Senior Product Designer, Design Systems

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer, Design Systems

Company: Strava

Location: San Francisco, California, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / Design Systems

Date Posted: 2026-02-11

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: Hybrid (3 days in-office minimum)

🚀 Role Summary

• Design Systems Ownership: Spearhead the evolution and maintenance of core components and foundational patterns within Strava's comprehensive design system, ensuring scalability and consistency across all platforms.

• Cross-Platform Design Excellence: Drive the improvement of cross-platform parity for iOS, Android, web, and Apple Watch experiences, expertly balancing platform conventions with Strava's unified design language.

• Engineering Collaboration & Alignment: Foster a close partnership with engineering teams to define component APIs, manage variants, and implement theming strategies, ensuring seamless integration between design and code.

• Process Optimization & Automation: Contribute to advanced design-to-code workflows and automation initiatives, aiming to reduce manual effort, accelerate production cycles, and enhance overall product quality.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the core role is Senior Product Designer, the specialization in Design Systems positions this as a critical function within Product Development, directly impacting GTM efficiency by enabling faster, more consistent product releases. The emphasis on cross-platform parity and engineering collaboration highlights its operational significance.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design System Evolution: Take ownership of key components and foundational patterns within Strava's design system, driving their continuous improvement and expansion.

• Figma Library Management: Design, maintain, and organize Figma libraries, ensuring component integrity, token consistency, and comprehensive system documentation.

• Pattern Definition & Refinement: Define and refine user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) patterns, ensuring their clear application across diverse product teams and user journeys.

• Platform Parity Enhancement: Actively work to improve and maintain consistency across iOS, Android, web, and Apple Watch platforms, respecting native user expectations while upholding the design system's integrity.

• Engineering Partnership: Collaborate closely with engineering teams on component APIs, states, variants, and theming to ensure accurate implementation and maintain design-code alignment.

• Design-to-Code Workflow Contribution: Contribute to the development and refinement of design-to-code workflows and automation tools to streamline the development process.

• Accessibility Standards Advancement: Champion and advance accessibility standards across all system components and patterns, ensuring inclusive design practices.

• Documentation & Guidelines: Create and maintain clear, concise documentation and usage guidelines to support consistent adoption of the design system by design and engineering teams.

• Cross-Team Representation: Represent the design system in cross-team critiques, working sessions, and relevant forums, advocating for its adoption and evolution.

• Mentorship & Support: Provide guidance and mentorship to fellow designers through feedback, collaborative sessions, and the sharing of best practices.

• Product Modernization: Identify and propose opportunities to modernize the product experience through strategic improvements and innovations within the design system.

• Systems Thinking Application: Apply a robust systems-thinking approach to address complex, multi-platform design challenges.

• Production-Ready Deliverables: Ship high-quality system improvements that are practical, scalable, and production-ready, meeting rigorous quality standards.

• Decision Articulation: Clearly articulate design decisions, including tradeoffs and constraints, to stakeholders and team members.

• Specification & Partnership: Produce detailed interaction and UI specifications, partnering closely with engineers throughout the implementation phase.

• Inclusive Collaboration: Embrace and contribute to an inclusive, collaborative environment that values diverse perspectives and experiences.

• Ambiguity Navigation: Navigate ambiguity with confidence, taking initiative to drive work forward and proactively address challenges.

• Continuous Improvement: Utilize feedback, data, and partner input to continuously refine and improve the design system.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities are heavily focused on the operational aspects of design: standardization, scalability, efficiency, and collaboration, which are core to a well-functioning GTM engine. The emphasis on documentation, clear specifications, and cross-functional partnership directly supports faster, more reliable product development cycles.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a strong portfolio and proven experience in design systems are paramount. Equivalent practical experience will be highly valued.

Experience: 3+ years of dedicated product design experience, with significant hands-on work in design systems, component libraries, or UI foundations.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Expertise: Proven ability to design and deliver high-quality user experiences.

• Design Systems Craftsmanship: Demonstrable experience in building, evolving, and maintaining design systems, component libraries, and UI foundations.

