Staff Product Designer, Design Systems

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Staff Product Designer, Design Systems Company: Docker Location: Remote (Canada) Job Type: Full-Time Category: Design Operations / Product Design Date Posted: December 05, 2025 Experience Level: 10+ Years Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the strategic evolution and modernization of Docker's Design System (DDS), impacting millions of developers globally.
• Lead the development of robust component and pattern libraries, token architecture, and Figma libraries to ensure cross-surface consistency.
• Partner closely with engineering teams to translate design system principles into high-quality, efficient implementations across web and desktop platforms.
• Elevate the overall UI quality and visual craft of Docker's product ecosystem, establishing a new standard for consistency and aesthetic appeal.
• Foster company-wide design consistency by championing systems thinking and facilitating cross-team alignment and contribution frameworks.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the primary focus is Product Design, the emphasis on Design Systems, component libraries, token architecture, and cross-functional collaboration with engineering strongly aligns this role with "Design Operations" principles, particularly in its function of standardizing and scaling design practices across a large product organization. The role requires a deep understanding of how design systems enable operational efficiency and developer velocity.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Co-lead the next generation of Docker's Design System (DDS), encompassing component and pattern libraries, token architecture, and Figma libraries.
• Spearhead the migration from MUI to a more modern, scalable, and token-driven design system architecture.
• Modernize Docker's visual language, establishing a fresh, future-ready aesthetic that enhances product expressiveness and user experience.
• Build and maintain a token-driven foundation that seamlessly scales across web and desktop surfaces, ensuring a unified user experience.
• Partner effectively with engineering teams throughout the design system lifecycle, from definition and implementation to ongoing maintenance and evolution.
• Set and uphold a new benchmark for UI quality, consistency, and interaction design across the entire Docker ecosystem.
• Own the visual refresh of Docker's product interface, focusing on clarity, depth, and a clean, modern aesthetic.
• Provide constructive critique and guidance to fellow designers, elevating design quality and consistency across product teams.
• Drive company-wide design consistency through strategic alignment and advocacy for systems thinking.
• Facilitate cross-team alignment on design system standards, negotiate necessary tradeoffs, and champion systems adoption.
• Shape the governance models, contribution frameworks, and educational initiatives for the design systems team and the broader product organization.
• Mentor designers on effective design system utilization and contribute to their professional growth.
• Influence cross-functional peers and coach product teams on designing with and for systems.
• Build and nurture high-trust partnerships with engineering, product management, research, and leadership stakeholders.
• Co-lead the strategic plan for migrating Docker's products off the MUI framework to a more advanced, token-led system.
• Contribute to improving engineering velocity, reducing UI rework, and enhancing overall satisfaction for both design and engineering teams.
• Support QA and regression workflows as part of the post-MUI reset process.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a significant focus on process improvement, system migration, and cross-functional efficiency, which are core tenets of operations roles. The emphasis on "developer velocity," "reducing UI rework," and "improving engineering velocity" directly aligns with operational goals within a product development context.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent experience and expertise in design systems and product design is essential. Experience: 10+ years of comprehensive product design experience, with a significant and deep focus on building and scaling design systems. Proven experience in shipping or rebuilding multiple design systems, including managing complex migrations.

Required Skills:

• Design Systems Expertise: Deep understanding of design system principles, architecture, component libraries, pattern definition, and tokenization.
• Visual & Interaction Design Craft: Exceptional visual design skills with a keen eye for detail, aesthetics, and interaction quality.
• Systems Thinking: Ability to think holistically about design across multiple platforms and products, ensuring consistency and scalability.
• Figma Proficiency: Advanced skills in Figma for design system authoring, library management, and collaboration.
• Modern DS Tooling: Familiarity with tools like Storybook and Chromatic for component development, documentation, and QA.
• Engineering Partnership: Ability to communicate effectively with engineers, understand implementation constraints, and build strong collaborative relationships.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work fluidly with product managers, researchers, and other designers to achieve shared goals.
• Communication & Storytelling: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex design concepts and strategies to diverse audiences, including leadership.
• Mentorship: Experience mentoring junior designers and influencing design practices across teams.
• Process Improvement: Aptitude for identifying inefficiencies in design and development workflows and proposing systemic solutions.

