Design Manager, Zalando Design System (all genders)

Zalando is Europe’s leading online platform for fashion, connecting customers, brands and partners across 23 markets. We drive digital solutions for fashion, logistics, advertising and research, bringing head-to-toe fashion to more than 46 million active customers through diverse skill-sets, interests and languages our teams choose to use.

The Zalando Design System enables a large number of teams across the company to build world-class, engaging experiences that are easy to use and the best expression of our brand.

As Design Manager for the Zalando Design Systems team, you will be working across the organization as part of a high-performing, highly-collaborative team at the intersection of engineering and design and you will be responsible for the evolution of the design system for our customers and our colleagues. This will evolve around components, styles and shared libraries. You will partner with cross-functional peers from Product Management and Engineering Management to improve our processes, and define KPIs. You will join the team at an exciting inflection point where the focus changes from building out the system and driving its adoption and unifying our visual language to further increasing design quality, improving accessibility and delivering large-scale changes to the overall customer experience

As part of a growing design management circle, you will step up to drive specific design operations topics like design critique, onboarding or team rituals â€" and to actively contribute to overarching topics that affect us all (e.g. hiring, team health, diversity and inclusion).

Want to know more about Zalando Design System team’s journey of redesigning Zalando's identity? From strategy to type pairing and establishing an accessible color system, you will find their story on our Medium blog.

INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN

At Zalando, our vision is to be the starting point for fashion - one that is inclusive by design. We only assess candidates based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We welcome applications from people of all gender identities, sexual orientations, personal expressions, racial identities, ethnicities, religious beliefs, and disability statuses. We only want to know why you’re great for this role, so please avoid including your picture, age, and marital status in your CV as well.

We want to provide you with a great candidate experience. Please feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support and assist you throughout the hiring process.

do.BETTER - our diversity & inclusion strategy: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/diversity-inclusion
Our employee resource groups: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/diversity-inclusion/our-employee-resource-groups
WHY YOU SHOULD BE INTERESTED…

• Build out and lead a team of designers: supporting their growth, and nurturing a safe and inclusive space for people.
• Shape the future of our design system: create a compelling vision of the future and craft the internal narrative that rallies teams around this
• Collaborate with cross-functional peers, leadership, and stakeholders to make plans, set priorities and deliver impactful projects
• Partner with design leaders and managers across the company to guide and empower their teams
• Advocate for and enable quality in all aspects of UI design: accessibility, performance, brand expression, and more
• Innovate on what a design system can be for one of Europe’s largest and most ambitious design teams

WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF…

• Experience. You are a very seasoned design professional with experience building and growing inclusive team environments. While you have likely led larger teams before, you are inspired to dive deep to solve truly meaningful problems that make customers feel like we understand them. To land this job, you will show and explain raw artifacts from your work that demonstrate defining product design strategy, executing tactically in a complex environment and leading people to perform at their best.
• Empathy. You have the mindset and methodologies to understand your customers, colleagues and employees. You guide your teams through moments of ambiguity and create a safe and inclusive space in which people perform at their personal and collective best.
• Craft. You master interaction design, choreograph UX design processes and orchestrate unified experiences across devices and throughout the customer journey â€" while knowing how to embody specific solutions in usable and delightful interactions.
• Experimentation. You are willing to kill your darlings. You take a forward-looking generative approach and make design decisions on evidence. You guide your team to solve problems in the best way possible. You know when to work iteratively and when to take bold bets.
• Storytelling. You bring not just users but also stakeholders and employees on a compelling journey by explaining a clear customer experience vision and telling compelling tales.

ZALANDO BENEFITS

Career Development

• We offer peer-to-peer performance reviews twice a year
• Learn and develop through our extensive Zalando training platform
• Join regular all-hands, team meetings, Q&A-sessions, and quarterly anonymous employee surveys to ask your questions and provide your feedback
• Support from an international team of experts; mentoring and professional development opportunities

Wellbeing

• 2 days paid leave per year for volunteering
• Minimum of 27 holiday days per calendar year
• Online sports courses, wellbeing, and nutrition advice offered by Humanoo personal wellbeing coach app
• Mental wellbeing support by our Employee Assistance Program and professional consultants to help you find health resources

Flexibility

• Flexible working hours
• Relocation assistance for internationals
• If you work from an office in your role, a choice of office equipment to be delivered to you, to support you working from home due to COVID-19 safety

Financial

• Access to the employee shares program
• 40% shopping discount on products shipped and sold by Zalando, and 30% discount on Zalando Lounge
• Discounts from a wide range of external partners

Family

• Employee parents’ forums and employee resource group
• Supported transition into and out of parental leave, with a buddy and re-onboarding plan
• 3 fully-paid child sick days per year
• Free counseling, assistance, and referral service for all matters concerning yourself and your family via the Fürstenberg Institute

ABOUT ZALANDO
It’s the perfect time to join Zalando on our journey, from being a pioneer in the world of e-commerce, to the starting point for fashion in Europe. We connect customers, brands, and partners across 23 markets.

Help us drive digital and sustainable solutions for fashion, logistics, advertising and research, bringing head-to-toe fashion to more than 46 million active customers through a team of diverse skill-sets, cultural backgrounds, and interests.

Our values: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/our-founding-mindset

do.More - our sustainability strategy: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/sustainability

Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/insidezalando

Please note that all applications must be completed using the online form - we do not accept applications via email.