Lead Design Engineer - UX/UI and AI

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead Design Engineer - UX/UI and AI

Company: StarCompliance

Location: York, United Kingdom

Job Type: Regular - Full-time

Category: Engineering / Design / AI

Date Posted: 2026-07-29

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the strategy, architecture, and evolution of StarCompliance’s enterprise design system, ensuring its compatibility with AI-assisted development and agentic consumption.

• Drive the creation of working prototypes and reusable frontend components, emphasizing accessibility, usability, and consistency in product delivery.

• Lead and develop a blended team of UI Engineers, fostering capability development and overseeing workload allocation and performance.

• Act as the technical authority for design engineering and frontend experience, providing guidance and influencing governance forums.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a unique blend of design leadership, hands-on engineering, and AI integration. It requires a candidate who can bridge the gap between traditional UX/UI and cutting-edge AI development, focusing on scalable design systems and automated delivery.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design System & Frontend Foundations:

  • Own the strategy, architecture, and ongoing evolution of StarCompliance’s enterprise design system.
  • Develop the design system into an AI-consumable platform for engineers, coding assistants, and autonomous development agents.
  • Define reusable components, design tokens, interaction patterns, application layouts, and accessibility standards.
  • Create clear documentation, examples, constraints, and validation mechanisms for reliable agent-generated user interfaces.
  • Maintain alignment between the design system, shared frontend foundations, and StarCompliance’s technical architecture.

• Design Engineering & Prototyping:

  • Translate product opportunities, user needs, and business requirements into working prototypes, moving beyond static design handovers.
  • Utilize code and AI-assisted development tools to create realistic, testable product experiences.
  • Collaborate with Product, customers, subject matter experts, and engineers to explore workflows, validate solutions, and refine concepts.
  • Define interaction models for complex compliance workflows, data-intensive applications, and AI-enabled product capabilities.

• Agentic Product Development:

  • Define how AI agents interpret product intent and generate user interfaces using approved components and experience standards.
  • Create and maintain agent instructions, reference implementations, rules, and machine-readable context for frontend development.
  • Partner with AI Enablement and Engineering teams to embed design system knowledge into agentic development workflows.
  • Establish governance for agent-generated interfaces, including accessibility validation, visual regression testing, and component conformance.
  • Review agent outputs and iteratively improve components, guidance, and context for reliable results.

• Product Experience & Accessibility:

  • Ensure user-centered design principles are embedded in an automated software development process.
  • Champion accessible and inclusive design, integrating accessibility requirements into components, patterns, and automated validation.
  • Leverage customer feedback, product analytics, usability evaluation, and telemetry to enhance product experiences.
  • Ensure delivery speed does not compromise usability, consistency, maintainability, or user trust.

• Technical Leadership & Governance:

  • Lead the Design System Forum, coordinating Product, Engineering, and Architecture to govern shared standards and prioritize design system evolution.

  • Lead and develop a blended team of UI Engineers (permanent and consultancy), managing performance, workload, and capability development.

  • Act as StarCompliance’s technical authority for design engineering and frontend experience.

  • Coach Product Managers and engineers on prototype-led discovery, AI-assisted development, and effective use of frontend foundations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a forward-thinking role focused on merging design systems with AI-driven development. Candidates should emphasize their experience in building scalable design frameworks, leading engineering teams, and applying AI to the development lifecycle.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• While no specific degree is mandated, a strong foundation in Computer Science, Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is highly beneficial.

• Relevant certifications in design systems, frontend frameworks, or AI in software development can be advantageous. Experience:

• 5-10 years of progressive experience in design engineering, frontend engineering, or user experience design, with a significant focus on enterprise-level applications.

• Proven track record of leading design system initiatives from strategy through implementation and governance.

• Experience in managing and mentoring engineering teams, including both permanent staff and external consultants. Required Skills:

• Design System Expertise: Creating, governing, and evolving enterprise design systems, including component architecture, design tokens, and interaction patterns.

• Frontend Development: Hands-on experience building modern applications with React and TypeScript.

• AI Integration: Practical experience using AI-assisted development tools and supporting agentic software delivery workflows.

• Prototyping & Validation: Strong understanding of working prototype development and experience using them to validate concepts and user needs.

• Accessibility & Inclusive Design: Championing and embedding accessibility and inclusive design principles into development processes and components.

• Technical Leadership: Demonstrated ability to provide technical direction, influence architectural decisions, and act as a subject matter expert.

• Stakeholder Communication: Excellent communication skills to effectively collaborate with Product Management, Engineering, Architecture, and customers.

• People Management: Capability to lead, mentor, and develop a team of UI engineers.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience within SaaS, enterprise, or regulated software environments.

• Familiarity with tools like Storybook, visual regression testing, automated accessibility testing, and other frontend quality tooling.

