Senior UX Designer, Design Systems, People Engagement Experience (PEX)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX Designer, Design Systems, People Engagement Experience (PEX)

Company: Amazon

Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: UX Design / Design Systems Operations

Date Posted: 2026-08-12

Experience Level: 7+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the strategic design and creation of scalable design system components, patterns, and templates for Amazon's employee-facing People Engagement Experience (PEX).

• Drive operational excellence in design by collaborating with cross-functional teams to implement new components and standards, ensuring scalability and accessibility across desktop, native mobile, and other platforms.

• Champion the adoption of AI-powered design tools to enhance design system workflows, accelerate component creation, and improve documentation quality.

• Foster a collaborative environment by coaching junior designers, sharing best practices, and modeling Amazon's Leadership Principles to elevate design standards.

• Partner with product managers, designers, and engineers across various domains to understand customer needs and drive impactful, user-centered design solutions for millions of Amazonians.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within Amazon's People Engagement Experience (PEX) team, focusing on internal employee tools. The "operations" aspect is deeply embedded in the design systems function, emphasizing scalability, process efficiency, and the systematic management of design assets. The role requires a blend of strategic design leadership and meticulous execution akin to operations management.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Assume ownership for the end-to-end design and implementation of components, patterns, and templates for internal product experiences and features, ensuring scalability, accessibility, and adherence to Amazon's design standards.

• Collaborate closely with UX designers and engineers to design, develop, and integrate high-quality, scalable additions to the design system, with a specific focus on components supporting AI-powered features.

• Identify and drive opportunities for design unification across various internal Amazon products by partnering with a diverse group of UX designers.

• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for the design system's component library, including standards and best practices, serving as a critical reference for designers, developers, and product managers.

• Define and champion the strategic adoption of AI-powered design tools and intelligent systems to accelerate component creation, enhance documentation, and maintain design quality.

• Model Amazon's Leadership Principles through exceptional design execution, proactive problem-solving, and a commitment to raising the design bar for the organization.

• Implement and maintain robust processes for scaling, updating, and managing all facets of the design system to ensure its continued relevance and efficiency.

• Provide coaching and constructive feedback to junior Independent Contributors and other team members, focusing on skill development, leadership capabilities, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

• Engage in deep dives with product managers, designers, and engineers from diverse domains to gain a thorough understanding of how they serve Amazon's internal customers and identify areas for design system impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong focus on process management, documentation, and cross-functional collaboration, which are core tenets of operations roles. The emphasis on "scaling," "implementing processes," and "driving adoption" directly relates to operational efficiency within a design context.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and a deep understanding of design principles and systems is essential.

Experience: Minimum of 7 years of professional design experience, with a significant portion dedicated to working with and building design systems.

Required Skills:

• 7+ years of professional design experience.

• Advanced proficiency in Figma, including deep knowledge of variants, auto-layout, component properties, and comprehensive library management.

• Proven ability to lead design initiatives and drive operational excellence in a design context.

• Experience in creating and maintaining scalable, accessible components, patterns, and templates.

• Demonstrated success in working collaboratively with engineering teams to bridge design and technical requirements.

• Strong understanding of design system adoption strategies and how to support designers and developers in using system components effectively.

• Ability to thrive in a highly ambiguous, fast-paced environment, demonstrating initiative and ownership. Preferred Skills:

• Experience leveraging AI-powered design tools to accelerate component creation and documentation.

• Experience building design systems for AI Agents and Humans to consume, understanding human-AI interaction design.

• Experience building components that scale across multiple platforms such as web, iOS, Android, or other proprietary systems.

• Exceptional communication skills with a proven ability to articulate complex design concepts and bridge perspectives between design and engineering.

• Experience in coaching and mentoring junior designers or other team members.

• Familiarity with Amazon's Leadership Principles and a demonstrated ability to model them.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement is clearly stated. The emphasis on Figma proficiency, especially features like variants and auto-layout, points to the need for meticulous, systematic design execution, a hallmark of operations roles. The preference for AI tool experience suggests a forward-thinking, process-optimization mindset.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase at least 2-3 comprehensive case studies detailing your experience with design systems, emphasizing your role in their creation, evolution, or significant contribution.

• Projects should demonstrate your ability to design and implement scalable, reusable components, patterns, and style guides.

• Include examples of how you've addressed accessibility standards and cross-platform design considerations within your design system work.

• Present specific instances where you've documented design system standards, best practices, or component usage guidelines.

• Highlight any projects involving the integration or exploration of AI-powered design tools within a design system workflow. Process Documentation:

• Clearly articulate the processes you followed in your portfolio projects, especially concerning design system development, iteration, and maintenance.

