
Staff Design Systems Designer
Harvey · San Francisco, CA
- On site
- Full-time
- $260,000 / year
- San Francisco, CA
Job highlights
- Define and evolve Harvey's core design system.
- Collaborate with engineers to ship production components.
- Establish governance for system integrity and velocity.
- Ensure accessibility and responsiveness by default.
- Advocate for system adoption and consistency.
About the role
Why Harvey
At Harvey, we’re transforming how legal and professional services operate — not incrementally, but end-to-end. By combining frontier agentic AI, an enterprise-grade platform, and deep domain expertise, we’re reshaping how critical knowledge work gets done for decades to come.
This is a rare chance to help build a generational company at a true inflection point. With 1000+ customers in 60+ countries, strong product-market fit, and world-class investor support, we’re scaling fast and defining a new category in real time. The work is ambitious, the bar is high, and the opportunity for growth — personal, professional, and financial — is unmatched.
Our team is sharp, motivated, and deeply committed to the mission. We move fast, operate with intensity, and take real ownership of the problems we tackle — from early thinking to long-term outcomes. We stay close to our customers — from leadership to engineers — and work together to solve real problems with urgency and care. If you thrive in ambiguity, push for excellence, and want to help shape the future of work alongside others who raise the bar, we invite you to build with us.
At Harvey, the future of professional services is being written today — and we’re just getting started.
Role Overview
As a Staff Design Systems Designer, you will define the foundations that make Harvey’s product coherent, scalable, and trustworthy as it grows in complexity. The design system is not just a library of components — it is the shared language between design, engineering, and AI that ensures consistency, quality, and confidence across every interaction. We're looking for someone who brings a strong brand sensibility to this work — a designer who thinks in systems but leads with craft.
In this role, you will operate as both a systems thinker and hands-on builder. Working in close partnership with frontend and platform engineering, you will design, ship, and evolve the components, patterns, and tokens that power the product. Your work will directly shape how quickly teams can build, how reliably the product behaves, and how confidently users interact with AI-driven workflows.
What You’ll Do
- Define and evolve the core design system foundations, including components, patterns, and tokens that scale across complex, AI-powered experiences — with a sharp eye for brand cohesion and visual quality
- Design, prototype, and ship production-ready system components in tight collaboration with frontend engineering
- Partner directly with frontend and platform engineers to ensure system decisions translate cleanly into code, with shared ownership of quality, performance, and maintainability
- Establish clear contribution, governance, and deprecation models that balance velocity with system integrity
- Embed accessibility, responsiveness, and performance into the system by default
- Document system usage and best practices in a way that is clear, practical, and trusted by product teams
- Advocate for system adoption and consistency in product planning, design reviews, and execution
- Anticipate future product and platform needs, evolving the system proactively as Harvey scales
What You Have
- 8+ years of experience in product design, with significant ownership of design systems in complex product environments — ideally with a background in brand or visual design
- An excellent portfolio demonstrating system-level thinking, component design, and real product impact
- Deep understanding of component architecture, design tokens, and how design systems scale across teams
- Proven experience partnering closely with frontend engineers to ship high-quality, production systems
- Strong working knowledge of accessibility standards and inclusive design practices
- Ability to clearly articulate system decisions and tradeoffs to designers, engineers, and cross-functional partners
- Comfort operating in ambiguous problem spaces and bringing structure where it doesn’t yet exist
Why design systems matter at Harvey
Harvey is an AI-native product. As the system reasons, responds, and adapts in real time, the interface must remain consistent and legible. A strong design system ensures that complexity does not leak into the experience. It enables teams to move faster, reduces cognitive load for users, and builds trust in moments where clarity matters most.
Compensation
$200,000 - $260,000 USD
Depending on your location, an Applicant Privacy Notice may apply to you. You can find all of our Applicant Privacy Notices [here].
Harvey is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, or any other basis protected by law.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made by emailing accommodations@harvey.ai
Key skills/competency
- Staff Design Systems Designer
- Design Systems
- Component Design
- Design Tokens
- Frontend Engineering Collaboration
- Accessibility
- Visual Design
- System Architecture
- Product Design
- Brand Cohesion
Skills & topics
- Staff Design Systems Designer
- Design Systems
- Product Design
- UI Design
- UX Design
- Component Design
- Design Tokens
- Frontend Engineering
- Accessibility
- Brand Design
- Systems Thinking
- AI
- Legal Tech
- Harvey
- Designer
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight your 8+ years of product design experience and specific achievements in owning design systems for complex products, emphasizing brand and visual design background.
- Showcase your portfolio: Ensure your portfolio clearly demonstrates system-level thinking, component design, and tangible product impact. Include case studies of your collaboration with frontend engineers.
- Emphasize collaboration: Detail your experience partnering with frontend and platform engineers, focusing on how you ensured seamless translation of design decisions into code and shared ownership of quality.
- Prepare for technical questions: Be ready to discuss your deep understanding of component architecture, design tokens, scalability, accessibility standards, and inclusive design practices.
- Demonstrate problem-solving: Highlight your ability to operate in ambiguous spaces, bring structure, and articulate complex system decisions and tradeoffs clearly.
Technical preparation
Behavioral questions
Frequently asked questions
- What is the salary range for a Staff Design Systems Designer at Harvey?
- The salary range for a Staff Design Systems Designer at Harvey is $200,000 to $260,000 USD annually, depending on factors such as location and experience.
- What is Harvey's stance on equal opportunity employment for a Staff Design Systems Designer?
- Harvey is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, or any other legally protected status. They are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities.
- How does Harvey leverage design systems in its AI-native product?
- Harvey uses a strong design system to maintain consistency and legibility in its AI-native product, ensuring that the complexity of the AI does not impact the user experience. This enables faster team velocity, reduces user cognitive load, and builds trust in critical interactions.
- What kind of collaboration can I expect as a Staff Design Systems Designer at Harvey?
- As a Staff Design Systems Designer, you will work in close partnership with frontend and platform engineering teams. You will also collaborate with designers and cross-functional partners to define, ship, and evolve system components, patterns, and tokens.
- What specific skills are most important for a Staff Design Systems Designer at Harvey?
- Key skills include 8+ years of product design experience with a focus on design systems, strong brand sensibility, system-level thinking, component architecture, design tokens, collaboration with engineers, accessibility standards, and the ability to operate in ambiguous environments.
- How can I request accommodations as an applicant for the Staff Design Systems Designer role at Harvey?
- You can request reasonable accommodations for disabilities by emailing accommodations@harvey.ai. Harvey is committed to supporting applicants with their needs during the application process.