Senior Product Designer, UX Design & Design Systems, CoStar Product

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer, UX Design & Design Systems, CoStar Product

Company: CoStar

Location: Richmond, Virginia, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design (UX Design, Design Systems)

Date Posted: 2025-06-10T00:00:00

Experience Level: Senior (6+ Years)

Remote Status: On-site

🎨 Role Summary

• Lead the development and scaling of the design system, including component libraries, documentation, governance, and implementation, establishing the foundation for consistent and efficient design workflows.
• Design end-to-end user experiences for complex workflows within the CoStar product suite, focusing on clarity, consistency, and usability for commercial real estate professionals.
• Champion and establish high standards for product design quality, encompassing visual polish, interaction design excellence, accessibility compliance, and responsive design behavior across all platforms.
• Collaborate strategically with product managers, engineers, and other designers to influence product direction, shape design strategy, and deliver high-impact features that meet user needs and business goals.
• Innovate and explore emerging design trends and technologies, such as design tokens, AI tools, theming, and variable typography, to push the boundaries of design capabilities and improve product quality.

🖼️ Primary Responsibilities

• Build, maintain, and evolve the core design system, including creating and documenting reusable UI components, patterns, and guidelines to ensure consistency and efficiency across CoStar products.
• Design intuitive and effective user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups for new features and improvements within the CoStar product, addressing complex commercial real estate workflows.
• Collaborate closely with engineering teams to ensure seamless implementation of design specifications, providing detailed documentation and participating in design reviews and handoffs.
• Conduct user research, usability testing, and gather feedback to validate design decisions, inform product strategy, and iterate on design solutions for both the product and the design system.
• Champion accessibility best practices and ensure that all designs meet relevant standards, creating inclusive and usable experiences for all users.
• Establish and refine design processes and workflows to improve team efficiency, collaboration, and the overall quality of design deliverables.
• Mentor junior designers and contribute to fostering a design culture that emphasizes craft, continuous learning, and innovation within the team.
• Explore and integrate new design tools, technologies, and methodologies to enhance the design system and overall product development lifecycle.
• Present design concepts, rationale, and research findings to stakeholders, effectively communicating design decisions and influencing product direction.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a related field from an accredited, not-for-profit University or College. This foundational education provides a strong theoretical basis in design principles and user-centered methodologies.

Experience: 6+ years of experience designing digital products. A strong portfolio showcasing exceptional product thinking, end-to-end design process, and system-level design contributions is essential for demonstrating the required level of expertise and impact.

Required Skills:

• User Experience (UX) Design: Deep understanding of UX principles, user-centered design methodologies, and the ability to design intuitive and effective end-to-end experiences for complex applications.
• Design Systems: Proven experience creating, scaling, or contributing significantly to a design system, with a strong grasp of componentization, reusability, documentation, and governance.
• Interaction Design: Expertise in designing interactive experiences, defining micro-interactions, and ensuring smooth and predictable user flows.
• Accessibility: Strong understanding and practical application of accessibility best practices (e.g., WCAG guidelines) to create inclusive digital products.
• Figma Proficiency: Advanced proficiency in Figma, including extensive experience with component libraries, auto-layout, variants, and ideally, design tokens for scalable and consistent design.
• Collaboration & Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate design decisions, provide constructive feedback, and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams (Product Management, Engineering, etc.).
• Systems Thinking: Ability to think at a system level, understanding how individual components and patterns contribute to the overall product ecosystem and design language.
• Detail Orientation & Craftsmanship: A strong sense of visual design detail, typography, layout, and overall design craftsmanship to ensure high-quality and polished user interfaces.

Preferred Skills:

• Front-end Frameworks: Familiarity with front-end technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript frameworks like React, enabling better communication and collaboration with engineering teams on design implementation.
• SaaS/B2B Experience: Experience designing for Software as a Service (SaaS) or Business-to-Business (B2B) products, which often involve complex workflows, data visualization, and enterprise-level considerations.
• Design Operations & Token Architectures: Knowledge of DesignOps practices, multi-brand design systems, or token-driven design architectures, demonstrating advanced understanding of scaling design efforts.

🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Your portfolio must showcase a range of digital product design projects, demonstrating your end-to-end design process from problem discovery and research through to final implementation and iteration.
• Include specific examples that highlight your experience with design systems. This could involve showing contributions to existing systems, or ideally, leading the creation or significant scaling of a design system, demonstrating your understanding of componentization, documentation, and governance.
• Present detailed case studies that clearly articulate the problem you were solving, your design process, the decisions you made and why, the challenges you faced, and the impact of your design solutions on users and the business.
• Showcase your proficiency in creating high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes using Figma, demonstrating attention to visual detail, interaction design, and adherence to design system principles.

Process Documentation:

• Document your research and discovery phase, including methods used (e.g., user interviews, surveys, competitive analysis), insights gathered, and how these insights informed your design decisions.
• Detail your ideation and iteration methods, showing sketches, wireframes, multiple design options explored, and how feedback influenced your design evolution.
• Explain your validation and testing approaches, including usability testing methodologies, key findings, and how testing results led to design refinements.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $120,000 - $160,000 Annually (Estimated)

Benefits:

• Comprehensive healthcare coverage including Medical, Vision, Dental, and Prescription Drug plans.
• Life, legal, and supplementary insurance options for added security.
• Access to virtual and in-person mental health counseling services for individuals and family, promoting well-being.
• Commuter and parking benefits to assist with transportation costs.
• 401(K) retirement plan with matching contributions to support long-term financial planning.
• Employee stock purchase plan, allowing employees to invest in the company's future.
• Generous paid time off policy for work-life balance.
• Tuition reimbursement program to support continuous learning and professional development in design and related fields.
• On-site fitness center and/or reimbursed fitness center membership costs (location dependent), promoting employee health and wellness.
• Access to CoStar Group’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Employee Resource Groups, fostering an inclusive work environment.
• Complimentary gourmet coffee, tea, hot chocolate, fresh fruit, and other healthy snacks available in the office.

Working Hours: Full-time, typically 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday, with an on-site presence required in the Richmond, VA office. Flexibility may be available for creative deep work periods or project-specific needs, but the core expectation is in-office collaboration.

🎯Team & Company Context

🏢 Company & Design Culture

Industry: Real Estate Technology (PropTech). CoStar is a leading global provider of commercial and residential real estate information, analytics, and online marketplaces, operating at the intersection of technology and real estate. This industry context means designers work on complex data visualization, large-scale search interfaces, and professional-grade tools.

Company Size: Large (5,001-10,000 employees globally). A large company size indicates established processes, potentially specialized teams, and opportunities for collaboration across various departments and product lines. For designers, this often means working within defined structures and contributing to large-scale, impactful products.

Founded: 1986. Founded over 35 years ago, CoStar has a long history and established position in the market. This longevity suggests stability and a mature product portfolio, but also the potential for innovation as the company continues to digitize the real estate world.

Team Structure:

• Design teams likely operate within product-aligned structures, working closely with specific product managers and engineering teams on particular features or product areas.
• As a Senior Designer focused on Design Systems, you will likely work across multiple product teams, collaborating to ensure consistency and adoption of the system.
• Reporting structures typically involve reporting to a Design Manager or Director, with opportunities for mentorship and peer collaboration within the design team.

Methodology:

• Likely utilizes Agile development methodologies, with design integrated into sprints and continuous delivery cycles.
• Emphasis on user-centered design processes, including research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration, particularly given the focus on UX design.
• Strong focus on data-driven design decisions, leveraging analytics and market insights from CoStar's extensive real estate data.

Company Website: https://www.costar.com

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Design Career Level: Senior. This role is for an experienced designer capable of leading design initiatives, mentoring others, and significantly contributing to both product design and foundational design systems. At this level, designers are expected to demonstrate strong product thinking, technical design system knowledge, and the ability to influence product strategy.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Design Manager or Director within the Product Design organization. This structure provides guidance and support while allowing for significant autonomy and leadership within their areas of focus.

Design Impact: This role has a high potential for impact, directly shaping the user experience of CoStar's core product and influencing how design is scaled and maintained across the organization through the design system. The work will directly affect millions of users who rely on CoStar's data and tools for their business.

Growth Opportunities:

• Potential for advancement to Lead Product Designer or Design Manager roles, taking on more leadership and team management responsibilities within the design organization.
• Opportunities to specialize further in design systems, becoming a subject matter expert and leading the strategic direction of the system.
• Growth through mentorship, taking on responsibility for guiding and developing more junior designers on the team.
• Expanding influence across different product areas within CoStar Group, contributing to a wider range of real estate technology products.