• Detail your approach to collaborating with engineering and product teams during the design and implementation phases of design system components.

• Demonstrate how you measured the impact or adoption of design system elements you contributed to, focusing on efficiency gains or consistency improvements.

• Explain your methodology for creating and maintaining design system documentation, ensuring clarity and ease of use for various stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role focused on design systems, the portfolio is akin to an operations professional's process documentation and project portfolio. It must showcase not just the final output but the systematic approach, documentation, and impact of their work on efficiency and consistency.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

The base salary range for this position in Seattle, Washington, is $137,800 - $186,400 USD annually.

This estimate is based on the provided salary information and typical market rates for Senior UX Designers with extensive experience in major tech hubs like Seattle. Factors such as specific qualifications, years of experience, and internal equity will influence the final offer.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Insurance: Medical, Dental, Vision, and Prescription drug coverage.

• Basic Life & Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance, with options for supplemental plans.

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Mental Health Support services.

• Medical Advice Line for health-related consultations.

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) for healthcare and dependent care.

• Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage.

• Retirement Savings Plan: 401(k) with company matching.

• Paid Time Off (PTO) and generous Parental Leave policies.

• Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) as part of the overall compensation package. Working Hours:

The standard working hours for this role are approximately 40 hours per week. While the role is on-site, Amazon typically offers some flexibility in daily scheduling, provided business needs and team collaboration requirements are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is directly extracted from the job description. The benefits listed are extensive and typical for a large tech company like Amazon, covering health, financial, and work-life balance aspects crucial for operations professionals. The working hours are standard, with an implicit expectation of flexibility common in tech operations.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: E-commerce, Cloud Computing, Digital Streaming, Artificial Intelligence, and more. Amazon operates across a vast spectrum of industries, with this role specifically impacting its internal Human Resources and employee experience technology.

Company Size: Amazon is a global technology giant, employing over 1.5 million people worldwide. This immense scale necessitates highly efficient, scalable, and standardized operational processes, which is where design systems play a critical role.

Founded: Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. Its long history is marked by a relentless focus on customer obsession, innovation, and operational efficiency, which translates into its internal culture and hiring practices.

Team Structure:

• The People Engagement Experience (PEX) team is a multidisciplinary group comprising UX designers, researchers, and writers, dedicated to revolutionizing the employee experience at Amazon.

• This specific role is within the employee-facing design systems team, a specialized unit focused on creating and maintaining the foundational design assets used across numerous internal applications.

• The team likely operates with a matrixed reporting structure, with designers reporting to design leadership but collaborating extensively with product management and engineering counterparts on a project-by-project basis. Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making and a strong emphasis on user-centered design principles are fundamental to Amazon's operational philosophy.

• Workflow planning and optimization strategies are critical, especially within the design systems team, to ensure efficient component creation and adoption.

• Automation and efficiency practices are actively pursued, as evidenced by the focus on AI-powered design tools and scalable systems.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Amazon's culture is deeply rooted in its Leadership Principles, which emphasize customer obsession, ownership, bias for action, and continuous improvement – all highly relevant to operations roles. The sheer scale of Amazon means that design systems are not just about aesthetics but are critical operational tools for ensuring consistency, efficiency, and scalability across millions of users.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level UX Designer position, implying a significant level of autonomy, strategic input, and leadership. In an operations context, this translates to managing complex processes, driving initiatives, and influencing strategy within the design systems domain.

Reporting Structure: The Senior UX Designer will report to a design lead or manager within the PEX team. They will work in close collaboration with Product Managers, Engineering Managers, and other UX Designers and Researchers across various Amazon organizations.

Operations Impact: The work directly impacts the efficiency, consistency, and user experience of internal tools used by millions of Amazon employees. By creating scalable design systems and championing AI-driven tools, this role contributes to streamlined workflows, reduced development costs, and improved employee productivity and engagement – key operational metrics.

Growth Opportunities:

• Operations Skill Advancement: Opportunity to deepen expertise in design systems, operationalizing design at scale, and understanding the intricacies of enterprise-level software development processes.

• Leadership Development: Potential to grow into a Design Lead or Manager role, overseeing design system strategy, mentoring junior team members, and driving larger initiatives. Involvement in defining the future of AI-powered design tools within Amazon.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Develop a broad understanding of various Amazon business domains by collaborating with teams across different product areas, enhancing strategic thinking and business acumen.

• AI Integration Specialization: Become a subject matter expert in applying AI to design workflows, a rapidly growing and high-demand specialization in both design and operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth opportunities are framed within an operations lens, highlighting process mastery, strategic influence, and leadership potential that aligns with career progression in operations-centric roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is an on-site role, indicating a traditional office-based work environment within Amazon's Seattle campus. Such environments typically foster strong team cohesion and facilitate spontaneous collaboration.

