Perplexity
Design Systems Lead
Part remote, part office, you need to live within commuting distance of a named location.
Hybrid · San Francisco
Employer listed it 3 months ago · Added 4 days ago
Been open since 3 months ago. Long-running listings are sometimes left up after the role is filled.
Salary
$220,000–$280,000
Location
Hybrid · San Francisco
Timezone
Not stated
Contract
Full-time
Experience
Lead
Category
Design
Published by the employer
Remote flexibility
Hybrid
This role is only partly remote, the employer expects time in the office around San Francisco, Remote (United States), New York City, Hybrid, so you need to live within commuting distance.
What the employer says
- Source listing states candidate location: "San Francisco, Remote (United States), New York City, Hybrid"
- Listing mentions "Hybrid"
What Nomaders makes of it
- Not suitable if you plan to move between countries
The quotes above are the employer's own words; the reading is ours. Always check the original listing and employment terms before working from another country.
About the role
About the role
We're seeking a Design Systems Lead with extensive experience owning design systems at large organizations. You'll bootstrap an intuitive semantic token system that supports design and product teams across multiple platforms and frameworks - the foundation that keeps Perplexity's product coherent as we scale.
This is a true 50/50 design-engineer role. You'll live primarily in GitHub, where you own the system's repo, while staying fluent in Figma so design and engineering never drift apart. You'll set the bar for visual quality and the technical standards that let feature teams move fast without fragmenting the experience.
You'll work at the intersection of design and engineering, partnering with product feature teams across mobile, web, and React surfaces.
What you'll do
Bootstrap and own an intuitive semantic token system that works across multiple platforms and frameworks
Own the design system repo on GitHub: the source of truth for components, tokens, and standards, including versioning, release management, and a clear changelog
Set and uphold a high bar for visual design quality across every surface the system touches
Navigate the nuanced differences between mobile, web, and React UI best practices, and encode them into the system
Define and run the contribution model and governance: review and shepherd inbound contributions from product feature teams, keeping quality and consistency high as the system grows
Keep design and engineering in sync, bridging Figma and code so the system stays coherent end-to-end
Own clear, first-class documentation so teams can adopt components and tokens on their own, and drive adoption across the org through onboarding, office hours, and hands-on support
Bake in accessibility (WCAG) and theming (including dark mode) as defaults, not afterthoughts
Maintain a system roadmap, balancing net-new work, migrations, and deprecations against feature-team needs
Bring new AI tooling into the design systems workflow and help shape how we build systems in an AI-native way
Operate with autonomy in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment
What we're looking for
Extensive experience owning design systems at large organizations
A true 50/50 design-engineer, equally credible in visual craft and in code
An impeccable eye for visual design
Deep understanding of the nuanced differences between mobile, web, and React UI best practices
Strong product sensibilities to help evaluate and integrate contributions from various product feature teams
Fluency in Figma, but primarily living in GitHub where you own the repo
Experience designing and maintaining semantic design tokens and scalable component APIs
Requirements
The employer hasn't listed requirements separately, they're described in the role summary above and on the original listing.
Benefits
No benefits package published with this listing. Ask about it at first interview.
How to apply
- 1Check the flexibility label above, hybrid, matches where you plan to live and work.
- 2Tailor your CV to the role at Perplexity, mentioning your remote working experience.
- 3Apply directly on the employer's careers page using the button below. Nomaders never handles your application.
Found 5d ago. Last checked today. Always confirm the details on the original posting, salary and location can change after publication.
Listing sourced from Company boards.
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