Product Designer, Design Systems

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer, Design Systems

Company: Mirage

Location: New York, NY, USA

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / Design Systems

Date Posted: February 27, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5-10 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the evolution and ownership of a comprehensive design system across web and mobile platforms, ensuring scalability, accessibility, and consistent user experiences.

• Define, document, and maintain foundational design elements, including design tokens, typography, color palettes, spacing, layout grids, and interaction patterns.

• Foster strong collaborative partnerships with front-end engineering teams to ensure high-fidelity implementation of design system components and adherence to coding standards.

• Establish clear governance models, contribution guidelines, and quality assurance processes for the design system's adoption and ongoing development.

• Drive cross-functional alignment to balance the need for system consistency with the unique requirements of individual product features, optimizing overall design quality and efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role of "Product Designer, Design Systems" at a company like Mirage, which is focused on AI-native video platforms, suggests a need for a designer who can not only maintain but also strategically grow a design system that supports rapid innovation in generative media. This implies a requirement for proactive thinking about future product needs and the ability to translate complex AI-driven functionalities into a cohesive and user-friendly design language. The emphasis on "ownership" and "evolution" points to a senior-level individual contributor role with significant strategic influence.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design System Ownership & Evolution: Take full ownership of the design system, driving its continuous improvement and expansion across all product interfaces (web and mobile).

• Foundation Definition & Maintenance: Define, meticulously document, and actively maintain core design system foundations, including but not limited to, design tokens, typography scales, color systems, spacing rules, layout grids, and interaction patterns.

• Component Library Management: Develop, refine, and manage a robust library of reusable UI components, ensuring consistency, accessibility, and ease of use for product teams.

• Engineering Collaboration & Alignment: Forge and maintain a close, collaborative partnership with front-end engineering teams to ensure pixel-perfect implementation of design system elements and contribute to defining implementation standards and best practices.

• Governance & Quality Assurance: Establish and enforce clear governance models, contribution guidelines, and quality standards for the design system to ensure consistent adoption and maintain system integrity.

• Cross-functional Alignment & Adoption: Drive consensus and alignment across various product teams, balancing the need for system consistency with specific product requirements and user needs.

• User Experience Auditing: Conduct regular audits of existing product experiences to identify inconsistencies, gaps, and opportunities for improvement through design system enhancements.

• Documentation & Enablement: Create and maintain comprehensive documentation, usage guidelines, and best practice examples to facilitate effective adoption and understanding of the design system by all stakeholders.

• Accessibility & Usability Advocacy: Champion and advocate for accessibility, usability, and performance best practices within the design system, ensuring all components meet high standards.

• Roadmap Planning: Collaborate with Product Management and Engineering to develop and execute a strategic roadmap for the design system, prioritizing enhancements and new component development.

• Mentorship & Design Elevation: Mentor fellow designers on effective utilization of the design system, its constraints, and best practices to elevate the overall quality and consistency of design output across the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given Mirage's focus on AI and generative media, the responsibilities likely extend beyond just maintaining existing components. This role will require anticipating how future AI-driven features and complex media editing tools can be represented within the design system. The emphasis on "auditing product experiences" and "driving alignment" suggests a proactive approach to system integration and change management, critical for a fast-paced tech environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in product design.

• Demonstrable experience of at least 3-5 years specifically contributing to, leading, or owning a design system.

Required Skills:

• Design System Expertise: Deep understanding and practical experience in designing, building, and maintaining robust design systems.

• Foundation Design: Proficient in defining and implementing core design system foundations, including design tokens, typography scales, color palettes, spacing systems, and layout grids.

• Component Architecture: Strong knowledge of component-based design, including best practices for creating reusable, scalable, and maintainable UI components.

• Accessibility Standards: Comprehensive understanding of WCAG guidelines and practical application of accessibility principles in UI design and system development.

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced proficiency in Figma, including mastery of its library management, component variants, auto layout, variables, and prototyping features.

• Responsive Design: Experience designing and implementing responsive systems that adapt seamlessly across various screen sizes and devices (web and mobile).

