Design Systems Manager, Design Foundations & AI Transformation

At Lyft, our purpose is to serve and connect. We aim to achieve this by cultivating a work environment where all team members belong and have the opportunity to thrive.

Lyft is looking for a Design Systems Manager to join Design Foundations, the infrastructure layer of Lyft's design organization. Design Systems at Lyft is an integral part of the overall user experience. Our design system spans product surfaces, marketing, and brand, officially known as the Lyft Product Language (LPL) and shipped directly to code. You'll own the craft and execution of that system, partner closely with design, engineering, and marketing, and lead Design systems work through a period of active global growth and capability expansion.

This role reports to the Director of Design Foundations and works alongside a dedicated DPM and Engineering managers, and a tight-knit team of design systems practitioners.

Responsibilities:

Strategy & Vision

Set the strategy and roadmap for Lyft Product Language (LPL) across product, marketing, and brand surfaces, in partnership with the Director of Design Foundations and engineering leadership and the Design Systems team

Lead the AI transformation of the system: integrate AI into LPL tooling, adoption workflows, and the day-to-day designer experience at Lyft

Represent Design Systems in reviews and other senior leadership forums

People & Craft

Manage and develop a team of design systems designers and illustrators working across iOS, Android, web, and brand

Hold the quality bar for system-wide design: cross-platform coherence, accessibility (WCAG), road safety, localization, and brand consistency.

Coach the team on making educated tradeoffs between flexibility, coherency, usability, and efficiency

Execution & Partnership

Partner closely with the Design Systems DPM and engineering managers to maintain system health, sequence work, and unblock teams

Own the LPL component contribution and review process end-to-end, from intake through release

Communicate system decisions, adoption expectations, and quality standards upward and across product, engineering, and marketing

Experience:

7+ years in product or brand design, including 2+ years managing designers

Direct experience leading a design system at scale: components, patterns, guidelines, and shipped-to-code workflows

Fluency across mobile and web platforms, with a working understanding of how systems are consumed by engineers

Strong track record of partnership with engineering on architecture, releases, and quality

Experience setting and defending craft standards across cross-functional stakeholders

Familiarity with AI-assisted design tooling (Figma MCP, generative workflows, agentic prototyping) is a strong plus

Excellent written communication; comfortable operating in an async-heavy environment with documented decisions

Comfortable driving disagree-and-commit decisions and making tradeoffs in ambiguity

Benefits:

Great medical, dental, and vision insurance options with additional programs available when enrolled

Mental health benefits

Family building benefits

Child care and pet benefits

401(k) plan with company match to help save for your future

In addition to 12 observed holidays, salaried team members have discretionary paid time off, hourly team members have 15 days paid time off

18 weeks of paid parental leave. Biological, adoptive, and foster parents are all eligible

Subsidized commuter benefits

Monthly Lyft credits and complimentary Lyft Pink membership

Lyft highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. This role will be in-office on a hybrid schedule — Team Members will be expected to work in the office 3 days per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Lyft considers working in the office at least 3 days per week to be an essential function of this hybrid role. Your recruiter can share more information about the various in-office perks Lyft offers. Additionally, hybrid roles have the flexibility to work from anywhere for up to 4 weeks per year. #Hybrid

The expected base pay range for this position in the San Francisco area is $176,000 - $220,000, not inclusive of potential equity offering, bonus or benefits. Salary ranges are dependent on a variety of factors, including qualifications, experience and geographic location. Your recruiter can share more information about the salary range specific to your working location and other factors during the hiring process.