Preferred Skills:

• Migration Experience: Direct experience leading or significantly contributing to the migration of existing design systems or UI frameworks (e.g., from MUI to a new system).
• Front-End Knowledge: Some foundational understanding of front-end development principles and technologies (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to better collaborate with engineers.
• SaaS/Dev Tools Experience: Prior experience working within Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) environments or developer tooling companies is advantageous.
• AI Design Tooling: Experience or familiarity with designing AI-powered tools or developer workflows.
• Accessibility Leadership: Demonstrated experience in championing and implementing accessibility best practices within design systems.
• QA/Regression Workflow Contribution: Comfort in contributing to quality assurance and regression testing processes, particularly in the context of system resets.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "migration," "token architecture," "engineering partnership," and "developer velocity" suggests a need for candidates who understand the operational impact of design systems and can drive efficiency through standardized components and processes. The "front-end knowledge" and "QA/regression" aspects further point to an operational mindset focused on implementation and quality assurance.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Design System Case Studies: Showcase at least one in-depth case study detailing the creation, evolution, or significant overhaul of a design system. This should include:
  • The problem statement and business objectives.
  • The design system's architecture (components, tokens, patterns).
  • The migration strategy and process, if applicable.
  • Collaboration with engineering and product teams.
  • Measurable impact on design consistency, development velocity, and product quality.
• Visual & Interaction Quality Examples: Present examples of UI work that demonstrate a high level of craft, attention to detail, and sophisticated interaction design.
• Tokenization & System Design: Illustrate how you've approached design tokens, theming, or creating adaptable design systems that scale across different surfaces or contexts.
• Figma Library Examples: Provide examples of well-structured and efficiently managed Figma component libraries that you have developed or contributed to.

Process Documentation:

• Design System Governance: Describe your approach to establishing governance models, contribution frameworks, and processes for maintaining and evolving a design system over time.
• Migration Strategy: Outline a hypothetical or actual strategy for migrating a product or suite of products from an existing UI framework (like MUI) to a new, token-driven design system.
• Cross-Functional Workflow Design: Detail how you would design and optimize workflows for collaboration between design, engineering, and product teams when working with a design system.
• Impact Measurement Framework: Explain how you would define and measure the success of a design system, including metrics related to adoption, efficiency, consistency, and user satisfaction.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for detailed case studies on design system evolution, migration strategies, and governance models strongly indicates an expectation for candidates who can demonstrate operational excellence in design. The focus is not just on aesthetics but on the structured processes and systems that drive efficiency and consistency across product development.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $186,800 - $233,500 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Work-Life Balance: Freedom & flexibility to fit work around personal life; PTO plan encouraging time off; Designated quarterly "Whaleness Days."
• Home Office Support: Home office setup provided to ensure comfort and productivity.
• Family Support: 16 weeks of paid Parental Leave.
• Technology & Learning: Technology stipend ($100 net/month); Training stipend for conferences, courses, and classes.
• Equity & Growth: Stock options (equity) in a growing startup, allowing employees to share in company success.
• Company Culture: Quarterly, company-wide hackathons; Docker Swag.
• Health & Financial: Medical benefits, retirement plans, and holidays (details vary by country).

Working Hours: While not explicitly stated, a typical full-time role in the US/Canada is 40 hours per week. The emphasis on "Freedom & flexibility" suggests potential for adaptive work schedules within this framework.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is USD. For roles located in Canada, it's important to note that while the range is in USD, actual compensation may be subject to Canadian payroll regulations, currency conversion, and local market adjustments. The benefits listed are comprehensive and align with those typically offered to full-time remote employees, with specific mentions of home office setup and technology stipends that support remote operations.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software Development Tools / Developer Productivity. Docker is a foundational platform in the tech industry, enabling modern application development and deployment. Company Size: Docker is a growth-stage company, indicated by its active hiring and the focus on scaling its design systems. While not explicitly stated, roles like "Staff Product Designer" often exist in companies with 500+ employees, suggesting a significant organizational structure. Founded: Docker was founded in 2013. This history means the company has established products and a brand identity, but is also in a phase of significant evolution and modernization, particularly with its design systems.