• Cross-Platform Design: Experience designing and shipping products for both native mobile (iOS, Android) and web platforms.

• Visual & Interaction Design: A high bar for visual aesthetics and interaction design, complemented by strong UX fundamentals.

• Engineering Collaboration: Solid understanding of engineering complexity within design systems, including states, variants, and implementation constraints.

• Code Comprehension: Comfort reading code and partnering effectively with engineers to shape scalable, maintainable components.

• Design Tokens & Libraries: Familiarity with design tokens, component libraries, and associated documentation tools.

• Accessibility & Inclusive Design: Practical knowledge of accessibility guidelines (e.g., WCAG) and inclusive design principles.

• Agile Methodologies: Experience working within cross-functional, Agile product teams.

• Systems Thinking: Ability to approach complex, multi-platform problems with a systems-thinking mindset.

• Documentation Proficiency: Skill in writing clear, concise documentation and usage guidelines.

• Growth Mindset: Curiosity, a desire for continuous learning, and a proactive approach to improvement.

Preferred Skills:

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced skills in Figma for library creation, component management, and prototyping.

• Design System Tools: Experience with documentation tools like Storybook or Zeroheight.

• Cross-Platform Parity: Deep understanding of balancing platform-specific conventions with system-wide consistency.

• Design-to-Code Workflows: Experience in implementing or contributing to design-to-code automation.

• Mentorship Experience: Previous experience mentoring or supporting other designers.

• Apple Watch Design: Specific experience designing for the Apple Watch platform.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement to "comfort reading code" and "partnering closely with engineers" is a critical operational skill for design systems roles, bridging the gap between design and development and ensuring efficient, accurate implementation. The emphasis on a portfolio demonstrating "shipped design system work and its impact" underscores the need for demonstrable results and operational efficiency.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Design System Case Studies: Showcase at least one significant project focused on building, evolving, or contributing to a design system. Clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process, key decisions, and measurable impact.

• Shipped Work Demonstration: Provide clear examples of components or patterns you have designed and that have shipped to production, highlighting their contribution to consistency and efficiency.

• Cross-Platform Examples: Include examples that demonstrate your ability to design for multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Web, Apple Watch), showcasing how you maintained consistency while respecting platform nuances.

• Figma Library Examples: If possible, provide examples or descriptions of Figma libraries you have built or maintained, demonstrating organization, component structure, and token usage.

• Impact Metrics: Quantify the impact of your design system work whenever possible. This could include metrics related to development speed, design consistency, bug reduction, or adoption rates.

Process Documentation:

• Component Specification: Examples of detailed component specifications, including states, variants, usage guidelines, and accessibility considerations.

• Design System Documentation: Demonstrations of clear, user-friendly documentation for design system components and patterns, similar to what would be found in tools like Storybook or Zeroheight.

• Collaboration Workflows: Evidence of how you have collaborated with engineering and product teams, including examples of design reviews, handoffs, and feedback loops.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a design systems role, the portfolio is a direct reflection of operational capability. It needs to demonstrate not just design skill, but the ability to create reusable, scalable, and well-documented assets that improve the efficiency and consistency of the entire product development process. Quantifying impact is key to showcasing operational value.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $143,000 - $153,000 USD per year

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Generous paid time off (PTO) and company holidays.

• Retirement savings plan with company match (e.g., 401k).

• Professional development opportunities, including conferences and training.

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

• Commuter benefits or stipends for hybrid work.

• Potential for stock options or equity.

• Access to Strava Premium features.

• Fitness and wellness stipends or reimbursements.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours (approximately 40 hours per week), with flexibility often available for individual task management within team expectations. The hybrid model requires a minimum of 3 days per week in the San Francisco office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is within the typical band for a Senior Product Designer role in San Francisco, a high cost-of-living area, especially for specialized roles like Design Systems. The benefits are standard for a well-funded tech company and should appeal to professionals seeking comprehensive support. The hybrid requirement is a key factor for candidates in the Bay Area.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Sports & Recreation Technology / Social Networking / Software

Company Size: Strava has over 180 million athletes globally, indicating a significant user base. Employee count is likely in the hundreds to low thousands, typical for a rapidly growing tech company backed by venture capital.

