Principal Product Designer - Design System (AMER) - job 1 of 2

Hi there!

Zapier is on a mission to make automation accessible to everyone, empowering individuals and businesses to be more efficient and productive. As our company continues to scale our mission to democratize automation, now with AI at the core, we're seeking a talented and experienced Principal Designer to lead our Design Systems. In this role, you will play a crucial part in shaping the future of our platform's design and user experience. You will have the unique opportunity to lead and define our design systems and contribute to the development of a cohesive design language that will drive consistency and efficiency across our products.

If you're interested in advancing your career at a fast-growing, profitable, impact-driven company, then read on…

Our Commitment to Applicants

Culture and Values at Zapier

Zapier Guide to Remote Work

Zapier Code of Conduct

Diversity and Inclusivity at Zapier

About You

• Your expertise in product and UX design is outstanding. With over three years of experience as a principal designer or in a similar role, you have honed your focus on design systems and UI/UX design. Your impressive background attests to your ability to consistently deliver top-notch design solutions. You have a portfolio that showcases your mastery of design systems and your ability to create user interfaces that are user-friendly, visually captivating, and uniform in appearance. This portfolio is a testament to your creativity and your unwavering commitment to excellence in design.
• You have a deep understanding of design systems. You possess an exceptional grasp of how they play a pivotal role in driving consistency, scalability, and efficiency in product design. Your expertise lies in developing and executing contributor models for design systems, which not only fosters efficient collaboration but also promotes knowledge sharing among team members. By leveraging your skills in this area, you have the power to revolutionize the way we work together, creating a more streamlined and effective design process.
• Your expertise in interaction design, user-centered design principles, and information architecture is truly remarkable. With this comprehensive grasp, you have the power to create extraordinary user experiences that captivate and delight. Your keen eye for pixel-level detail and unwavering commitment to design quality ensures that every aspect is polished to perfection, leaving no room for compromise. You also have the unique ability to communicate and impart your advanced proficiency in layout, typography, and the organization of visual elements. Your talent for thoughtfully arranging visual components, selecting the perfect typefaces, and maintaining visual consistency brings a sense of harmony and elegance to your designs.
• You are a strong systems thinker. You think broadly and holistically and understand how all the pieces connect together. In doing so, you continually identify key gaps in the customer experience and opportunities for improvement.
• You are a clear and persuasive communicator. You demonstrate leadership level communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and advocate for the importance of design systems within the organization.
• You leverage research and data. You understand when to use qualitative or quantitative methods, how to synthesize all the insights, and how to translate them into actionable plans. You communicate what you learn with your team, work with teammates to iterate on solutions and measure the success of your work.
• You are a skilled mentor, coach, and design leader with a passion and a track record of mentoring designers while at the same time growing your own skills. You've introduced and broadened design practices and enhanced design cultures. You plan and facilitate collaborative sessions, design jams, etc. with other designers and cross-functional partners to achieve the best results and get alignment on the team's direction.
• Curious and adventurous with AI. At Zapier, we encourage everyone to embrace curiosity and a sense of adventure when it comes to AI. It's essential that we all understand the potential benefits of AI and how it can enhance our capabilities as a team. Let's keep exploring and discovering new ways to leverage this powerful technology.

Things you'll do

• In collaboration with your PM and engineering leads, you will have the exciting opportunity to define and implement a highly scalable Design Systems contributor model at Zapier. This model will be crucial in ensuring seamless collaboration and effective scaling of our design efforts.
• As a UI design expert, you will play a pivotal role in setting the bar for quality and accessibility in UI design at Zapier. Your designs will keep accessibility at the core, empowering users of all backgrounds to engage with our products effortlessly.
• By facilitating conversations with the Design System team and internal customers, you will actively contribute to shaping the future of our work. Your input will be instrumental in setting priorities for our shared roadmap, ensuring that we meet the evolving needs of our stakeholders.
• You will be responsible for crafting a comprehensive roadmap for Design Systems, incorporating the diverse needs across our entire business landscape. This roadmap will serve as a strategic guide, aligning our design efforts with the broader goals of Zapier.
• As the expert for our core design system components and tooling, you will be at the forefront of design innovation. Your expertise in managing design tokens and overseeing the design process will be instrumental in maintaining a cohesive and efficient design system.
• Your work will not only set a higher standard for the quality of visual design but also provide clear design guidance to fellow designers. By fostering their creativity and encouraging the application of Design Principles and established visual frameworks, you will foster a collaborative and inspiring design culture aligned with Zapier's overall product aesthetic.
• Create and build Design Principles to ensure that our design language remains consistent and impactful across all our product offerings. Your attention to detail will elevate the overall user experience and reinforce our brand identity.
• Collaboration will be a cornerstone of your role as you cultivate relationships with other design teams at Zapier. Through close collaboration and the shaping of a unified visual language, you will contribute to the cohesive and seamless user experience across multiple product areas.
• As part of the design leadership team, you will be empowered to drive initiatives aimed at improving processes, enhancing quality, and creating new opportunities for the entire design organization. Your insights and expertise will shape the future direction of our design team, paving the way for even greater success.

Zapier Compensation Guiding Principles

We believe all Zapiens should be rewarded competitively and equitably, using practices that are simple and transparent. This philosophy ensures we're able to find, grow, and retain exceptional people from a broad range of backgrounds. Here's how we define our compensation principles:

Competitive: Zapier pays well among the technology sector.

Equitable: Consistent pay practices; competency-based pay.

Simple: Pay is well understood, and pay practices are built for scale.

Transparent: Zapiens know how pay works, including how their pay is determined.

The pay ranges for this role are (min - mid - max):

USA: 222,700 - 278,400 - 334,100 USD

Canada: 222,700 - 278,400 - 334,100 CAD

A Candidate's compensation package is finalized once the interview process is concluded and accounts for experience, competencies (job knowledge, skills and abilities) and internal equity. We use a competency-based approach to base pay, which means we set pay for all Zapier employees based on their competency and skills demonstrated in their role. In alignment with that philosophy, the upper half of a pay range is typically reserved for individuals who have consistently demonstrated a high level of job knowledge and skills for their current role and level while at Zapier.

For more information on Zapier's Total Rewards please click here.

How to Apply

At Zapier, we believe that diverse perspectives and experiences make us better, which is why we have a non-standard application process designed to promote inclusion and equity. We're looking for the best fit for each of our roles, regardless of the type of education or companies in your background, so we encourage you to apply even if your skills and experiences don't exactly match the job description. All we ask is that you answer a few in-depth questions in our application that would typically be asked at the start of an interview process. This helps speed things up by letting us get to know you and your skillset a bit better right out of the gate. Please be sure to answer each question; the resume and CV fields are optional.

After you apply, you are going to hear back from us—even if we don't see an immediate fit with our team. In fact, throughout the process, we strive to never go more than seven days without letting you know the status of your application. We know we'll make mistakes from time to time, so if you ever have questions about where you stand or about the process, just ask your recruiter!

Zapier is an equal-opportunity employer and we're excited to work with talented and empathetic people of all identities. Zapier does not discriminate based on someone's identity in any aspect of hiring or employment as required by law and in line with our commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity. Our code of conduct provides a beacon for the kind of company we strive to be, and we celebrate our differences because those differences are what allow us to make a product that serves a global user base.

Zapier is committed to inclusion. As part of this commitment, Zapier welcomes applications from individuals with disabilities and will work to provide reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodations are needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact jobs@zapier.com.

Even though we're an all-remote company, we still need to be thoughtful about where we have Zapiens working. Check out this resource for a list of countries where we currently cannot have Zapiens permanently working.

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