Design Technologist - (aka Technical Designer)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Design Technologist (aka Technical Designer) Company: GSSTech Group Location: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Job Type: Full-Time Category: Design Operations / Engineering Operations Date Posted: August 06, 2025 Experience Level: 2-5 Years

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is crucial for bridging the gap between design and development within a digital transformation context, ensuring the seamless translation of high-fidelity UI concepts into production-ready code.
• The Design Technologist will be instrumental in building and maintaining a robust design system, fostering consistency and quality across the organization's digital products.
• Key responsibilities include developing accessible, performant, and responsive interfaces, adhering to international standards and best practices.
• The position requires close collaboration with cross-functional teams, including designers and front-end engineers, to integrate design tokens, APIs, and refine component architecture within agile frameworks.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title "Design Technologist" and responsibilities lean towards front-end development and design systems, the emphasis on bridging design and development, and working within a "design systems unit" suggests a strong operational component focused on process integration and standardization for digital product development. This role can be categorized under Design Operations or Engineering Operations due to its focus on enabling efficient and consistent product creation through design systems.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Translate high-fidelity UI designs from prototypes into interactive, production-ready coded UI components, ensuring pixel-perfect implementation.
• Build, maintain, and evolve a comprehensive design system utilizing modern UI frameworks (React, Vue, Angular), ensuring consistent application across all digital products.
• Develop accessible (WCAG 2.0/2.1 standards), performant, and responsive interfaces, with a focus on internationalization and mobile-first principles.
• Document design patterns, style guides, and code library components meticulously, ensuring clarity and usability for design and development teams.
• Utilize Storybook or similar tools to document and showcase design system components, facilitating adoption and understanding.
• Participate actively in agile ceremonies (e.g., sprint planning, daily stand-ups, retrospectives) within cross-functional tribes to ensure alignment and timely delivery.
• Collaborate closely with front-end engineers to refine component architecture, define and integrate design tokens, and manage component APIs for seamless integration.
• Analyze user feedback and performance data to iterate on design system components and improve overall user experience and system efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong focus on process standardization and operational efficiency within the product development lifecycle. The emphasis on component architecture, design tokens, and Storybook documentation points to a role that operationalizes design principles into reusable, scalable assets, directly impacting development velocity and product consistency.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Computer Science, or a related field is preferred, providing a strong theoretical foundation for design and technology integration.

Experience:

• 2-5 years of experience in front-end development, product design, UX engineering, or a similar role, with a proven track record of delivering high-quality digital interfaces.
• Demonstrated experience in contributing to or building a design system, showcasing an understanding of component-based architecture and systematic design.

Required Skills:

• Technical Proficiency: Solid foundation in HTML5, CSS3 (including preprocessors like SASS/LESS), and modern JavaScript (ES6+).
• UI Frameworks: Familiarity with at least one modern UI framework or library such as React, Vue, or Angular.
• Build/Design Tooling: Experience with tools like Storybook, Styleguidist, Figma-to-code plugins, Babel, and Webpack for component development and documentation.
• Component Architecture: Understanding of component patterns, theming strategies, design tokens, and prop APIs for reusable UI elements.
• Accessibility & Responsiveness: Knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG 2.0/2.1) and best practices for responsive design and mobile-first development.
• Version Control: Proficiency in using Git for version control, including branching, merging, and pull requests.
• Methodology: Experience working within Agile methodologies and Scrum frameworks.

Preferred Skills:

• Design Software: Proficiency in Figma for UI design and prototyping. Sketch and Adobe Suite familiarity are also beneficial.
• UX Fundamentals: Strong understanding of user flows, user-centered design principles, and inclusive design practices.
• Usability Standards: Familiarity with ISO usability standards (ISO 9241) is a plus, indicating a deeper appreciation for user experience quality.
• Internationalization: Experience with internationalization (i18n) and localization (l10n) for global product deployment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The required technical skills are core to operationalizing design. The emphasis on tools like Storybook and Figma-to-code plugins highlights the role's function in creating efficient workflows for translating design into functional code, directly impacting the development pipeline's speed and consistency.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 2-3 robust design system projects, demonstrating contributions to component libraries, style guides, and documentation.
• Include examples of high-fidelity UI designs translated into functional, interactive code components, preferably using React, Vue, or Angular.
• Provide case studies detailing the process of creating or contributing to a design system, highlighting problem-solving and collaboration with design and engineering teams.
• Demonstrate proficiency in using tools like Storybook for component documentation and development, with examples of component variations, states, and usage guidelines.
• Highlight projects that emphasize accessibility (WCAG compliance) and responsive design implementation, showcasing an understanding of inclusive and user-centric development practices.

