Product Designer (Design Systems)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer (Design Systems)

Company: Tabs

Location: New York, New York, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / Design Systems

Date Posted: March 18, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Level (4+ years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end ownership of the Tabs design system, encompassing components, patterns, tokens, and comprehensive documentation.

• Drive the token strategy, focusing on semantic structure, theming capabilities, density considerations, and extensibility across all products.

• Serve as the primary user advocate for the design system, ensuring it is well-documented, consistent, scalable, and deeply embedded into product development workflows for both designers and engineers.

• Collaborate closely with frontend engineering teams to guarantee accurate implementation of design system elements and seamless integration into existing development processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is pivotal for a growing startup, focusing on building a foundational design system from the ground up. The emphasis is on a "systems thinking" approach, where the designer acts as a product owner for the system itself, directly impacting the efficiency and consistency of product development. The "primary user is the product team" highlights a B2B SaaS focus where internal tooling and developer experience are paramount.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the entire Tabs design system, including the creation, maintenance, and documentation of UI components, interaction patterns, design tokens, and style guides.

• Define and implement a robust token strategy, covering semantic structure, theming capabilities, density variations, and ensuring extensibility for future product features and expansions.

• Partner closely with frontend engineers to ensure precise implementation of design system components, code reviews, and seamless integration within development workflows, potentially leveraging tools like Storybook.

• Conduct thorough audits of existing product interfaces to identify and address inconsistencies, prioritizing systemic solutions over ad-hoc fixes to maintain design integrity.

• Develop and enforce comprehensive documentation standards to ensure the design system is easily understood and usable by internal teams without requiring constant hand-holding.

• Validate the efficacy and edge cases of design system components by testing them against real-world product contexts and user scenarios, proactively identifying and resolving potential issues.

• Integrate and champion accessibility standards directly into the design system, ensuring compliance and usability for all users through encoded practices rather than just guidelines.

• Establish and manage a clear contribution model for the design system, enabling future designers and engineers to add new components and patterns effectively while maintaining system stability and consistency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a deep dive into the technical and strategic aspects of design systems, moving beyond visual design to include implementation, documentation, and governance. The focus on "systematic solutions" and "accessibility standards encoded into the system" indicates a mature approach to design operations and product development.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. A strong understanding of design principles and user-centered design methodologies is expected.

Experience: Minimum of 4 years of experience as a Product or UI Designer, with a significant and demonstrable track record in building, evolving, or owning design systems. Experience in a fast-paced startup environment, particularly in B2B SaaS, is highly advantageous.

Required Skills:

• Deep expertise in Figma, including advanced proficiency with components, variants, auto-layout, and managing large-scale design libraries effectively.

• Proven hands-on experience in building or significantly contributing to the evolution of a design system, demonstrating ownership and strategic thinking beyond simply consuming existing systems.

• Strong understanding and practical experience with design token pipelines, including semantic token architectures, theming strategies, and proficiency with tooling such as Tokens Studio.

• Familiarity with frontend technologies (HTML/CSS, JavaScript frameworks like React) and the ability to read and understand component code, enabling effective collaboration with engineers and reviewing implementation in tools like Storybook.

• Solid grasp of fundamental design principles, including visual hierarchy, effective interaction patterns, responsive design techniques, and understanding information density.

• Ability to engage with engineers as a peer, discussing technical trade-offs and implementation constraints constructively.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for B2B SaaS products, particularly those with complex UIs or data-heavy applications.

• Exposure to or experience within the fintech or accounting software industries.

• Foundational knowledge or practical experience in coding, specifically with HTML/CSS, or familiarity with React component libraries.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements highlight a blend of design craft, technical understanding, and collaborative ability. The emphasis on "hands-on experience building or significantly evolving a design system" and "token pipeline experience" points towards a need for a practitioner who can operationalize design principles into a scalable system. Comfort with code and engineering collaboration is a key differentiator.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase examples of comprehensive design systems you have built or significantly influenced, detailing the structure, components, and patterns.

• Present your approach to design token strategy, including examples of semantic token architecture, theming implementation, and extensibility considerations.

• Provide evidence of your Figma expertise, demonstrating proficiency in component creation, variants, auto-layout, and library management at scale.

• Include examples of design system documentation, illustrating how you ensure clarity, usability, and consistency for product teams.

Process Documentation:

• Detail your process for creating and maintaining design system documentation, highlighting how you ensure it's accessible and actionable for designers and engineers.

