Senior Product Designer, Design Systems

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer, Design Systems Company: Flex Location: New York, New York, United States Job Type: Full-Time Category: Product Design / Design Systems Date Posted: 2026-01-05 Experience Level: 5-10 Years Remote Status: Hybrid (2-3 days in office)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the evolution and adoption of Flex's new "Ultraviolet" design system, ensuring seamless integration with engineering and enhancing product quality across consumer-facing financial products.
• Lead design initiatives from discovery through delivery, defining the system's long-term vision and creating scalable solutions to improve team efficiency and product consistency.
• Maintain and enhance Figma design system libraries, ensuring components are accurate, intuitive, and fully synced with Storybook for design-developer parity.
• Collaborate with product managers, engineers, data analysts, and a talented design team to build seamless, meaningful financial experiences for millions of Americans.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role focuses specifically on the strategic development and maintenance of a Design System, bridging the gap between design and engineering. The emphasis on "Ultraviolet" suggests a proprietary system requiring meticulous management and evolution. The target audience is experienced designers adept at large-scale system thinking and cross-functional collaboration.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Maintain and enhance Flex's Figma design system libraries, ensuring components are accurate, scalable, and easily discoverable for all product teams.
• Build, annotate, and publish design system components adhering to "Ultraviolet" design standards and comprehensive documentation best practices.
• Manage and contribute to the ongoing evolution of design system libraries, including maintaining clear usage guidelines and documentation for diverse stakeholders.
• Facilitate strong alignment with cross-functional partners, stakeholders, and other designers to ensure the design system is flexible, scalable, and meets broad organizational needs.
• Partner closely with the broader design team to optimize Figma components for usability, accessibility, and efficient integration into product workflows.
• Actively solicit and provide constructive feedback from and to designers and collaborators across teams to uphold core experience principles and system best practices.
• Set a high standard for design craft and quality through meticulous interaction design, prototyping, and visual design choices within the design system.
• Collaborate closely across design and engineering disciplines to refine processes, improve documentation, and ensure accurate implementation of design system components.
• Maintain design-developer parity by ensuring Figma libraries accurately reflect Storybook components, acting as a key liaison with engineering.
• Evolve the design system by aligning it with industry best practices and modern patterns to support a scalable, polished user experience for a growing FinTech platform.
• Embrace and integrate new technologies and tools into the design system workflow to enhance speed, efficiency, and overall delivery quality.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a critical role in system governance, cross-functional enablement, and technical alignment. The emphasis on "Ultraviolet" design standards implies a need for adherence to specific branding and usability guidelines. The "design-developer parity" requirement is crucial for a Senior role, indicating a need to bridge the gap between design artifacts and coded components effectively.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Interaction Design, HCI, or a related field is typically expected for senior-level roles. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: 4+ years of experience designing and shipping consumer-facing products, with a significant focus on design systems and component-based design.

Required Skills:

• Figma Expertise: Advanced proficiency in Figma, including deep knowledge of component creation, variants, auto-layout, prototyping, and library management for complex systems.
• Design System Management: Proven experience maintaining and managing design system libraries for mid to large-sized design teams, demonstrating an understanding of system architecture and governance.
• Scalable System Design: Understanding of design tokens, component versioning strategies, and the principles of building scalable, maintainable design system architecture.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work effectively with product managers, engineers, data analysts, and other design teams, fostering alignment and shared understanding.
• Documentation & Annotation: Proven ability to clearly document and annotate designs, providing comprehensive guidance for cross-functional partners on system usage and best practices.
• Interaction & Visual Design: Strong craft in interaction design, prototyping, and visual design, with the ability to set standards for high-quality user experiences.
• Mobile App Design: Strong native mobile app design experience specifically for both iOS and Android platforms.
• Problem Solving: Comfort with tackling ambiguous problems and developing clear, user-centered solutions within a complex system.
• Self-Starter Mentality: Demonstrated aptitude for getting things done, taking initiative, and wearing multiple hats as needed to ensure team success.
• Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate system rationale, design decisions, and guidance clearly to diverse audiences.
• Attention to Detail: Meticulous attention to detail in design execution, documentation, and system maintenance.

