Principal Product Designer, Design Systems

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Alabama, +36 more states.

📋 Description

• Utilize AI tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor) to conduct audits of current component libraries and live product experiences — identifying gaps, inconsistencies, and drift — in order to create a data-driven strategy for unifying and streamlining the system.

• Take ownership of and drive Kin's token architecture across color, typography, spacing, and motion, organizing it into primitive, semantic, and component tokens, serving as the definitive source of truth for both design and code.

• Possess experience in designing token systems that can scale across various contexts — including internal tools, customer-facing applications, or multi-brand environments — with an adaptable architecture that avoids fragmentation.

• Establish and uphold Figma-to-code consistency, collaborating with engineering teams on the pipeline from design tokens to fully implemented, documented components.

• Thoughtfully introduce new components and patterns as Kin expands into new product domains, ensuring the system evolves with purpose instead of chaos.

• Define and implement the contribution model and governance — including versioning, changelogs, intake processes, and quality standards — while establishing automated safeguards that enable teams to extend the system without fragmentation.

• Develop a single source of truth that supersedes disparate tools, serving as the canonical reference for Kin's design patterns.

• Champion accessibility within components so that teams inherit it by default, utilizing automated testing and AI-assisted audits to proactively pinpoint compliance gaps.

• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and embedded domain designers to ensure the system is the simplest route to achieving a cohesive, on-brand experience across all surfaces.

⛳️ Requirements

• Proven experience in managing a design system from audit to architecture to adoption — treating the system as a product rather than a mere deliverable.

• Extensive visual and product design experience, typically 7+ years, with a significant focus on design systems work.

• Strong understanding of token architecture (primitive / semantic / component) and proficiency in Figma as a systems tool — including variables, libraries, and modes.

• Demonstrated ability to leverage AI tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code) to expedite manual tasks, automate documentation, and enhance the design-to-code feedback loop.

• Ability to influence without having direct authority — setting direction and guiding partners within a federated organization without relying on positional power.

• Comfort in navigating ambiguity and 0-to-1 environments, where you will be responsible for creating the structure.

• Bonus points for:

• - Experience in insurance, fintech, or other complex, regulated, high-consideration product domains.

• - Familiarity with the design-to-code toolchain — including Storybook/Chromatic, a token transformer like Style Dictionary, and understanding how tokens integrate into a real front-end stack (Angular, Rails, etc.).

• - Comfort with reading or contributing to component code.

🏝️ Benefits

• Competitive salary and company equity through Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), provided as part of our standard compensation package based on role and level.

• This position is eligible for additional annual compensation through participation in our Kin Leadership Incentive Plan.

• 401(k) plan with a company match of up to 4% of eligible earnings.

• Multiple medical plan options available, along with dental and vision coverage.

• Company-funded HSA contributions based on medical plan selection.

• Life insurance and short-term disability coverage paid by the company.

• Employee referral bonuses.

• A variety of supplemental benefits including long-term disability, critical illness, accident, legal, and pet insurance.

• Access to mental health support and confidential counseling resources.

• Flexible PTO for exempt employees (most employees take 15–20 days per year), in addition to 8 company-observed holidays.

• Paid parental leave, providing up to 14 weeks at 100% pay for birthing parents and 8 weeks at 100% pay for non-birthing parents.

• Opportunities for career mobility and internal growth across the organization.

• Professional development budgets available for certifications, conferences, and learning, subject to management approval.