Process Documentation:

• Examples of documented design patterns and code library components, illustrating clarity, consistency, and adherence to best practices.
• Demonstrate experience in creating or maintaining style guides that effectively communicate design principles, typography, color palettes, and component usage.
• Showcase workflow integration efforts, such as bridging Figma designs to coded components or integrating design tokens into development workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: A portfolio demonstrating a design system's creation or contribution is essential. This showcases an operational capability to standardize and scale design elements, which is critical for efficient product development. The emphasis on process documentation and tool usage (like Storybook) underlines the role's function in establishing and maintaining operational excellence in design implementation.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Based on industry standards for a Design Technologist with 2-5 years of experience in Dubai, the estimated salary range is AED 15,000 - AED 25,000 per month. This range accounts for the specialized skill set combining design and front-end development expertise, as well as the cost of living and market demand in Dubai.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health insurance coverage, including medical, dental, and vision.
• Paid time off, including vacation days, sick leave, and public holidays.
• Opportunities for professional development, including training, workshops, and conference attendance.
• Access to cutting-edge design and development tools and technologies.
• Potential for performance-based bonuses or incentives.
• A collaborative and innovative work environment within a leading digital transformation company.

Working Hours:

• Standard working hours are typically 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday.
• Flexibility may be available, with a focus on agile methodologies that prioritize task completion and team collaboration over strict adherence to a fixed schedule, allowing for efficient workflow management and data analysis.

📝 Enhancement Note: The estimated salary range is based on research for similar roles in the Dubai tech market, considering the required blend of design and technical skills. The benefits package is typical for professional roles in the UAE, with an emphasis on growth and development opportunities relevant to a technical design role.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry:

• GSSTech Group operates within the Digital Transformation and Technology Services sector, enabling other leading companies to innovate and enhance their digital capabilities. This context implies a fast-paced, forward-thinking environment focused on leveraging technology for business growth.

Company Size:

• While specific figures for GSSTech Group are not provided, their role as a hiring partner for "leading clients in the digital transformation space" suggests they are a significant player, likely mid-to-large sized, with established processes and a broad client base. This size typically means access to diverse projects and resources, but also necessitates efficient operational structures to manage multiple client needs.

Founded:

• The founding date of GSSTech Group is not specified, but their engagement with "leading clients" indicates a level of maturity and established expertise in the digital transformation market.

Team Structure:

• The Design Technologist will likely be part of a Design Systems Unit or a dedicated Product Development team.
• Reporting structure will likely be to a Design Lead, Engineering Manager, or a Head of Product Design, with direct collaboration with Product Designers, UI/UX Designers, and Front-End Engineers.
• Cross-functional collaboration is a core aspect, with regular interaction with agile teams (Tribes), product managers, and potentially backend developers or QA engineers to ensure seamless integration of components.

Methodology:

• The team operates within agile methodologies, likely Scrum or Kanban, emphasizing iterative development, continuous feedback, and collaboration.
• Data analysis and user feedback are integral to the process, driving iteration and improvement of design systems and components.
• Workflow planning and optimization are key, with the Design Technologist playing a role in streamlining the design-to-development handoff and component implementation.
• Automation and efficiency practices are encouraged, particularly in component creation, documentation, and integration.

Company Website:

• https://jobs.workable.com/company/cu9XaZB8i9r9X8CdwN62f7/jobs-at-gsstech-group (Note: This is a Workable job portal link, not the primary company website.)

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on digital transformation implies a culture that values innovation, efficiency, and technical expertise. The operational aspect of this role is key to enabling this transformation by providing standardized, high-quality design components.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level:

• This role is positioned as an intermediate-level position (2-5 years of experience) in the design operations or engineering operations track. It requires a blend of specialized technical skills and design understanding, acting as a critical enabler for product teams by operationalizing design principles.

Reporting Structure:

• The Design Technologist will likely report to a Design Systems Lead, a Senior Product Manager, or an Engineering Manager. They will work closely with designers and front-end developers, forming a core part of product development agile teams.

