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Design Lead Jobs in Texas (NOW HIRING)

Design Lead

Austin, TX · On-site

$109K - $142K/yr

As a Design Lead , you own the user experience for your product area and co-steward our shared design system, while staying hands-on in Figma every day. This is a player-coach role: you will design ...

Design Lead

Austin, TX · On-site +1

$153K - $188K/yr

Design Lead Department: Product Management Employment Type: Full Time Location: Remote - USA Reporting To: Director of Product Design Description Summit K12 is building a lean, modern design function ...

As a Bridge Design Lead, you'll apply advanced structural engineering principles and technical expertise to the planning, design, and analysis of bridge and transportation structures. You'll lead the ...

Product Design Lead

Austin, TX · On-site

$187K/yr

We are looking for a Product Design Lead to join our design team in Austin or remotley. Our team's focus is to create world-class experiences for our customers. We pride ourselves in rethinking ...

As a Bridge Design Lead, you'll apply advanced structural engineering principles and technical expertise to the planning, design, and analysis of bridge and transportation structures. You'll lead the ...

As a Bridge Design Lead, you'll apply advanced structural engineering principles and technical expertise to the planning, design, and analysis of bridge and transportation structures. You'll lead the ...

As a Bridge Design Lead, you'll apply advanced structural engineering principles and technical expertise to the planning, design, and analysis of bridge and transportation structures. You'll lead the ...

As a Bridge Design Lead, you'll apply advanced structural engineering principles and technical expertise to the planning, design, and analysis of bridge and transportation structures. You'll lead the ...

As a Bridge Design Lead, you'll apply advanced structural engineering principles and technical expertise to the planning, design, and analysis of bridge and transportation structures. You'll lead the ...

Product Design Lead

Austin, TX · On-site

$187K/yr

We are looking for a Product Design Lead to join our design team in Austin or remotley. Our team's focus is to create world-class experiences for our customers. We pride ourselves in rethinking ...

As a Bridge Design Lead, you'll apply advanced structural engineering principles and technical expertise to the planning, design, and analysis of bridge and transportation structures. You'll lead the ...

Be Seen First

I&E DESIGN LEAD Location: Katy, Texas Duration: Temp to Perm Looking for an I&E Design Lead who thrives on ownership, collaboration, and delivering high-impact projects. This is an opportunity to ...

As a Bridge Design Lead, you'll apply advanced structural engineering principles and technical expertise to the planning, design, and analysis of bridge and transportation structures. You'll lead the ...

The Design Manager leads the design team to deliver high-quality visual communications that advance the mission of Texas Baptists. This role combines creative direction and hands-on design with team ...

We are looking for a Transportation Design Lead to support our Texas market. The position can be based in any of our TX offices in Houston, Austin or San Antonio. The Impact You'll Make As the ...

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Design Lead information

See Texas salary details

$36

$56

$76

How much do design lead jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 27, 2026, the average hourly pay for design lead in Texas is $56.13, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $43.46 and $67.16 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a design lead?

A Design Lead is a senior professional responsible for guiding the creative direction and execution of design projects within an organization. They oversee design teams, collaborate with stakeholders, and ensure that visual and user experience standards are met. Design Leads often mentor junior designers, manage project timelines, and help align design strategies with business goals. Their role blends creative leadership with project management to deliver effective and innovative design solutions.

How does a design lead typically balance hands-on design work with team leadership responsibilities?

As a Design Lead, you'll often split your time between guiding and mentoring your team, setting the creative direction, and contributing directly to high-priority projects. While your leadership duties—such as conducting design reviews, coordinating with stakeholders, and ensuring alignment with business goals—will take up a significant portion of your schedule, most organizations still expect you to remain actively involved in the design process. This balance requires strong organizational skills and the ability to delegate effectively, ensuring both team growth and high-quality deliverables.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a design lead, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Design Lead, you need a solid background in design principles, user experience (UX), and visual communication, typically supported by a degree in design or a related field. Proficiency with industry-standard tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, and knowledge of project management systems is crucial. Strong leadership, collaboration, and communication skills help you guide teams and articulate design vision effectively. These skills ensure projects are delivered with high-quality design, aligned with business goals, and foster innovation within teams.

What is the difference between Design Lead vs UX Designer?

AspectDesign LeadUX Designer
CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Design, Graphic Design, or related fields; experience in leadership rolesBachelor's or Master's in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, or related fields; portfolio showcasing UX projects
Work EnvironmentLeads design teams, collaborates with product managers and developers, oversees project directionFocuses on user research, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing within product teams
Industry UsageCommonly found in tech, advertising, and design agenciesPrimarily in tech companies, startups, and digital product firms

The main difference is that a Design Lead oversees the entire design process and team, providing strategic direction, while a UX Designer concentrates on creating user-centered experiences through research and design. Both roles require strong design skills, but the Design Lead has broader responsibilities and leadership duties.