• Illustrate your workflow for collaborating with frontend engineers, including how you review component implementation, provide feedback, and manage discrepancies between design and code.

• Explain your methodology for identifying and addressing accessibility gaps within a design system, showcasing how you encode standards into components.

• Outline your approach to establishing and governing a design system contribution model, ensuring a scalable and collaborative process for future growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily focused on demonstrating practical experience with design systems, not just polished UI screens. Applicants need to articulate their process and show tangible outputs related to system architecture, component libraries, token implementation, and documentation.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $125,000 - $160,000 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation package, reflecting the importance of this foundational role.

• Equity in a rapidly growing, well-funded startup, offering potential for significant long-term upside.

• Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO), promoting work-life balance and employee autonomy.

• Comprehensive healthcare coverage, with up to 100% employer-covered monthly premiums for medical, dental, and vision insurance.

• Daily lunch provided via Sharebite, with dinner also covered for employees working later in the office.

• Generous parental leave policy, offering up to 12 weeks of paid leave.

• Tax-advantaged commuter and parking benefits to ease daily travel.

• Voluntary insurance options including Life, Hospital, Critical Illness, and Accident coverage.

• Access to an Employee Assistance Program (Rightway) for confidential support services.

• Free One Medical membership for convenient and high-quality healthcare access.

• 401(k) retirement savings plan to support long-term financial planning.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours, typically around 40 hours per week, with flexibility expected for a startup environment and potential for later office days covered by provided meals.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a mid-level to senior design systems role in New York City. The benefits package is robust, typical of well-funded tech startups, emphasizing employee well-being, financial security, and work-life balance.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: AI-Native Revenue Platform (Fintech/SaaS). Tabs operates at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Finance, and Software-as-a-Service, providing automation solutions for the contract-to-cash lifecycle.

Company Size: Early-stage startup (founded in 2023), with significant funding ($91M+) from prominent VCs like Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, and Primary. This indicates a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment with a strong emphasis on innovation and execution.

Founded: 2023. As a relatively new company, Tabs is in a phase of rapid expansion and team building, particularly its first dedicated design team. This presents a unique opportunity to shape foundational processes and culture.

Team Structure:

• The design team is newly formed, implying a ground-floor opportunity to influence its structure, processes, and culture.

• This role will likely report to a Head of Product or Design Lead, with close collaboration across Product Management, Engineering, and potentially Marketing.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decisions: As an AI-native platform, expect a strong emphasis on data analysis to inform product development, user experience improvements, and system optimization.

• Agile Development: Likely employs agile methodologies for product development, emphasizing iterative design, rapid prototyping, and continuous feedback loops.

• Systems Thinking: The core of this role is building and maintaining a design system, reinforcing a company-wide appreciation for scalable, consistent, and efficient processes.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Tabs is positioned as a leader in AI-powered financial automation. The company culture is likely driven by innovation, speed, and a strong technical foundation. As an early member of the design team, the candidate will have a significant opportunity to shape how design is perceived and integrated within the organization.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a foundational Product Designer with a specialization in Design Systems. It's a mid-level to senior individual contributor role, requiring significant autonomy and ownership. The opportunity to "own the Tabs design system end-to-end" signifies a high level of responsibility and impact.

Reporting Structure: Typically, a Design Systems Designer would report into the Head of Product or a Design Lead. In this early-stage startup, the reporting structure might be flatter, with direct interaction with leadership. The role requires close, peer-level collaboration with engineering leads.

Operations Impact: The design system directly impacts the efficiency, consistency, and speed of product development. A well-executed system reduces engineering and design debt, accelerates feature delivery, and ensures a cohesive user experience across the Tabs platform. This role's success is measured by the adoption and effectiveness of the design system, which in turn drives business outcomes like faster time-to-market and improved product quality.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in design systems, tokenization, accessibility, and potentially front-end development integration.

• Leadership: As the design system matures, opportunities may arise to lead design system initiatives, mentor junior designers, and contribute to broader design strategy.

• Cross-functional Expansion: Gain exposure to product strategy, AI technologies, and the intricacies of the fintech/SaaS industry.

• Team Building: Potentially play a role in hiring future designers and shaping the design team's culture and processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: This is a critical, foundational role with significant growth potential. The candidate has the chance to build something from scratch and influence the future direction of product design at Tabs. Success in this role can lead to senior design leadership or specialized technical design track positions.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The company is headquartered in New York and specifies an "On-site" work arrangement, indicating a physical office presence is required. This suggests a traditional office environment conducive to in-person collaboration.

