Senior Brand & Design Systems Lead

About ZIGChain

ZIGChain is a Layer 1 blockchain focused on unlocking financial opportunities for everyone, regardless of income, location, or level of technical knowledge. We operate in a fast-paced, globally distributed environment where clarity, ownership, and adaptability are essential. In this regulated, reputation-sensitive space, how we present ourselves visually is as critical as the technology we build.

The Opportunity

ZIGChain is seeking a senior, systems-minded designer to build the engine for our entire brand and visual production infrastructure. This is a foundational, high-impact individual contributor role for someone who wants to own and evolve a scalable design infrastructure from the ground up—one that enables high-volume visual production of brand assets, images, banners, and infographics through structure, not personal throughput.

This is not a traditional design role. You will build the automated, scalable system that runs our entire visual production operation. You will architect reusable design systems grounded in real production usage, not theoretical frameworks. You will personally operate the system in its early stages, then evolve it to be self-sustaining. Most importantly, you will encode brand standards directly into the system itself, eliminating the need for manual policing and enabling predictable quality and speed without continuous manual intervention.

The system you build will be designed to scale across multiple brands within our ecosystem (such as Zignaly), allowing future brands to leverage the same foundational architecture. This is a role for a builder who is ready to move beyond traditional design execution and create a force-multiplier for the entire organization. If you are driven by creating leverage, building resilient systems, and operating at the intersection of design and AI, this is your opportunity to define what the future of a design organization looks like.

What You'll Achieve

We believe in outcomes over tasks. Here's what you'll be accountable for delivering:

Phase 1: Foundation & Architecture. You will conduct a full audit of our existing visual assets and production workflows. You will deliver the v1 architecture for a modular, scalable design system and begin hands-on implementation of core components, templates, standards, and documentation. You will establish the initial AI-assisted workflows for high-volume visual asset production (images, banners, infographics, brand materials), designed with an AI-first mindset from day one—treating AI as a core production layer, not a future experiment. These workflows will be repeatable and focused on leverage, consistency, and scalability, not isolated task acceleration.

Phase 2: System-in-Production & Operational Maturity. The design system will be live and serve real production needs. You will have automated at least two major visual production streams (e.g., social media assets, marketing materials), measurably reducing the marginal effort per asset. You will be the primary operator, personally ensuring the quality and reliability of the output. Brand governance will begin to be encoded into the system itself, reducing reliance on manual oversight. The system demonstrates predictable output quality and speed.

Phase 3: Scaled Operations & Self-Service. The system will be the undisputed source of truth for all visual assets. Other teams will begin to self-serve from your system without degrading quality. You will have established clear metrics demonstrating increased production volume with stable (or improved) quality. Design will be recognized as a key strategic enabler and multiplier for the organization, not a bottleneck. You will remain accountable for output quality, reliability, and continuous improvement, evolving the system based on data and user feedback.

This Role is For You If...

You have a proven track record as a senior individual contributor with demonstrable experience building design systems that scale beyond your own personal execution. You are a systems thinker by nature, you instinctively look for ways to reduce manual work, eliminate inconsistencies, and build for the long term. You prioritize long-term clarity over short-term aesthetics and value clarity over visual noise.

You have hands-on, in-production experience with AI creative tools and are pragmatic about how to integrate them into real-world workflows for leverage, not just novelty. You are an expert in your craft, with mastery of modern design tools like Figma, but your true passion lies in building the factory, not just the car. You thrive on scalability over manual craftsmanship and systems thinking over hero work.

You are comfortable operating autonomously while imposing structure and long-term direction. You are comfortable with ambiguity and have a demonstrated ability to create structure and provide direction in a fast-moving, remote environment. You prefer owning outcomes over delegating tasks, and you lead through expertise and influence, not through a formal management title.

Key Outcomes & Success Metrics

• System Adoption Rate: Percentage of new visual assets created using the design system.

• Marginal Effort Reduction: Demonstrable decrease in time/effort required to produce a standard set of visual assets over time.

• Production Throughput: Increase in the volume of assets produced per quarter with a stable or reduced error rate.

• Brand Consistency Score: A qualitative and quantitative measure of visual consistency and credibility across all public-facing channels in our regulated, reputation-sensitive environment.

• Time-to-Market: Reduction in the time it takes for other teams to go from request to final visual asset.

• System Autonomy: Reduction in the need for manual intervention or oversight in the production workflow.

Required Skills & Experience

• 5+ years of hands-on design experience in marketing, brand, product, or similar disciplines, with a proven track record of shipping work at scale.

• Demonstrated expertise with AI-assisted design tools in production environments (Midjourney, DALL·E, Firefly, Runway, Figma AI, or equivalent). You should have real experience integrating these into workflows, not just experimenting.

• Expert-level proficiency in design tools such as Figma, Adobe Suite, or equivalent. You should be able to build systems, not just create individual assets.

• Proven ability to systematize creative work—building and maintaining design templates, component libraries, reusable workflows, and documentation that others can follow.

• Experience designing systems and workflows that absorb high-volume production while maintaining quality and consistency. You understand how to scale output without sacrificing standards.

• Strong visual judgment and meticulous attention to detail. You have an eye for clarity, consistency, and brand integrity.

• Comfortable working autonomously in a remote environment. You take ownership of your work and don't need constant direction.

Nice to Have

• Experience in tech, Web3, SaaS, or fast-growing startups. You understand the pace and constraints of these environments.

• Familiarity with brand systems and scalable design frameworks. You've either built or worked within systems designed to scale.

• Experience with motion, video, or interactive design. Bonus if you can think beyond static assets.

• Hands-on curiosity and experimentation with emerging AI creative tools. You're not afraid to try new things and continuously optimize production workflows based on real-world usage.

• Basic understanding of how design systems connect to broader business outcomes. You think beyond pixels.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary of $80,000.00 USD yearly

• Vested tokens as part of the compensation package.

• Fully remote work environment.

• Opportunity to work in a cutting-edge industry.

• Collaborative and inclusive work culture.

• Professional growth and development opportunities.

Why Join ZIGChain?

Build from Zero. This isn't about inheriting or maintaining a legacy system. You get to design and build the future of our brand's visual operations from the ground up, grounded in real production needs and operating principles.

Unmatched Impact. Your work will directly influence every team in the organization and will be critical to how our brand is perceived globally in a highly regulated environment where trust and credibility are paramount.

AI at the Core. We are committed to an AI-first operating model. You will have the mandate and resources to be a true pioneer in integrating AI as a fundamental production layer, not an afterthought.

Radical Ownership. In a world of committees and bureaucracy, this role offers true end-to-end ownership. The success of the system rests on your shoulders, and you have the autonomy to see your vision through. You will own visual consistency, credibility, and trust across our organization.