• Systems Thinking: Ability to think holistically about the product ecosystem, understanding how design decisions impact user experience, engineering efficiency, and business goals.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven ability to effectively partner with engineering, product management, and other design teams to drive alignment and achieve shared goals.

• Stakeholder Influence: Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders, gain buy-in, and drive the adoption of the design system across the organization.

• Detail Orientation & Craftsmanship: Meticulous attention to detail with a strong focus on design craft, quality, and execution.

Preferred Skills:

• Front-end Engineering Partnership: Experience working closely with front-end developers to ensure high-fidelity implementation of designs and a strong understanding of front-end technologies (e.g., React, CSS).

• Design System Governance: Experience establishing and managing design system governance models, contribution processes, and documentation workflows.

• UI Animation & Interaction Design: Familiarity with designing and documenting UI animations and complex interaction patterns within a system context.

• Experience with AI/ML Products: Familiarity with designing interfaces for AI-powered products or generative media tools.

• Visual Storytelling: Ability to clearly articulate design decisions and system impact through compelling visual presentations and documentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The mention of "7+ years of experience" and "significant experience contributing to or leading a design system" clearly positions this as a senior individual contributor role. The emphasis on "Figma (including libraries, variables, and component architecture)" is critical and should be highlighted. The preference for experience partnering with front-end engineering is common for design systems roles to ensure feasibility and implementation quality.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Design System Case Study: A dedicated section showcasing your experience in building, scaling, or maturing a design system. This should detail your specific contributions, the challenges faced, and the solutions implemented.

• Component Logic & Architecture: Examples demonstrating your understanding of component structure, variants, states, and how you've designed for reusability and maintainability.

• Foundation Examples: Visual representation of core design system foundations you've defined (e.g., design tokens, typography scales, color systems) and how they contribute to consistency.

• Real-World Implementation Impact: Evidence of how your design system work has positively impacted product development velocity, consistency, accessibility, or user experience in actual products. Quantifiable metrics are highly encouraged.

• System Thinking Demonstration: Projects that illustrate your ability to think holistically about a product ecosystem and how the design system supports different product needs and platforms.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Examples of how you've documented design system workflows, including contribution processes, review cycles, and adoption strategies.

• Implementation & Automation: Showcase how you've worked with engineering to ensure high-fidelity implementation, potentially highlighting the use of tools or processes that automate aspects of design-to-code handoff.

• Measurement & Performance Analysis: Demonstrate how you've measured the impact and performance of a design system, including metrics related to adoption, consistency, efficiency, and accessibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Design Systems role, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to go beyond showcasing visual design skills and demonstrate strategic thinking about systems, scalability, and cross-functional collaboration. The ability to articulate the process behind building and maintaining a system, along with its quantifiable impact, will be key.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $175,000 - $250,000 per year

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans designed to support employee well-being.

• Retirement Savings: 401K plan with a generous employer match to help secure future financial goals.

• Commuter Benefits: Assistance for commuting costs, facilitating easier access to the NYC HQ.

• On-site Dining: Catered lunch provided multiple days per week, enhancing the in-office experience.

• Late-Night Support: Dinner stipend provided every night for employees working late, ensuring convenience.

• Food Delivery Subscription: Grubhub subscription for added convenience and meal options.

• Wellness Programs: Access to a suite of health and wellness perks, including Talkspace, Kindbody, One Medical subscription, HealthAdvocate, and Teladoc.

• Team Engagement: Multiple company-wide offsites per year, complemented by monthly team events to foster camaraderie and connection.

• Generous Paid Time Off: A flexible and generous PTO policy to support work-life balance and employee well-being.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time work week, typically around 40 hours, with the flexibility to manage project timelines and team collaboration needs. The company culture supports working late with stipends, indicating an understanding of project demands.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range ($175,000 - $250,000) is competitive for a senior Product Designer specializing in Design Systems in New York City. The extensive list of benefits, including catered meals, stipends, and comprehensive wellness programs, indicates a strong focus on employee well-being and a positive in-office work environment. The "working late" stipend suggests a demanding but supportive culture.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: AI-Native Video Platform / Generative Media / Creative Technology

Company Size: Early Stage / Growth Stage (Implied by investor list and focus on foundational problems)

Founded: Mirage is a relatively new company, re-branded from Captions, with significant VC backing. Its focus on "foundational problems" and "generative media" points to an innovative, research-driven, and fast-paced environment.

