All remote jobs

UX Designer – Design systems

AI Summary
Canonical is seeking a UX Designer to evolve and govern its design system for open-source software products. The role focuses on reusable UI components, design tokens, interaction patterns, documentation, accessibility, and measurable adoption across product teams. The designer will work closely with engineers and stakeholders to connect design decisions with implementation in a distributed EMEA-based environment. Strong expertise in Figma, Storybook, component libraries, and scalable design-system workflows is central to success. The role also requires ownership of delivery, clear communication, and periodic travel for internal events.
Remote from
EMEA
Salary
Undisclosed
Employment
Full Time
Experience
Open level
Published
Apply before
7 Dec 2026
Listing views
31
Application actions
3
Application toolkit

Make your next move.

Prepare your resume, explore your fit, and draft a cover letter for this opportunity.

Opportunity details

About this role.

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is very widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation and IoT. Our customers include the world’s leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with 1200+ colleagues in 75+ countries and very few office based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution.

The company is founder led, profitable and growing.

We are hiring a UX designer for our Design System Team.

You will play a key role making open source software available to the world. Our Design function ensures the experience of the software and infrastructure we build is true to our intentions, and delivers the tools our community and customers need. The Design System UX designer makes that possible by defining, evolving and advocating for a consistent use of design system that scales across our products.

This role sits in the design system team reporting to Design Systems Management

Location: This role will be based remotely in the EMEA region.

The role entails

  • Building and evolving Canonical’s design system, ensuring measurable adoption, consistency, scalability and accessibility across our products
  • Collaborating with designers, engineers and stakeholders to translate user needs and brand principles into reusable components, patterns and guidelines
  • Championing design system best practices, advocating for cohesive user experience and design, providing documentation and support for cross-functional teams
  • Designing and documenting UI components, design tokens and interaction patterns
  • Ensuring timely and efficient delivery of the roadmap
  • Enabling alignment on design system usage and governance across teams
  • Advocating for accessibility, performance, and scalability in design system decisions and iterating based on data and technological advancements
  • Staying ahead of industry trends, ensuring innovation and balancing it with system coherence and performance

What we are looking for in you

  • Relevant experience in UX/product design, with a strong focus on design systems in complex environments
  • A portfolio demonstrating strong expertise in design systems, including component libraries, documentation and handling complex environments
  • Exceptional educational achievements in design or related behavioral science discipline
  • Expertise in Figma, Storybook and design token workflows
  • Experience of collaborating with engineers and bridging design and code
  • Proven ability to apply design process and clearly communicate and document design decisions
  • Excellent attention to detail and systemic approach to solving complex design challenges
  • Commitment to transparent project delivery and owning team deadlines
  • A passion for balancing consistency and innovation
  • Willingness to travel up to 4 times a year for internal events

Read more about the design team

What we offer colleagues

We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognize outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus or commission. We provide all team members with additional benefits which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.

  • Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person
  • Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year
  • Annual compensation review
  • Recognition rewards
  • Annual holiday leave
  • Maternity and paternity leave
  • Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform
  • Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
  • Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long-haul company events

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open-source projects and the platform for AI, IoT, and the cloud, we are changing the world of software. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence; in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home since our inception in 2004.​ Working here is a step into the future and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.

#LI-remote

Apply now >

This job listing has been manually reviewed by the Jobicy Trust & Safety Team for compliance with our posting guidelines, including verification of the company's legitimacy, accuracy of job details, clarity of remote work policy, and absence of misleading or fraudulent content.

Role DNA

A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description.

Job Complexity

4/5
EasyHard

Pace & Pressure

4/5
RelaxedFast-paced

Autonomy Level

4/5
GuidedFull ownership

Communication Load

5/5
IndependentCollaborative
AI insightThis is a senior-level design-systems role requiring both detailed UX craft and the ability to influence standards across multiple products and technical teams. Success depends on translating complex requirements into scalable, documented design and code-aligned patterns.

Salary analysis

Estimated compensation compared with the broader US market for similar roles.

Estimated job median (per year)Market rate
$65,000
US market range (per year)$50k–$85k
AI insightThe yearly pay period is inferred from the job context; it was not explicitly stated by the employer. No employer base-pay amount is disclosed. The figures are estimated annual USD base-pay ranges for an experienced UX/design-systems specialist in the EMEA market; yearly cadence is inferred from the full-time professional role.

Core skills

Skills and capabilities most closely associated with this opportunity.

Sample interview questions
How would you assess and improve adoption of a design system across several product teams?

I would establish a baseline by auditing product interfaces, component usage, contribution patterns, and recurring inconsistencies. I would then prioritize high-value reusable patterns, publish clear documentation and implementation guidance, and track adoption through component usage, team feedback, and reductions in duplicated design and engineering work.

Describe how you would structure design tokens for a scalable multi-product system.

I would use a layered token model: foundational tokens for raw values, semantic tokens for intended meaning, and component tokens for local implementation needs. This structure supports theming, accessibility adjustments, and controlled evolution while keeping product teams from relying directly on arbitrary visual values.

How do you collaborate with engineers to ensure Figma components are implemented accurately and sustainably?

I involve engineers early in component definition, validate states and edge cases together, and align naming and behavior with the code architecture. I use documentation, Storybook references, acceptance criteria, and regular feedback loops so design and implementation remain synchronized rather than becoming separate sources of truth.

How do you balance consistency with innovation when teams request exceptions to the design system?

I first determine whether the request represents a genuine user or product need or merely a local preference. If it has broader value, I test and evolve the system through an explicit contribution process; if it is truly product-specific, I document a constrained exception to avoid unnecessary fragmentation.

What accessibility considerations are most important when designing reusable UI components?

I ensure components have accessible names, keyboard support, visible focus states, appropriate semantic structure, and sufficient color contrast. I also define behavior for dynamic states, error messaging, responsive layouts, and screen-reader announcements, then validate the guidance with designers and engineers during implementation.

This analysis is generated from the job description. Salary estimates, role characteristics and sample answers are guidance, not employer-provided facts.
Next step

Apply now.

Follow the employer’s application method and review Jobicy’s safety guidance before sharing personal information.

Did you apply?Let us know, and we’ll help you track your application.

Continue on the employer website

Protect your personal information and never pay to secure an interview or job offer. .

Log in to save
One quick step before you apply

Sign in to continue.

Sign in or create a free account to continue to the employer's application.

Add alert
Jobs Talent AI Tools Salaries
Menu