Ethos Life: Staff Design Systems Designer

Salary: $126,000 - $224,000 (US national base salary range)

Location: Remote US

About Ethos

Ethos is on a mission to make life insurance accessible and convenient for the next million families. By combining industry expertise, technology, and a human touch, they have streamlined the traditionally complicated and time-consuming life insurance process. With their deep technology and data science capabilities, Ethos is able to transform a multi-week process into a modern digital experience that takes just minutes. They have already issued billions in coverage each month and are continuously breaking barriers in the industry. As a full-stack technology platform, Ethos is at the forefront of promoting family financial health.

The Role

As Ethos' first Design Systems Designer, you will be responsible for building and evolving their design system to power both customer and internal experiences. This is a true 0→1 opportunity as Ethos is not yet "design-system mature." You will play a crucial role in bringing structure to their design and UI processes while maintaining the speed and efficiency of product teams. Collaborating with various teams, including Product Design, Engineering, Brand/Creative, and Content Design, you will create a system that enhances consistency, accessibility, and trust. This role requires a balance of strategic thinking and hands-on execution, from defining the system to building it in Figma and translating it into production-ready components and tokens.

Responsibilities:

• Establish the vision, principles, and roadmap for Ethos' design system, considering both long-term scalability and immediate product needs.
• Audit the current system and product UI, identifying opportunities for standardization and reducing inconsistency.
• Define a scalable token strategy (color, typography, spacing, motion, etc.) and approach to theming and brand expression.
• Design, build, and maintain Figma libraries (components, styles/variables, templates, and patterns) for product teams.
• Create high-quality component specifications with clear interaction behavior, states, responsive guidance, and accessibility considerations.
• Ensure the system supports narrative and conversion-driven experiences.
• Partner with Design System / Front-End engineers to translate the system into reusable code components and tokens.
• Align on workflows to keep design and code in sync.
• Build documentation and coach partner teams on effective system use.
• Define success metrics and track meaningful signals to measure adoption, consistency, efficiency, and accessibility improvements.

Qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience in design systems, with a proven track record of setting system strategy, driving cross-team adoption, and elevating design quality.
• Strong product design foundation with excellent visual and interaction skills.
• Hands-on experience building and maintaining design systems in Figma, including component architecture and documentation.
• Strong working knowledge of modern front-end concepts.
• Experience setting accessibility standards and shipping accessible components.
• Ability to thrive in an ambiguous environment and build structure.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• A portfolio demonstrating end-to-end design system thinking and real-world impact.

Perks:

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Opportunity to work with a diverse and inclusive team.
• Chance to make a significant impact on a fast-growing company.
• Flexible remote work options.
• Collaboration with top investors, including General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, and Google Ventures.

To find out more or apply for this role, please use the following link: https://weworkremotely.com/remote-jobs/ethos-life-staff-design-systems-designer