Design Systems Engineer

As a Design Systems Engineer at MagicSchool, you'll be responsible for building and maintaining a scalable component library that aligns with best practices. Your duties will include collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance our design system and ensuring that all components are performant, reusable, and accessible. You'll be instrumental in defining the technical path for our design system and advocating for its best practices within the engineering team.

To excel as a Design Systems Engineer at MagicSchool, a strong understanding of front-end architecture and component-driven development is essential. Proficiency in TypeScript, React, and Next.js is critical, along with experience in styling methodologies like vanilla-extract and CSS modules. Familiarity with accessibility principles is also important, as you’ll be ensuring our components are usable for all. Additionally, great communication skills and an adaptable mindset are highly valued.

MagicSchool prefers candidates with 5+ years of engineering experience, particularly those who have successfully built design systems in the past. Although 3 years is the minimum requirement, relevant experience in startups and a background in using modern frontend tools will greatly enhance your application. We're looking for individuals who are resourceful and can thrive in a fast-paced environment.

At MagicSchool, we believe in taking care of our team members. As a Design Systems Engineer, you’ll enjoy generous benefits, including unlimited PTO, employer-covered health insurance, a wellness stipend, and a 401(k) match. Additionally, you’ll have access to vision and dental insurance, supporting your overall health and well-being while you contribute to meaningful educational changes.

A Design Systems Engineer at MagicSchool plays a key role in fostering community by ensuring our design system is user-friendly and collaborative. This position involves engaging with cross-functional teams and listening to the needs of educators, thus helping to create an inclusive environment that empowers users globally. By promoting design system best practices, you’ll serve our mission to support educators effectively during rapid technological changes.

When responding to questions about your experience with design systems, start by detailing any past projects where you contributed to or built a design system. Highlight specific practices you followed to ensure scalability and accessibility, and mention any tools or technologies you used, such as Storybook or component libraries.

Discuss your understanding of accessibility principles such as ARIA and WCAG when answering this question. Provide examples of how you've implemented these standards in previous projects, such as conducting accessibility audits or involving users with disabilities in testing practices to gather feedback.

Mention your proficiency in technologies like TypeScript, React, and Next.js. Feel free to elaborate on specific projects involving these tools, showcasing how they helped enhance component-driven development and contributed to successful web applications.

To answer this question, emphasize the importance of user needs while maintaining a cohesive design language. Discuss any techniques you've applied to achieve this balance, like using a modular approach in your design system to allow for both adaptability and uniformity across applications.

Share a specific example of a technical or collaborative challenge. Discuss the steps you took to resolve the issue, emphasizing your problem-solving skills and adaptability. Highlight the outcome and what you learned from the experience.

In your answer, describe strategies you've used to promote best practices in past roles. This could include conducting presentations, creating documentation, or offering workshops for team members. Illustrate how communication and collaboration played a key role in this process.

Outline your systematic approach to debugging in your response, including steps like isolating the issue, testing performance, and making iterative adjustments. Highlight the tools you utilize, such as browser developer tools, as well as your focus on optimizing for both performance and accessibility.

Emphasize the importance of clear and comprehensive documentation in facilitating understanding and usage of the design system by different stakeholders. Discuss how you include documentation practices, such as using Storybook for component documentation, to ensure team members can easily reference and implement design guidelines.

Discuss your techniques for fostering collaborative relationships with designers, such as holding regular sync-ups, seeking feedback during the design process, and being receptive to design changes. Emphasize the value of creating a shared vision for the design system that aligns with user experience and aesthetic goals.

When answering this question, highlight key factors such as user adoption, clear documentation, and robust tooling. Explain how effective communication among team members and aligning the design system with broader company objectives ensures its success and longevity.