Team Structure:

• The role reports into a design leadership structure, likely a Head of Design or VP of Design.
• The Staff Product Designer for Design Systems will work closely with another Staff Designer, forming a core leadership duo for DDS.
• This duo will collaborate extensively with individual product designers, engineering teams, product managers, and researchers across various product lines.
• The structure implies a matrixed environment where design system ownership is centralized, but implementation and adoption are decentralized across product squads.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: The role emphasizes improving developer and design velocity, suggesting a data-informed approach to system development and adoption.
• Systems Thinking & Process Optimization: Core to the role is building scalable systems and optimizing workflows for consistency and efficiency.
• Collaboration & Partnership: The culture promotes strong, high-trust partnerships between design and engineering, aiming for unified environments.
• Agile Development: Given the tech industry and focus on velocity, agile methodologies are likely employed for design system development and product integration.

Company Website: https://docker.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Docker's position as a leader in developer tooling means its operations are highly focused on developer experience and efficiency. The design system's role is critical in ensuring this experience is consistent and high-quality across a broad product suite, directly impacting operational efficiency for both internal teams and external users.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Staff-level position, indicating a senior individual contributor role with significant influence and a focus on specialized expertise in design systems. It's a strategic role responsible for setting direction and driving large-scale initiatives. Reporting Structure: The role likely reports to a Design Manager or Director, with a close partnership with another Staff Designer. This structure allows for shared leadership and specialized focus within the design system function. Operations Impact: The Staff Product Designer has a direct and substantial impact on operational efficiency by:

• Reducing Development Costs: Standardized components and patterns minimize redundant work for engineers.
• Accelerating Time-to-Market: Pre-built, well-documented components speed up product development cycles.
• Ensuring Brand Consistency: A cohesive design system reinforces brand identity and user trust across all touchpoints.
• Improving User Experience: A consistent and high-quality interface leads to better user satisfaction and adoption.
• Enhancing Designer Productivity: Providing a robust system empowers designers to focus on higher-level problem-solving rather than reinventing UI elements.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Design Systems: Potential to grow into a Principal or Lead Design Systems role, shaping the long-term strategy and vision.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Opportunity to influence broader product strategy and engineering practices through design system advocacy and collaboration.
• Specialization: Deepen expertise in areas like design tokens, accessibility, or AI-driven design tools within the systems context.
• Mentorship & Team Building: Play a key role in building out and maturing the design systems function and mentoring other designers.
• Impact on Iconic Brand: Contribute to the evolution of one of the most recognized brands in the developer tooling space.

📝 Enhancement Note: The Staff level signifies a strategic contributor role, aligning with senior operations professionals who drive significant improvements in process, efficiency, and scalability. Growth opportunities are tied to deepening specialized expertise and expanding leadership influence within the product development lifecycle.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Docker operates as a "remote-first" company. This implies a distributed workforce with no central physical office requirement for most roles, including this one. Office Location(s): While the role is remote and open to candidates in the United States and Canada, Docker has offices in key locations like San Francisco, CA; Vancouver, BC; and others globally, which may serve as hubs for occasional team gatherings or optional work. Workspace Context:

• Distributed Collaboration: The work environment is heavily reliant on digital collaboration tools and asynchronous communication.
• Technology & Tools: Access to modern design and development tools (Figma, Storybook, etc.) is expected, supported by the company's technology stack.
• Team Interaction: Opportunities for interaction will primarily be through virtual meetings, Slack, and project management platforms, fostering a culture of transparent communication.

