Staff Product Designer - Design Systems

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Staff Product Designer - Design Systems
Company: eBay
Location: Portland, Oregon, United States / Austin, Texas, United States
Job Type: FULL_TIME
Category: Product Design / Design Systems
Date Posted: 2025-09-17
Experience Level: Mid-Senior to Senior Level (6+ years)
Remote Status: Remote Eligible (within the United States)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the evolution and implementation of the eBay design system, ensuring consistency and efficiency across all product experiences.
• Collaborate closely with product, engineering, and cross-functional design teams to define, document, and maintain design patterns, components, and visual language.
• Leverage expertise in user experience, visual design, and systems thinking to create elegant, functional, and scalable design solutions that enhance buyer and seller interactions.
• Act as a champion for design system adoption and best practices, mentoring other designers and influencing product strategy through design leadership.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within the "OneExperience" team, indicating a focus on holistic customer journeys and cross-platform consistency. The "Staff" title suggests a senior individual contributor role with significant influence on design strategy and execution, particularly within the design systems domain.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Partner with cross-functional domain teams to assess product needs, define business goals, and audit existing product flows to identify opportunities for design system integration and improvement.
• Develop and refine eBay's brand and design system by integrating visual design, interaction design, and systems thinking to create intuitive, user-friendly design guidelines, patterns, and component libraries that enhance product efficiency and aesthetic appeal.
• Collaborate closely with UI/UX designers, product managers, and engineering partners to ensure the consistent and effective application of the design system across all eBay products, while actively incorporating feedback and research for continuous iteration and improvement.
• Prototype and deliver high-fidelity visuals and interactive prototypes that clearly demonstrate the design system's capabilities, ensuring components and templates are adaptable to various eBay experiences and maintain a high standard of design excellence.
• Mentor fellow designers on the strategic use and application of the design system, conduct design reviews, and stay abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies to continuously evolve the system, ensuring it meets the needs of eBay customers and aligns with the latest design innovations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic system design, hands-on execution, and cross-functional leadership, common for senior roles focused on design systems. The emphasis on "auditing product flows" and "incorporating feedback and research" points to a data-informed and iterative approach to design system development.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor's or Master's degree in User Experience Design, Graphic Design, Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is typically expected for a role of this caliber, though equivalent professional experience will also be considered.
Experience: A minimum of 6 years of professional experience in User Experience Design, Visual Design, Interaction Design, or a closely related field, with a significant focus on building and scaling design systems.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience in User Experience Design, Visual Design, and Interaction Design, with a strong portfolio showcasing expertise in these areas.
• Deep understanding and practical experience in developing, maintaining, and scaling comprehensive design systems, including component libraries, style guides, and usage guidelines.
• Proficiency with industry-standard design and prototyping tools, specifically Figma, including advanced features for component creation, variant management, and prototyping.
• Familiarity with front-end development concepts, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to effectively collaborate with engineering teams and understand technical feasibility and implementation constraints.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions, drive alignment across diverse teams, and proactively influence decision-making processes.
• Self-motivated and able to navigate large, complex projects independently, demonstrating strong problem-solving skills and the ability to anticipate and address potential challenges.
• Experience with systems thinking and the ability to manage complex interdependencies within a design system.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with advanced prototyping tools such as Proto.io, Rive, or Play for creating rich, interactive prototypes that showcase motion and complex interactions.
• Experience conducting user research, usability testing, and synthesizing feedback to inform design system iterations and improvements.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG) and experience implementing them within a design system.
• Experience working in a large-scale e-commerce environment or with complex digital platforms.
• Mentorship experience, guiding junior designers and fostering a collaborative design culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "6+ years of professional experience" and "Staff" title indicates a need for seasoned professionals who can operate with a high degree of autonomy and strategic influence, particularly in system design and cross-functional collaboration. Familiarity with front-end development is crucial for effective partnership with engineering.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated portfolio that clearly demonstrates your expertise in design systems, including examples of system architecture, component libraries, design guidelines, and their successful implementation across multiple products or platforms.
• Case studies showcasing your process for auditing existing products, identifying needs, and developing new patterns or components for a design system, emphasizing problem-solving and strategic thinking.
• Examples of how you have collaborated with product managers, engineers, and other designers to ensure consistent adoption and evolution of a design system, highlighting your communication and influence skills.
• Visual examples of high-fidelity designs, prototypes, and style guides that reflect a strong understanding of visual design principles, interaction design patterns, and accessibility standards.
• Evidence of your ability to mentor other designers or contribute to design system documentation and best practices.

