At Braze, we have found our people. We’re a genuinely approachable, exceptionally kind, and intensely passionate crew.
We seek to ignite that passion by setting high standards, championing teamwork, and creating work-life harmony as we collectively navigate rapid growth on a global scale while striving for greater equity and opportunity – inside and outside our organization.
To flourish here, you must be prepared to set a high bar for yourself and those around you. There is always a way to contribute: Acting with autonomy, having accountability and being open to new perspectives are essential to our continued success.
Our deep curiosity to learn and our eagerness to share diverse passions with others gives us balance and injects a one-of-a-kind vibrancy into our culture.
If you are driven to solve exhilarating challenges and have a bias toward action in the face of change, you will be empowered to make a real impact here, with a sharp and passionate team at your back. If Braze sounds like a place where you can thrive, we can’t wait to meet you.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
We’re seeking a Lead Design Engineer to own and evolve Braze’s design system and shared UX foundations.
This is a senior individual contributor role responsible for shaping the technical and design direction of our shared UI foundations in close partnership with Engineering. You will operate at the intersection of design and code to ensure our system is robust, scalable, accessible, and implementation-ready across product teams.
This role strengthens the connection between design and implementation. You will modernize how our design system is built, documented, validated, and adopted, while driving automation and improving system quality and consistency. You will contribute hands-on while mentoring designers and engineers, raising the bar for accessibility, web standards, CSS practices, interaction quality, and implementation-aware thinking across the UX organization.
You will also help future-proof our design system by enabling programmatic access and validation. This includes supporting automation workflows and making system foundations usable through tooling, CLI interfaces, and AI-assisted workflows where appropriate.
Responsibilities:
- Own, in partnership with Engineering, the technical and design direction of the design system, ensuring it scales effectively and remains coherent across product teams
- Contribute hands-on to system architecture, interaction patterns, documentation, and implementation decisions
- Define scalable interaction and component patterns that balance usability, clarity, flexibility, performance, and maintainability
- Strengthen design-to-code alignment by partnering closely with frontend engineers on tokens, semantic HTML, CSS architecture, accessibility standards (WCAG), and implementation practices
- Champion accessibility, inclusive design, web standards, and modern CSS practices across the UX organization
- Mentor designers in accessibility, responsive systems, CSS fundamentals, and implementation-aware design thinking
- Drive automation and tooling that improve workflow efficiency, system compliance, and programmatic access (e.g., APIs, CLI tools, AI-assisted validation)
- Establish scalable contribution, governance, and release workflows to support adoption and long-term system health
- Reduce fragmentation, UX debt, and inconsistency across the platform
- Define and track metrics that measure system quality, accessibility, automation impact, and adoption
WHO YOU ARE
- 5+ years working in design systems, design engineering, or highly technical product design roles within complex SaaS environments
- Proven track record building, scaling, or modernizing a design system in close partnership with Engineering
- Strong fluency in frontend fundamentals, including component architecture, semantic HTML, modern CSS practices, responsive systems, accessibility standards (WCAG), and scalable UI patterns
- Demonstrated design craft judgment, with the ability to define and uphold system-level UX quality across interaction patterns and shared components
- Deep understanding of design-to-code workflows and how to strengthen collaboration between designers and engineers
- A builder mindset, having introduced automation, tooling, or programmatic access (APIs, CLI tools, validation pipelines, AI-assisted workflows) to improve system quality and efficiency
- A track record of mentoring designers and elevating technical fluency across a UX organization
- Strong systems thinking, with clear awareness of scalability, performance, maintainability, and long-term architectural tradeoffs
- Proven ability to establish standards and drive adoption across multiple product teams through influence rather than formal authority
- Clear, credible communicator who builds trust across design and engineering
- Comfortable operating in fast-moving, resource-constrained environments with high ambiguity
Bonus if you have:
- Contributed production-grade frontend code to component libraries or shared UI frameworks
- Built internal developer tooling, automated validation systems, or CI/CD-integrated quality checks
- Led accessibility audits or driven measurable accessibility improvements at scale
- Designed or implemented token-based systems, theming strategies, or multi-product UI foundations
- Integrated design systems with AI-assisted tooling or automated compliance workflows
- Contributed to open-source UI systems or engaged with frontend/design systems communities
For candidates based in the United States, the pay range for this position at the start of employment is expected to be between $136,000 and $205,275/year with an expected On Target Earnings (OTE) between $160,000 and $241,500/year (including bonus or commission). Your exact offer may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition to cash compensation, Braze offers full- and part- time employees a comprehensive Total Rewards package that includes equity grants of restricted stock (RSUs) so that all Braze employees own a piece of our company.
#LI-Hybrid
WHAT WE OFFER
Braze benefits vary by location, and we encourage you to review our specific benefits offerings for each country here. More details on benefits plans will be provided if you receive an offer of employment.
From offering comprehensive benefits to fostering hybrid ways of working, we’ve got you covered so you can prioritize work-life harmony. Braze offers benefits such as:
- Competitive compensation that may include equity
- Retirement and Employee Stock Purchase Plans
- Flexible paid time off
- Comprehensive benefit plans covering medical, dental, vision, life, and disability
- Family services that include fertility benefits and equal paid parental leave
- Professional development supported by formal career pathing, learning platforms, and a yearly learning stipend
- A curated in-office employee experience, designed to foster community, team connections, and innovation
- Opportunities to give back to your community, including an annual company-wide Volunteer Week and donation matching
- Employee Resource Groups that provide supportive communities within Braze
- Collaborative, transparent, and fun culture recognized as a Great Place to Work®
ABOUT BRAZE
Braze is the leading customer engagement platform that empowers brands to Be Absolutely Engaging.™ Braze helps brands deliver great customer experiences that drive value both for consumers and for their businesses. Built on a foundation of composable intelligence, BrazeAI™ allows marketers to combine and activate AI agents, models, and features at every touchpoint throughout the Braze Customer Engagement Platform for smarter, faster, and more meaningful customer engagement. From cross-channel messaging and journey orchestration to Al-powered decisioning and optimization, Braze enables companies to turn action into interaction through autonomous, 1:1 personalized experiences.
The company has repeatedly been recognized as a Leader in marketing technology by industry analysts, and was voted a G2 “Best of Marketing and Digital Advertising Software Product” in 2025.
Braze was also named a 2025 Best Companies To Work For by U.S. News & World Report, a 2025 America’s Greatest Companies by Newsweek, and a 2025 Fortune Best Workplace in Technology™ by Great Place To Work®, among other accolades. Braze is also proudly certified as a Great Place to Work® in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Singapore.
The company is headquartered in New York with offices in Austin, Berlin, Bucharest, Chicago, Dubai, Jakarta, London, Paris, San Francisco, São Paulo, Singapore, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo.
At Braze, we strive to create equitable growth and opportunities inside and outside the organization.
Building meaningful connections is at the heart of everything we do, and that includes our recruiting practices. We're committed to offering all candidates a fair, accessible, and inclusive experience – regardless of age, color, disability, gender identity, marital status, maternity, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran. When applying and interviewing with Braze, we want you to feel comfortable showcasing what makes you you.
We know that sometimes different circumstances can lead talented people to hesitate to apply for a role unless they meet 100% of the criteria. If this sounds familiar, we encourage you to apply, as we’d love to meet you.
Please see our Candidate Privacy Policy for more information on how Braze processes your personal information during the recruitment process and, if applicable based on your location, how you can exercise any privacy rights.Top Skills
Braze Chicago, Illinois, USA Office
Braze Chicago Office
1 N State Street, Chicago, IL, United States
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