Staff Design System Product Manager (FY24–FY26)

Program: A generational modernization of an enterprise design system to support the next chapter

North Star: To enable scalable customization without fragmentation while preserving innovation

Outcome:

• Improved design system leverage by replacing “rigidity-first” patterns with composable building blocks
• Increased confidence and clarity for product teams consuming shared UI primitives through a governed rollout
• Established measurable baselines (including accessibility) and a repeatable measurement plan

Context & Mandate

The design system had achieved consistency, but over time, its architecture became a constraint. Teams needed more flexibility to meet evolving product needs, and the gap between authored design intent and implemented UI created drift risk. The mandate was to deliver a generational upgrade that included new components, updated foundations, and supporting infrastructure; all while teams continued to ship on a regular cadence.

Team & Role

• Served as the accountable program lead across roadmap, build, and rollout strategy
• Aligned stakeholders across design and engineering to translate strategy into executable delivery phases
• Was the key driver of operations advancements for design system practice
• Acted as the system’s product owner and subject-matter anchor, keeping decisions coherent as scope and constraints evolved
• Coordinated “platform-first” distribution constraints by prioritizing work that unblocked teams consuming shared UI through an internal platform channel

Key Actions (STAR-style)

• Re-architected the system from a rigidity-first model to a composable component approach, enabling controlled customization while retaining shared standards
• Enabled modernization of the system’s token foundations into a single source of truth pattern to reduce drift across surfaces and make future change safer
• Introduced a predictable release governance model (planning transparency + stabilization) to reduce churn, support adoption planning, and increase trust in updates
• Implemented a phased rollout (pilot → broader validation → general availability) to manage risk, create shared readiness language, and support teams at different migration stages