Process Documentation:

• Showcase examples of how you have documented design system components, patterns, and guidelines, ensuring clarity, usability, and maintainability for a wide audience of designers and developers.
• Include instances where you have managed feedback loops and iteration processes for design system updates, demonstrating your approach to continuous improvement and stakeholder engagement.
• Provide examples of how you have tracked the adoption and impact of design system elements, using metrics or qualitative feedback to demonstrate value and ROI.

📝 Enhancement Note: A portfolio emphasizing design system lifecycle management, from creation and implementation to ongoing evolution and adoption, is critical. Specific examples of component creation, pattern definition, and cross-functional collaboration are expected to demonstrate practical application and impact.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $124,000 - $208,300 annually.
Benefits:

• Comprehensive medical, financial, and other benefits.
• Eligibility for a target bonus.
• Potential for Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).
• Generous paid time off (PTO) and parental leave.
• Access to a 401(k) plan.

Working Hours: The standard working hours are likely aligned with a full-time role (e.g., 40 hours per week). Given the "Remote Eligible" status, there may be flexibility in daily scheduling, but adherence to core business hours for collaboration with teams across different time zones (Pacific and Central) will be expected.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is a base pay expectation. The total compensation package, including bonuses and RSUs, can significantly increase earning potential. As a remote-eligible role, candidates should be prepared to align with team collaboration needs across various US time zones.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: E-commerce, technology, online marketplaces. eBay operates as a global leader in online retail, connecting millions of buyers and sellers. Company Size: eBay is a large, publicly traded technology company with a significant global presence, implying a structured environment with established processes and a large workforce. Founded: 1995. eBay has a long history in e-commerce, suggesting a company that has adapted and evolved with the digital landscape, likely fostering a culture that values innovation and resilience.

Team Structure: The role is within the "OneExperience team" in the "Core Product Design organization." This suggests a centralized design function focused on creating cohesive user experiences across eBay's platform. The Design Systems team likely operates as a specialized unit within this larger organization, serving as a hub for design consistency and efficiency.

• Reporting Structure: Reports to the Head of Design Systems. This indicates a direct line of leadership within the design systems vertical.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: The role explicitly mentions partnering with "cross-functional domain teams," including design, product, and engineering, emphasizing a highly collaborative environment.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: The emphasis on "assessing needs," "auditing product flows," and iterating based on "feedback and research" suggests a data-informed approach to design system development.
• Systems Thinking: The core of the role involves applying systems thinking to create scalable and consistent design solutions.
• Agile Development Practices: Collaboration with engineering teams implies alignment with agile methodologies for design and development cycles.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: eBay's long-standing presence in e-commerce suggests a mature product organization. The "OneExperience" and "Design Systems" focus indicates a strategic commitment to user-centricity and brand consistency, which is vital for large-scale platforms.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Staff Product Designer. This is a senior individual contributor (IC) role. Staff-level designers are expected to lead complex initiatives, influence product strategy, and mentor others, often operating with significant autonomy. They are key players in shaping the company's design direction and technical standards. Reporting Structure: Reports to the Head of Design Systems. This provides a clear reporting line within a specialized design function, offering opportunities for mentorship and guidance from a design systems leader. Operations Impact: The role directly impacts the consistency, usability, and aesthetic quality of the eBay platform, which in turn influences user acquisition, retention, and overall customer satisfaction. A well-executed design system can significantly improve development efficiency and speed to market for new features.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Design Systems: Potential to grow into a lead or principal role within design systems, taking on more strategic ownership and managing larger system initiatives.
• Cross-functional Influence: Opportunity to influence product roadmaps and strategies by advocating for design system best practices and user-centric solutions.
• Mentorship and Skill Development: Chance to mentor junior designers, share expertise in systems design, and continuously learn and apply new design tools and methodologies.
• Broad Platform Exposure: Work across various eBay product areas, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the e-commerce ecosystem and diverse user needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: As a "Staff" level designer, this role is a significant step in a design career, offering opportunities for strategic impact and leadership within the design community at eBay. Growth is likely to come from deepening expertise in design systems, expanding influence across product teams, and potentially moving into management or principal IC tracks.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is listed as "TELECOMMUTE" with locations in Portland and Austin, and the company description emphasizes a global e-commerce leader. While remote-eligible, eBay likely maintains physical office spaces in these locations for those who prefer or are required to work from an office. Office Location(s): Portland, Oregon, and Austin, Texas. These are major tech hubs, suggesting access to vibrant professional communities. Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration: Expect a highly collaborative digital environment, utilizing tools like Figma, Slack, and video conferencing for daily interactions.
• Design System Hub: The work within the design systems team implies a focus on creating shared resources and fostering a community of practice around design standards.
• Cross-functional Integration: Designers will be embedded or closely aligned with product and engineering teams, requiring active participation in their workflows and rituals.

