights to inform design decisions and measure the impact of the design system.

• Proactive Communication: Articulating design decisions clearly and confidently, fostering an environment of open feedback and constructive critique.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture appears to value customer impact, high standards in design execution, and a forward-thinking approach to technology and process. The Senior Design Systems Designer is expected to be a key player in fostering these values through their work and interactions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling Design Systems: Ensuring the design system remains robust, maintainable, and adoptable as Genius AI continues its rapid growth and product expansion.

• Balancing Consistency with Innovation: Maintaining a strong visual identity and consistent user experience while allowing for product innovation and iteration.

• Driving Adoption: Encouraging and facilitating the widespread adoption and consistent use of the design system across all product teams.

• Managing Rebrand Integration: Successfully translating a new visual language into a comprehensive and functional design system during a company-wide rebrand.

• Integrating AI Tools: Exploring and effectively integrating AI tools into the design workflow without compromising quality or introducing new complexities.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepening Design Systems Expertise: Becoming a leading authority on design systems, potentially contributing to industry best practices.

• Strategic Product Influence: Gaining experience in shaping product strategy and roadmap through the lens of design infrastructure.

• Mentorship and Leadership: Developing leadership skills through mentoring junior designers and influencing cross-functional teams.

• Exposure to AI in Design: Gaining hands-on experience with cutting-edge AI tools and their application in design and development processes.

• Rebrand Leadership: Playing a key role in a significant company-wide rebrand, offering invaluable experience in large-scale design transformation.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant challenges related to scaling, rebrands, and technology integration, which are also the primary drivers of growth and learning opportunities for a motivated individual.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you define the vision and long-term strategy for a growing design system at a company like Genius AI, considering our AI focus and upcoming rebrand?"

• "Describe your process for architecting a scalable component library. What are the key considerations for ensuring reusability and maintainability across web and mobile?"

• "How do you approach driving adoption of a design system with multiple product teams and engineering disciplines? Can you share an example of a time you had to influence stakeholders to adopt new standards?"

• "Imagine we're launching a new feature that requires a novel UI pattern. How would you determine if it should be a new component in the system, or if it can be composed from existing elements?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Genius AI's mission to empower small business owners, and how do you see design systems contributing to that mission?"

• "How do you approach collaborating with engineers to ensure the design system is implemented accurately and efficiently? What's your philosophy on design-to-dev handoff?"

• "Describe your experience with accessibility standards and how you integrate them into design systems. Why is this important for Genius AI's customers?"

• "What are your thoughts on leveraging AI tools in design workflows? Have you experimented with any tools like Cursor or Claude, and if so, how?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the solution (design system components, patterns, tokens), the process, and the impact (metrics, adoption, efficiency).

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively to demonstrate your UI craft, component variations, and how the system is applied. Include interactive Figma prototypes if possible.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your design system work (e.g., reduction in design/dev time, increase in UI consistency, adoption rates).

• Highlight Systems Thinking: Explicitly explain why you made certain design decisions for the system, focusing on scalability, reusability, and maintainability.

• Address Collaboration: Be prepared to discuss how you worked with engineers, PMs, and other designers throughout the process.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating not just technical skills but also strategic thinking, leadership potential, and a deep understanding of how design systems function within a growing tech organization. Be ready to discuss specific examples and quantify impact.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Design Systems Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to prominently feature your most relevant design systems experience, leadership examples, and Figma proficiency. Highlight projects demonstrating ownership, scaling, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly outlines your years of experience, specific contributions to design systems, and familiarity with key tools like Figma, Storybook, and token management. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice presenting your portfolio, focusing on clear communication of your process, impact, and strategic thinking. Be ready to discuss your vision for design systems.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Genius AI's products, mission, and current initiatives (like the rebrand and AI focus) to demonstrate genuine interest and alignment with their values and goals.

⚠️ 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.

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