Work Schedule: The "remote-first" approach emphasizes flexibility, allowing employees to structure their workdays to best suit their productivity and personal lives, while still meeting team collaboration needs and project deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first environment necessitates strong self-management, communication skills, and proficiency with remote collaboration tools. For operations roles, this means adapting processes to suit distributed teams and ensuring seamless information flow across time zones.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter will likely review your application, focusing on resume and portfolio alignment with the role's requirements.
• Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion with the hiring manager (likely a Design Director or similar) to assess overall fit, experience, and understanding of design systems.
• Portfolio Review & Design Discussion: A deep dive into your portfolio, focusing on your design system case studies, problem-solving approach, and craft. Expect to discuss your process, contributions, and impact.
• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with the existing Staff Designer, engineering leads, and potentially product managers to evaluate collaboration skills, technical understanding, and systems thinking.
• Executive/Leadership Interview: A final conversation with senior leadership to assess strategic thinking, cultural alignment, and potential for long-term impact.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Show, Don't Just Tell: For design system case studies, go beyond static screens. Detail the "why" and "how" – the problems you solved, the processes you implemented, and the measurable outcomes.
• Highlight Systemic Thinking: Clearly articulate your approach to scalability, consistency, and the underlying architecture (tokens, components, patterns).
• Demonstrate Collaboration: Showcase how you partnered with engineering, product, and other designers, and the outcomes of those collaborations.
• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your design system work (e.g., adoption rates, reduction in bug reports, improvement in design/dev velocity).
• Tailor to the Role: Emphasize experience with design system migrations, token architecture, and cross-platform consistency, as these are key requirements for Docker.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design System Audit & Strategy: Be prepared to discuss how you would audit an existing design system (like Docker's current DDS) and propose a strategic plan for its evolution and migration.
• Tokenization Strategy: Expect questions on how to define and implement a robust design token system that scales across web and desktop.
• Collaboration Scenarios: Prepare examples of how you've navigated disagreements or tradeoffs with engineering or product teams regarding design system implementation.
• "Why Docker?" and "Why Design Systems?": Articulate your passion for this specific role and the importance of design systems in building great developer tools.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a structured approach to assessing design and operational capabilities. Portfolio review is critical for demonstrating not just creative skill but also the ability to build and manage complex systems and processes that drive efficiency.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core tool for design system authoring, component creation, library management, and collaborative design. Expect advanced usage for creating scalable and maintainable design systems.
• Storybook: A critical tool for developing, documenting, and testing UI components in isolation. Essential for design system developers.
• Chromatic: A platform for visual regression testing and component snapshotting, ensuring consistency and quality within the design system.
• Version Control Systems (e.g., Git): While not explicitly mentioned for designers, understanding how design system assets are managed and versioned is crucial, especially when working closely with engineering.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Internal Analytics Tools: Docker likely uses internal tools for product analytics to track user behavior and adoption of features built with the design system.
• Design System Adoption Metrics Tools: Tools or custom dashboards for tracking the usage and impact of design system components across product teams.

CRM & Automation:

• Project Management Tools (e.g., Jira, Asana): For tracking design system tasks, bugs, and feature requests.
• Communication Platforms (e.g., Slack): For real-time communication and cross-functional collaboration.
• Documentation Platforms (e.g., Confluence, Notion): For housing design system documentation, guidelines, and governance policies.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency with design system specific tools like Figma, Storybook, and Chromatic is paramount. The ability to leverage these tools to create maintainable, scalable systems and to work closely with engineering on implementation and quality assurance is key to operational success in this role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Developer Empathy: A deep understanding and appreciation for the developer experience, reflected in the design of tools and systems.
• Craft & Quality: A commitment to high-quality design, attention to detail, and pixel-perfect execution, especially within the design system.
• Collaboration & Transparency: Fostering open communication and trust between design, engineering, and product teams.
• Systems Thinking & Scalability: Prioritizing the creation of robust, scalable systems that enable efficiency and consistency.
• Continuous Improvement: A mindset of iterating, learning, and evolving both products and internal processes.