🌐 Work Environment

Studio Type: Corporate Office. The position is explicitly stated as on-site in the Richmond, VA office. This indicates a traditional corporate work environment with dedicated office space, likely fostering in-person collaboration.

Office Location(s): Richmond, VA. CoStar has multiple locations, but this specific role is based at their Richmond office. Information about the specific office building (e.g., address, amenities) would be helpful for candidates considering the daily commute and work environment.

Design Workspace Context:

• Likely features dedicated workspaces for designers, potentially including areas for collaboration, brainstorming, and focused work.
• Access to necessary design tools and technology, including powerful workstations, monitors, and potentially specialized hardware for research or testing.
• Opportunities for spontaneous and planned interactions with design team members, product managers, and engineers located in the same office.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday through Friday, on-site. This structured schedule supports close collaboration with co-located teams, which is particularly important for building and maintaining a design system that requires frequent communication and alignment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Design Interview Process:

• Initial screening call with a recruiter to discuss background, experience, and fit for the role and company culture. Prepare to discuss your experience with both UX design and design systems.
• Portfolio review presentation where you walk through selected case studies, focusing on your design process, problem-solving skills, and contributions to design systems. Be prepared to articulate your rationale and the impact of your work.
• Interviews with members of the design team, product managers, and engineering leads. These interviews will likely cover your technical design skills, collaboration style, approach to design systems, and ability to work effectively in a cross-functional environment.
• Potentially a design challenge or whiteboarding session to assess your on-the-spot problem-solving skills and design thinking process. This could involve a product design problem or a challenge related to scaling design using systems.
• Final interview(s) with design leadership or hiring managers to discuss your overall fit, career aspirations, and potential contributions to the team and company.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Clearly articulate your role and responsibilities in each project, especially highlighting your specific contributions to design systems, whether building components, documenting guidelines, or advocating for adoption.
• For design system case studies, demonstrate the impact of the system on design efficiency, consistency, and the development workflow. Show how the system solved specific problems for designers and engineers.
• Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your case studies, providing context, explaining your approach, detailing your actions, and quantifying the results or impact of your work.
• Be prepared to discuss the challenges you faced in each project and how you overcame them, demonstrating your problem-solving abilities and resilience.

Challenge Preparation:

• If a design challenge is provided, clarify the scope, constraints, and desired outcome upfront. Ask clarifying questions to ensure you understand the problem thoroughly.
• Structure your approach to the challenge, demonstrating your design process even within a limited timeframe. This could involve quickly sketching ideas, outlining user flows, and explaining your rationale.
• Practice articulating your design decisions and thought process clearly and concisely, as the interviewers will be evaluating your thinking as much as the final solution.
• For design system-related challenges, be prepared to discuss how you would approach component design, documentation, or scaling a system to meet specific needs.

ATS Keywords: User Experience Design, UX Design, Product Design, Design Systems, UI Design, Interaction Design, Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, Prototyping, Wireframing, Usability Testing, User Research, Information Architecture, Accessibility, WCAG, Design Thinking, Agile, Scrum, Design Operations, DesignOps, Component Libraries, Pattern Libraries, Style Guides, Design Tokens, Front-end Development (HTML, CSS, React), Collaboration, Cross-functional Teams, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Communication, Mentorship, SaaS, B2B, Enterprise Software, Real Estate Technology, PropTech, Data Visualization, Analytics, Responsive Design, Visual Design, Creative Suite, Adobe XD, InVision, Zeplin, Abstract, Git, Jira, Confluence.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design Tools:

• Figma: Required proficiency, including extensive use of component libraries, auto-layout, variants, and potentially design tokens. Figma is the primary tool for UI design, prototyping, and design system management.
• Sketch / Adobe XD: While Figma is primary, familiarity with other design tools like Sketch or Adobe XD can be beneficial, demonstrating adaptability and broader tool knowledge.
• Adobe Creative Suite: Proficiency in tools like Photoshop and Illustrator may be required for creating or editing graphics, icons, or other visual assets for the design system or product interfaces.

Collaboration & Handoff:

• Collaboration Tools: Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or similar platforms for team communication and collaboration.
• Handoff Tools: Platforms like Zeplin or Abstract may be used for design handoff to engineering, providing specifications, assets, and version control for design files.
• Documentation Tools: Platforms like Confluence, Zeroheight, or custom documentation sites may be used to document the design system guidelines, principles, and component usage.