Team Structure:

• Design System Focus: This role is within the product design function, but the "ownership" aspect suggests a high degree of autonomy and influence.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Close partnerships with Product Management and Engineering are explicitly mentioned as critical for this role, indicating a highly collaborative and integrated workflow.

• Early Member Impact: As an "early member," this role has the potential to shape significant aspects of the company's product and design direction.

Methodology:

• AI-Driven Innovation: The core of Mirage's work involves leveraging advanced AI models for video production and editing, suggesting a data-driven and technologically sophisticated approach to product development.

• User-Centric Design: Despite the advanced technology, the focus on making video creation "accessible to anyone" and improving "productivity for experienced teams" highlights a commitment to user needs and practical application.

• Research & Development: The mention of research papers and tackling "difficult technical and creative challenges" indicates a culture that values innovation, experimentation, and pushing the boundaries of current technology.

Company Website: https://mirage.app/

📝 Enhancement Note: Mirage's positioning as an "AI-native video platform" and its focus on "generative media" places it at the forefront of creative technology. The company culture is likely to be fast-paced, innovation-centric, and highly collaborative, attracting individuals passionate about cutting-edge AI applications. The strong VC backing suggests a growth-oriented environment with significant potential for impact.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level:

This role is positioned at a senior individual contributor level, specifically leading the design systems function. It requires a high degree of autonomy, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence across teams. Success in this role could lead to opportunities in design leadership, specialized design system architecture, or broader product design leadership roles within Mirage or similar fast-growing tech companies.

Reporting Structure:

The specific reporting structure isn't detailed, but given the seniority and focus, this role likely reports to a Head of Design, Director of Product Design, or potentially a VP of Product. The emphasis on close partnership with Engineering and Product Management implies a peer-level collaboration dynamic with those functions.

Operations Impact:

The impact of a Design Systems role is significant, though indirect, on revenue and business decisions. By ensuring consistency, scalability, and efficiency, the design system:

• Reduces Development Costs: Reusable components speed up development cycles, lowering engineering costs.

• Improves Time-to-Market: Faster design and development processes allow for quicker feature releases and iteration.

• Enhances User Experience: Consistent and intuitive interfaces lead to higher user satisfaction, retention, and potentially conversion rates.

• Scales Product Offerings: A robust design system is crucial for managing complexity as the product suite and user base grow.

• Strengthens Brand Identity: Ensures a cohesive and professional brand representation across all touchpoints.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design System Leadership: Potential to grow into a lead or principal role for the design system, managing a team or expanding its scope.

• Product Design Strategy: Transition into broader product design strategy roles, leveraging deep understanding of the platform's core components.

• Cross-functional Leadership: Opportunities to lead initiatives that span design, engineering, and product management.

• Specialization in Generative Media Design: Deepen expertise in designing for cutting-edge AI and creative technology applications.

• Mentorship & Team Development: Take on more formal mentorship responsibilities or contribute to building the design team's capabilities.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant growth potential, particularly for someone looking to become a subject matter expert in design systems within a high-growth, AI-focused startup. The impact on the business is measured through efficiency gains, scalability, and improved user experience, which indirectly influence revenue.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type:

Mirage requires employees to be in-person at their NYC HQ. This suggests a traditional office environment designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and a strong company culture. The presence of catered lunches and stipends for late work further emphasizes a commitment to supporting an in-office work model.

Office Location(s):

The company is located in Union Square, New York City, a vibrant and accessible hub known for its tech and creative industries. This location offers excellent public transportation links and is surrounded by amenities.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The on-site requirement points to an environment that encourages spontaneous interactions, brainstorming sessions, and close teamwork between design, engineering, and product teams.

• Technology & Tools: Employees will have access to the necessary design and development tools, including Figma, and potentially other software relevant to AI and video production.

