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Design System Designer Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Web Design System (USWDS) guidelines. * Ensure all designs meet Section 508 accessibility compliance, focused on inclusive and equitable access for all users. * Conduct usability testing, analyze ...

New

The UX Designer will create intuitive, user-centered designs for DOD enterprise applications ... Web Design System (USWDS) 3.0 and DOD-specific branding standards. * Ensure mobile-first ...

MID LEVEL UX-UI DESIGNER

Chesapeake, VA ยท On-site

$90K - $110K/yr

The designer collaborates closely with UX, product, and engineering teams, contributes to the ... Contribute to design system components, patterns, and guidelines using atomic design principles

New

Our design system is evolving, and having someone who can own its direction and architecture is critical. Your designs and flows will be how this company makes strategic decisions. When you put ...

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Design System Designer information

See Virginia salary details

$53K

$115K

$148.2K

How much do design system designer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 7, 2026, the average yearly pay for design system designer in Virginia is $115,020.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $115,500.00 and $115,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Design System Designer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Design System Designer, you need expertise in UI/UX design principles, component-based design, and a strong portfolio demonstrating design system work, often backed by a degree in design or a related field. Familiarity with tools like Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, and experience in design token management or version control systems is typical. Collaborative communication, attention to detail, and a problem-solving mindset help designers effectively advocate for consistency across teams. These skills are crucial for creating scalable, cohesive design systems that support efficient product development and a unified user experience.

How does a Design System Designer typically collaborate with cross-functional teams, and what challenges might arise in this process?

As a Design System Designer, you'll frequently collaborate with UX designers, developers, product managers, and brand teams to ensure consistency and scalability across digital products. A common challenge is balancing the needs and feedback from multiple stakeholders while maintaining coherence in the design system. Clear communication, documentation, and regular alignment meetings are essential to address differing priorities and achieve consensus. You'll also act as a bridge, translating design principles into reusable components that satisfy both design and technical requirements.

What is a Design System Designer?

A Design System Designer is a professional responsible for creating, maintaining, and evolving a unified set of design standards, components, and guidelines used across digital products within an organization. They collaborate with product designers, engineers, and other stakeholders to ensure consistency, usability, and efficiency in the user interface and experience. Their work helps streamline the design and development process, making it easier to scale products while maintaining brand identity. Design System Designers also advocate for accessibility and best practices in design.

What is the difference between Design System Designer vs UI Designer?

AspectDesign System DesignerUI Designer
Primary FocusCreating and maintaining design systems, component libraries, and style guidesDesigning user interfaces for specific screens or features
Skills & ToolsDesign systems, UX principles, collaboration tools, prototypingVisual design, wireframing, prototyping, user interface tools
Work EnvironmentCross-functional teams, product teams, design operationsProduct teams, marketing teams, digital agencies
Common UsageUsed in organizations focusing on scalable, consistent design systemsUsed in creating specific UI screens and user interactions

The main difference is that a Design System Designer focuses on building and maintaining comprehensive design systems that ensure consistency across products, while a UI Designer concentrates on designing individual user interfaces for specific features or pages. Both roles require strong design skills, but their scope and objectives differ significantly.

Infographic showing various Design System Designer job openings in Virginia as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 89% Full Time, 8% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $115,020 per year, or $55.3 per hour.
Manager, Product Experience Design IC

