Staff Design Engineer
About the Team
Miro is a canvas. Not metaphorically — literally: an infinite, multiplayer surface where millions of people think together, run workshops, map systems, and build things. The canvas is the product, and making it feel fast, fluid, and alive is at the heart of what we do.
The Design Systems team sits at a critical leverage point in this mission. We define the foundations that allow the entire product organisation to build with consistency, quality, and speed — from components and tokens to patterns and tooling that shape how Miro feels across every surface.
As AI changes how software is built, our design system is evolving too. We are building an AI-native system where generated code uses the right components, tokens, and patterns by default. But our ambition goes beyond compliance. A great design system does not just enforce rules — it encodes craft, taste, and the details that make an experience feel intentional.
This is a craft-first, build-first role. You prototype in code because it is the most honest medium, you build the primitives that others ship on, and you help define the difference between something that works and something that feels truly great.
About the Role
As a Staff Design Engineer, Design Systems, you will own the evolution of Miro’s design system as a foundation for product quality, scalability, and craft. You will shape how components, tokens, patterns, and AI-generated experiences come together to create a coherent and delightful user experience.
You will work across the canvas and AI portfolio, partnering closely with product designers, engineers, and product managers to establish the standards, tools, and practices that help teams build better experiences faster.
At this level, your impact goes beyond what you personally ship. You will raise the quality bar across the organisation by creating systems others can build on, mentoring teams, and turning design principles into scalable engineering practices.
What you'll do
- Own and evolve Miro’s design system foundations, including component architecture, token strategy, theming, and contribution models that keep the system coherent as the organisation scales.
- Define how AI-generated interfaces can be compliant by default, embedding design system patterns, accessibility standards, and quality checks into the development workflow.
- Go beyond functional consistency by encoding craft into the system — including visual hierarchy, motion, interaction patterns, and the details that make experiences feel distinctly Miro.
- Lead token strategy beyond colour and spacing, including motion, transitions, spatial behaviour, and real-time multiplayer states such as presence and cursors.
- Build canvas-grade primitives that support Miro’s real-time, multiplayer experience while maintaining performance and responsiveness across devices.
- Create patterns, tools, and frameworks that help designers and engineers move faster with confidence.
- Partner with teams across the Canvas and AI portfolio to solve complex interaction challenges and establish scalable solutions.
- Write, document, and teach — creating shared understanding and helping grow design engineering as a practice at Miro.
What you'll need
- Deep expertise in React, TypeScript, and modern frontend architecture, with strong opinions shaped by building and shipping products.
- Experience designing and building scalable design systems, component libraries, and governance models.
- Strong understanding of design principles and visual craft — including typography, spacing, alignment, colour, contrast, motion, and interaction details.
- A product mindset and strong design judgement: you can recognise the difference between something that works and something that feels right, and you can articulate why.
- Experience working with graphics and spatial technologies such as WebGL, Canvas API, SVG, and complex layout systems.
- Strong understanding of motion and interaction design, including animation principles, easing, timing, and performance considerations.
- Experience designing for real-time multiplayer experiences, including concepts such as presence, collaboration, and co-authorship.
- Experience building AI-powered experiences and understanding the unique UX challenges of probabilistic systems, including streaming, uncertainty, latency, and trust.
- Experience with AI development patterns such as structured outputs, streaming APIs, and designing reliable experiences around AI-generated content.
- The ability to prototype quickly in code — you reach for the browser when exploring ideas and use implementation as a way of thinking.
- Strong communication and influence skills, with the ability to mentor others, establish standards, and drive quality across teams.
What's in it for you
- Competitive equity package
- Lunch, snacks and drinks provided in the office
- Wellbeing benefit and WFH equipment allowance
- Annual learning and development allowance to grow your skills and career
- Opportunity to work for a globally diverse team
About Miro
Miro is a visual workspace for innovation that enables distributed teams of any size to build the next big thing. The platform's infinite canvas enables teams to lead engaging workshops and meetings, design products, brainstorm ideas, and more. Miro, co-headquartered in San Francisco and Amsterdam, serves more than 100M users and 250,000 companies collaborate in the Innovation Workspace. Miro was founded in 2011 and currently has more than 1,600 employees in 13 hubs around the world.
We are a team of dreamers. We look for individuals who dream big, work hard, and above all stay humble. Collaboration is at the heart of what we do and through our work together we hope to create a supportive, welcoming, and innovative environment. We strive to play as a team to win the world and create a better version of ourselves every day. If this sounds like something that excites you, we want to hear from you!
Check out more about life at Miro:
At Miro, we strive to create and foster an environment of belonging and collaboration across cultural differences. Miro’s mission — Empower teams to create the next big thing — is how we think about our product, people, and culture. We believe that creating big things requires diverse and inclusive teams. Diversity invites all talent with different demography, identities and styles to step in, and inclusion invites them to step closer together. Every day, we are working to build a more diverse Miro, cultivate a sense of belonging for future and current Mironeers around the world, and foster an environment where everyone can collaborate and embrace differences.
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