Preferred Skills:

• Storybook Familiarity: Experience with Storybook or similar coded component libraries as a means of ensuring design-developer parity is strongly preferred.
• AI Tool Integration: Experience using AI tools for sketching, prototyping, or enhancing design processes.
• Financial Technology (FinTech) Experience: Prior experience designing for FinTech or other complex financial products.
• User Research & Data Analysis: Aptitude for leveraging user research findings and data analysis to inform design system decisions and improvements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title implies a need for strategic thinking, leadership potential, and the ability to mentor junior designers. The strong emphasis on Figma and Storybook points to a need for proficiency in modern design tooling and a deep understanding of the design-to-development handoff process. The preference for FinTech experience suggests domain knowledge will be highly valued.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Shipped Solutions: A portfolio showcasing contributions to shipped consumer products, demonstrating real-world impact and problem-solving capabilities.
• Design System Contributions: Specific examples of work on or with design systems, detailing component creation, library management, and system evolution.
• Process Documentation: Evidence of creating clear, comprehensive documentation and annotation for design system components, explaining their usage, rationale, and best practices.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Case studies or examples that highlight successful collaboration with engineering and product teams to implement design systems.
• Figma Proficiency: Demonstrations of advanced Figma skills, such as complex auto-layout, variants, and library structuring.

Process Documentation:

• System Governance: Examples of how you've documented and maintained design system governance, including versioning strategies and contribution guidelines.
• Component Library Design: Showcase of well-structured and documented component libraries, illustrating their scalability and usability for other designers.
• Design-Dev Parity: Examples of how you've ensured alignment between design artifacts (Figma) and coded components (e.g., Storybook), potentially through process flow diagrams or case studies.
• Best Practice Integration: Evidence of incorporating industry best practices, design tokens, and scalable architecture principles into design system development.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio is critical for this role, as it will be the primary method for evaluating a candidate's ability to manage and evolve a complex design system. The focus should be on demonstrating practical application, system thinking, and collaborative impact rather than just aesthetic output.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The base salary pay range for this role in New York, New Jersey, or California is $156,000 - $172,000 annually. This range is commensurate with the candidate's experience and Flex's internal leveling guidelines.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Competitive medical, dental, and vision insurance available from Day 1.
• Company Equity: Opportunity to own a stake in Flex's growth through company equity.
• Retirement Savings: 401(k) plan with a company match, commencing at the start of 2026.
• Generous Paid Time Off: Unlimited paid time off in addition to 13 company-paid holidays.
• Parental Leave: Supportive parental leave policy.
• Employee Perks: Free Flex subscription and the Flex Cares Program.

Working Hours: This is a full-time position. While specific hours are not detailed, standard professional working hours are implied, with flexibility typically expected in a hybrid environment. The role is structured around a 40-hour work week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is specific to high-cost-of-living areas (NY/NJ/CA). For other locations, compensation would be adjusted based on local market rates and internal leveling. The benefits package is competitive, with a notable mention of equity and a 401(k) match starting in 2026.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: FinTech (Financial Technology) – Flex is revolutionizing rent payments by offering flexibility and better budgeting tools for renters. Company Size: Growth-stage company, indicating a dynamic environment with established processes but still agile enough for significant impact. Founded: Founded in 2025 (implied by description), suggesting a relatively new company with a modern approach and ambitious goals.

Team Structure:

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: The role explicitly mentions partnering with product managers, engineers, and data analysts, indicating a highly collaborative, integrated team structure.
• Design Team Integration: The designer will be part of a larger design team, working on a core system that impacts multiple product verticals.
• Reporting: The role likely reports into a Design Lead or Head of Design, with close alignment to Engineering and Product leadership.

Methodology:

• User-Centric Design: A strong emphasis on improving the financial well-being of everyday people suggests a deep commitment to user-centric design principles.
• Data-Informed Decisions: The mention of collaborating with data analysts implies a data-driven approach to product development and system refinement.
• Agile Development: The fast-paced, growth-stage nature of a FinTech company typically points to agile or iterative development methodologies.

Company Website: flex.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Flex aims to disrupt a traditional market (rent payments) with technology. The culture likely values innovation, user empathy, and a results-oriented mindset. The "growth-stage" aspect means opportunities for impact and career advancement are significant.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Product Designer role, indicating a mid-to-senior level position focused on specialized expertise within Design Systems. It requires a high degree of autonomy, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence product direction through system design.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Design Manager or Director and will collaborate closely with Engineering Managers and Product Managers. They will be a key individual contributor within the design team.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is significant, as the design system serves as the foundation for all user-facing products. A well-maintained and scalable design system directly contributes to faster product development cycles, improved product quality and consistency, enhanced user experience, and ultimately, greater user adoption and satisfaction in the FinTech space.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Design Systems: Potential to become a lead or principal designer in Design Systems, shaping the future of the company's entire product interface.
• Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor junior designers on design system best practices and advanced Figma skills.
• Cross-Disciplinary Expertise: Deepen expertise in FinTech, mobile app design, and the complex interplay between design and code.
• Strategic Influence: Influence product strategy and roadmap through the architectural decisions made within the design system.
• Potential for Management: With proven impact and leadership, opportunities for design management roles could emerge in the future.

