Senior UI Designer - Design System

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UI Designer - Design System

Company: RACV

Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Job Type: Fixed Term Contract (12 months)

Category: Design Operations / Product Design

Date Posted: 2026-08-08

Experience Level: 5+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the evolution and governance of RACV's eCommerce UI Design System, ensuring consistency and scalability across digital customer journeys.

• Translate complex UX journeys and design intent into reusable UI components, patterns, and interaction standards.

• Collaborate closely with UX, Engineering, and Product teams to ensure design feasibility and adherence to platform constraints.

• Champion accessibility (WCAG 2.2) and inclusive design principles within the design system framework.

• Explore and implement innovative uses of AI and automation to optimize design-to-development workflows and enhance efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within the "Group Design Practice" and reports to the "UX Lead," indicating a strategic focus on design operations and its integration into broader product development. The emphasis on "eCommerce design system" suggests a critical function supporting high-transactional customer interactions.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and continuously evolve the eCommerce UI design system, including its comprehensive component library, design tokens, and interaction standards.

• Translate user experience (UX) journeys, conceptual designs, and user flows into scalable, reusable, and well-documented UI assets.

• Define precise component specifications, including behavior, states, accessibility requirements, and handling of edge cases, to ensure robust implementation.

• Ensure the design system effectively supports complex transactional and eCommerce experiences, such as quote generation, purchase processes, account management, and customer servicing interactions.

• Foster close partnerships with UX designers and front-end developers to validate design solutions for technical feasibility and ensure alignment with existing platform constraints.

• Create and maintain clear, concise documentation for the design system to facilitate efficient and accurate design-to-development delivery.

• Actively champion and enforce accessibility standards (WCAG 2.2) and inclusive design principles throughout the design system and its applications.

• Drive visual consistency across all customer journeys while maintaining a strong, brand-aligned aesthetic that reinforces RACV's identity.

• Facilitate effective collaboration and communication across Product Management, Design teams, Technology, and Development stakeholders.

• Contribute to the ongoing governance, strategic scalability, and overall maturity of RACV's design system initiatives.

• Investigate and propose responsible applications of AI and automation technologies to streamline and improve design-to-development workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic design system management and hands-on UI component creation, emphasizing the need for a candidate who can operate at both a high level and with detailed execution. The focus on "complex transactional and eCommerce experiences" implies a need for experience with intricate user flows and data-driven design.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio and demonstrated experience in relevant design fields are paramount.

Experience: Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in UX/UI Design, Design Systems, or closely related roles.

Required Skills:

• Proven expertise in visual design and interaction design, coupled with a robust systems-thinking approach.

• Demonstrated hands-on experience in building, maintaining, and scaling design systems and component libraries.

• Deep understanding of responsive design principles, common interaction patterns, and effective design system architecture.

• Proficient in translating abstract UX concepts and flows into structured, reusable UI components.

• Advanced proficiency with Figma, including experience with component libraries, variants, auto layout, and design tokens.

• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with engineering teams to ensure successful implementation of design systems.

• Experience in delivering complex digital products, particularly within eCommerce or transactional environments.

• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate design rationale, system logic, and technical considerations.

• A strong commitment to accessibility (WCAG 2.2) and inclusive design practices. Preferred Skills:

• Experience with defining and managing design tokens for theming and branding consistency.

• Familiarity with front-end development concepts (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to better inform design-to-development handoffs.

• Experience in contributing to or managing the governance model of a design system.

• Exposure to AI and automation tools relevant to design workflows.

• Understanding of Agile methodologies and experience working within cross-functional Agile teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on 5+ years of experience and specific tool proficiency (Figma) suggests a mid-to-senior level role. The requirement for "systems-thinking mindset" and "systems thinking" indicates a need for candidates who can think holistically about design and its application across multiple platforms and products.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 2-3 comprehensive case studies demonstrating experience with design systems, component libraries, and UI pattern development.

• Include examples of how you translated UX flows and requirements into tangible, reusable UI components and specifications.

• Provide evidence of your work with Figma, specifically highlighting your proficiency in creating and managing component libraries and design tokens.

• Demonstrate your understanding of accessibility standards (WCAG 2.2) and how you’ve integrated them into your design system work.

• Present examples of your collaboration with engineering teams and the documentation you've created to support design-to-development handoffs. Process Documentation:

• Portfolio submissions should clearly articulate the design process followed for each case study, including research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and implementation phases.

• Highlight specific processes used for defining component behaviors, states, and edge cases.

• Detail the methods used for ensuring consistency and scalability of design elements across different digital channels.

• Include documentation examples that illustrate clear communication of design intent and specifications to development teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio is critical for this role, as it serves as the primary evidence of a candidate's ability to build and maintain design systems. The emphasis on "reusable components," "specifications," and "documentation" points towards a need for structured and detailed work.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: As this is a fixed-term contract position, the salary will be competitive and commensurate with experience. Based on industry benchmarks for a Senior UI Designer with 5+ years of experience in Melbourne, Australia, a typical range for a 12-month contract could be AUD $120,000 - $170,000 per annum, potentially with superannuation.

Benefits:

• Flexible, informal work environment supporting work-life balance.

