Senior Designer Technologist, Design Systems

Instacart

Senior Designer Technologist enhancing design systems at Instacart. Leading technical capabilities for high-quality UI across a multi-product ecosystem.

Posted 4/20/2026full-timeRemote • California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $166,000 - $210,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

JavaScriptReactTypeScript

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Own and improve core system infrastructure including repositories, publishing workflows, and component playgrounds/environments (e.g., Storybook or equivalent)
Evolve token workflows (semantic and primitive), theming strategies, and reliable distribution of tokens into product codebases
Reduce system drift by strengthening design-to-code feedback loops, improving contribution workflows, and embedding guardrails where work happens
Contribute to component implementations with an emphasis on maintainable patterns, scalable architecture, accessibility defaults, and cross-platform consistency
Build internal tools that enable faster, more consistent delivery: Figma plugins/scripts, generators/scaffolding for system-aligned components, and PR/CI checks, lint rules, and automated quality gates
Model system guidance in structured, reusable formats (rules, constraints, mappings, examples) to power checks, in-tool guidance, and automation
Instrument and iterate: measure adoption and quality, identify recurring sources of rework, and evolve tooling and standards based on real-world usage
Use AI-assisted workflows to accelerate audits, migrations, and repetitive tasks (e.g., script generation, change summaries, automated fixes) with strong review, security, and quality practices

Requirements

What you’ll need

6+ years of experience across product design and/or front-end engineering
Portfolio demonstrating design systems mastery (components, patterns, tokens, governance) and cross-platform consistency; portfolio link required
Advanced proficiency in TypeScript/JavaScript and a modern front-end framework (React or similar)
Proven experience delivering internal tools (e.g., Figma plugins, scripts, CLIs, CI automations)
Fluency in Figma at a systems level: component architecture, variants/props strategy, naming conventions, library structure, and publishing/versioning
Strong understanding of design tokens (semantic vs. primitive)
Demonstrated ability to reason about component UX—including anatomy, states, edge cases, responsive behavior, motion—and to establish accessibility defaults
Hands-on experience working in shared component codebases/monorepos with multi-team contribution models
Demonstrated use of AI-assisted development or design workflows to reduce toil and accelerate delivery with appropriate judgment, review, and security considerations
Experience driving system adoption through metrics, deprecation/migration programs, and cross-functional enablement
Bachelor’s degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Flexible work arrangements
Health insurance
Retirement plans
Professional development opportunities
New hire equity grant
Annual refresh grants

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

TypeScriptJavaScriptReactdesign tokenscomponent architectureaccessibilityCI automationFigma pluginsscalable architecturecross-platform consistency

Soft Skills

collaborationproblem-solvingcommunicationcritical thinkingattention to detailcreativityadaptabilityuser experience reasoningmentorshipleadership

Certifications

Bachelor’s degree in DesignBachelor’s degree in HCIBachelor’s degree in Computer Science