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Senior Visual Design Lead

This role aligns to industry-level titles such as "Lead Visual Designer" or "Staff Visual Designer"

Reports to: Group Visual Design Manager, Design Systems

About Pearson

Pearson is an innovative ed tech company dedicated to building meaningful connections with millions of lifelong learners. As a global leader in education with over 18,000 employees in 70 countries, we offer premier content, assessment, and digital services to learners, educational institutions, and governments worldwide. Our mission is to equip individuals with the skills necessary to expand their opportunities and enhance their lives.

The Role

At Pearson, we are transforming education for the AI era, and we seek an outstanding visual design leader to spearhead this change. In the position of Senior Visual Design Lead on the Design Systems team, you will be the principal designer defining the visual guidelines for Pearson's cohesive design system across our Higher Education product offerings. This critical role will help shape the experience of millions of learners and educators through your impactful design choices.

In this position, you will oversee the complete visual design quality of our design system—from creating foundational design tokens and component specifications to establishing a cohesive visual language that keeps our products modern and competitive. You will operate strategically and tactically, guiding the evolution of our design system while also crafting production-ready components and templates that can be effortlessly implemented by product teams.

Beyond your design execution, you will be a crucial leader within the team. You will lead design critiques, mentor other designers, engage cross-functional partners with effective communication, and represent design thinking in dialogues with product management and engineering leaders. This role is not about merely fulfilling existing expectations; it is about establishing a vision of excellence and constructing the design infrastructure necessary for its realization at scale.

If you are a senior designer with exceptional visual craftsmanship, a strong systems thinking mindset, and profound collaborative leadership abilities, this position presents a creative challenge and strategic influence aligned with your aspirations.

What You'll Own

You will have ownership over the complete visual design quality of our design system, which includes defining and progressing the visual design language and standards. Your responsibilities will include:

• Defining and evolving the visual design language for our unified design system, setting standards for typography, color, iconography, spacing, layout, and motion applicable across web and mobile platforms.

• Designing comprehensive, production-ready component libraries in Figma, from foundational atoms to complex organisms, ensuring each component is accessible, versatile, and well-documented for easy implementation.

• Leading the visual design direction for significant product redesigns by creating high-fidelity reference screens and templates that enhance student and instructor experiences within our next-generation learning platform.

• Collaborating with Creative Technologists to transform your visual designs into functional code (e.g., React components in Storybook), carrying out visual quality assurance, and providing precise motion specifications including timing, easing, and state transition behaviors.

• Facilitating design critiques, mentoring fellow designers, and cultivating influential relationships with product management, engineering leaders, and key stakeholders at Pearson, advocating for superior design through precise communication and compelling reasoning.

• Envisioning future interaction patterns and contexts such as voice user interfaces and multi-modal interactions (AR/VR) to support our long-term product vision.

About You

You are a senior designer known for your outstanding visual craft combined with systems thinking and the ability to navigate intricate organizational dynamics. You lead through influence rather than authority, building trust by demonstrating design value and developing collaborative solutions to complex issues.

• 7-10 years of visual design experience, with a portfolio showcasing exceptional skill in UI design and component-based design systems across both web and mobile platforms.

• Expert-level proficiency in Figma, including advanced component architecture, library management, and design token systems, enabling you to structure Figma files for long-term enterprise-scale collaboration and maintenance.

• Strong motion design skills for product interfaces, with proficiency in After Effects, Framer, or similar tools for conveying animation, timing, and interaction behaviors.

• Demonstrated experience in designing, developing, or contributing to design systems at scale, with the ability to discern when to enforce consistency versus allowing flexibility between design quality and engineering feasibility.

• High ownership and effective communication skills across various audiences, from detailed critique sessions with designers to strategic discussions with executives, showcasing strong judgment on maintaining system consistency versus advocating for exceptions.

What You'll Get

This is a pivotal moment for Pearson. You will have substantial freedom to define what visual excellence means for our products, positioning you as the senior design voice in crafting creative direction, proposing innovative approaches, and influencing the evolution of design systems thinking within the organization.

• Strategic Design Impact: Your work will set the visual and interaction standards for numerous products, impacting the daily experience of millions of users as we build the foundational design infrastructure that will define our competitive edge in an AI-driven educational landscape.

• Career-Defining Growth: Expand your expertise in design systems leadership at an enterprise scale, tackling challenges that enhance your craft, strategic insight, and leadership capabilities.

• Creative Ownership: Shape Pearson's visual evolution and define creative direction that will establish your designs as the reference standard for other teams, ensuring your work has lasting strategic significance.

• Collaborative Environment: Collaborate with skilled Creative Technologists, UX Designers, and Visual Designers who share your dedication to craft, engaging in regular design critiques, sharing knowledge, and addressing challenges with product teams eager for design leadership.

Ready to make an Impact?

If you're an experienced visual designer who embodies craft excellence, systematic thinking, and a desire to shape the future of educational technology, we want to hear from you. Apply now and help us lay the design foundation for the next generation of learning.

The base salary range for this role is between $130,000 - $155,000, influenced by factors including skill set and years of experience. This role is also eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, and more information on benefits offered is available here.

Applications will be accepted through 5th March, with the possibility of extension based on business needs.

Who we are:

At Pearson, our purpose is clear: to assist individuals in realizing their envisioned life through learning. We believe that every educational opportunity can lead to personal breakthroughs. We are the world's lifelong learning company, for whom learning is not just an activity, but an integral aspect of our identity.

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business need. We encourage qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities, to apply.

If you require assistance due to a disability in applying or accessing our career site, please reach out by sending an email to TalentExperienceGlobalTeam@grp.pearson.com.

Job: UX Design

Job Family: PRODUCT

Organization: Direct to Consumer

Schedule: FULL_TIME

Workplace Type: Remote

Req ID: 22578