• Generous discounts on RACV home and car insurance policies.

• Discounted RACV roadside care membership.

• Attractive discounts across RACV resorts.

• Access to monthly updated discounts from a wide range of corporate partners.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours are expected, likely around 38-40 hours per week, with a hybrid working arrangement allowing for flexibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on publicly available data for senior design roles in Melbourne, Australia, considering the contract nature of the position. It is crucial for candidates to confirm the exact salary and benefits package during the interview process.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services & Insurance (with a broad range of offerings including tourism, automotive, and property). RACV is a well-established member-owned organization in Australia, focusing on providing value and services to its members.

Company Size: RACV is a large, established organization with a significant employee base, indicating a structured environment with established processes but also opportunities for impact within specific departments.

Founded: RACV was founded in 1922, signifying a long history and deep roots in Victoria, Australia. This history suggests a company with a stable foundation and a commitment to its members.

Team Structure:

• The role sits within the Group Design Practice, reporting to the UX Lead. This structure suggests a centralized design function that collaborates across various business units.

• The immediate team likely includes other UX/UI designers, researchers, and potentially design operations specialists.

• Close collaboration is expected with Product Managers, Developers, and other Engineering stakeholders within the eCommerce domain. Methodology:

• Emphasis on creating scalable and reusable design assets through a design system.

• Focus on data-driven design decisions and user-centered approaches.

• Integration of accessibility and inclusive design principles as core tenets.

• Exploration of modern design and development workflows, including AI and automation.

Company Website: https://www.racv.com.au/

📝 Enhancement Note: RACV's member-owned structure and long history suggest a culture that values stability, trust, and long-term relationships. The "Group Design Practice" implies a strategic approach to design, aiming for consistency and efficiency across the organization.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior UI Designer role, focusing specifically on Design Systems. This level requires a high degree of autonomy, strategic thinking regarding design scalability, and the ability to mentor or guide others in design system best practices. It bridges the gap between pure UX/UI design and the operational aspects of design implementation.

Reporting Structure: Reporting to the UX Lead within the Group Design Practice provides direct mentorship and oversight from a senior design leader. This structure facilitates alignment with broader UX strategy and design governance.

Operations Impact: The role's impact is significant, as the design system directly influences the consistency, quality, accessibility, and development efficiency of RACV's digital customer experiences. It underpins major integration initiatives and aims to drive efficiency and consistency across the organization.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in design systems, component architecture, design tokens, and design system governance.

• Leadership: Potential to lead design system initiatives, mentor junior designers, and influence design standards across RACV.

• Cross-functional Exposure: Gain extensive experience working with diverse teams (Product, Engineering, Marketing) on complex eCommerce platforms.

• Skill Expansion: Opportunity to explore and integrate AI and automation into design workflows, staying at the forefront of design technology.

• Contract Extension/Permanent Role: Depending on performance and business needs, there may be opportunities for contract extension or transition to a permanent position.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title and "Design System" focus indicate a specialized path within UX/UI design. Growth opportunities are geared towards deepening this specialization and potentially moving into design leadership or advanced design operations roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in Melbourne CBD, with a hybrid working arrangement. This suggests a modern office environment with collaborative spaces, meeting rooms, and individual workstations.

Office Location(s): 485 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. This is a central business district location, likely accessible via public transport.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office environment is expected to foster collaboration, with opportunities for in-person workshops, design reviews, and team syncs.

• Tools & Technology: Access to standard design software (Figma is a requirement) and potentially other collaboration and project management tools.

• Team Interaction: Regular interaction with UX Lead, fellow designers, developers, and product managers, both in-person and remotely. The hybrid model requires effective communication across different work settings.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time with a hybrid model, offering flexibility. Standard working hours are expected, but the hybrid nature allows for some adaptation, crucial for deep work on design system components and collaborative sessions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model implies a need for strong self-management and communication skills. The Melbourne CBD location suggests a professional and well-connected work environment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess experience and fit for the role.

• Technical Interview (Portfolio Review): A deep dive into your portfolio, focusing on design system examples, component creation, Figma proficiency, and your systems-thinking approach. Be prepared to walk through specific case studies and explain your design decisions, processes, and collaborations.

• Stakeholder Interview: Discussion with the UX Lead and potentially other senior designers or product managers to assess your collaboration style, communication skills, and understanding of eCommerce/transactional design.

• Final Interview: May involve a broader discussion on culture fit, problem-solving, and alignment with RACV's values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Design System Expertise: Clearly showcase projects where you were instrumental in building, evolving, or maintaining a design system.

• Demonstrate Figma Proficiency: Use your Figma examples to illustrate your mastery of component creation, variants, auto layout, and design tokens.

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Explain how your design solutions contribute to a larger, cohesive system and address scalability, consistency, and reusability.

• Articulate Process & Rationale: For each case study, clearly outline your design process, the challenges faced, your solutions, and the rationale behind your decisions.

• Emphasize Collaboration: Provide examples of how you worked with developers and other stakeholders to bring designs to life and iterate on components.

