Software Engineer III (UX Engineer – Design System)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Software Engineer III (UX Engineer – Design System)

Company: Chewy

Location: Boston, MA, United States / Minneapolis, MN, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: UX Engineering / Frontend Platform Operations

Date Posted: 2026-06-12

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the evolution and scalability of Chewy's frontend design system, impacting millions of pet parents.

• Collaborate at the intersection of engineering, design, accessibility, and developer experience to build robust UI components and patterns.

• Influence frontend engineering direction through technical leadership in component architecture, tooling, and best practices.

• Enhance developer productivity and experience by improving shared frontend infrastructure and workflows, including AI-assisted engineering practices.

• Ensure consistent, accessible, and high-quality customer experiences across Chewy's digital platforms.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role, while titled Software Engineer, is specifically focused on UX Engineering within a Design System context. This implies a strong emphasis on the operational aspects of frontend development, including standardization, reusability, accessibility compliance, and developer enablement, which are critical for large-scale GTM and customer experience operations.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Build and maintain reusable UI components, patterns, and design system foundations using React, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, and modern JavaScript.

• Design scalable, accessible, and business-logic-agnostic component APIs for cross-team and cross-domain adoption.

• Lead technical design discussions and influence architectural decisions for component systems, theming, accessibility, performance, and developer experience.

• Partner with Product Design, Accessibility, and Front-End Platform teams to translate design systems into robust engineering solutions.

• Drive design system adoption through comprehensive documentation, tooling, migration guidance, and developer enablement initiatives.

• Improve shared frontend infrastructure, including Storybook, testing frameworks, accessibility validation, design token pipelines, and developer workflows.

• Apply AI-assisted engineering practices to enhance productivity, documentation quality, accessibility reviews, migration support, and overall developer experience.

• Mentor junior engineers through code reviews, design discussions, and technical coaching to elevate frontend engineering standards.

• Identify and resolve ambiguous technical challenges, balancing immediate delivery needs with long-term platform scalability and maintainability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong focus on operational excellence within frontend development. This includes establishing and enforcing standards (design system, component APIs), optimizing processes (documentation, tooling, developer workflows), and enabling other engineering teams, which are core tenets of effective GTM and product operations.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 5+ years of experience building modern frontend applications, frontend platforms, shared UI libraries, or design systems.

Required Skills:

• Strong expertise in React, TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, including modern component architecture patterns and browser behavior.

• Demonstrated experience building, maintaining, or scaling reusable component libraries or design systems used by multiple teams.

• Strong understanding of component API design, composition patterns, hooks, controlled and uncontrolled APIs, accessibility patterns, and developer ergonomics.

• Experience leading technical initiatives and influencing engineering decisions across teams.

• Hands-on experience with Storybook or similar tools for component development, documentation, testing, and collaboration.

• Deep understanding of web accessibility, including WCAG, semantic HTML, ARIA, keyboard navigation, focus management, screen readers, and accessibility testing.

• Experience working with design tokens, theming systems, and scalable frontend architecture patterns.

• Ability to independently define, decompose, and solve ambiguous technical problems.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills for documenting technical decisions, tradeoffs, and engineering standards.

• Experience mentoring engineers and improving engineering practices across teams. Preferred Skills:

• Experience building or scaling enterprise design systems supporting multiple products and engineering organizations.

• Experience with Style Dictionary, design token governance, token pipelines, and design token automation.

• Experience implementing multi-brand, multi-theme, or multi-platform frontend architectures.

• Experience with modern Storybook capabilities including interaction testing, accessibility testing, visual testing, composition, and CI workflows.

• Experience with Next.js, React Server Components, Server Actions, streaming, and modern frontend platform capabilities.

• Experience with monorepos, package publishing, build tooling, dependency management, codemods, linting rules, or automated migration tooling.

• Experience leveraging AI-assisted development tools to improve developer experience, documentation, migration workflows, accessibility review, or platform adoption.

• Experience defining frontend standards, governance models, or platform strategy.

• Background in e-commerce, high-scale consumer applications, Agile environments, or cloud infrastructure supporting frontend platforms and developer tooling.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirements are substantial, particularly the emphasis on design systems and component architecture. This suggests the role is strategic and requires a candidate who can operate with a high degree of autonomy and influence, akin to a senior operations specialist focused on platform standardization and efficiency.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase of well-documented, reusable UI components and patterns developed for large-scale applications or design systems.

• Examples of component API design, illustrating considerations for reusability, extensibility, and maintainability across diverse use cases.

• Demonstrations of accessibility implementation, including compliance with WCAG standards, ARIA usage, and keyboard navigation best practices.