• Team Interaction: Frequent opportunities for direct interaction with colleagues, fostering a strong sense of team cohesion and shared purpose. The company culture emphasizes team events and offsites.

Work Schedule:

While a standard full-time schedule is expected (around 40 hours/week), the culture appears to accommodate project demands, as evidenced by the dinner stipend for late work. This suggests a focus on output and project completion, supported by company resources, rather than strict adherence to a 9-to-5 schedule.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit requirement for on-site work in NYC HQ is a key differentiator. This implies a preference for a highly collaborative, in-person culture where spontaneous interactions and team cohesion are prioritized, supported by ample company-provided amenities.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: A brief conversation with a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and alignment with the role's core responsibilities.

2. Hiring Manager Interview: A deeper dive into your experience with design systems, leadership potential, and strategic thinking. This may involve discussing your approach to system ownership and cross-functional collaboration.

3. Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: This is a critical stage. You will likely present your portfolio, focusing on relevant design system case studies. You may also be given a design challenge related to design systems, component design, or system adoption, which you'll present and discuss.

4. Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders from Engineering and Product Management to assess your collaboration style, technical understanding, and ability to integrate the design system effectively.

5. Final Interview: Potentially with a founder or senior leader, focusing on overall fit, vision, and long-term potential within the company.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Relevance: Prioritize projects that showcase your design system expertise. Highlight your role, the specific challenges, your process, and the impact of your work.

• Structure for Clarity: Organize your portfolio logically. For design systems, consider sections for: overall system strategy, foundation definition, component examples, governance models, and implementation case studies.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your design system initiatives (e.g., reduction in design/dev time, increase in consistency score, improved accessibility compliance).

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Clearly articulate how your design system supports different products, platforms, and user needs. Explain your thought process behind architectural decisions.

• Highlight Collaboration: Provide examples of how you've worked with engineering and product teams, including any challenges and how you overcame them.

• Demonstrate Figma Mastery: If possible, show examples of complex Figma component setups, variant usage, auto layout, or variable implementation.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Design System Principles: Be ready to discuss core concepts like tokens, components, patterns, accessibility, and scalability.

• Practice Articulating Your Process: Prepare to explain your design process for tackling design system challenges, from problem definition to solution proposal.

• Focus on Implementation Feasibility: Consider how your proposed solutions would be implemented by engineers and what constraints might exist.

• Prepare for Discussion: Be ready for a Q&A session where you'll need to defend your design decisions and articulate trade-offs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily weigh your ability to demonstrate practical experience and strategic thinking in design systems. The portfolio review and potential design challenge are your primary opportunities to showcase this expertise. Being prepared to discuss the "why" and "how" behind your design system decisions, and their impact, will be crucial.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The central tool for design creation, prototyping, and design system management. Mastery of its advanced features (libraries, variants, auto layout, variables, prototyping) is essential.

• Design System Management Platforms: While Figma is the primary tool, familiarity with related platforms or methodologies for managing design tokens and component libraries might be beneficial.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics Tools (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel): Understanding how to leverage product analytics to inform design decisions and measure the impact of design system changes.

• Data Visualization Tools (e.g., Tableau, Looker): Potentially used for reporting on design system adoption or performance metrics, though less direct for this role.

CRM & Automation:

• Jira / Asana / Trello: Project management tools commonly used for tracking design system tasks, bug reports, and feature requests, especially in collaboration with engineering.

• Documentation Platforms (e.g., Confluence, Notion): Essential for creating and maintaining comprehensive design system documentation, guidelines, and roadmaps.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly mentioned and is the cornerstone of this role. Proficiency in other tools that facilitate collaboration, project management, and documentation will also be important for effective workflow within a product team.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

Mirage's emphasis on "tackling some of the most difficult technical and creative challenges in generative media" and being an "AI-native video platform" suggests a culture that values:

• Innovation & Ambition: A drive to push boundaries and solve complex, unsolved problems in the industry.

• Excellence & Craftsmanship: A commitment to high-quality execution, attention to detail, and delivering polished, impactful products.

• Collaboration & Ownership: Working effectively across teams, taking initiative, and owning outcomes for the betterment of the product and company.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Leveraging insights from AI models and user data to inform design and product strategy.

