Principal Design Engineer (AI & Design Systems)

One North is a digital experience agency that combines curiosity, scale, and agility to shape the future. As part of TEKsystems, a leading provider of business and technology services, we offer boutique solutions to solve complex problems. Our multidisciplinary teams of strategists, designers, and technologists excel in research and discovery, experience strategy, design, experience management, and technology implementation. Whether clients are establishing a vision for an experience or optimizing an existing one, we help businesses understand their audiences, design experiences, maximize technology, and bring their digital ideas to life. The world's most successful companies rely on us to forge the future through electrifying work that sparks innovation and drives results.
Here's what the opportunity supported through our TEKsystems Global Services (TGS) Talent Acquisition Team requires:
Position Overview
One North is seeking an experienced AI practitioner who can build and consult at the intersection of design and engineering. At One North, the Principal Design Engineer is one of the most forward-leaning roles in our practice; a person who uses artificial intelligence as a primary creative and technical instrument, and who brings that capability to bear on the hardest problems in design systems and design-to-code work.
This role will actively shape how One North and our clients work: defining AI-augmented pipelines, building agentic tooling, and demonstrating what's possible when someone with deep systems thinking and engineering skill treats AI as a first-class collaborator.
The Principal Design Engineer (AI & Design Systems) will ideally be based in the Chicago area for a light hybrid onsite/remote work model, but we are open to remote locations across the U.S.
Responsibilities
Artificial Intelligence Focus
o Partner with agency leadership on One North's exploration of AI in design-to-code pipelines: identifying, testing, and integrating tools that meaningfully accelerate or improve design system work
o Build agentic workflows that automate high-friction parts of the design system lifecycle: component scaffolding, documentation generation, token logic, contract authoring, and QA
o Develop and maintain prompt engineering practices for design system use cases, including structured prompting for component APIs, usage guidelines, and accessibility annotations
o Integrate MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers and LLM-powered tooling into design and development workflows in ways that are practical, repeatable, and shareable
o Contribute to internal AI capability-building: documenting what you learn, training teammates, and helping the agency develop a point of view on AI in our craft
o Apply AI tools fluidly across your own daily work (code generation, design exploration, documentation, and system scaffolding) and push the boundaries of what those tools can do in a design systems context
Figma SME
Figma is a strategic platform for One North, and this role requires genuine expert-level command of it. The Principal Design Engineer will operate at the advanced edge of Figma's capabilities.
o Stay current with Figma's evolving platform, including AI features, Dev Mode capabilities, and third-party integrations, and bring that knowledge back to the team
o Participate in Figma alpha and beta programs to evaluate new features before general release, forming clear recommendations on readiness and fit for client application
o Monitor and assess Figma product developments (new releases, acquisitions, and platform expansions) and lead the internal process of evaluating, operationalizing, and establishing standards around relevant new capabilities
o Architect and maintain Figma-based design systems with the same structural rigor as a production codebase, including variables, tokens, component properties, advanced auto layout, and the full token pipeline bridging Figma to code
o Advise clients on Figma tools and workflows that extend the value of their platform investment, serving as a credible strategic resource on what the platform can do and where it is headed
o Maintain active engagement with Figma's broader ecosystem, including community programs, partner channels, and product team relationship, to keep One North informed and well-positioned as the platform evolves
o Act as one of One North's internal Figma SMEs: setting standards, advising on tool usage, and helping clients get more out of the platform
Must-Haves
Expert-level Figma mastery - variables, tokens, advanced component architecture, interactive prototyping, Dev Mode, and plugin/API integrations; you are the person others come to with hard Figma questions
Active, practiced use of AI tools in your daily workflow - code gen, documentation, design exploration, or system authoring (e.g. Cursor, Claude, Copilot, v0)
Demonstrated experience building AI-powered tooling, agentic workflows, or LLM-assisted pipelines - prompt engineering, MCP integrations, or automated documentation and component generation
Advanced proficiency in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript - clean, semantic, accessible markup; CSS architecture at scale
Hands-on experience building and maintaining design systems or component libraries in production
Strong working knowledge of design tokens and tooling (Style Dictionary, Theo, or similar)
Experience with at least one modern JS framework (React, Vue, Svelte) in a component-driven context
A portfolio or examples of work that demonstrate both engineering quality and design sensibility
Strong communication skills - you can make technical concepts legible to designers and design concepts legible to engineers
Strong Pluses
Agency or consultancy experience - working across multiple clients and project contexts simultaneously
Familiarity with headless CMS architectures and how design systems integrate into CMS-driven builds
Exposure to design system tooling ecosystems (Storybook, Chromatic, Zeroheight, Supernova)
Experience with animation and motion tooling (GSAP, Framer Motion, CSS transitions at system scale)
Comfort in monorepos or multi-package architectures for distributed component libraries
Formal or informal background in product design or UX
Job Type & Location
This is a Permanent position based out of Chicago, IL.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $156000.00 - $234000.00/yr.
We reserve the right to pay above or below the posted wage based on factors unrelated to sex, race, or any other protected classification. Additional earnings may be available through incentive programs like annual bonuses, profit sharing, etc. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan or program terms. Our benefit plans include the following: Medical, dental & vision 401(k)/Roth Insurance (Basic/Supplemental Life & AD&D) Short and long-term disability Health & Dependent Care Spending Accounts (HSA & DCFSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Tuition Assistance Time Off/Leave (PTO, Paid Family Leave)
Workplace Type
This is a fully remote position.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Jun 16, 2026.

About TEKsystems

We're partners in transformation. We help clients activate ideas and solutions to take advantage of a new world of opportunity. We are a team of 80,000 strong, working with over 6,000 clients, including 80% of the Fortune 500, across North America, Europe and Asia. As an industry leader in Full-Stack Technology Services, Talent Services, and real-world application, we work with progressive leaders to drive change. That's the power of true partnership. TEKsystems is an Allegis Group company.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regards to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

About TEKsystems and TEKsystems Global Services

We're a leading provider of business and technology services. We accelerate business transformation for our customers. Our expertise in strategy, design, execution and operations unlocks business value through a range of solutions. We're a team of 80,000 strong, working with over 6,000 customers, including 80% of the Fortune 500 across North America, Europe and Asia, who partner with us for our scale, full-stack capabilities and speed. We're strategic thinkers, hands-on collaborators, helping customers capitalize on change and master the momentum of technology. We're building tomorrow by delivering business outcomes and making positive impacts in our global communities. TEKsystems and TEKsystems Global Services are Allegis Group companies. Learn more at TEKsystems.com.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.