Operations Impact:

• The Design Technologist's impact is significant in driving operational efficiency by reducing redundant design and development efforts through a scalable design system. They directly influence the consistency, quality, and speed of digital product delivery, contributing to improved user experience and faster time-to-market.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Advance into a Senior Design Technologist role, focusing on more complex component architecture, design token strategy, and cross-platform consistency.
• Leadership: Transition into a Design Systems Lead or Manager role, responsible for the strategy, roadmap, and team management of the design system initiative.
• Skill Development: Deepen expertise in specific front-end frameworks (React, Vue, Angular), explore advanced accessibility techniques, or gain proficiency in CI/CD pipelines for design assets.
• Cross-functional Mobility: Move into specialized roles within front-end engineering, product design, or even UX research, leveraging the broad understanding gained from this role.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for career growth within the operationalizing of design and development processes. The emphasis on design systems provides a foundational skill set that is highly valued and transferable across various tech roles, particularly those focused on efficiency and standardization.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type:

• The role is based in Dubai, indicating an on-site work arrangement. This typically means working within a modern office environment designed for collaboration, innovation, and productivity.

Office Location(s):

• Specific office locations within Dubai are not detailed, but companies in this sector often have offices in business districts known for technology and innovation hubs.

Workspace Context:

• The workspace will likely be equipped with standard office amenities and technology, including high-performance computers, reliable internet, and access to collaboration tools.
• Expect a dynamic, collaborative environment where interaction with designers, developers, and product managers is frequent and encouraged.
• Opportunities for knowledge sharing through team meetings, coding sessions, and design reviews will be prevalent.

Work Schedule:

• The standard 40-hour work week (Monday-Friday) is typical, but the agile work environment may offer some flexibility in daily start/end times, focusing on team synchronization and task delivery. This allows for efficient management of coding tasks and collaborative sessions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in Dubai suggests an environment conducive to direct collaboration and team synergy, which is beneficial for roles heavily reliant on cross-functional interaction and rapid iteration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application and resume, assessing your foundational skills and experience.
• Technical Assessment/Coding Challenge: You may be asked to complete a coding challenge or a take-home assignment to evaluate your front-end development skills, particularly in component creation, accessibility, and responsiveness.
• Portfolio Review & Discussion: A dedicated session to walk through your portfolio, discussing specific projects, your contributions, design system experience, and problem-solving approaches. Be prepared to articulate your process and impact.
• Team/Hiring Manager Interview: Discussions focused on your experience with design systems, collaboration with designers and engineers, agile methodologies, and cultural fit.
• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader to discuss strategic alignment and overall fit within the organization.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Selectively: Feature 2-3 of your strongest design system projects that best demonstrate your skills and experience.
• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem you were solving, your specific role and contributions, the process you followed, the tools used, and the outcomes or impact achieved.
• Highlight Process: Emphasize your workflow from design concept to coded component, including how you ensured accessibility, responsiveness, and usability.
• Showcase Documentation: Include examples of your documentation for components, style guides, or design patterns.
• Quantify Impact: Where possible, use metrics to demonstrate the benefits of your work (e.g., reduction in design/dev time, increase in consistency).

Challenge Preparation:

• Front-End Fundamentals: Brush up on HTML5, CSS3 (including flexbox, grid, SASS/LESS), and modern JavaScript (ES6+ features).
• Framework Proficiency: Be ready to discuss and potentially code using React, Vue, or Angular. Understand component lifecycle, state management, and props.
• Design System Concepts: Review core principles of design systems, including tokens, theming, component architecture, and the role of tools like Storybook.
• Accessibility Standards: Familiarize yourself with WCAG 2.0/2.1 guidelines and how to implement them in code.
• Agile Practices: Understand common agile ceremonies and your role within them.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily scrutinize your ability to operationalize design through technical execution and documentation. A well-prepared portfolio that clearly articulates your process and impact is crucial for success.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Front-end Frameworks: React, Vue, or Angular – proficiency in at least one is essential for building reusable UI components.
• Design Tools: Figma (primary proficiency required) – for translating UI designs and collaborating with designers. Sketch, Adobe Suite also relevant.
• Component Documentation: Storybook – for building, documenting, and showcasing UI components in isolation; crucial for design system management.
• CSS Preprocessors: SASS or LESS – for efficient and organized CSS development.
• Build Tools: Babel, Webpack – for transpiling JavaScript and bundling assets for production.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a primary focus, understanding how design system components impact user analytics and performance metrics is beneficial. Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics or similar for tracking user interactions with components can be advantageous.

