What a design systems job actually asks of you — what you would be doing, and what you need to know before applying — read out of the postings themselves and sliced by discipline, role, workplace and seniority. Counted fresh every time you load the page.
Counted from 145 open jobs, of which 135 carry a description. 127 of those say what you would be doing and 129 say what you need to know — read from the brief every job page shows, or from the posting's own headings where it has none. Every figure is counted against the postings that have the section, never against the whole board; a group of fewer than 8 says so rather than implying a trend; and a term a posting names is a term it names, which is not the same as one it needs.
How the board divides up
Plain counts, needing no reading of anybody's prose: every job carries these. A field is counted only where a posting states it, so each list says its own total.
Discipline
Design systems work is still filed under design; engineering postings are barely a quarter of the board, and product hardly registers.
- Design
- 69% , 94 of 136 jobs that state it
- Engineering
- 27% , 37 of 136 jobs that state it
- Product
- 4% , 5 of 136 jobs that state it
Of 136 jobs that state it.
Role
Most of this hires under the product designer title, not a design systems one. Only one role in eleven is explicitly a systems manager job.
- Product Designer
-
43% - Design Systems Manager
-
18% - Design Engineer
-
10% - Software Engineer
-
8% - Frontend Engineer
-
7% - UX Designer
-
4% - Product Manager
-
4% - UI Designer
-
2% - Visual Designer
-
2% - Mobile Engineer
-
2%
Of 136 jobs that state it.
Workplace
Half of these want you in the office some days. Fully remote is the minority option, at 33 of 114.
- Hybrid
- 49% , 56 of 115 jobs that state it
- Remote
- 31% , 36 of 115 jobs that state it
- Onsite
- 20% , 23 of 115 jobs that state it
Of 115 jobs that state it.
Seniority
The ladder starts at senior. One mid-level posting in 101, and nothing below it.
- Senior
-
36% - Staff
-
18% - Manager
-
16% - Lead
-
16% - Principal
-
11% - Head/Director
-
3% - Mid
-
1%
Of 102 jobs that state it.
Type
Almost none of this is contract work. Eight postings out of 144 for anyone freelancing.
- Full time
- 95% , 138 of 145 jobs that state it
- Contract
- 3% , 5 of 145 jobs that state it
- Freelance
- 1% , 2 of 145 jobs that state it
Of 145 jobs that state it.
Country
Half the board is American. France beats the UK, so the European share is more spread out than the usual London default suggests.
A job posted in three countries counts in all three, so these add up to more than the board.
- United States
-
49% - France
-
9% - United Kingdom
-
7% - Spain
-
5% - Sweden
-
4% - Germany
-
4% - India
-
4% - Canada
-
3% - Australia
-
2% - Denmark
-
1%
Of 142 jobs that state it.
21 more with fewer jobs each, not shown.
Postings a month
By the date each board gave its posting, which is when it was published rather than when this site first saw it. The bar compares each month against the busiest.
- June 2024
-
1 - July 2024
-
2 - September 2024
-
1 - December 2024
-
1 - May 2025
-
1 - June 2025
-
1 - November 2025
-
1 - December 2025
-
1 - January 2026
-
4 - February 2026
-
6 - March 2026
-
1 - April 2026
-
8 - May 2026
-
4 - June 2026
-
12 - July 2026
-
38 - August 2026
-
56 - September 2026
-
7
What the postings ask of you
What you would be doing
Writing and naming things is the job. Documentation and tokens outrank Figma across the board, and component work is the rarest listed task.
- Documentation
-
68% - Accessibility
-
53% - Design tokens
-
50% - Adoption
-
45% - Roadmap and strategy
-
43% - Governance
-
40% - Mentoring
-
32% - Figma
-
30%
Of 127 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
The asked-for skills split cleanly: Figma and tokens on one side, React and JavaScript on the other. Accessibility is the one thing both sides want.
- Accessibility
-
60% - Figma
-
59% - Design tokens
-
57% - Documentation
-
30% - Component libraries
-
29% - HTML and CSS
-
29% - React
-
28% - Governance
-
22%
Of 129 postings that say what you need.
By discipline
Design
87 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
Design roles here write and govern more than they draw: Figma work is named in fewer postings than documentation, tokens, governance or adoption.