Infographic showing various Design Lead job openings in Texas as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 89% Full Time, 9% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 89% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $116,756 per year, or $56.1 per hour.

Design Lead

Austin, TX • On-site

Summit K12
E-Learning • 51 - 200 employees

$109K - $142K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 23 days ago


Job description

Description
Summit K12 is building a lean, modern design function — and you'll be at the center of it. As a Design Lead, you own the user experience for your product area and co-steward our shared design system, while staying hands-on in Figma every day. This is a player-coach role: you will design, lead our design efforts, and partner closely with Product Managers as a trusted consultant, helping bridge the gap between our design and product teams to ensure cohesive, high-quality outcomes.
We're a customer-driven, growing company — many of us came from the classrooms and districts we serve, so deep user knowledge lives in-house. We move fast: rather than lengthy research cycles, we validate with the educator expertise on our own team and quick feedback from real users. We're looking for someone who ships confidently without waiting for perfect data, uses AI tools to multiply their output, and earns influence through craft and judgment rather than title or process.

Key Responsibilities
  • Maintain and evolve the Summit K12 design system — components, patterns, typography, color, accessibility standards, and interaction behaviors
  • Keep the system documented, versioned, and genuinely used, so teams move faster with it than without it
  • Partner with Engineering to ensure components are technically feasible and consistently implemented
  • Drive adoption — you and your fellow Design Leads share accountability for the system actually being used across teams, reducing UX fragmentation through enablement and reusable patterns rather than policing
  • Decide, jointly with your fellow Design Leads, what enters the system and when projects in your area can deviate from it, escalating consequential additions, cross-product deviations, and any calls the leads can't align on.
  • Act as a design consultant and force multiplier to Product Managers — in a world where a PM can spin up an AI prototype in an afternoon, you're the one who makes it shippable: coherent, accessible, and on-system
  • Engage early in discovery to shape solutions, not just review them at the end
  • Make the case for design through outcomes — demonstrate how strong UX reduces rework, support burden, and churn
  • Be the Design Lead your teams trust for day-to-day design calls
  • Spend real time in Figma — this is a shipping role, not a pure oversight role
  • Translate platform experience strategy into concrete, consistent navigation, workflows, and interaction patterns across all user types
  • Leverage AI tools (e.g., Claude, v0, Figma AI) to accelerate design and development workflows
  • Integrate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into the design system so interaction patterns work for the full range of learner abilities
  • Use lightweight validation — heuristic reviews, quick user feedback loops, analytics, and support signals — in place of heavyweight research studies
  • Know when a decision needs evidence and when experienced judgment is enough
  • Advocate for accessibility, clarity, and simplicity in every experience
  • Set clear expectations for quality, ownership, and accountability
  • Run lean design workflows in Figma and Jira that support fast iteration and predictable delivery
  • Foster a culture of user empathy, experimentation, and low-ego collaboration
  • Lead, mentor and develop the designers you work with

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Required
  • 6+ years in product/UX design, including owning a design system
  • Experience leading or mentoring designers while staying hands-on
  • Fluency in Figma and comfort managing design work in Jira
  • Active use of AI tools in your design workflow, and enthusiasm for operating as an AI-leveraged, lean design function
  • Strong grounding in user-centered design, interaction design, and Universal Design for Learning
  • Experience with WCAG accessibility standards, including interpreting ACRs and driving remediation
  • A track record of building design cohesion through cross-functional partnership — influence earned, not imposed
  • Comfort operating in a fast-moving environment: shipping without waiting for perfect data, with limited resources and tight timelines
  • EdTech experience, or deep accessibility/UDL work that translates quickly to K-12 contexts
  • Experience designing SaaS or platform-based products
  • Understanding of the workflows and daily realities of teachers, school administrators, and district leaders
  • Experience collaborating with distributed or global teams across time zones
  • Experience in lean or scaling organizations
  • A single, consistently applied design system across all products
  • Product Managers seek out design partnership because it makes their features better and faster to ship
  • Reduced UX inconsistency and rework during development
  • Faster delivery through reusable patterns and clear standards
  • Positive usability feedback from teachers, students, and administrators

Benefits
Summit K12 offers a comprehensive benefits package. Highlights include:
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance with multiple plan options
  • Company-paid short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance
  • 401(k) retirement plan
  • Paid Time Off (PTO) program
  • 10 paid holidays plus 1 floating holiday annually
  • Wellness resources and support programs
Summit K12 is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.