Work Schedule: While full-time, the "Remote OK" designation suggests potential for flexible working hours, provided core collaboration times are met. This flexibility can be beneficial for managing personal commitments alongside project demands, especially for a role focused on detailed design work and system architecture.

📝 Enhancement Note: For remote employees, maintaining strong communication habits and actively participating in virtual team activities will be key to integrating into the eBay culture and collaborating effectively. The company's commitment to a global presence and diverse workforce suggests an inclusive and adaptable work environment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screen: Likely a recruiter or hiring manager screen to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.
• Portfolio Review & Presentation: A core part of the process will involve presenting your portfolio, focusing on design systems work, and discussing your approach to common challenges. Be prepared to walk through specific case studies.
• Design Exercise/Challenge: Expect a design challenge, possibly focused on extending or applying the existing design system, or a system-thinking exercise. This will evaluate your practical skills and problem-solving abilities.
• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with product managers, engineers, and other designers to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to work within a team.
• Executive/Staff Level Interview: A final interview, potentially with a design leader or senior stakeholder, to evaluate strategic thinking, leadership potential, and overall impact.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Design Systems Expertise: Clearly showcase your contributions to design systems, including component libraries, style guides, and pattern documentation. Quantify impact where possible (e.g., adoption rates, efficiency gains).
• Demonstrate Process: For each project, explain your thought process, the problem you were solving, your proposed solution, and the outcome. Emphasize your systems thinking and how you navigated trade-offs.
• Showcase Collaboration: Include examples of how you worked with engineering and product teams, detailing communication strategies and how you ensured buy-in and consistent implementation.
• Visual Clarity: Ensure your portfolio is well-organized, visually appealing, and easy to navigate. Use high-fidelity mockups and prototypes to illustrate your work effectively.
• Tailor to eBay: Research eBay's current design aesthetic and products. If possible, tailor your presentation to show how your skills align with their needs and challenges.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Design Systems: Brush up on core design system principles, best practices for component creation, documentation, and governance.
• Figma Proficiency: Be ready to demonstrate advanced Figma skills, including auto layout, variants, component properties, and interactive prototyping.
• Systems Thinking Exercises: Practice thinking about how to create scalable, reusable, and adaptable design solutions that can serve a large and diverse platform like eBay.
• Communication: Prepare to articulate your design decisions clearly and concisely, justifying your choices with user needs, business goals, and design principles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a Staff-level role will be rigorous, focusing not only on design craft but also on strategic thinking, influence, and the ability to mentor and lead. A strong, well-articulated portfolio is paramount.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for design, prototyping, and collaboration. Advanced proficiency is expected.
• Prototyping Tools: Proto.io, Rive, or Play mentioned as advanced tools, indicating a need for sophisticated interaction design capabilities.
• Design System Platforms: Experience with tools for managing, documenting, and distributing design systems (e.g., Zeroheight, Storybook, or internal tools).

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly mentioned for designers, familiarity with product analytics tools (e.g., Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics) can be beneficial for understanding user behavior and informing design decisions.
• Experience with A/B testing platforms to evaluate design changes.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to this design role, but awareness of how design systems integrate with development workflows and potentially front-end frameworks is key.