- Documentation
-
78% - Design tokens
-
53% - Accessibility
-
49% - Governance
-
49% - Adoption
-
46% - Roadmap and strategy
-
46%
Of 83 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
Figma gets you read; tokens and accessibility get you hired. HTML and CSS is asked of nearly a third of design applicants.
- Figma
-
69% - Design tokens
-
67% - Accessibility
-
60% - Documentation
-
36% - HTML and CSS
-
26% - Governance
-
23%
Of 84 postings that say what you need.
Engineering
35 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
Accessibility is the engineering job, named more often than components or versioning. Nearly half also expect you to mentor.
- Accessibility
-
70% - Documentation
-
52% - Mentoring
-
52% - Design tokens
-
45% - Component libraries
-
39% - Adoption
-
33%
Of 33 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
Accessibility outranks React on the engineering side, and 8 of 18 want Figma too.
- Accessibility
-
76% - JavaScript
-
67% - Component libraries
-
64% - React
-
61% - Design tokens
-
42% - HTML and CSS
-
42%
Of 33 postings that say what you need.
Not shown, for want of enough postings to read anything into: Product.
By role
Product Designer
56 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
The product designer title here means running a system: documentation, tokens and adoption, with Figma named in fewer than half.
- Documentation
-
80% - Design tokens
-
61% - Adoption
-
50% - Accessibility
-
48% - Governance
-
46% - Roadmap and strategy
-
46%
Of 54 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
Tokens are now baseline for product designers, asked more often than documentation. A quarter also want HTML and CSS.
- Figma
-
71% - Design tokens
-
65% - Accessibility
-
60% - Documentation
-
35% - Component libraries
-
24% - HTML and CSS
-
24%
Of 55 postings that say what you need.
Design Systems Manager
21 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
- Documentation
-
65% - Governance
-
60% - Accessibility
-
55% - Roadmap and strategy
-
50% - Adoption
-
45% - Figma
-
40%
Of 20 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
Managers are not exempt from the craft: over half of these nine want HTML and CSS, and a third want React.
- Design tokens
-
60% - Figma
-
60% - Accessibility
-
55% - Documentation
-
35% - Governance
-
35% - HTML and CSS
-
35%
Of 20 postings that say what you need.
Design Engineer
12 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
- Accessibility
-
70% - Documentation
-
60% - Design tokens
-
50% - Component libraries
-
50% - Adoption
-
40% - Governance
-
30%
Of 10 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
JavaScript comes up in 60% of these against 17% of the rest of the board. It is the biggest difference between this group and the others, and the thing to prepare for if you are choosing between them.
- Accessibility
-
80% - JavaScript
-
60% - Design tokens
-
50% - Component libraries
-
50% - React
-
50% - Figma
-
40%
Of 10 postings that say what you need.
Frontend Engineer
10 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
Mentoring comes up in 70% of these against 29% of the rest of the board. It is the biggest difference between this group and the others, and the thing to prepare for if you are choosing between them.
- Accessibility
-
80% - Mentoring
-
70% - Design tokens
-
60% - Component libraries
-
50% - Adoption
-
50% - Roadmap and strategy
-
50%
Of 10 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
JavaScript is a requirement in 90% of them and part of the described work in 0%. It screens applicants more than it describes the job: you are expected to prove it before anyone explains what you would build with it.
- JavaScript
-
90% - React
-
90% - Accessibility
-
80% - Component libraries
-
70% - HTML and CSS
-
60% - Design tokens
-
40%
Of 10 postings that say what you need.
Software Engineer
10 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
Testing comes up in 40% of these against 3% of the rest of the board. It is the biggest difference between this group and the others, and the thing to prepare for if you are choosing between them.
- Accessibility
-
60% - Documentation
-
60% - Mentoring
-
60% - Design tokens
-
40% - Testing
-
40% - Component libraries
-
30%
Of 10 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
- JavaScript
-
70% - Accessibility
-
60% - Component libraries
-
60% - Figma
-
60% - React
-
60% - HTML and CSS
-
50%
Of 10 postings that say what you need.
Not shown, for want of enough postings to read anything into: UX Designer, Product Manager, Visual Designer, Mobile Engineer, UI Designer.