Office Location(s): The primary location is Seattle, Washington. Amazon has a significant presence in Seattle, offering a vibrant urban setting with access to extensive amenities and a large tech community.

Workspace Context:

• The workspace is designed to foster collaboration, with teams often working in close proximity. This allows for seamless interaction with fellow designers, researchers, writers, and engineers.

• Access to Amazon's cutting-edge internal tools and technology stack is standard, including advanced design software and potentially internal development environments.

• Opportunities for interaction with the broader design community within Amazon are encouraged, facilitating knowledge sharing and professional development.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, typically 40 hours per week. While on-site, Amazon often provides some flexibility in daily start and end times, allowing individuals to manage their schedules effectively while ensuring business needs are met and collaboration with distributed teams is possible.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement suggests an environment conducive to direct collaboration and team synergy, which is beneficial for complex, process-driven work like design system development. The emphasis on collaboration and access to tools is key for operational effectiveness.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter will review your application, focusing on your resume and portfolio to assess your qualifications against the basic and preferred requirements.

• Hiring Manager / Team Interview: Expect a discussion with the hiring manager and potentially senior members of the PEX team. This stage will delve into your experience with design systems, Figma proficiency, and your approach to operationalizing design at scale. Be prepared to discuss your understanding of Amazon's Leadership Principles.

• Design Challenge / Portfolio Presentation: You will likely be asked to present one or more case studies from your portfolio. This is an opportunity to showcase your design process, problem-solving skills, impact, and how you manage design system projects. A practical design exercise or a deep dive into system architecture might also be included.

• Cross-Functional Interview: Interviews with key collaborators, such as a Product Manager or Engineering Lead, to assess your ability to work effectively across disciplines and communicate technical/design concepts.

• Final Round: This may involve a broader panel interview or a final discussion with senior leadership to confirm cultural fit and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Design Systems: Prioritize case studies that specifically highlight your contributions to design systems, focusing on scalability, componentization, and consistency.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics and data to demonstrate the impact of your design system work. This could include adoption rates, time saved in development, reduction in design inconsistencies, or improvements in user satisfaction.

• Showcase Process: Clearly articulate your design process, from initial research and ideation through to implementation and iteration. Detail how you collaborated with engineering and product teams.

• Document Everything: Include clear explanations of your design decisions, the challenges you faced, and how you leveraged tools like Figma effectively. Explain your approach to documentation and process management.

• Address AI Integration: If you have experience with AI-powered design tools or integrating AI into workflows, ensure this is prominently featured.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Amazon's Scale: Be prepared to discuss how your design system strategies would scale to support millions of employees and thousands of internal applications.

• Figma Mastery: Practice demonstrating advanced Figma features such as auto-layout, component properties, and library management. Be ready to explain how these features support efficient design system operations.

• Leadership Principles: Familiarize yourself with Amazon's Leadership Principles and prepare specific examples from your experience that illustrate each relevant principle.

• Cross-functional Communication: Practice articulating design concepts to non-designers, emphasizing the "why" behind your decisions and their impact on business or operational goals.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process and portfolio review are framed to emphasize the operational aspects of design systems – process, documentation, scalability, and cross-functional collaboration, aligning with what operations professionals would expect.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is the core tool for design, prototyping, and design system management. Advanced proficiency is mandatory, including mastery of variants, auto-layout, component properties, and library management.

• Design System Platforms: Familiarity with tools or internal platforms used for hosting, versioning, and distributing design system assets.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma, other prototyping tools might be relevant for specific use cases.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Internal Amazon Analytics Tools: While not specified, Amazon heavily relies on data. Expect to work with internal analytics platforms to track design system adoption, component usage, and user feedback.

• User Feedback Mechanisms: Tools or processes for gathering qualitative feedback from designers and developers using the system.

CRM & Automation:

• Internal Collaboration Tools: Amazon uses a suite of internal tools for communication, project management, and workflow tracking (e.g., similar to Slack, Jira, Confluence, but Amazon-specific).

• AI-Powered Design Tools: Experience or familiarity with AI tools that can assist in component generation, documentation, or pattern identification.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Figma and the mention of AI-powered design tools highlight the critical technology stack for this role. The underlying expectation is proficiency with tools that enable systematic, scalable, and efficient design operations.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Obsession (Internal Focus): A deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of Amazon's internal employees (designers, developers, product managers) as the primary "customers" of the design system.

• Ownership & Accountability: Taking full responsibility for the design system's components, documentation, and adoption, driving initiatives from conception to successful implementation.

• Bias for Action: A proactive approach to problem-solving and driving initiatives forward, even in ambiguous situations, rather than waiting for explicit direction.

