Design Systems & Operations Lead

About the role

Macquarie's design team builds the digital banking experience across native mobile apps and responsive web journeys, using a design system as its foundational infrastructure. The Design Systems & Operations Lead owns the system's vision, strategy and operations, reporting to the Head of Design. The role leads the system discipline, manages a small design systems team and partners with executive product, brand and engineering stakeholders to scale the design infrastructure.

Key responsibilities

• Act as a direct people manager and mentor to the Design Systems lead and the core systems team, shaping their growth, performance and daily priorities.
• Define and drive the multi-year strategy, roadmap and commercial value of the Macquarie Design System across iOS, Android and web.
• Partner with brand, marketing and product design leadership to establish a unified visual language.
• Build and run a lightweight governance model and federated contribution framework so product squads can consume, contribute and innovate safely.
• Co-lead the system with engineering leads to keep design tokens, Figma libraries and production code in sync.

Required profile

• 8-10+ years in digital product design, with a strong focus on building, scaling and governing multi-platform design systems.
• Proven track record as a people manager, coaching and leading senior or lead-level developers.
• Ability to navigate complex organisational dynamics, align brand and product priorities and win buy-in from engineering and product leadership.

Required skills

• Advanced Figma architectures (variables, models, nested components), design tokens and git-based design-to-code workflows.
• Native mobile (iOS HIG, Android Material) and responsive web conventions, including accessibility standards.
• Establishing contribution models, design system metrics, documentation and component governance.

What we offer

• Wellbeing leave day per year, up to 5 extra service bonus leave days, and up to 20 weeks' paid parental leave.
• Paid volunteer leave and donation matching, and up to 12 months' gender affirmation leave.
• Employee assistance program and wellbeing benefits, salary packaging options and learning and development opportunities.
• Hybrid and flexible working, and reimbursement for work-from-home equipment.