By seniority
Senior
37 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
Governance lands at senior, not just above it: half of these postings include it.
- Documentation
-
65% - Design tokens
-
56% - Accessibility
-
47% - Figma
-
44% - Mentoring
-
35% - Adoption
-
32%
Of 34 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
Accessibility is the most-asked skill at senior, ahead of Figma. React, HTML and CSS and JavaScript each turn up in about a third.
- Accessibility
-
71% - Figma
-
71% - Design tokens
-
62% - Component libraries
-
44% - Documentation
-
35% - JavaScript
-
32%
Of 34 postings that say what you need.
Staff
18 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
Mentoring arrives at staff, matching tokens at 9 of 14. The step up is other people's work.
- Documentation
-
83% - Accessibility
-
61% - Mentoring
-
61% - Design tokens
-
56% - Adoption
-
56% - Governance
-
44%
Of 18 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
- Accessibility
-
72% - Design tokens
-
50% - React
-
44% - Mentoring
-
39% - Figma
-
39% - HTML and CSS
-
33%
Of 18 postings that say what you need.
Lead
14 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
Documentation is described as the work in 93% of these postings but asked for as a requirement in 43%. It is what the job turns out to be rather than what gets you the interview — so it is worth showing even where nobody asked for it.
- Documentation
-
93% - Design tokens
-
57% - Accessibility
-
50% - Governance
-
50% - Roadmap and strategy
-
50% - Mentoring
-
43%
Of 14 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
Storybook comes up in 50% of these against 15% of the rest of the board. It is the biggest difference between this group and the others, and the thing to prepare for if you are choosing between them.
- Accessibility
-
71% - Figma
-
71% - Design tokens
-
57% - Governance
-
50% - Storybook
-
50% - Documentation
-
43%
Of 14 postings that say what you need.
Manager
13 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
Adoption is described as the work in 75% of these postings but asked for as a requirement in 8%. It is what the job turns out to be rather than what gets you the interview — so it is worth showing even where nobody asked for it.
- Adoption
-
75% - Accessibility
-
58% - Governance
-
58% - Roadmap and strategy
-
50% - Design tokens
-
33% - Component libraries
-
33%
Of 12 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
- Design tokens
-
58% - Figma
-
50% - React
-
33% - Accessibility
-
25% - Documentation
-
25% - Component libraries
-
25%
Of 12 postings that say what you need.
Principal
10 live jobs with a description.
What you would be doing
- Accessibility
-
80% - Roadmap and strategy
-
70% - Governance
-
60% - Design tokens
-
50% - Documentation
-
50% - Adoption
-
50%
Of 10 postings that say what you would do.
What you need to know
- Design tokens
-
60% - Accessibility
-
60% - Component libraries
-
40% - Figma
-
40% - Governance
-
30% - Roadmap and strategy
-
20%
Of 10 postings that say what you need.
Not shown, for want of enough postings to read anything into: Head/Director, Mid.
Pay
53 of 145 jobs state a range, and 37 of those are in $. Only those are counted below: converting would invent a number and mixing would average dollars with euros. Across all of them the median range runs $170,000 to $220,000, which is the least useful number on this page — the question is what a level or a discipline earns, so that is what follows.
By seniority
Managing people pays less than staying technical: staff bands sit above manager bands at both ends. The senior band is the tightest of the four, so the money starts moving at staff.
- Principal
-
$220,000–$292,000 - Staff
-
$205,760–$285,900 - Manager
-
$170,000–$220,000 - Senior
-
$165,000–$185,000
Each bar is the top of that range, against the highest here.
Fewer than 5 stated ranges, so no median: Lead (4), Head/Director (1).
By discipline
Engineering starts slightly lower than design but tops out $15,000 higher. Similar pay, more upside on the code side.
- Design
-
$174,000–$230,000 - Engineering
-
$172,500–$245,000
Each bar is the top of that range, against the highest here.
Fewer than 5 stated ranges, so no median: Product (2).
By country
This one the board cannot answer. Almost every posting that states pay is American — 34 of 37 — so there is nothing to compare a country against. Where pay is published is a fact about disclosure law, not about what the work is worth.