• Experience managing both permanent employees and consultancy partner resources.

• Knowledge of product analytics, usability testing, and behavioral telemetry for user experience improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize a hybrid skillset, demanding both deep technical proficiency in frontend development and design systems, alongside leadership and AI integration capabilities. Candidates should highlight projects where they've influenced product strategy through design and engineering leadership.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Design System Documentation: Showcase examples of comprehensive design system documentation, including component libraries, usage guidelines, and accessibility standards.

• Interactive Prototypes: Include examples of functional prototypes built with code (e.g., React) that demonstrate complex workflows or AI-driven interactions, rather than static mockups.

• AI-Assisted Development Examples: If possible, demonstrate how AI tools were used in the design or development process, or how you've structured systems to be AI-consumable.

• Scalability & Governance: Present case studies or examples that illustrate how your design system or frontend foundations have scaled across multiple products or teams, and how governance was maintained.

• Accessibility Integration: Provide evidence of how accessibility was integrated into design components and processes, ideally with examples of automated validation.

Process Documentation:

• Design System Lifecycle: Document your approach to establishing, evolving, and governing a design system, including contribution workflows and version control strategies.

• Prototype-Led Discovery: Detail your process for using prototypes in user research and product discovery phases, including feedback loops and iteration strategies.

• Agentic Development Workflow: Outline your methodology for defining requirements and enabling AI agents to generate user interfaces, including validation and quality assurance steps.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Illustrate processes for collaborating with Product Management, Engineering, and AI teams to ensure alignment and efficient delivery.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio should clearly demonstrate the candidate's ability to not just design, but engineer and lead the implementation of scalable, AI-compatible design systems. Focus on tangible outputs and process methodologies.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Based on industry benchmarks for Lead Design Engineers with 5-10 years of experience in the UK, particularly in technology hubs like York, a competitive salary range would typically fall between £70,000 - £95,000 per annum. This estimate considers the specialized nature of AI integration, technical leadership, and hybrid work environment. Benefits:

• Hybrid Work Model: Flexibility to work from home and in the office, promoting work-life balance.

• Comprehensive Health Insurance: Medical, dental, and vision coverage.

• Pension Scheme: Generous employer contribution to a retirement savings plan.

• Generous Paid Time Off: Including vacation days, public holidays, and sick leave.

• Professional Development: Opportunities for training, conferences, and skill enhancement in AI and frontend technologies.

• Life Assurance: Financial security for employees and their families.

• Employee Assistance Program: Support for personal and professional well-being.

• Potential for Bonuses: Performance-based incentives.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time hours, typically 40 hours per week.

• Hybrid arrangement allows for flexible scheduling within core business hours to accommodate team collaboration and project needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is an estimate based on UK market rates for senior engineering and design leadership roles with AI specialization. Benefits are standard for established tech companies in the UK, with emphasis on professional development given the role's innovative nature.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Compliance Technology (SaaS)

Company Size: StarCompliance is a growing company, likely falling into the 201-500 employee range based on industry presence and product scope. This size offers a balance of established processes and opportunities for individual impact.

Founded: StarCompliance was founded in 2000, indicating a mature company with a long-standing presence in the compliance technology sector, providing stability and deep domain expertise.

Team Structure:

• Engineering Organization: The role sits within a broader engineering organization, collaborating closely with Product Management, Architecture, and Platform Engineering teams.

• AI Enablement: A dedicated AI Enablement team likely exists, which this role will partner with to integrate AI into development workflows.

• UI Engineering Team: This role will lead a blended team of permanent UI engineers and external consultancy partners, requiring strong leadership and resource management skills.

• Design System Forum: This is a cross-functional governance body that the Lead Design Engineer will lead, involving key stakeholders from Product, Engineering, and Architecture.

Methodology:

• AI-First Development: StarCompliance treats AI as a foundational element of modern software engineering, expecting engineers to actively use AI tools and apply them to improve development velocity, quality, and operational insight.

• Prototype-Led Discovery: Emphasis on creating working prototypes early in the product lifecycle to validate concepts and user needs, rather than relying solely on static designs.

• Agile Development: Likely operates within an Agile framework, prioritizing iterative development, continuous feedback, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Design System Governance: A structured approach to managing and evolving shared design standards through a dedicated forum.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: StarCompliance operates in the regulated financial sector, implying a strong emphasis on compliance, security, and data integrity. The company's forward-thinking approach to AI suggests a culture that embraces innovation and technical advancement within a structured, professional environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Lead Design Engineer - This is a senior individual contributor and leadership role. It sits at the intersection of design and engineering, requiring deep technical expertise and the ability to influence strategy. It's a critical role for scaling product development through design systems and AI.