📝 Enhancement Note: This Senior role offers a specialized career path within design, focusing on the critical infrastructure of product development. It's ideal for designers who enjoy system thinking, detailed execution, and enabling other teams through robust design frameworks.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid position with on-site expectations in either the New York Headquarters or San Francisco/Bay Area Office, 2-3 days per week. This suggests a modern office environment designed for collaboration.

Office Location(s):

• New York Headquarters
• San Francisco / Bay Area Office

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The hybrid model indicates office spaces are designed for team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and focused work, promoting interaction between design, engineering, and product teams.
• Tooling: Access to industry-standard design and development tools, including advanced Figma capabilities and integration with tools like Storybook.
• Team Interaction: Regular opportunities for face-to-face collaboration, design critiques, and knowledge sharing with colleagues.

Work Schedule: Full-time, hybrid arrangement. The specific 2-3 days in office per week will likely be coordinated with the team to maximize collaboration. The nature of design system work often requires focused, uninterrupted time, which can be achieved both in-office and remotely.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model offers a balance between focused individual work and collaborative team engagement. Candidates should be comfortable working autonomously and actively participating in in-office collaboration sessions. Relocation assistance may be available for candidates outside of required locations.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess relevant experience and skills, particularly in design systems and Figma.
• Design Challenge/Case Study: You may be asked to complete a design challenge or present a detailed case study from your portfolio, focusing on your approach to design systems, component design, or problem-solving within a complex system.
• Interviews with Design Team: Discussions with other designers to evaluate your design craft, system thinking, and collaboration style.
• Interviews with Cross-Functional Partners: Meetings with Product Managers and Engineers to assess your ability to collaborate, communicate technical aspects of design systems, and ensure design-developer parity.
• Final Interview: Potentially with senior leadership to discuss strategic vision, leadership potential, and overall cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Design System Impact: Clearly articulate your role, contributions, and the impact of your work on specific design systems. Quantify results where possible (e.g., efficiency gains, reduction in design debt).
• Showcase Figma Mastery: Demonstrate advanced Figma techniques, including complex component structures, variants, auto-layout, and library management.
• Detail Process & Rationale: Explain your design process, decision-making rationale, and how you addressed challenges, especially concerning scalability, maintainability, and cross-functional adoption.
• Focus on Collaboration: Include examples of how you've collaborated with engineering to ensure accurate implementation and maintain design-developer parity.
• Address FinTech Context: If you have FinTech experience, highlight it. If not, demonstrate an understanding of the unique considerations for designing financial products.

Challenge Preparation:

• System Thinking: Be prepared to discuss how you approach building and evolving scalable design systems.
• Figma & Storybook: Understand how to articulate the relationship between design tools (Figma) and development tools (Storybook), and how to ensure consistency.
• Collaboration Scenarios: Practice discussing how you would resolve design disagreements or align disparate teams on system standards.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio review will be a critical component, focusing heavily on design system expertise and practical application. Candidates should be prepared to deep-dive into their past projects, articulate their design philosophy, and demonstrate their ability to enable other teams through robust design frameworks.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core tool for design system creation, component management, prototyping, and collaboration. Advanced proficiency is a must.
• Storybook: Highly preferred for ensuring design-developer parity and documenting coded components.
• AI Tools: Experience with AI tools for sketching and prototyping is a plus, indicating an openness to leveraging new technologies.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Analysis Tools (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Tableau): While not explicitly listed, experience with data analysis tools is beneficial for informing design system decisions and measuring impact.
• User Research Platforms: Tools for conducting user research and usability testing.

CRM & Automation:

• Project Management Software (e.g., Jira, Asana): Likely used for tracking design system tasks, bug reporting, and sprint planning.
• Collaboration Platforms (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams): Essential for day-to-day communication and cross-functional collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is non-negotiable. Familiarity with Storybook is a significant advantage, signaling a strong understanding of the design-to-development workflow. The company's FinTech focus may also imply a need for understanding data security and compliance considerations within the design system.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity & Financial Well-being: A core value is improving people's financial lives, meaning user needs and positive financial outcomes are paramount.
• Quality & Craftsmanship: A strong emphasis on high-quality design, meticulous execution, and setting high standards for product experience.
• Collaboration & Enablement: A culture that values teamwork, open communication, and enabling other teams (design, engineering, product) through robust systems and clear documentation.
• Efficiency & Speed: As a growth-stage FinTech, efficiency in design and development processes is crucial for rapid iteration and market responsiveness.
• Innovation & Adaptability: Willingness to adopt new technologies and embrace new approaches to problem-solving.

