Design Systems Lead (AI)

TL;DR

Design Systems Lead (AI): Building and owning a semantic token system and component library for a fast-scaling AI product with an accent on bridging design and engineering. Focus on maintaining a 50/50 design-engineer workflow, ensuring visual consistency across mobile and web, and integrating AI tooling into the design systems lifecycle.

Location: Must be based in the United States (San Francisco, New York City, or Remote)

Salary: $220,000 – $280,000 + Equity

Company

Perplexity is an AI-native product company building advanced search and information discovery tools.

What you will do

• Bootstrap and own a semantic token system supporting multiple platforms and frameworks.
• Manage the design system repository on GitHub, including versioning and release management.
• Bridge the gap between Figma and code to ensure design and engineering remain in sync.
• Define governance and contribution models for product feature teams.
• Drive system adoption through documentation, onboarding, and hands-on support.
• Integrate AI tooling into the design systems workflow to build systems in an AI-native way.

Requirements

• Must be based in the United States.
• Extensive experience owning design systems at large organizations.
• True 50/50 design-engineer profile with fluency in both Figma and code.
• Deep understanding of mobile, web, and React UI best practices.
• Experience designing and maintaining semantic design tokens and scalable component APIs.
• Working knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG) and theming.

Nice to have

• Experience building semantic token systems from scratch.
• Track record of scaling design systems during periods of rapid organizational growth.
• Familiarity with component documentation platforms like Storybook.
• Experience mentoring designers and engineers.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits program including health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Equity participation in the company.
• Retirement, fitness, and commuter benefits.
• Support for dependent care.
• Collaborative environment working at the intersection of AI, design, and engineering.