• Accessibility Focus: Explicitly point out how you've incorporated accessibility (WCAG 2.2) and inclusive design principles into your work.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared for potential design challenges that may involve evaluating existing components, suggesting improvements to a design system, or outlining a process for creating new components.

• Practice articulating your thoughts on design system governance, scalability, and the balance between consistency and flexibility.

• Be ready to discuss how you would approach integrating new technologies like AI into design workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio review is the most critical stage. Candidates should curate their best work that directly aligns with design system responsibilities and be ready to discuss it in detail, focusing on process, impact, and collaboration.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI design, component creation, prototyping, and collaboration within the design system. Proficiency in advanced features like variants, auto layout, and interactive components is expected.

• Design System Management Tools: While Figma is the primary tool, familiarity with related tools or platforms for design system documentation and version control would be beneficial.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a primary focus for this UI role, understanding how design impacts user behavior and conversion rates is valuable. Familiarity with analytics tools like Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics could be a plus for understanding user journeys. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to the core UI design responsibilities, but understanding the underlying systems that consume the design system (e.g., web platforms, customer portals) is helpful.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly called out as a required skill, indicating it's the central tool for this role. The emphasis is on design execution and system creation within this primary tool.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Quality & Consistency: A strong drive to ensure high-quality, consistent user experiences across all digital touchpoints, facilitated by the design system.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Valuing close working relationships with UX, Engineering, and Product teams to achieve shared goals.

• Efficiency & Scalability: Commitment to building efficient, reusable design solutions that enable faster development and broader application.

• Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Openness to exploring new technologies like AI and automation to enhance design processes and outcomes.

• Member Focus: A dedication to serving RACV members by creating valuable and user-friendly digital experiences.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expect a highly collaborative environment where designers work hand-in-hand with developers and product managers.

• Open Communication: Encouragement of open dialogue, feedback exchange, and constructive critique to refine design system components and standards.

• Knowledge Sharing: A culture that promotes sharing best practices, learnings, and updates related to the design system and UI design principles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values are likely to align with the broader RACV mission of serving its members, combined with modern design practice principles like collaboration, quality, and efficiency.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Consistency with Flexibility: Ensuring the design system is robust enough for consistency while allowing for necessary customization and innovation in specific product contexts.

• Driving Adoption: Encouraging and supporting the widespread adoption and correct usage of the design system across various teams and projects.

• Keeping Pace with Technology: Integrating evolving technologies like AI and automation into design workflows and the design system itself.

• Managing Stakeholder Expectations: Aligning diverse stakeholder needs and priorities with the strategic direction and capabilities of the design system.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design System Maturity: Contribute to advancing the design system's governance, scalability, and tooling.

• Industry Best Practices: Stay updated on emerging trends in UI design, design systems, accessibility, and design technology.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor junior designers or new team members on design system principles and Figma usage.

• Cross-functional Skill Building: Enhance understanding of development constraints, product strategy, and business objectives through close collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are typical for design system roles, focusing on adoption, governance, and technical integration. Growth is centered around deepening expertise in design systems and expanding influence within the organization.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your experience building or evolving a design system. What were the key challenges and how did you overcome them?"

• "How do you approach defining reusable UI components and their specifications? Walk us through an example."

• "How would you ensure accessibility (WCAG 2.2) is integrated into every component of the design system?"

• "What strategies would you employ to drive adoption of a new design system across multiple teams?"

• "How do you balance the need for consistency with the need for product-specific design innovation within a design system?"

• "What are your thoughts on using AI and automation in design-to-development workflows? How might you explore this at RACV?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about RACV and this specific role focused on design systems?"

• "How do you approach collaboration with engineering and product teams?"

• "What does 'member-centricity' mean to you in the context of digital design?"

• "How do you stay updated on the latest trends in UI design and design systems?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process, the solution (highlighting design system contributions), and the outcomes/impact.

• Focus on Design System Elements: Emphasize the components, patterns, tokens, and documentation you created or managed.

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

• Quantify Impact (if possible): If you have data on efficiency gains, consistency improvements, or faster development cycles due to the design system, present it.

• Be Ready for Technical Deep Dives: Expect questions about Figma features, design token implementation, accessibility guidelines, and collaboration workflows with developers.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should heavily emphasize the candidate's practical experience with design systems, their Figma skills, and their ability to articulate complex design concepts and processes clearly.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UI Designer - Design System position:

• Click "Apply Now" on the RACV careers portal and log in to your Candidate Profile. If you are a new user, you will need to create an account as part of the application process.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features your design system work, including Figma examples of component libraries, design tokens, and documentation. Tailor your resume to highlight experience in systems thinking, UI component design, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Resume Optimization: Highlight keywords such as "Design Systems," "UI Design," "Figma," "Component Libraries," "Accessibility," "WCAG 2.2," "Responsive Design," and "eCommerce." Quantify achievements where possible (e.g., "Improved design consistency by X% through the implementation of a new design system").

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, rationale, and collaborative approach. Prepare specific examples from your portfolio that showcase your expertise in design systems and your ability to work within a hybrid environment.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with RACV's services, member offerings, and recent digital initiatives. Understand their commitment to customer experience and how a design system contributes to that mission.

⚠️ 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.

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