Collaboration Style:

• Partnership-Oriented: Expectation of close, integrated collaboration with engineering and product management.
• Feedback-Driven: A culture that encourages soliciting and providing feedback to continuously improve the design system and product experiences.
• Knowledge Sharing: Emphasis on documenting and sharing best practices to ensure consistency and facilitate learning across teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: Flex appears to foster a culture that balances deep user empathy with a drive for technical excellence and operational efficiency. The design system role is central to this, acting as a bridge that enables consistent, high-quality experiences across the company.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing System Scalability and Product Needs: Ensuring the design system can accommodate diverse and evolving product requirements while remaining maintainable and performant.
• Driving Adoption: Encouraging consistent adoption of the design system across multiple product teams, potentially with varying levels of design maturity.
• Maintaining Design-Developer Parity: Continuously aligning Figma components with coded components in Storybook, especially as both evolve.
• Navigating Ambiguity: Working with a new, evolving design system in a fast-paced FinTech environment requires comfort with ambiguity and the ability to define solutions.
• Integrating New Technologies: Keeping pace with evolving design tools and technologies (like AI) and integrating them effectively into workflows.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen FinTech Domain Expertise: Gain extensive knowledge of the financial technology landscape and consumer financial behaviors.
• Advanced Design System Strategy: Develop advanced skills in design system architecture, governance, and strategic roadmap planning.
• Cross-Functional Skill Development: Enhance skills in collaborating with engineering, product management, and data analysis.
• Leadership and Mentorship: Grow into a leadership role within the design system practice, mentoring junior team members.
• Industry Best Practices: Stay current with cutting-edge design system methodologies and tools through conferences, workshops, and community engagement.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant challenges that are inherent to building and scaling critical design infrastructure in a growing company. These challenges also present substantial opportunities for professional growth and impact.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach migrating a product from a legacy design foundation to a new design system like 'Ultraviolet'?" (Focus on process, communication, and technical alignment.)
• "Describe a time you had to balance the need for system consistency with a unique product requirement. How did you resolve it?" (Demonstrate problem-solving and negotiation skills.)
• "How do you ensure design-developer parity between Figma and coded components? What are the key challenges and solutions?" (Assess understanding of the design-to-development handoff.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Flex's mission to improve financial well-being for renters?" (Show genuine interest and alignment with company values.)
• "How do you see a design system contributing to the success of a FinTech company like Flex?" (Connect design system value to business outcomes.)
• "Describe your ideal collaboration with engineers and product managers when developing or evolving a design system." (Highlight teamwork and communication style.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your portfolio presentation around key case studies, clearly outlining the problem, your role, the solutions you designed (especially design system components), the process, and the measurable outcomes.
• Showcase Figma & System Skills: Dedicate specific slides or sections to demonstrating your Figma expertise and your contributions to design systems, including component examples and documentation.
• Explain Design Rationale: Be prepared to articulate why you made certain design decisions, focusing on user needs, system scalability, and technical feasibility.
• Highlight Collaboration: Emphasize how you worked with other teams to ensure successful implementation and adoption of your design system work.
• Quantify Results: If possible, present metrics or qualitative feedback that demonstrate the impact of your design system contributions (e.g., reduced development time, improved UI consistency).

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a deep understanding of design systems, strong technical design skills (especially in Figma), excellent communication, and a collaborative mindset. Be ready to articulate your process, rationale, and impact with clarity and confidence.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the application link provided on Greenhouse.
• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your experience with design systems, Figma, component libraries, and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords from the job description to ensure ATS compatibility.
• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best showcase your design system expertise, Figma skills, and impact on shipped consumer products. Ensure it includes clear examples of component design, documentation, and collaboration with engineering.
• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies, focusing on your role, process, design decisions, and outcomes, especially as they relate to design systems. Be ready to discuss your approach to design-developer parity and scalability.
• Research Flex: Understand Flex's mission, product, and target audience. Consider how your design system skills can directly contribute to their goals of improving financial well-being for renters.

⚠️ 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.

---