Research & Testing:

• User Research Platforms: Tools for conducting user interviews, surveys (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Typeform), and usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze).
• Analytics Tools: Familiarity with web analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics) to understand user behavior and inform design decisions.
• Prototyping Tools: While Figma has strong prototyping capabilities, experience with other tools like InVision or Axure could be beneficial for more complex interactions.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Design Values:

• Craftsmanship and Quality: A strong emphasis on creating high-quality, polished design solutions with attention to detail in visual design, interaction, and consistency, especially through the design system.
• User-Centered Approach: Commitment to understanding user needs through research and testing, and designing solutions that effectively address those needs to provide valuable experiences for commercial real estate professionals.
• Collaboration and Communication: Valuing open communication, constructive feedback, and seamless collaboration with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders throughout the design process.
• Innovation and Continuous Improvement: Encouraging exploration of new design trends, technologies, and methodologies to push the boundaries of what's possible and continuously improve the design process and product quality.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional collaboration is key, with designers working closely with product and engineering teams in an Agile environment.
• Design critiques and feedback sessions are likely a regular part of the workflow to share work in progress and receive constructive input from peers and leadership.
• Strong emphasis on documentation and knowledge sharing, particularly for the design system, to ensure widespread adoption and understanding across teams.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Design Challenges:

• Scaling the Design System: A primary challenge will be building and scaling a design system that effectively serves a large organization with multiple product lines and diverse user needs. This involves not just creating components but also establishing governance, documentation, and adoption strategies.
• Designing for Complex Workflows: The commercial real estate domain involves complex data, intricate workflows, and professional users with specific needs. Designing intuitive and efficient experiences for these users requires deep understanding and careful consideration of the domain.
• Balancing Innovation with Consistency: While exploring emerging technologies is encouraged, a key challenge will be balancing innovation with the need for consistency and adherence to the established design system.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring alignment and buy-in from product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders across different teams for the design system and design standards requires strong communication, influence, and collaboration skills.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Opportunity to become a subject matter expert in design systems, gaining deep experience in building, scaling, and governing a large-scale system.
• Exposure to the complex and data-rich domain of commercial real estate, providing opportunities to learn and apply design principles to a specialized industry.
• Mentorship opportunities both as a mentee learning from senior leaders and as a mentor guiding more junior designers.
• Access to internal training programs and tuition reimbursement to further develop design skills and knowledge in relevant areas like DesignOps, front-end technologies, or specific industry knowledge.

💡 Interview Preparation

Design Process Questions:

• Be prepared to discuss your end-to-end design process, using examples from your portfolio. Focus on how you approach problem definition, user research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration.
• Articulate your approach to designing for complex workflows and data-heavy interfaces, common in the commercial real estate domain.
• Explain how you incorporate accessibility best practices throughout your design process.

Company Culture Questions:

• Research CoStar's business, products, and target users (commercial real estate professionals). Be prepared to discuss how your design skills and experience align with their mission and the needs of their users.
• Ask questions about the design team structure, how design collaborates with product and engineering, and the current state of the design system. This shows your interest and helps you assess cultural fit.
• Be prepared to discuss your experience working in an Agile environment and collaborating with cross-functional teams.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure your portfolio presentation to tell a compelling story about your design process and the impact of your work, particularly focusing on projects that demonstrate your experience with design systems.
• For design system examples, highlight the problem the system solved, your contributions, and the positive outcomes (e.g., increased efficiency, improved consistency).
• Be concise and focused, tailoring your presentation to the specific requirements of this role. Practice your presentation beforehand to ensure it flows smoothly and stays within the allotted time.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this design position:

• Submit your application through this link
• Tailor your resume to highlight your experience with UX design, design systems, Figma, and any relevant experience in SaaS, B2B, or complex data-driven products. Use keywords from the ATS Keywords list.
• Prepare a strong portfolio that specifically showcases your work on design systems and complex product design challenges, with detailed case studies that explain your process and impact.
• Practice presenting your portfolio and explaining your design decisions clearly and concisely, focusing on the value and outcomes of your work.
• Research CoStar Group, their products (especially the CoStar product), their industry, and their design team to prepare for interviews and demonstrate your interest and understanding.