• Case studies detailing the process of building, scaling, or migrating a design system or component library, highlighting technical challenges and solutions.

• Evidence of contributions to shared frontend infrastructure, tooling, or developer workflows that improved team efficiency or consistency. Process Documentation:

• Examples of technical documentation for design system components, including usage guidelines, API references, and accessibility notes.

• Documentation outlining design token governance, theming strategies, or frontend architecture patterns implemented.

• Contributions to internal wikis, READMEs, or knowledge bases that standardize frontend development practices.

• Process flows for design system adoption, migration, or contribution, emphasizing clarity and ease of use for engineering teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role focused on design systems and frontend platforms, a portfolio is crucial for demonstrating practical application of skills. The emphasis on process documentation and system governance aligns perfectly with operations roles that require a structured approach to implementing and maintaining standards.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $141,000 - $225,000.00 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Eligible for 401k.

• New hire and annual equity grants.

• Potential eligibility for annual bonus (for C08+ positions).

• Comprehensive insurance package: Medical/Rx, Vision, Dental, Life, Disability, Hospital Indemnity, Critical Illness, and Accident Insurance.

• Generous Paid Time Off: Unlimited PTO (subject to manager approval) and six paid holidays per year.

• Paid sick and family leave in compliance with applicable state and local regulations.

• Family services benefits including backup dependent care.

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs).

• Telemedicine services.

• Pet adoption reimbursement.

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

• Employee discounts: 10% off pet insurance and 20% off at Chewy.com.

• Parental leave and family services benefits.

Working Hours: Standard full-time work week (approximately 40 hours), with unlimited PTO subject to manager approval, indicating flexibility for operations-focused tasks and project completion.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a Software Engineer III role, particularly in the specified locations. The extensive benefits package, including unlimited PTO, underscores a commitment to employee well-being and work-life balance, which can be attractive to operations professionals who often manage critical, time-sensitive tasks. Salary research for Boston, MA, and Minneapolis, MN, for a Software Engineer III with 5-10 years of experience in a tech company of Chewy's size typically falls within or above this range, considering the specialized nature of UX engineering and design systems.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: E-commerce (Pet Supplies & Services). Chewy operates in a highly competitive online retail space, emphasizing customer-centricity, innovation, and efficiency to maintain its market position. This operational focus translates to a need for robust, scalable, and user-friendly digital experiences.

Company Size: Large Enterprise (likely 5,000 - 10,000+ employees, based on typical tech company structures for this role level). This size implies established processes, potential for cross-functional collaboration, and opportunities to influence large-scale systems.

Founded: 2011. Chewy's relatively recent founding means it has likely adopted modern technologies and agile methodologies, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, which is key for operations roles.

Team Structure:

• The UX Engineering team is likely a specialized group focused on design systems and frontend platform operations.

• This team will operate cross-functionally, collaborating closely with Product Design, Accessibility, Front-End Platform, and various application engineering teams.

• Reporting structure likely involves a manager or lead within the UX Engineering or broader Engineering/Product organization, emphasizing collaboration over strict hierarchy. Methodology:

• A data-driven approach is expected, leveraging analytics to understand user behavior and component usage, informing design system evolution.

• Workflow planning and optimization are critical for managing the design system's lifecycle, adoption, and maintenance.

• Automation and efficiency practices will be central to improving developer experience and streamlining frontend development processes.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Chewy's focus on e-commerce and pet supplies implies a high-volume, customer-facing digital operation. The UX Engineering role within this context is vital for ensuring that the company's digital platforms are not only functional but also intuitive, reliable, and scalable, directly impacting customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Software Engineer III / UX Engineer. This level signifies a senior individual contributor role, expected to provide technical leadership, drive complex projects, and mentor others. In an operations context, this translates to a specialist with deep expertise in a critical operational domain (frontend platform/design systems).

Reporting Structure: The role reports into a UX Engineering lead or manager, but operates with significant autonomy, influencing engineering practices across multiple application teams. This structure allows for direct impact on product development operations.

Operations Impact: This role directly impacts operational efficiency by providing standardized, reusable, and accessible components, reducing redundant development effort, and ensuring brand consistency across all customer-facing touchpoints. It also influences the speed and quality of product launches by enabling faster and more reliable frontend development.

Growth Opportunities:

• Operations Skill Advancement: Deepen expertise in design systems, frontend architecture, accessibility, and developer experience tooling. Potential to specialize in areas like design token management, component governance, or frontend platform strategy.

• Leadership Development: Transition into a technical lead role for the design system team, or move into management. Opportunity to define frontend platform strategy and influence engineering roadmaps.