Founded: Strava was founded in 2009, suggesting a mature yet agile company with established processes and a significant history in the digital fitness space.

Team Structure:

• Design Team: Operates as a central function, advocating for the community and business through high-quality, inclusive, and scalable experiences.

• Design Systems Team: A specialized unit within the broader design organization, focusing on foundational elements and cross-functional enablement.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Works closely with Product Management, Engineering, and other design disciplines (Product Designers, Researchers) in Agile teams.

• Reporting: This is an individual contributor role, likely reporting to a Design Manager or Lead focused on Design Systems or Product Design.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Utilizes data, research, and emotional intelligence to inform design decisions.

• Systems Thinking: Employs a holistic approach to design challenges, considering the interconnectedness of components and platforms.

• Agile Development: Works within Agile frameworks to facilitate iterative development and rapid iteration.

• User-Centricity: Deeply focused on the Strava community and their experiences, ensuring designs meet user needs and enhance motivation.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Strava's culture is built around movement, community, and personal achievement. For a Design Systems role, this translates to a focus on enabling others, creating efficient workflows, and contributing to a platform that helps millions achieve their goals. The emphasis on inclusivity and diverse perspectives is crucial for building a robust design system.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Individual Contributor (IC) role. In operations and design systems, "Senior" implies a high degree of autonomy, ownership, and the ability to influence technical and design strategy. It's a critical role for enabling product velocity.

Reporting Structure: The role is an individual contributor, reporting to a manager or lead within the design organization. The impact is broadly felt across multiple product teams and engineering disciplines, making it a highly influential position.

Operations Impact: The design system is a critical operational tool. By ensuring consistency, reusability, and efficiency, this role directly impacts:

• Development Velocity: Faster iteration and shipping of new features.

• Product Quality: Higher standards for UI, UX, and accessibility across the platform.

• Brand Cohesion: Consistent brand experience across all touchpoints.

• Onboarding Efficiency: Streamlined processes for new designers and engineers to contribute.

• Reduced Technical Debt: Standardized components minimize redundant code.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Systems Leadership: Potential to grow into a Lead or Principal Design Systems role, managing the strategic direction of the system.

• Platform Ownership: Deeper specialization in specific platform challenges (e.g., mobile-first design systems) or advanced areas like design token architecture.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Expanding influence into product strategy and engineering best practices through deep system integration.

• Mentorship & Team Building: Taking on more formal mentorship roles or contributing to the growth of the design team.

• Tooling & Automation Expertise: Becoming a go-to expert for design tooling, automation, and integration with development workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is pivotal for the operational efficiency of Strava's product development. Success here means enabling dozens of engineers and designers to work faster and more consistently, directly impacting the company's ability to execute its GTM strategy. Growth opportunities are substantial, moving beyond individual contribution to strategic influence.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid work model with a requirement to be in the San Francisco office at least 3 days per week. This suggests a collaborative office environment designed for teamwork and in-person interaction, complemented by remote flexibility.

Office Location(s): San Francisco, California, USA. This is a major tech hub, offering access to a vibrant ecosystem of talent and resources.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The office likely features meeting rooms, common areas, and open workspaces designed to facilitate spontaneous collaboration and structured working sessions.

• Technology & Tools: Access to high-performance workstations, necessary design software (Figma), and potentially specialized hardware for testing across devices.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for regular interaction with design system colleagues, product designers, engineers, and product managers, fostering a strong sense of team and shared purpose.

• Hybrid Integration: Tools and practices will likely be in place to ensure seamless collaboration between in-office and remote team members.

Work Schedule: Primarily standard business hours, with flexibility for deep work sessions. The hybrid nature requires careful coordination to maximize in-office collaboration days.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid requirement is a key operational consideration for candidates. It indicates a company that values both focused individual work and in-person collaboration, suggesting structured team rituals and dedicated office days for specific types of work, such as design critiques, brainstorming, and engineering syncs.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

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

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: A significant portion of the interview will likely involve presenting your portfolio, focusing on design systems work. This may be followed by a design challenge (take-home or live) that tests your systems thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to articulate design decisions.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Designers, Engineers, and potentially Product Managers to evaluate collaboration skills, technical understanding, and alignment with team workflows.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A final discussion with the hiring manager to assess overall fit, strategic thinking, and long-term potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: Clearly articulate the business and user impact of your design system contributions. Use metrics where possible (e.g., "reduced UI bug reports by X%", "enabled teams to ship features Y% faster").