CRM & Automation:

• Git (GitHub) – essential for version control, collaboration, and code management.
• Figma-to-code plugins – tools that automate the conversion of design elements into code snippets.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in the specified tools is critical. The role is inherently tied to the efficient use and management of these technologies to build and maintain a functional design system, directly impacting development operations.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Efficiency: A strong drive to optimize processes and workflows, reducing manual effort and increasing development speed through reusable components.
• Consistency: Commitment to maintaining design and code consistency across all digital products, ensuring a unified user experience.
• Collaboration: A proactive approach to working with designers and engineers, fostering open communication and shared understanding.
• Quality: Dedication to building high-quality, accessible, and performant components that adhere to best practices.
• Innovation: A mindset of continuous improvement, exploring new tools and techniques to enhance the design system and development processes.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Actively engage with designers to understand their vision and with front-end engineers to ensure seamless integration of components into their workflows.
• Process Review: Participate in regular reviews of design patterns, code components, and documentation, providing and receiving constructive feedback.
• Knowledge Sharing: Contribute to a culture of learning by sharing best practices, insights, and solutions with team members, potentially through internal workshops or documentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The team culture likely emphasizes a blend of creative problem-solving and structured, process-driven execution. The Design Technologist is expected to be a collaborative force that operationalizes design vision into practical, scalable solutions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Design Fidelity and Code Implementation: Ensuring that coded components accurately reflect the intended design while remaining performant and maintainable.
• Maintaining Design System Scalability: Adapting the design system to accommodate new features, evolving design trends, and a growing product suite.
• Cross-Team Adoption: Encouraging and facilitating the adoption of the design system across various product teams with different workflows and priorities.
• Keeping Up with Technology: Staying current with the rapid advancements in front-end frameworks, design tools, and accessibility standards.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced UI Frameworks: Deepen expertise in React, Vue, or Angular, exploring advanced patterns and performance optimization techniques.
• Design System Strategy: Gain insights into the strategic planning and management of design systems, including governance, contribution models, and tooling.
• Accessibility Expertise: Become a go-to expert for accessibility standards and inclusive design practices within the organization.
• Industry Conferences: Opportunities to attend relevant conferences (e.g., design systems, front-end development) to learn from industry leaders and network.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents opportunities to tackle complex operational challenges in design implementation, offering significant growth in specialized technical and strategic areas within the digital product development lifecycle.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Operations & Strategy: "How would you approach translating a complex Figma design into a reusable React component, ensuring accessibility and responsiveness?" Prepare to detail your thought process, tools, and steps.
• Collaboration & Stakeholder Management: "Describe a time you had to collaborate with a designer and a front-end engineer to resolve a conflict or misunderstanding regarding a UI component. What was your approach and the outcome?" Focus on communication and problem-solving.
• Problem-Solving & Efficiency: "If you noticed a recurring pattern in user feedback indicating a usability issue with a specific component, how would you go about addressing it within the design system?" Emphasize data-driven iteration and process improvement.

Company & Culture Questions:

• Culture Fit: Research GSSTech Group's client base and the nature of digital transformation projects they undertake. Be prepared to discuss how your skills align with driving innovation and efficiency for clients.
• Team Dynamics: Think about your ideal team environment for design and development collaboration. Discuss your preferred methods for communication and feedback.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your presentation logically: Introduction, Problem, Your Role/Process, Solutions/Components, Outcomes/Impact, Tools Used, Future Considerations.
• Show, Don't Just Tell: Walk through live examples from Storybook or code repositories if possible. Demonstrate the interactivity and responsiveness of your components.
• Highlight Operations: Emphasize the operational benefits of your work – how your design system contributions improve efficiency, consistency, and scalability for development teams.
• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about specific technical choices, accessibility implementations, and your experience with design token management.

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare to articulate not just your technical skills, but also your understanding of the operational impact of design systems and your ability to collaborate effectively to achieve business objectives.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Design Technologist position:

• Submit your application through the provided workable.com link.
• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight your experience with design systems, component development (React, Vue, or Angular), accessibility (WCAG), and tools like Figma and Storybook. Showcase 2-3 of your strongest, most relevant projects.
• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly lists your proficiency in HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, relevant UI frameworks, and design tools. Quantify your achievements where possible, focusing on contributions to design system efficiency and product consistency.
• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design-to-code process, your understanding of design system principles, and your collaborative approach. Prepare specific examples for behavioral questions.
• Company Research: Understand GSSTech Group's role in digital transformation and the types of clients they serve. This will help you tailor your responses to demonstrate alignment with their mission and values.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with GSSTech Group or their client before making application decisions.