• User Focus: While technologically advanced, the goal is to make powerful tools accessible and useful to a broad range of users.

Collaboration Style:

• Close Partnerships: The role explicitly requires close collaboration with Engineering and Product Management, indicating an integrated and interdependent approach to product development.

• Alignment-Focused: A strong emphasis on driving alignment across product teams to ensure consistency and efficiency through the design system.

• Mentorship & Knowledge Sharing: The role includes mentoring designers, suggesting a culture that values learning, growth, and the sharing of expertise.

• Agile & Iterative: Given the fast-paced nature of startups and AI development, expect an agile and iterative approach to design and development, with continuous feedback loops.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on cutting-edge AI and its positioning as an early-stage, well-funded startup suggest a culture that is dynamic, forward-thinking, and highly collaborative. Expect a team that is passionate about technology and its creative applications, with a strong emphasis on execution and impact.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Consistency with Innovation: Evolving a design system to support novel AI-driven features and creative workflows without stifling innovation or becoming overly rigid.

• Driving Adoption: Ensuring widespread and consistent adoption of the design system across multiple product teams, each with its own priorities and potentially legacy designs.

• Technical Complexity: Designing for and collaborating on the implementation of complex generative media features within the framework of a design system.

• Rapid Growth Environment: Adapting to and helping to shape design processes and systems in a fast-growing startup environment where priorities can shift quickly.

• Defining System Governance: Establishing effective governance models that empower contributors while maintaining system integrity and quality.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Expertise in Design Systems: Becoming a recognized expert in the field by owning and growing a critical system at a leading AI company.

• Generative Media Design: Gaining invaluable experience designing for state-of-the-art AI video tools, a rapidly evolving and high-demand area.

• Cross-functional Leadership: Developing leadership skills through close collaboration and influence across product, engineering, and design.

• Impactful Product Development: Contributing to a product that aims to revolutionize creative expression and video production.

• Strategic Influence: Having a direct hand in shaping the visual language and user experience of a core technology platform.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are typical for a senior design systems role in a fast-paced environment, particularly one focused on emerging technologies like AI. The growth opportunities are significant, offering the chance to become a leader in a niche but critical area of product development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your philosophy on owning and evolving a design system. What are the key pillars of a successful system?"

• "How do you balance system consistency with the need for product-specific innovation and customization?"

• "Walk me through a time you had to drive adoption of a design system across multiple teams. What were the challenges, and how did you overcome them?"

• "How do you approach defining and managing design tokens, and what is their importance in a scalable system?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Mirage's mission and its use of AI in video creation?"

• "How do you see your role contributing to the company's overall goals and the evolution of generative media?"

• "What are your expectations for a collaborative design and engineering environment?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Focus on Your Design System Case Study: Dedicate a significant portion of your presentation to your most impactful design system work.

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly state the problem, your role, your approach (process, tools, collaboration), the solution, and the measurable impact.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively to demonstrate components, patterns, and system architecture. Walk through interactive Figma prototypes if possible.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your decision-making process, trade-offs, and technical feasibility.

• Connect to Mirage: Frame your experience and insights in the context of Mirage's product and mission, demonstrating why you're a good fit.

📝 Enhancement Note: Be ready to articulate your design system philosophy, demonstrate practical problem-solving skills, and showcase your ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines. Your portfolio presentation should be a strategic narrative of your impact and capabilities.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Tailor Your Resume: Ensure your resume highlights your experience with design systems, your 7+ years of product design background, and specific achievements related to scalability, accessibility, and cross-functional influence. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 key projects that best showcase your design system expertise. Focus on presenting the process, your specific contributions, and measurable impact. Ensure it's easily navigable and visually compelling.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your experience, especially for your portfolio presentation. Be ready to discuss your design system philosophy, your collaboration style, and your understanding of Mirage's mission.

• Research Mirage: Understand their product, their AI focus, their recent press (TechCrunch, Forbes), and their investors. Prepare thoughtful questions that demonstrate your engagement and interest.

⚠️ 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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