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Demonstrate how you approach problems holistically, considering scalability, maintainability, and cross-platform consistency.

• Detail Your Process: Explain your design process, from research and ideation to implementation and iteration, highlighting your collaboration with engineering.

• Highlight Documentation: Showcase examples of your documentation, emphasizing clarity, completeness, and usability for both designers and developers.

• Tailor to Strava: Research Strava's existing design language and products. Discuss how your experience aligns with their needs and how you would approach evolving their system.

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about tradeoffs, accessibility, engineering constraints, and how you handle disagreements or feedback.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Design Systems: Refresh your knowledge of core design system principles, common patterns, and best practices for various platforms.

• Figma & Tokenization: Be ready to demonstrate proficiency in Figma and discuss concepts like design tokens, component states, and theming.

• Accessibility Standards: Prepare to discuss how you integrate accessibility into your design process and system.

• Communication Skills: Practice articulating complex design decisions clearly and concisely, both verbally and visually.

• Problem-Solving: Think about how you would approach common design system challenges, such as onboarding new teams, managing component drift, or achieving cross-platform parity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a portfolio review and potential design challenge highlights the practical, execution-oriented nature of this role. Candidates need to demonstrate not just theoretical knowledge but the ability to create tangible, impactful assets that serve as operational tools for the entire organization.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The primary tool for design creation, prototyping, and library management. Proficiency is essential.

• Design System Documentation Tools: Familiarity with platforms like Storybook, Zeroheight, or similar tools used for documenting components, guidelines, and usage.

• Prototyping Tools: Advanced use of Figma's prototyping capabilities or other specialized tools for interactive mockups.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Analytics Platforms: Experience interpreting data from platforms like Google Analytics, Amplitude, or Mixpanel to understand user behavior and system adoption.

• Data Visualization Tools: While not a primary focus, familiarity with tools like Tableau or Looker for understanding broader product performance metrics can be beneficial.

CRM & Automation:

• Not Directly Applicable: This role does not typically involve direct work with CRMs or sales automation tools. However, understanding how design systems support customer-facing applications is key.

• Collaboration & Project Management: Tools like Jira, Asana, or Trello for managing tasks and workflows within Agile teams.

• Communication Platforms: Slack, Microsoft Teams for daily team communication and collaboration.

• Version Control (Conceptual): Understanding principles of version control and atomic design is crucial for managing design system components, akin to software version control.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack is heavily design-centric, with Figma being the core. The emphasis on design system documentation tools and the conceptual understanding of version control highlights the operational aspect of creating maintainable and scalable design assets. Awareness of analytics tools is important for understanding user impact.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Community-Centricity: A deep commitment to serving the Strava community and enhancing their active lives.

• Inclusivity: Dedication to creating experiences and a workplace that welcomes and respects all backgrounds, abilities, and perspectives.

• Motivation & Progress: A belief in the power of movement to drive personal growth and collective achievement.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing data, research, and insights to inform design and strategic choices.

• Excellence & Craftsmanship: A high standard for quality, detail, and execution in all aspects of work, especially within the design system.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Fostering open communication, feedback, and shared ownership across teams.

• Efficiency & Scalability: Building systems and processes that enable rapid, consistent product development.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Regularly collaborates with Product Designers, Engineers, Product Managers, and potentially QA.

• Feedback-Oriented: Actively seeks and provides constructive feedback in design critiques and working sessions.

• Knowledge Sharing: Willingness to share best practices, documentation, and insights to uplift the entire team.