Office Location(s): New York, New York, United States. This location implies access to a vibrant tech ecosystem and a professional urban workspace.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Being on-site encourages spontaneous interactions, brainstorming sessions, and direct feedback loops with engineering and product teams, which is crucial for design systems work.

• Tools & Technology: Expect a modern tech stack, likely with robust collaboration tools (Slack, Notion, etc.) and design/development software (Figma, Storybook, code editors). The company's AI-native focus suggests a strong emphasis on cutting-edge technology.

• Team Interaction: The opportunity for direct engagement with engineers and product managers on a daily basis will facilitate the implementation and refinement of the design system.

Work Schedule: A standard full-time schedule is expected, likely with some flexibility inherent in a startup environment. The provision of lunch and dinner for later office days suggests an expectation of commitment and a supportive work culture that accommodates focused work periods.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in New York suggests a preference for in-person collaboration, which is beneficial for a role focused on building and integrating a design system. The environment is likely dynamic and fast-paced, typical of a well-funded startup.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will likely review your application and portfolio to assess basic qualifications and alignment with the role.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: You will likely be asked to present your portfolio, focusing on design systems experience, and potentially complete a design exercise or case study related to design systems thinking, component design, or token strategy.

• Technical/Engineering Collaboration Interview: An interview with engineering team members to assess your ability to collaborate, understand technical constraints, and discuss implementation details.

• Product/Leadership Interview: A discussion with product leadership (e.g., Head of Product) to evaluate your strategic thinking, understanding of the company's mission, and cultural fit.

• Final Round: Potentially a final interview with a founder or senior executive.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Systems Thinking: Clearly articulate your process for building, evolving, and maintaining design systems. Show, don't just tell, how you approach scalability, consistency, and documentation.

• Highlight Key Contributions: Emphasize your specific role and impact within design system projects. Quantify achievements where possible (e.g., "Reduced UI development time by X%").

• Showcase Token Strategy: Dedicate a section to your token architecture, how you approach semantic tokens, theming, and extensibility.

• Demonstrate Figma Proficiency: Include examples of complex component structures, variants, and auto-layout usage.

• Include Documentation Examples: Showcase how you document components, patterns, and guidelines to ensure usability.

• Address Collaboration: If possible, include examples of how you've worked with engineers and other stakeholders.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Systems Case Study: Be prepared to discuss a hypothetical or past design system challenge. Focus on identifying problems, proposing systemic solutions, and detailing the implementation process.

• Component Design: You might be asked to design a new component or refactor an existing one within the context of a design system.

• Tokenization Exercise: Prepare to discuss how you would structure tokens for a specific feature or product area.

• Collaboration Scenarios: Think about how you would handle disagreements with engineers regarding implementation or propose new contributions to the system.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily scrutinize your design systems expertise. A strong portfolio demonstrating practical, hands-on experience with system building, tokenization, and collaborative implementation is critical. Be ready to discuss your process in detail and articulate the "why" behind your design decisions.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI design, component creation, variant management, auto-layout, and library management. Deep expertise is a core requirement.

• Tokens Studio (or similar): Crucial for managing design tokens, enabling semantic structures, theming, and efficient token pipelines.

• Storybook (or equivalent): Likely used by the engineering team for component documentation and development. Familiarity with its purpose and usage is important for effective collaboration.

• Collaboration Platforms: Slack, Notion, Jira, or similar tools for team communication, project management, and documentation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not directly mentioned, familiarity with product analytics tools (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel) can be beneficial for understanding user interaction with components and identifying areas for system improvement.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to this role, but understanding the broader Tabs platform (contract-to-cash, billing, collections) will provide context for the design system's application.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and design token tooling is non-negotiable. Understanding how design systems integrate with engineering workflows, particularly through tools like Storybook, is key to successful collaboration.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Innovation & AI-First: As an "AI-native" company, expect a culture that embraces cutting-edge technology and data-driven approaches to solve complex problems.

• Efficiency & Automation: The core product is about automating manual work, so a strong internal culture valuing efficiency, process optimization, and automation is highly probable.

• Collaboration & Ownership: Building a design system requires deep collaboration across teams, coupled with individual ownership and accountability for the system's success.