Manager, Product Experience Design IC

MasterCard

Arlington, VA โ€ข On-site

$217K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 9 days ago


Job description

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we're helping build asustainableeconomy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactionssecure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Manager, Product Experience Design ICOur Purpose
We work to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible.
Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. We cultivate a culture of inclusion for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences enable us to be a better team - one that makes better decisions, drives innovation and delivers better business results.
About the Team
Our Global SME (Small Medium Enterprise) Team is a world-class team united by our desire to discover and unlock the next generation of business intelligence technology.
You'll join our pioneering CX&D Squad in the Global SME division at Mastercard to design new User Experiences, drive innovation and conceptualize design thinking within our Mastercard products.
You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to create impactful experiences that resonate with our target audience.
As a member of the CX&D Squad, you'll join us in our missions to accelerate the adoption of global SME product solutions, so millions of businesses can scale, grow and drive value to their customers.
We're building the future for Small Medium Businesses at Mastercard.
About the role
We are looking for an experienced & dynamic Product Experience & Design Manager (IC) to join our Global SME Team at Mastercard.
You will play a critical role in designing the next generation of Mastercard's business solutions and data-driven products. Our UX team integrates behavioral science, data, design & technology to create future conceptual designs, iterate design systems, and develop new product solutions that elevate existing features.
If you're passionate about Design Systems and components, live in Figma, are driven by user-centric solutions, and are interested in learning advanced product design skills then we'd love to hear from you.
About Product Experience Design
As a Product Experience Designer, you'll work closely with UX Research, Product Designers, Product Managers, Engineers, and more.
In addition to contributing to our Design System, you'll be creating & building new experiences to increase conversion rates by creating reusable components via high-fidelity design tokens, UI Kits that address technical challenges, and applying advanced interaction design prototypes.
As an empathetic user advocate, you strive to turn complexity into simple beautiful solution that meet customers' needs. You love building great products by applying best practices and standards to create innovative products.
We're always evolving and learning, it's a place where you'll grow as a professional, both individually and as a team. You'll help us to design the best Customer Experience for a range of even more innovative things we can't talk about yet!
As a Mastercard's CX&Design community member, you'd have access to our internal Guild of hundreds of designers, researchers, and strategists, training, and professional development.
What you'll be doing
- Contribute to our design system between Design, Product and Engineering.
- Ensure that our User Experience optimizes business objectives and user engagement, working closely with Product Design partners & Product Managers.
- Ideate and conceptualize new features aligned with product strategies.
- Rapid prototyping of Proof-of-Concepts and MVPs using human-centered design principles.
- Create new visual designs, reusable components via high-fidelity assets, user flows, journey maps, and beyond, to achieve the best Customer Experience.
- Adapting & iterate Proof-of-Concept components onto our Design System.
- Continuously improve efficiency in the design process and the overall product experience by using atomic design principles.
Skills you should hold
- Over 6 years of UX/UI design experience for consumer-facing products and B2B solutions.
- A master on figma, hands on & experience with design systems, crafting & detailing design, dashboards & prototypes on Figma.
- Ability to iterate & craft detailing new components based on a design North Star.
- Strong UX focus and understanding of component properties, behaviours and grids.
- A solid understanding of User Experience with B2B and B2B2C business models, with experience in launching global products being a huge plus.
- Ability to think strategically about product strategy and articulate design iterations.
- Experience adapting to changes and implementing updates to keep the design system relevant.
- Ability to understand technical implications in design decisions.
- You practice Design Thinking and can demonstrate success in bringing products to market using this methodology.
- Passion for solving problems and being challenged.
- Adaptability - constant willingness to learn and hit the ground running.
- Initiative and ability to collaborate independently.
- Track record of resilience, agility, and ability to thrive in dynamic growth environments.
- You're a doer with a clean visual design sense.
- Curious and passionate about innovating Product Design.
Before you apply, please read the Mastercard Careers page to learn more about our internal culture, values, and mission.
About Mastercard
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart, and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments, and businesses realize their greatest potential.
Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.
Corporate Security Responsibility
All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:
Abide by Mastercard's security policies and practices.
Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard's guidelines.
//Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact reasonable_accommodation@mastercard.com and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.

Corporate Security Responsibility


All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

  • Abide by Mastercard's security policies and practices;

  • Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

  • Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

  • Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard's guidelines.

In line with Mastercard's total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations.

Pay Ranges

Arlington, Virginia: $150,000 - $254,000 USD