• Cross-functional Impact: Gain exposure to various product domains and application teams, understanding their unique operational challenges and contributing to solutions that scale across the organization. Potential to lead initiatives that bridge design, engineering, and product management operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "III" designation and the emphasis on leadership and mentorship indicate a clear growth path beyond senior individual contributor. For operations professionals, this translates to opportunities to become a subject matter expert, lead operational initiatives, and drive strategic improvements in how products are built and scaled.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: On-site (Boston, MA / Minneapolis, MN). This indicates a traditional office environment designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and team cohesion.

Office Location(s): Boston, MA (BOS1) and Minneapolis, MN. These are major metropolitan areas, offering access to talent and resources. The specific office setup will likely include collaborative workspaces, meeting rooms, and individual workstations.

Workspace Context:

• The workspace will likely be designed to encourage collaboration between UX Engineers, Product Designers, Accessibility Specialists, and application developers.

• Access to modern development tools, including robust workstations, high-speed internet, and potentially specialized hardware for testing.

• Opportunities for informal knowledge sharing, design critiques, and collaborative problem-solving sessions with peers and stakeholders.

Work Schedule: Full-time, on-site. While a standard schedule applies, the unlimited PTO policy suggests flexibility in managing workload and personal time, which can be beneficial for managing intensive project phases common in operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement suggests a preference for in-person collaboration, which can be highly beneficial for design system work where constant feedback loops and design reviews are essential. This environment is conducive to building strong team dynamics and operational synergy.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application and resume, looking for alignment with the core requirements, especially experience with design systems, React, and accessibility.

• Technical Screen: Expect a coding challenge or technical discussion focused on React, component design, and JavaScript fundamentals, potentially involving a live coding session or a take-home assignment.

• Portfolio Review & Deep Dive: You will likely present your portfolio, showcasing specific examples of design system contributions, component libraries, or platform initiatives. This will involve discussing your technical approach, design decisions, and the impact of your work.

• On-site/Virtual Interviews: Multiple sessions with team members, including engineers, designers, and potentially product managers. These will cover technical depth, problem-solving skills, collaboration style, and cultural fit. Expect scenario-based questions related to design system adoption, accessibility challenges, and technical leadership.

• Final Round/Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion focused on strategic thinking, long-term vision for frontend platforms, and alignment with Chewy's engineering culture.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Design System Impact: Focus on projects where you built, scaled, or significantly contributed to a design system or component library. Quantify impact where possible (e.g., adoption rate, reduction in development time, consistency improvements).

• Showcase Technical Sophistication: Demonstrate strong component API design, understanding of reusability patterns, and proficiency in React, TypeScript, and modern CSS.

• Emphasize Accessibility: Clearly articulate your approach to web accessibility, showcasing how you implement WCAG standards and address common accessibility challenges (e.g., ARIA, keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility).

• Detail Process & Collaboration: Explain your process for documentation, testing, and driving adoption. Provide examples of how you collaborated with design, engineering, and other stakeholders.

• Technical Problem-Solving: Include examples of how you tackled complex technical challenges, such as theming, performance optimization, or migrating legacy components.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design System API Design: Be prepared to discuss how you would design an API for a complex component (e.g., a data table, a modal) considering accessibility, theming, and extensibility.

• Accessibility Scenarios: Practice identifying and solving accessibility issues in UI components, explaining your reasoning based on WCAG guidelines.

• Component Refactoring/Migration: Be ready to discuss strategies for refactoring existing components or migrating to a new framework/library, considering the operational impact on development teams.

• Storybook Usage: Prepare to discuss how you use Storybook for development, documentation, and testing, and how you would improve its integration into a CI/CD pipeline.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a portfolio and specific interview stages like a technical screen and portfolio review are standard for senior engineering roles, particularly those focused on platform operations. The advice provided focuses on demonstrating operational impact and technical rigor, crucial for success in this role.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Frontend Framework: React (primary).

• Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML, CSS.

• Component Development & Documentation: Storybook (highly emphasized).

• Design Token Management: Style Dictionary (preferred/bonus).

• Tooling: Monorepos (preferred), package publishing tools, build tooling (e.g., Webpack, Vite), dependency management tools.

• AI-Assisted Development: Tools focused on improving productivity, documentation, and accessibility review.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Tools for tracking component usage, design system adoption, and frontend performance metrics (specific tools not detailed but implied for operational insights).

• Accessibility validation tools for automated and manual testing.

• CI/CD pipeline tools for automated testing, building, and deployment of components. CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct CRM role, understanding how design systems integrate with product development workflows is key.

• Automation tools for tasks like design token generation, codemod execution for migrations, and CI/CD workflows.