• User-Centricity (Internal & External): While the primary user is the product team, the ultimate goal is to enable them to build great products for external finance and accounting teams. This dual focus on internal and external users is important.

• Growth Mindset: In a fast-growing startup, a willingness to learn, adapt, and tackle new challenges is essential.

Collaboration Style:

• Peer-to-Peer with Engineering: The role mandates working as a peer with frontend engineers, fostering a collaborative environment where design and engineering decisions are made jointly.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Close working relationships with Product Managers will be key to understanding product needs and aligning the design system's roadmap with business goals.

• Open Communication: Given the early stage, expect a culture of direct and open communication, encouraging feedback and proactive problem-solving.

• Process Improvement Culture: A shared drive to continuously refine workflows, tools, and methodologies to enhance productivity and product quality.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture at Tabs is likely dynamic, innovative, and focused on execution. The values emphasize leveraging AI and automation to drive efficiency, with a strong emphasis on cross-functional collaboration and a proactive approach to problem-solving.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Building from Scratch: Establishing a comprehensive design system in a young company requires defining processes, gaining buy-in, and setting standards without existing frameworks.

• Balancing System Needs vs. Product Velocity: Ensuring the design system supports rapid product development without becoming a bottleneck requires careful prioritization and efficient processes.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Gaining universal adoption and contribution from both design and engineering teams can be challenging, requiring strong communication and advocacy.

• Maintaining Consistency: As the product and team grow, ensuring consistent application of the design system across all interfaces and by all contributors will be an ongoing effort.

• Technical Integration: Bridging the gap between design specifications and code implementation, especially with evolving frontend technologies, requires continuous learning and adaptation.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Design Systems Expertise: Become a leader in design systems by tackling complex challenges related to scalability, theming, accessibility, and governance.

• Fintech & AI Domain Knowledge: Gain in-depth understanding of the finance and accounting industry, as well as AI-driven product development.

• Cross-Functional Skill Development: Enhance collaboration and communication skills by working closely with engineering, product, and potentially leadership teams.

• Foundational Role Impact: Directly influence the design culture, processes, and tooling of a rapidly growing tech company.

• Potential for Leadership: Opportunities to grow into a lead design systems role, mentor others, and contribute to broader product strategy as the company scales.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant challenges inherent in building critical infrastructure for a startup, but these challenges are also gateways to substantial growth and learning opportunities in specialized areas of design and the fintech industry.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your approach to building a design system from the ground up. What are the first steps you'd take at Tabs?" (Focus on discovery, audit, core principles, initial component selection, token strategy).

• "How would you prioritize contributions to the design system when faced with competing demands from product teams?" (Discuss prioritization frameworks, balancing feature needs with system health, communication strategies).

• "Imagine an engineer proposes a component that deviates from the design system. How do you handle this situation?" (Focus on understanding the need, collaborative problem-solving, potential for system extension vs. deviation, feedback loops).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Tabs and our mission to automate the contract-to-cash lifecycle with AI?" (Research Tabs' product, target market, and competitive landscape. Align your interest with their mission).

• "How do you see your role contributing to the overall success of a fast-paced, early-stage startup?" (Highlight your ability to be adaptable, proactive, and impact-driven).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Start with your "Why": Explain your philosophy on design systems and why they are critical for product development.

• Structure Your Case Studies: For each relevant project, clearly define the problem, your role, the solutions you implemented (components, tokens, documentation), the process, and the outcome/impact.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals of your Figma work, token structures, and documentation examples. If possible, demonstrate how components function or how tokens are applied.

• Highlight Systems Thinking: Emphasize how your work demonstrates scalability, consistency, and maintainability.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, technical considerations, and collaborative processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on articulating your design systems methodology, demonstrating practical experience with core components and tokens, and showcasing your ability to collaborate effectively with engineering. Be ready to discuss the "how" and "why" behind your design system work.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer (Design Systems) position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to specifically highlight your design systems experience, Figma proficiency, token strategy work, and collaborative efforts with engineering. Showcase examples of component libraries, token structures, and documentation.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly lists your years of experience, specific skills in design systems, Figma, and tokenization. Use keywords from the job description naturally. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio, focusing on design systems case studies and your collaborative process. Prepare answers to common design systems and behavioral interview questions.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Tabs, its product, its mission, and its place in the AI-native revenue platform market. Understand their target audience and the value proposition of their platform.

⚠️ 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.