📝 Enhancement Note: Mastery of Figma is a non-negotiable requirement. Familiarity with advanced prototyping tools and an understanding of how design systems interact with development workflows will be highly valued.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Focus: A strong emphasis on understanding and serving the needs of eBay's buyers and sellers is paramount.
• Collaboration & Teamwork: The role requires close partnership with diverse teams, fostering a culture of shared ownership and mutual support.
• Innovation & Bold Ideas: eBay encourages a culture where new ideas are welcomed and explored, driving continuous improvement.
• Authenticity & Inclusion: The company values individuals bringing their unique selves to work, promoting diversity and a sense of belonging.
• Efficiency & Consistency: As a design systems role, a drive for creating efficient, reusable solutions and maintaining brand consistency is fundamental.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Partnership: Expect to work closely with product managers, engineers, researchers, and content strategists, requiring active participation in their sprints and planning sessions.
• Open Communication: A culture that values transparent communication, constructive feedback, and sharing knowledge across disciplines.
• Design Critiques: Regular participation in design critiques and system reviews to ensure quality and alignment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's stated values emphasize a customer-centric, collaborative, and innovative environment. For a design systems role, embodying the values of consistency, efficiency, and cross-functional partnership will be crucial for success.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling the Design System: Ensuring the design system remains scalable, maintainable, and adaptable as eBay's product suite and user base grow.
• Driving Adoption: Effectively encouraging and supporting adoption of the design system across numerous product teams, often with their own priorities and workflows.
• Balancing Consistency and Flexibility: Finding the right balance between enforcing strict design standards and allowing teams the flexibility to innovate and meet specific user needs.
• Cross-Team Alignment: Navigating diverse stakeholder needs and priorities across different product domains to maintain system coherence.
• Staying Ahead of Trends: Continuously evolving the design system to incorporate new technologies, interaction patterns, and accessibility best practices.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepening Design Systems Expertise: Opportunities to specialize further in design system architecture, governance, and tooling.
• Mentorship and Leadership: Developing leadership skills by mentoring junior designers and potentially leading system initiatives.
• Industry Engagement: Exposure to industry conferences and best practices in design systems and product design.
• Impactful Projects: Contributing to the foundational elements of a globally recognized e-commerce platform, with the potential for significant impact on millions of users.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers the opportunity to tackle complex challenges at scale within a leading e-commerce company, providing a fertile ground for professional growth and skill development in the specialized field of design systems.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach auditing an existing product suite to identify opportunities for design system implementation or improvement?"
• "Describe a time you had to influence a team or stakeholder to adopt your design system recommendations. What was your strategy, and what was the outcome?"
• "How do you balance the need for strict design system consistency with the need for product teams to innovate and create unique experiences?"
• "Walk me through your process for creating a new component for a design system. What factors do you consider?"
• "How do you ensure accessibility is integrated into your design system from the ground up?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about eBay's current design or brand and how might a design system enhance it?"
• "How do you contribute to a collaborative team environment, especially in a remote or hybrid setting?"
• "What are your thoughts on eBay's mission to create economic opportunity for all?"
• "How do you stay updated on the latest design trends and how do you decide which to incorporate into a design system?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, your process, your solution, and the impact. For design systems work, emphasize the system's architecture, the components/patterns you created, and how they were adopted.
• Quantify Impact: Use metrics where possible to demonstrate the value of your design system work (e.g., reduction in design/dev time, increase in consistency scores, user satisfaction improvements).
• Showcase Technical Understanding: Be prepared to discuss the technical implications of your design decisions, especially concerning front-end implementation (HTML, CSS, JS) and how your Figma work translates to code.
• Highlight Collaboration: Clearly articulate how you partnered with PMs, engineers, and other designers, demonstrating your ability to communicate effectively and manage stakeholder relationships.
• Be Ready for Live Design: Have Figma open and be prepared to sketch out ideas or demonstrate specific features if asked.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating not just design craft but also strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and the capacity to influence and lead within a complex organizational structure. Understanding eBay's business and user base will be key to tailoring responses.

📌 Application Steps

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

• Submit your application through the provided eBay Careers portal link.
• Portfolio Preparation: Curate a portfolio that specifically highlights your experience with design systems. Include case studies demonstrating system architecture, component design, pattern development, and successful implementation. Quantify the impact of your work whenever possible.
• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize your 6+ years of experience in UX/Visual/Interaction Design with a strong focus on design systems. Use keywords from the job description, such as "design systems," "component libraries," "Figma," "systems thinking," and "cross-functional collaboration."
• Interview Practice: Prepare to articulate your design process, system design philosophy, and collaboration strategies. Practice presenting your portfolio with a focus on clarity, impact, and relevance to eBay's platform. Be ready to discuss your experience with front-end technologies and advanced prototyping.
• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with eBay's products, user base, and current design initiatives. Understand their business goals and how a robust design system contributes to achieving them. Research the "OneExperience" team's mandate and eBay's design values.

⚠️ 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.