• Integration tools may be relevant for connecting design systems to various application pipelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The specified technology stack is standard for modern frontend development, with a strong emphasis on tools and practices that support operational efficiency and standardization, such as React, TypeScript, Storybook, and design tokens. The mention of AI-assisted engineering highlights a forward-looking approach to developer operations.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Obsession: Building experiences that delight millions of pet parents, ensuring consistency and quality in every interaction.

• Innovation: Continuously seeking better ways to build, document, and deploy frontend components and systems, leveraging new technologies and AI.

• Efficiency: Driving productivity through reusable components, streamlined workflows, and robust tooling, enabling faster delivery of features.

• Collaboration: Working closely with design, accessibility, and engineering teams to ensure seamless integration and adoption of the design system.

• Ownership & Accountability: Taking responsibility for the design system's health, scalability, and impact across the organization.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Active participation in design reviews, engineering syncs, and accessibility audits to ensure alignment.

• Process Improvement Culture: Encouraging feedback on existing processes and actively contributing to their optimization.

• Knowledge Sharing: Proactively sharing best practices, documentation, and technical insights through code reviews, presentations, and internal documentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Chewy's culture, as inferred from its industry and role requirements, likely values customer focus, innovation, and operational excellence. These values are directly reflected in the responsibilities of a UX Engineer focused on a design system, aiming to create efficient, user-friendly, and consistent experiences.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling Design Systems: Ensuring the design system remains performant, maintainable, and adoptable as Chewy's product suite and engineering teams grow.

• Driving Adoption: Overcoming resistance or inertia in adopting new components and standards across diverse engineering teams with varying priorities.

• Balancing Ambiguity: Navigating complex technical problems and ambiguous requirements, finding solutions that meet immediate needs while supporting long-term platform strategy.

• Technical Debt Management: Identifying and addressing technical debt within the design system and shared infrastructure, balancing refactoring with new feature development.

• AI Integration: Effectively leveraging AI-assisted tools to genuinely improve developer workflows without introducing new complexities or compromising quality.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized Training: Opportunities for advanced training in frontend architecture, accessibility, design systems, and emerging technologies like AI in development.

• Industry Engagement: Potential to attend conferences, contribute to open-source projects, or present at internal/external tech talks related to design systems and frontend platforms.

• Mentorship & Leadership: Formal and informal mentorship programs, with opportunities to lead technical initiatives, mentor junior engineers, and potentially grow into management or principal engineer roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges outlined are typical for senior roles within operational domains like design systems, requiring strategic thinking and problem-solving skills. The growth opportunities are well-defined, offering clear paths for career progression within specialized technical and leadership tracks.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing a new component for our design system, considering accessibility, theming, and developer ergonomics?" (Focus on process, API design, and stakeholder collaboration).

• "Describe a time you successfully drove adoption of a design system or component library across multiple teams. What were the biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?" (Highlight change management, communication, and technical enablement).

• "How would you balance the need for rapid feature development with the long-term maintenance and evolution of a design system?" (Discuss prioritization, technical debt, and platform strategy). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Chewy and our mission to serve pet parents?" (Research Chewy's values, customer focus, and e-commerce operations).

• "How do you stay current with advancements in frontend technology and design systems?" (Demonstrate continuous learning and industry awareness).

• "Describe your experience mentoring junior engineers. What is your approach to fostering growth and improving team standards?" (Showcase leadership and team development skills). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly state the problem, your solution, the technologies used, and the impact achieved. Use a consistent framework (e.g., STAR method).

• Focus on Operations: Emphasize how your work improved efficiency, scalability, consistency, or developer experience. Quantify results whenever possible.

• Technical Depth & Accessibility: Be ready to dive deep into technical details of component architecture, API design, and demonstrate your commitment to accessibility best practices.

• Interactive Elements: If possible, prepare a live demo or interactive walkthrough of components or tools you've built. Be prepared to discuss tradeoffs and alternative solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation advice is tailored to highlight the operational aspects of the role—process, scalability, adoption, and impact—alongside technical proficiency. Demonstrating an understanding of how design systems function as a critical operational layer for product development is key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Chewy careers portal.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience with React, TypeScript, design systems, component libraries, and web accessibility (WCAG). Quantify achievements related to efficiency, scalability, and developer productivity.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 key projects that best showcase your design system development, component architecture, and accessibility implementation skills. Prepare to discuss your process, technical decisions, and measurable impact.

• Prepare for Technical Challenges: Practice coding problems related to React, JavaScript, and component design. Be ready to articulate your approach to accessibility and API design.

• Research Chewy: Understand Chewy's business, customer base, and commitment to technology. Prepare to discuss how your role contributes to their operational success and customer experience goals.

⚠️ 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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