Design System Specialist at Zello in Austin, TX

IMPORTANT: Please be aware, scammers may try to impersonate Zello by reaching out regarding job opportunities. We will never ask you for bank account information, checks, or other sensitive information as part of our hiring process. All correspondence will come from the zello.com email domain. If you’re unsure, please email recruiting@zello.com with questions. ABOUT ZELLO Zello is a voice-first communication platform, powered by our industry-leading push-to-talk technology, to improve collaboration and productivity for desk-less workers. With over 175+ million users, we’re the #1 rated push-to-talk app in the world, delivering 9 billion (yes, with a B) messages a month. At Zello, our company values are at the heart of what we do everyday. We’re proud to serve the frontline, we’re privileged to connect people in times of crisis across the globe, and we’re honored to support first responders. And this is where you come in. Zello's design system supports iOS, Android, Desktop, and Hardware products — and it's being asked to do more. As the system expands across three distinct platform paradigms simultaneously, design needs a senior partner who can take architectural ownership of the backlog, drive cross-platform consistency decisions, and build direct working relationships with iOS, Android, and React engineering leads. This contractor brings IC-4 platform authority from day one, with the opportunity to convert to a full-time role based on performance across both DS and product design work. ABOUT ZELLO Zello is the leading push-to-talk communication platform, enabling instant voice communication for frontline workers across industries like logistics, hospitality, transportation, and construction. We build for the people who keep the world running — the warehouse supervisor coordinating a crew, the flight crew managing a gate turnover, the field technician working in a loud environment where clarity and speed matter. Our product has to work the first time, every time. A mature and growing design system is what allows us to keep pace with the product's ambition. This role is how we get there. THE ROLE This is a 6-month contract engagement (3-month minimum) reporting to Andrew Domozych, Manager of Product Design. You'll partner closely with Wil Nichols (Staff Product Designer and DS owner) as the primary architectural counterpart for DS work across iOS, Android, and React. Day-to-day execution and prioritization within initiative scope is self-managed — Andrew sets direction at the initiative level; you own the work from there. As DS work matures in months 2–3 (possibly shorter), you'll take on product design projects as a full contributing member of the team. AFTER A SUCCESSFUL FIRST 3 MONTHS, YOU WILL HAVE - Delivered a written gap assessment and prioritized DS backlog by end of week 2, with priorities ranked across iOS, Android, and React and rationale documented — giving the team a clear, current picture of what the system needs. - Shipped production-quality Figma components for iOS (UIKit/SwiftUI) and Android (Material Design 3) that passed engineer review without structural rework — not once, but as a consistent baseline. - Owned the React token pipeline end-to-end — Style Dictionary configuration current, Storybook documentation complete and usable by engineers and designers without a walkthrough. - Completed a cross-platform consistency audit — shared conventions documented, conflicts resolved, and platform-specific exceptions justified in writing so the next person doesn't have to reverse-engineer the decisions. - Contributed product design work — screens, flows, and features — at IC-4 quality as DS capacity opened up, with output that reflected independent platform judgment and required minimal rework. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Take architectural ownership of DS work across iOS, Android, and React — make decisions, document tradeoffs, and maintain a visible, current view of the backlog in Jira without needing prompting. - Build and ship production-quality Figma components for iOS (UIKit/SwiftUI) and Android (Material Design 3) with genuine platform fidelity — behavioral accuracy, not just visual resemblance. - Own the React token pipeline end-to-end: Style Dictionary configuration, Storybook documentation, and engineering handoff quality. - Drive cross-platform consistency audits — identify gaps, resolve conflicts across platforms, and document shared conventions that outlast the engagement. - Partner directly with iOS, Android, and React engineering leads to validate that Figma components map correctly to production implementations — surfacing discrepancies before they ship, not after. - Define component documentation standards and write usage guidelines that engineers and designers can apply without additional walkthroughs. - Identify systemic issues proactively — missing states, undocumented edge cases, token inconsistencies — and bring recommendations rather than flags. - Contribute to product design work — screens, flows, and feature UX — as DS work matures (expect this to begin in earnest by months 2–3). WHO YOU ARE - You've built native iOS components with genuine UIKit/SwiftUI behavioral fidelity — not just visual resemblance to iOS patterns — and you can walk through the platform-specific decisions in your portfolio without notes. - You've built Android components that are genuinely distinct from your iOS equivalents, reflecting Material Design 3 conventions, and you can discuss the Compose vs. View-based component model with an Android engineer. - You've owned a React token pipeline end-to-end — architecture, Style Dictionary configuration, and the tradeoffs you made — and you can explain every decision and what you'd do differently. - You've written Storybook documentation, not just referenced it, and you have examples of component docs that others have used without needing a walkthrough from you. - You've held engineering leads accountable to design fidelity — you can describe a specific time you surfaced a design-to-code discrepancy before it shipped and what you did about it. - You've managed your own DS backlog with minimal direction. You didn't wait to be told what mattered — you identified systemic issues, prioritized them, and communicated status proactively. - You have product design work in your portfolio alongside DS artifacts — screens, flows, or features — and your approach reflects platform-appropriate judgment, not just execution of a brief. - 7+ years of experience; IC-4 platform depth across iOS, Android, and React is the bar. COMPENSATION $105/hour · Up to 40 hours/week · 6-month contract strongly preferred (3-month minimum). Conversion to full-time is possible for contractors who perform at a high level across both DS and product design work over the engagement. This is an opportunity to earn — not an expected outcome — and will be evaluated at the end of the contract period. We hire for potential, passion for our mission, and a knack for solving difficult problems over checking every qualification box. We have competitive pay, equity with significant upside, and intentionally design our benefits to encourage healthy and well-balanced employees, flexible schedules and time off. We even offer a sabbatical after every five years of service so you’re able to pursue and enjoy what matters most to you. And of course, we wouldn’t be a technology company without a ping-pong table and free snacks in our break room. Join us! Zello provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. All Zello personnel are required to comply with defined security, privacy, and compliance requirements applicable to their role along with requirements that are applicable to all Zello personnel.