Reporting Structure: The role will likely report into a Director or VP of Engineering or Product Development. The Lead Design Engineer will, in turn, manage a team of UI Engineers and lead the Design System Forum.

Operations Impact: This role has a significant impact on the efficiency and quality of product development at StarCompliance. By establishing robust design systems and enabling AI-driven development, the Lead Design Engineer directly contributes to faster release cycles, more consistent user experiences, reduced engineering debt, and improved overall product quality. This efficiency translates to better resource utilization and a stronger competitive position in the SaaS market.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI-assisted development, advanced frontend architectures, and scalable design systems.

• Leadership Advancement: Progress to a Principal Engineer, Architect, or Head of Design Systems/Frontend Engineering role.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Expand influence across product strategy, engineering best practices, and AI adoption within the company.

• Mentorship: Develop and mentor engineering talent, shaping the future of the UI engineering function.

• Industry Thought Leadership: Contribute to the company's reputation by evangelizing innovative approaches to design, engineering, and AI.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of AI integration in software development, with significant scope for technical and leadership growth within a specialized domain.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid work model, indicating a mix of remote work and in-office collaboration.

Office Location(s): York, United Kingdom. This suggests a base for in-person collaboration and team building, while allowing for remote flexibility.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The office environment will likely feature collaborative spaces designed for team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and cross-functional work.

• Technology-Rich: Access to modern development tools, high-performance workstations, and robust network infrastructure to support complex design and engineering tasks.

• Focused Work Areas: Designated areas for individual deep work, essential for complex coding and design system development.

• AI Integration: Expect access to AI-assisted development tools and platforms as a standard part of the workflow.

Work Schedule:

• Standard 40-hour work week, with flexibility in daily scheduling to promote work-life balance.

• Core hours will likely be established for essential team meetings and collaborative sessions, particularly given the hybrid nature of the role.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model in York suggests a company that values both focused individual contribution and the benefits of in-person collaboration. Candidates should be comfortable with a blend of remote and office-based work.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

2. Hiring Manager Interview: In-depth discussion with the hiring manager focusing on leadership experience, technical expertise in design systems and frontend development, and understanding of AI integration.

3. Technical/Design Deep Dive: This stage will likely involve a technical interview or a take-home exercise focused on design system principles, coding challenges (React/TypeScript), and problem-solving related to AI-assisted development.

4. Portfolio Presentation: A dedicated session where candidates present their portfolio, showcasing relevant projects, design system contributions, and examples of prototyping or AI integration. This is a critical part of evaluating practical skills and strategic thinking.

5. Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders from Product, Architecture, and AI Enablement teams to assess collaboration style, communication skills, and alignment with company goals.

6. Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader (e.g., VP of Engineering) to discuss strategic vision, leadership philosophy, and overall fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: Quantify achievements where possible, e.g., "Reduced UI development time by X% by implementing a new design system component."

• Demonstrate Scalability: Show how your design system or architectural patterns can scale across different products or teams.

• Highlight AI Integration: If possible, showcase projects where AI tools were used to enhance design or development efficiency.

• Code Quality: Ensure any code samples are well-structured, commented, and demonstrate modern best practices (React, TypeScript).

• Accessibility Champion: Clearly articulate your approach to accessibility and provide examples of implementation.

• Prototype-Led Approach: Emphasize interactive prototypes over static designs, showing your ability to bring concepts to life.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design System Case Study: Prepare to discuss how you would approach building or evolving a design system for a complex enterprise application, considering AI consumption.

• Frontend Coding Challenge: Brush up on React, TypeScript, component design, and state management.

• AI Application Scenarios: Be ready to discuss how AI tools can be integrated into the design and development workflow, and the challenges involved.

• Leadership Scenarios: Prepare examples of how you've led teams, managed stakeholders, and driven technical initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to thoroughly assess technical depth, leadership capabilities, and strategic thinking, with a strong emphasis on the candidate's ability to integrate AI into design and development workflows. The portfolio review is a key component.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Frontend Frameworks: React, TypeScript (core requirements).

• Design System Tools: Storybook (highly desirable), potentially Figma or similar for design collaboration and documentation.

• AI-Assisted Development: Experience with tools like GitHub Copilot, or internal AI coding assistants. Understanding of prompt engineering for UI generation.

• Prototyping Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD (for design exploration), but with a strong emphasis on coded prototypes.

• Version Control: Git, GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics Tools: Familiarity with tools used to gather user feedback and product usage data (e.g., Pendo, Amplitude, Google Analytics).

• Telemetry & Monitoring: Experience with application performance monitoring (APM) and user behavior tracking tools.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly in scope for this role, understanding how frontend experiences integrate with backend systems and potentially CRM data could be beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in React and TypeScript is essential. Experience with Storybook and AI coding assistants is highly valued. The role requires a candidate who is adept at leveraging modern development tools and processes.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Innovation & AI Adoption: A strong culture of embracing and integrating AI into daily engineering practices to drive efficiency and quality.