• Empowerment: Aims to empower other teams by providing them with robust, easy-to-use design system components and guidelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: Strava's values translate directly into how a design systems team operates. The emphasis on community, inclusivity, and progress means the design system must serve a diverse user base and motivate their activities. Operational values like excellence, efficiency, and collaboration are paramount for the design system's success and adoption.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Maintaining Cross-Platform Parity: Balancing the need for consistent branding and functionality with the unique conventions and capabilities of iOS, Android, web, and Apple Watch presents a continuous challenge.

• Adoption & Governance: Ensuring widespread and correct adoption of the design system across numerous product teams, while maintaining governance to prevent fragmentation.

• Balancing Innovation and Stability: Introducing new patterns and components while ensuring the stability and maintainability of the existing system.

• Engineering Alignment: Continuously aligning design system components with evolving engineering practices, APIs, and technical constraints.

• Measuring Impact: Quantifying the direct impact of the design system on development speed, product quality, and user experience can be complex.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Systems Strategy: Deepen expertise in strategic design systems thinking, including governance models, contribution frameworks, and long-term roadmapping.

• Platform-Specific Design: Gain deeper insights into the nuances of designing for specific platforms (iOS, Android, Web, watchOS) and how to best represent them in a system.

• Design-to-Code Automation: Explore and contribute to advanced automation techniques for bridging the gap between design and development.

• Accessibility Leadership: Become a subject matter expert in accessibility and drive best practices across the organization.

• Mentorship Roles: Develop leadership skills through mentoring junior designers and contributing to the growth of the design team.

• Industry Conferences: Opportunities to attend and present at leading design and design systems conferences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges listed are inherent to design systems roles and directly relate to operational efficiency. Overcoming these challenges requires strategic thinking, strong communication, and a deep understanding of both design and development processes, all of which are key to operational excellence.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you significantly contributed to or evolved a design system. What was the problem, your approach, and the measurable impact?"

  • Preparation: Prepare a detailed case study from your portfolio focusing on a design system project. Quantify impact using metrics like development time savings, bug reduction, or adoption rates.

• "How do you approach balancing platform-specific conventions with the need for a unified design system?"

  • Preparation: Discuss your strategies for creating flexible components and guidelines that accommodate platform differences while maintaining brand consistency. Reference examples from your experience.

• "Imagine a product team is struggling to adopt a new component from the design system. How would you help them?"

  • Preparation: Outline your approach to understanding their challenges, providing support, documentation, and potentially adapting the component or process based on feedback.

• "How do you ensure your design system components are accessible and inclusive?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Strava's mission and community?"

  • Preparation: Research Strava's mission, values, and recent product updates. Connect your passion for design systems and user experience to their goals.

• "How do you see a design system contributing to Strava's overall business objectives?"

  • Preparation: Frame the design system as a critical operational tool that drives efficiency, consistency, and faster time-to-market, ultimately supporting business growth.

• "Describe your ideal collaboration with engineering teams."

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, the process, key decisions, challenges, and the outcome/impact.

• Focus on Design Systems Work: Prioritize projects that showcase your experience with component libraries, UI foundations, and cross-platform design.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively to illustrate your designs, component structures, and documentation.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, present metrics that demonstrate the operational value of your contributions (e.g., efficiency gains, consistency improvements).

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your Figma files, component architecture, and decision-making rationale.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparing for these questions and strategies will help candidates demonstrate not only their design skills but also their understanding of the operational impact of design systems, their ability to collaborate effectively, and their strategic thinking.

📌 Application Steps

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

• Submit your application: Utilize the provided link to submit your resume and portfolio through the Ashby application portal.

• Tailor your resume: Highlight experience and keywords directly relevant to design systems, component libraries, cross-platform design, Figma, and collaboration with engineering. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Curate your portfolio: Ensure your portfolio prominently features design system case studies, demonstrating your process, impact, and ability to create scalable, well-documented assets. Include examples of shipped work.

• Prepare your narrative: Practice articulating your experience and portfolio projects, focusing on the operational value and strategic impact of your design systems contributions.

• Research Strava: Understand Strava's mission, product, and design aesthetic to tailor your application and interview responses effectively.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions based on the provided data. All details, especially regarding benefits, specific processes, and team dynamics, should be verified directly with the hiring organization during the application and interview process.