Collaboration Style:

• Designer-Engineer Unity: A core value is building strong, trust-based partnerships between designers and engineers, working towards shared goals.
• Systems-Oriented Approach: Collaboration is structured around the design system, with designers and engineers contributing to and utilizing shared components and patterns.
• Open Feedback Loops: Encouraging constructive critique and knowledge sharing to elevate design and development practices across the organization.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Proactive engagement with product management and research to ensure design systems meet user needs and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "developer empathy," "craft & quality," and "systems thinking" directly speaks to the operational excellence Docker expects. The collaboration style highlights a mature, integrated product development process that relies on strong cross-functional alignment and shared ownership, typical of high-performing operations teams.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Migration Complexity: Leading the migration from MUI to a new design system involves significant technical and organizational challenges, requiring careful planning, phased rollout, and extensive stakeholder buy-in.
• Cross-Platform Consistency: Ensuring a cohesive design language and functional parity across web and desktop surfaces presents inherent technical and design hurdles.
• Adoption & Governance: Driving adoption of the new design system across a large, distributed organization and establishing effective governance models can be difficult.
• Balancing Vision and Pragmatism: Simultaneously driving a future-ready aesthetic and robust system architecture while addressing immediate product needs and engineering constraints.
• Evolving Developer Tooling Landscape: Staying ahead of trends in developer tools, AI, and design system best practices to ensure Docker's system remains relevant and cutting-edge.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepening Design Systems Expertise: Opportunity to become a world-class expert in design system strategy, architecture, and implementation.
• Leadership in a Key Initiative: Leading a critical, high-impact project that shapes the future of Docker's product experience.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Gaining experience in influencing product roadmaps and engineering priorities through strategic design leadership.
• Technical Skill Enhancement: Opportunity to deepen understanding of front-end technologies and how they integrate with design systems.
• Industry Exposure: Potential to represent Docker at industry conferences or contribute to design system communities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical of large-scale operational transformations within product development. Successfully navigating these requires strong process management, strategic planning, and a deep understanding of how to drive change through standardization and collaboration.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach auditing Docker's current Design System (DDS) and identifying key areas for modernization and migration?" (Focus on your methodology, criteria, and prioritization framework.)
• "Describe your strategy for building a token-driven design system that scales effectively across both web and desktop applications." (Discuss token types, architecture, and implementation considerations.)
• "How would you plan and execute a migration from a complex UI framework like MUI to a new design system, ensuring minimal disruption and maximum adoption?" (Detail your phased approach, communication plan, and risk mitigation strategies.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in working at Docker, and specifically in a Design Systems role here?" (Connect your passion to Docker's mission and the impact of design systems on developer experience.)
• "Describe your ideal collaboration relationship with engineering teams when building and maintaining a design system." (Highlight your approach to partnership, communication, and shared ownership.)
• "How do you measure the success and impact of a design system, both for internal teams and for the end-user?" (Prepare to discuss key metrics and your framework for tracking ROI.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Arc: Structure your case studies with a clear beginning (problem), middle (your process, solutions, collaboration), and end (impact, learnings).
• Focus on Systems: For design system examples, explicitly detail the architecture, component structure, token strategy, and cross-platform considerations.
• Showcase Migration: If you have migration experience, make it a central theme of your presentation, detailing the challenges, strategies, and outcomes.
• Quantify Impact: Use data points to illustrate the effectiveness of your work, such as adoption rates, efficiency gains, or reduction in UI bugs.
• Engage Your Audience: Be prepared for interactive discussions, asking clarifying questions, and responding thoughtfully to feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation for this role should focus on demonstrating a strategic, process-oriented mindset. Candidates need to articulate not just design decisions but the operational framework and methodology behind them, showing how they can drive efficiency and scalability through design systems.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Staff Product Designer, Design Systems position:

• Submit your application: Use the provided link on Ashby.
• Curate your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio prominently features in-depth case studies on design systems, specifically highlighting your experience with system architecture, tokenization, migration strategies, and cross-functional collaboration with engineering. Prioritize examples that demonstrate measurable impact and operational efficiency.
• Tailor Your Resume: Optimize your resume with keywords related to Design Systems, Figma, Storybook, Token Architecture, UI Quality, Migration, SaaS, Developer Tools, Collaboration, and Systems Thinking. Clearly outline your 10+ years of relevant experience and specific achievements in these areas.
• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your design process, your approach to building and scaling design systems, and your experience with complex migrations. Be ready to discuss how you foster designer-engineer partnerships and drive company-wide consistency.
• Research Docker: Understand Docker's products, its developer-centric mission, and current design challenges. Consider how your expertise can contribute to their goals of simplifying app development and enhancing the user experience.

⚠️ 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.