• User-Centricity: Commitment to delivering exceptional user experiences, ensuring that even with AI automation, usability, and user needs remain paramount.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Fostering an environment where teams work together openly, share knowledge, and provide constructive feedback, especially through forums like the Design System Forum.

• Quality & Compliance: A deep understanding of the importance of delivering high-quality, secure, and compliant software, given the financial industry context.

• Continuous Improvement: A mindset focused on iterative development, learning from data (user feedback, telemetry), and constantly refining processes and products.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Emphasis on close collaboration between Design Engineering, Product Management, AI Enablement, and core Engineering teams.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing analytics, user feedback, and performance metrics to inform design and development decisions.

• Mentorship & Knowledge Sharing: A culture where senior members actively mentor junior team members and share best practices, particularly around design systems and AI.

• Proactive Communication: Encouraging open and frequent communication to ensure alignment and address challenges promptly.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture values innovation, especially in AI, while maintaining a strong focus on quality and user experience within a regulated industry. Collaboration is key, with a structured approach to design system governance.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Automation with User Experience: Ensuring AI-generated interfaces meet high standards of usability, accessibility, and consistency without sacrificing human-centered design principles.

• Evolving Design System for AI: Adapting a mature design system to be effectively consumed and utilized by AI agents, requiring new forms of documentation and structure.

• Leading a Blended Team: Effectively managing and integrating the efforts of both permanent employees and external consultants to achieve cohesive delivery.

• Adoption and Governance: Driving the adoption of new design system standards and AI-assisted workflows across different engineering teams and ensuring ongoing adherence.

• Pace of AI Advancement: Keeping pace with the rapidly evolving landscape of AI development tools and methodologies.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI in Software Engineering: Deepen expertise in leveraging AI for design, coding, testing, and product development.

• Advanced Frontend Architecture: Explore and implement cutting-edge frontend technologies and architectural patterns.

• Design System Strategy: Grow into a recognized expert in enterprise design systems and their application in complex organizations.

• Leadership Development: Enhance skills in team management, strategic planning, and cross-functional influence.

• Industry Conferences & Certifications: Opportunities to attend relevant events and obtain certifications in areas like AI, UX, and software engineering best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents challenges at the forefront of software development by integrating AI, offering significant opportunities for professional growth and skill development in a rapidly advancing field.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach evolving an existing enterprise design system to be AI-consumable and support agentic development?" (Focus on structure, documentation, and AI interpretation).

• "Describe a situation where you had to balance rapid development velocity with maintaining high standards for user experience and accessibility." (Highlight your process for managing trade-offs).

• "What are the key considerations for establishing governance for AI-generated user interfaces within a regulated industry?" (Emphasize validation, compliance, and feedback loops).

• "How would you lead and motivate a blended team of permanent engineers and external consultants to achieve a common goal?" (Showcase leadership and team management strategies). Company & Culture Questions:

• "How do you see AI transforming the future of software engineering, and how would you champion its adoption at StarCompliance?" (Align with the company's AI-first philosophy).

• "What are your strategies for ensuring user-centricity remains at the forefront of an increasingly automated development process?" (Demonstrate understanding of user-centered design).

• "How would you collaborate with Product Managers and Architects to ensure the design system effectively supports business objectives?" (Showcase cross-functional collaboration skills). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Arc: Structure your presentation around the problem, your solution, the process you followed, and the impact achieved, particularly for design system or AI-related projects.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use live demos of prototypes or interactive elements where possible. For design systems, show the components in action.

• Focus on AI Relevance: If you have direct AI integration examples, make them prominent. If not, discuss how your design system principles enable AI integration.

• Quantify Impact: Highlight metrics related to efficiency gains, adoption rates, or user experience improvements.

• Accessibility Integration: Clearly articulate how accessibility was a core consideration throughout your work.

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare to discuss your strategic approach to design systems, AI integration, and team leadership, using concrete examples from your portfolio. Be ready to articulate how your skills align with StarCompliance's innovative AI-first development philosophy.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead Design Engineer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on jobs.lever.co.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience with React, TypeScript, enterprise design systems, AI-assisted development, and technical leadership. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select projects that best demonstrate your expertise in design systems, interactive prototyping, and AI integration. Prepare a concise presentation narrative with clear examples of impact.

• Prepare for Technical Discussions: Review modern frontend development best practices, design system principles, and common AI development tools and concepts.

• Research StarCompliance: Understand their SaaS product in the financial compliance space and their stated commitment to AI-driven development.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description provides insights and industry context. Specific details about salary, benefits, interview stages, and team structure should be confirmed directly with StarCompliance during the application process.