Design Systems Lead

We're partnering with a fast-growing UK consumer technology business that's investing heavily in its Product Design function and looking for a Design Systems Lead to help shape the next phase of its design maturity. This is a hands-on leadership role where you'll lead a small team while evolving a mature cross-platform design system used across web and native mobile products. Working closely with Product and Engineering, you'll drive adoption, governance, scalability and consistency, while exploring how AI can enhance design workflows and delivery. It's an opportunity to have a genuine impact on products used by millions of customers, balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution. 2 days per week in the Canary Wharf office.

Responsibilities

Leading the evolution of a design system across web and native mobile products; Managing, mentoring and developing a small team of Product Designers; Defining and evolving design tokens, components, patterns and documentation; Driving design system governance, adoption and contribution models across multiple product teams; Partnering closely with Engineering to improve design-to-code workflows and implementation; Collaborating with Product and Design leadership to influence strategy and prioritisation; Championing accessibility, consistency and scalability across customer experiences; Exploring how AI can enhance design workflows and improve the efficiency of the design system

Requirements

Experience leading or owning a design system within a product organisation; Strong understanding of design systems, including tokens, components, patterns, documentation and governance; Experience partnering closely with Engineering to ensure design systems translate effectively into code; Experience designing for native mobile products (iOS and Android); Previous people management or player-coach leadership experience; Strong systems thinking with the ability to balance strategic direction and hands-on delivery; Excellent stakeholder management skills with the confidence to influence and challenge at all levels; A pragmatic, data-informed approach to prioritisation and decision-making

Nice to have

Experience with design tokens, Storybook or design-to-code workflows; Experience embedding accessibility standards into design systems; Practical experience using AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT or Figma MCP to improve design workflows; Experience working within high-growth consumer technology, fintech or other digital product businesses; Experience scaling design systems across multiple product teams or business units.