Garrett_Polifka_Resume_2026.pdf
Design System Product Leader • AI-Enabled DesignOps • Pattern Architect • Cross-Platform UI Patterns & Tokens
Design System Product Management (platform strategy, roadmap, governance, adoption) leader with 12+ years building and scaling enterprise UI foundations—driving adoption through governance, standards, and enablement. Skilled at aligning cross-functional teams to ship consistent customer experiences while supporting brand differentiation, and evolving token-based systems to meet emerging needs like AI-driven personalization and accessibility inheritance.
EXPERIENCE
Paylocity Corporation, Schaumburg, IL, 4/2013 – 11/2025
Staff Level Individual Contributor (Product, Operations), 2/2019 – 11/2025
Lead & Manager, 6/2016 – 9/2020
Individual Contributor (Engineering, Design, Scrum), 4/2013 – 6/2016
- Led the product strategy and generational modernization of the design system (token expansion, accessibility advancement, scalable component strategy, and refreshed design language), improving long-term product agility, UI governance and reducing UI fragmentation risk at a platform scale supporting 39K+ clients and 6M+ employees on the platform (FY2024).
- Scaled Paylocity’s enterprise design system into an org-wide platform, aligning design, engineering, and product on reusable patterns that improved consistency and enabled faster, safer delivery across teams as the company scaled from $77.3M revenue (FY2013) → $300.0M (FY2017) → $1.4B (FY2024).
- Evolved system patterns and foundations to support more personalized and adaptive UI experiences, aligning system direction with shifting product needs.
- Standardized design-to-dev workflows and documentation systems, reducing ambiguity and improving cross-team contribution quality and repeatability.
- Operated as long-term steward of platform health, implementing governance patterns that improved scalability and reduced fragmentation in UI decision-making.
- Drove adoption through operating-model enablement (roadshows, contribution reviews, structured guidance), turning design system usage into a durable cross-team habit.
- Bridged design and engineering execution with “full-stack” fluency (Figma + HTML/CSS), improving feasibility conversations and accelerating implementation through shared technical understanding.
- Partnered with SVP/VP leadership to resolve cross-functional conflicts, preserving UX quality under compressed timelines while keeping delivery moving.
- Delivered 5 new Talent modules that enabled Paylocity’s shift into HCM, supporting +62.5% revenue growth and +100% PEPY increase (FY17–FY19). Scaled the design team from 2 to 6, enabling parallel delivery across multiple product lines.