• Invent and Simplify: Continuously seeking innovative ways to improve design system workflows, create more efficient components, and simplify the design and development process for others.

• Deliver Results: A strong focus on achieving tangible outcomes, measured by the successful adoption of the design system, improved consistency, and enhanced efficiency across internal products.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: A highly collaborative style, working closely with UX designers, UX researchers, UX writers, product managers, and software development engineers to ensure the design system meets diverse needs and integrates seamlessly into product development lifecycles.

• Process Improvement Culture: An open approach to feedback and continuous iteration, regularly reviewing processes, components, and documentation with stakeholders to identify areas for improvement.

• Knowledge Sharing: A commitment to sharing expertise, mentoring junior colleagues, and contributing to the broader Amazon design community, fostering a collective growth environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values listed are directly from Amazon's Leadership Principles, which are foundational to its operational culture. This role requires embodying these principles in the context of design systems and internal tool development.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling Design Systems: Ensuring the design system remains robust, scalable, and maintainable as Amazon's product suite and employee base continue to grow rapidly.

• Driving Adoption: Overcoming resistance or inertia to encourage widespread adoption of the design system across diverse engineering and design teams with varying levels of maturity.

• Balancing Consistency and Flexibility: Finding the right balance between enforcing strict design consistency and allowing teams the flexibility they need to innovate and meet specific product requirements.

• Integrating AI: Effectively integrating AI-powered design tools into existing workflows without compromising quality or user experience, and managing the learning curve for team members.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design System Expertise: Deepen knowledge in complex design system architecture, governance, and evolution strategies for a global enterprise.

• AI in Design Specialization: Gain hands-on experience and leadership in applying AI and machine learning to design workflows, a cutting-edge area in the industry.

• Leadership and Mentorship: Develop leadership skills through mentoring junior designers and potentially leading specific design system initiatives or sub-teams.

• Broad Business Domain Knowledge: Acquire a comprehensive understanding of how various Amazon businesses operate and the unique UX challenges they face, enhancing strategic perspective.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges and growth opportunities are framed to reflect the complexities of operating at Amazon's scale and the specific demands of managing a critical design system, aligning with the operational challenges and development paths seen in operations roles.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing and implementing a new component for our design system that needs to support AI-driven features, considering scalability and accessibility for millions of Amazonians?" (Focus on process, stakeholder involvement, and technical considerations.)

• "Describe a time you had to drive adoption of a design system or a new design standard across multiple teams. What strategies did you employ, and what were the results?" (Highlight change management, communication, and impact measurement.)

• "How do you balance the need for design consistency with the need for product teams to innovate and customize their user experiences?" (Demonstrate strategic thinking and understanding of trade-offs.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "How do you embody Amazon's Leadership Principles, particularly 'Customer Obsession' (internal focus), 'Ownership,' and 'Invent and Simplify,' in your design system work?" (Prepare specific examples.)

• "Given Amazon's scale, what are the biggest operational challenges in managing a design system, and how would you address them?" (Show understanding of scale and operational thinking.)

• "How do you see AI-powered design tools evolving the role of a UX Designer and the function of a design system?" (Demonstrate foresight and strategic thinking.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the measurable impact. Use a narrative flow.

• Focus on Systems: Emphasize your contribution to the system – how your work enabled scalability, reusability, and consistency. Show specific examples of components, patterns, and documentation.

• Figma Demonstration: Be prepared to walk through Figma files, showcasing your use of advanced features like variants, auto-layout, and component properties to create efficient and maintainable assets.

• Quantify Impact: Present data on adoption rates, efficiency gains, or other metrics that demonstrate the value of your design system contributions.

• Address AI Integration: If applicable, clearly explain how AI tools were used or could be used to enhance the design system's efficiency and effectiveness.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation emphasizes demonstrating operational thinking, strategic application of design systems, and alignment with Amazon's culture, mirroring the expectations for a senior operations role.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Amazon Jobs portal, ensuring your resume and portfolio are up-to-date and tailored to this role.

• Portfolio Customization: Select 2-3 of your strongest design system case studies that best highlight your experience with Figma, scalable component design, documentation, and any AI integration. Ensure these directly address the responsibilities outlined.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to include keywords from the job description such as "design systems," "Figma," "scalable design," "AI-powered design tools," "operational excellence," "cross-functional collaboration," and "mentorship." Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Thoroughly review Amazon's Leadership Principles and prepare specific behavioral examples. Practice presenting your portfolio case studies, focusing on process, impact, and your role in operationalizing design.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Amazon's PEX initiatives and its broader approach to employee experience and internal tooling. Understand the importance of design systems in a company of Amazon's scale and operational complexity.

⚠️ 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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