Head of Design Systems

Snap Inc is a technology company. We believe the camera presents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. Snap contributes to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together. The Company’s three core products are Snapchat, a visual messaging app that enhances your relationships with friends, family, and the world; Lens Studio, an augmented reality platform that powers AR across Snapchat and other services; and its AR glasses, Spectacles.

The Product Design team is a small but influential team that steers the future of the core Snapchat application. Our Designers work closely with the CEO and various cross functional leaders to create a design led roadmap to build products and experiences that bring our community together in new and special ways.

We're looking for a System Design Lead to join Snap Inc!

What you’ll do:

• Define the strategy and lead the design, implementation, and evolution of Snapchat’s design system and visual language — including typography, color, iconography, and componentry.

• Lead a team of visual and systems designers, partnering with product designers to ensure the system supports current and future product needs.

• Collaborate with engineering to build scalable tooling, improve workflows, and streamline implementation for designers and developers.

• Establish and drive a strategic vision for accessibility and age-up design practices across the product.

• Create clear processes for teams to contribute to and expand the design system.

• Evangelize adoption across Snap by building strong cross-functional partnerships and empowering teams to use and evolve the system.

• Maintain centralized documentation, resources, and guidelines to ensure clarity, consistency, and ease of use.

• Partner with UX Platform Engineering and Design Engineering to execute on a long-term roadmap for the design system.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Strong ability to lead independently in large, ambiguous problem spaces

• Deep knowledge of accessibility standards, inclusive design, and best practices

• Expertise in typography, iconography, color systems, and dynamic type

• Clear and compelling communicator with strong interpersonal and cross-functional collaboration skills

• Proven ability to influence and align with Product, Engineering, and cross-disciplinary teams

• Experience partnering with internal teams and external agencies to scale design systems

• Strategic thinker with the ability to define design principles and articulate system decisions

• Skilled in authoring clear, comprehensive systems documentation and usage guidelines

• Collaborative team player with a refined design sensibility and meticulous attention to detail

• Comfortable defining and implementing cohesive visual and interaction style guides

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in illustration, graphic design, gaming, animation, or a related field, or equivalent years of experience

• 7+ years of experience leading or managing a team in the industry

• 10+ years of experience in product

• A portfolio submission featuring highlights of past creative work that you have overseen

• Demonstrable experience using Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, and/or other design tools

• Demonstrable experience using GitHub

• Demonstrable experience developing a Design System from the ground up

• Demonstrable experience developing design tooling and plugins

• Demonstrable experience working closely with engineering

Preferred Qualifications:

• Exceptional skills in various creative disciplines, commitment to highest quality of design and an eye for detail

• Basic coding knowledge and experience 

• Knowledge of prototyping tools

• Experience working with Jira

If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please don’t be shy and provide us some information.

"Default Together" Policy at Snap: At Snap Inc. we believe that being together in person helps us build our culture faster, reinforce our values, and serve our community, customers and partners better through dynamic collaboration. To reflect this, we practice a “default together” approach and expect our team members to work in an office 4+ days per week. 

At Snap, we believe that having a team of diverse backgrounds and voices working together will enable us to create innovative products that improve the way people live and communicate. Snap is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. EOE, including disability/vets.

Our Benefits: Snap Inc. is its own community, so we’ve got your back! We do our best to make sure you and your loved ones have everything you need to be happy and healthy, on your own terms. Our benefits are built around your needs and include paid parental leave, comprehensive medical coverage, emotional and mental health support programs, and compensation packages that let you share in Snap’s long-term success!

Compensation

In the United States, work locations are assigned a pay zone which determines the salary range for the position. The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. The starting pay may be negotiable within the salary range for the position. These pay zones may be modified in the future.

Zone A (CA, WA, NYC):

The base salary range for this position is $251,000-$377,000 annually.

Zone B:

The base salary range for this position is $238,000-$358,000 annually.

Zone C:

The base salary range for this position is $213,000-$320,000 annually.

This position is eligible for equity in the form of RSUs.