Staff Design Systems Engineer

At ClickUp, we’re not just building software. We’re architecting the future of work! In a world overwhelmed by work sprawl, we saw a better way. That’s why we created the first truly converged AI workspace, unifying tasks, docs, chat, calendar, and enterprise search, all supercharged by context-driven AI, empowering millions of teams to break free from silos, reclaim their time, and unlock new levels of productivity. At ClickUp, you’ll have the opportunity to learn, use, and pioneer AI in ways that shape not only our product, but the future of work itself. Join us and be part of a bold, innovative team that’s redefining what’s possible! 🚀

About the Role

We're hiring an AI-first design systems builder to embed in our Design & Research org and own the systems, workflows, and tooling that 10x how our teams operate. You'll be equal parts AI workflow builder and design systems owner: someone who sits in design and research sessions, deeply understands the workflows, and then goes and rebuilds them, turning what used to take days into tasks that run in the background.

Building effective systems starts in an LLM to clarify the problem, moves into tools like Claude Code and Cursor to prototype agents, and ends in workflows that the team actually adopts.

This role exists because our Design & Research org needs someone obsessed with removing every friction point. You'll partner closely with our Head of Design, research leads, and the broader Product Ops team to ensure design and research operations are running at a pace and quality that matches our ambition. We move fast, we care about details, and we don't settle.

What You'll Do

Own and evolve design systems with AI-first workflows that 10x EPD efficiency. Go deep on how designers and researchers actually work: recruiting participants, synthesizing interviews, maintaining design systems, generating specs, tracking projects. Identify the highest-leverage friction points and rebuild those workflows from the ground up using AI. Ship agents, scripts, and integrations that compound team capacity.

Turn automate-able tasks into background processes. If a designer or researcher is doing something repetitive, that's your problem to solve. Build Super Agents for ops work, use AI coding assistants for integrations across Figma, research repos, and component libraries, and create systems that handle the work without anyone needing to think about it.

Contribute to strategic improvement of team quality and efficiency. This isn't just about saving time, it's about improving product outcomes efficiently. Surface where AI can improve research rigor, design system consistency, or cross-functional handoff quality. Bring a point of view on where the org should invest.

What You Bring

• 4+ years in design systems, design engineering, design operations, research operations, or technical program management at a fast-paced company

• Active use of LLMs such as Claude or ChatGPT in your actual workflow. You have AI projects you're excited to share!

• Experience with modern design and research tooling ecosystems (Figma, design tokens, component libraries, research repos, prototyping tools) and a strong point of view on where they're headed

• Strong technical fluency: APIs, automation platforms, and the ability to wire systems together

• An eye for design and research quality. You don't have to be a designer or researcher, but you recognize great craft and care about the details that separate good from exceptional

• Ability to manage multiple high-urgency projects simultaneously across cross-functional teams

• Excellent communication with a strong bias toward action. Find the problem, diagnose it, propose the fix, and ideally just fix it

Nice to Have

• Engineering, Research, Design or Product Management background

• Experience planning or supporting customer interviews, usability tests, or research synthesis at scale

• Familiarity with design systems and extending shared components

• Experience in operations at a high-growth SaaS company shipping to millions of users

• Track record of building internal AI tools or agents that other teams actually adopted

Unsure if you meet all the qualifications of this job description but are deeply excited about the role? We hire based on ambition, grit, and a passion for improving the way people work. If you think ClickUp is the company for you, we encourage you to apply!

At ClickUp, we assess every candidate based on the potential impact they can have. We hire the best people for the job and support each person’s journey to build their boldest career.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ClickUp is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

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Please note we are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa for roles outside of engineering and product at this time. Sponsorship for engineering and product roles is not guaranteed, but is instead based on the business needs for that specific role at that time. Please reach out to the recruiter with any questions.

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