Design Director Jobs in San Francisco, CA
Design Director jobs in San Francisco are concentrated in SoMa, the Financial District, and Mission Bay, across technology, consumer products, and media companies, with demand running strong year-round. Employers actively hiring right now include Adobe, Rippling, and Turner & Townsend Pty Limited. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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Impact
Shipt's design system is moving past being a static component library. We are building a design platform: the operating system that every Shipt product surface runs on. Tokens, components, patterns, and the pipeline that delivers them into code are the substrate that lets product teams move fast without fragmenting the experience.
As the Director of Product Design, you will lead the multi-year vision for Shipt's design platform, treating the system as the operating layer that every product team builds on rather than a library they reference. You will shape how the platform scales across Customer, Shopper, and Partner experiences, influence cross-functional leadership in Engineering, Product, and Research, and lead a team of systems designers who are setting the standard for how design platforms operate in the AI era. The ideal candidate thinks in systems and data schemas, has a real point of view on the design-to-code problem, and is already using GenAI tools in their daily practice rather than waiting for them to mature. The Director of Product Design is responsible for establishing the operating model for how the design platform gets built, governed, and adopted, in close collaboration with Engineering on shared component contracts and pipeline ownership. You will define how we measure the platform and connect platform investment to measurable business outcomes for the broader organization. This is a hybrid position that is based out of San Francisco, CA, Birmingham, AL, or Minneapolis, MN.
What You’ll Need to Be Successful
- 5+ years in product design leadership, specifically having shipped, scaled, and maintained a multi-platform design system in production across web and mobile codebases.
- Front-end architecture experience, with a deep understanding of how design tokens and components live within GitHub, CI/CD pipelines, and package managers.
- Proven autonomy in executing technical governance frameworks, schema definitions, and token contracts without requiring external oversight.
- Proficiency with current AI tools
- Direct experience managing product design talent, with a track record of leading, mentoring, and scaling small-to-large software systems design teams.
- Deep competency in complex systems thinking, data schema architecture, workflow/IA design, and visual infrastructure design.
- Strong executive communication and the ability to connect platform investment to measurable business impact.
Pay Range: $188,000 - $230,000
Please note that the salary range above is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location.
Skills & Education
This list includes key skills used in this job but is not inclusive of all skills needed for the role. Please see any required education below.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Design Leadership, Product Management
Work Arrangement
To foster connection while offering continued flexibility, hybrid team members have the following in-office expectations:
Hybrid roles in Birmingham, AL typically work in-office at least 2 days per week, with core in-office days on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Hybrid roles in Minneapolis, MN typically work in-office at least 1 day per week on either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
Hybrid roles in San Francisco, CA typically work in-office at least 1 day per week between Monday and Thursday.
Certain roles may require in-office presence on a full-time basis. Please work with your recruiter to learn more about the classification of this role.
About Shipt
Shipt is a retail tech company that connects people to reliable, high-quality delivery with a personal touch. Shipt connects customers to the things they want from the stores they love, retail businesses to more satisfied customers, and workers to new earning opportunities.
At Shipt, we aim to put our team first to boost a sense of belonging, spark opportunities for growth, provide unique benefits and commit to giving back to our communities in ways that make life better, both personally and professionally. We understand that our service, our culture, and our connection to our communities are only made better by every single person who shows up to work here every day. Learn More.
Shipt is an independently operated, wholly owned subsidiary of Target Corporation and available in more than 5,000 U.S. cities. Shipt was founded and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Please inform your recruiting contact upon initial connection if you need a reasonable accommodation. If you need assistance filling out a job application, please complete this form.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Employees (and eligible family members) are covered by medical, dental, vision and more. Employees may enroll in our company’s 401k plan. Employees will also be eligible to receive discretionary vacation for exempt team members, paid holidays throughout the calendar year and paid sick leave. Other compensation includes eligibility for an annual bonus and the potential for restricted stock units based on role.
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Find Design Director JobsDesign Director Job Market in San Francisco
Who's Hiring
- Adobe2

- Rippling2

- Turner & Townsend Pty Limited2

- JLL1

- Front1

Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software9
- Consulting & Professional Services4
- Retail1
- Education1
- Media & Entertainment1
Design Director Jobs in San Francisco: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a design director job in San Francisco?
Focus your search on SoMa and Mission Bay, where the densest concentration of technology and consumer product companies hire design directors at the director level. Candidates who show end-to-end systems thinking, cross-functional leadership experience, and a portfolio that reflects product-driven design have the clearest edge in San Francisco's market. Familiarity with fast-iteration, design-ops-mature environments is a consistent differentiator here.
Which companies hire design directors in San Francisco?
Companies currently hiring design directors in San Francisco include Adobe, Rippling, and Turner & Townsend Pty Limited, per current listings on Migrate Mate as of June 2026. San Francisco's employer mix skews heavily toward technology platforms, fintech firms, and consumer software companies, all of which maintain dedicated design organizations with director-level headcount.
Are there remote design director jobs in San Francisco?
Yes, though remote availability is moderate for design directors since the role often requires leading in-person design reviews, stakeholder workshops, and cross-functional rituals. About 18% of design director openings tied to San Francisco are remote or hybrid as of June 2026, reflecting the city's tech-forward culture. Strategic and systems-level work is most likely to stay remote, while hands-on studio and brand roles lean on-site.
How can I get a design director job in San Francisco with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is targeting associate or senior designer roles at San Francisco's mid-size technology and fintech companies, where promotion timelines to director are shorter than at large established platforms. Design-ops and program coordination roles at these firms also create lateral entry points. Volunteering for San Francisco design events and building visibility in the local product design community accelerates the path considerably.
Which industries hire the most design directors in San Francisco?
San Francisco design director roles concentrate in Technology & Software, Consulting & Professional Services, and Retail, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of June 2026. San Francisco's identity as a global technology hub means these sectors maintain large, well-funded design organizations that regularly open director-level positions to lead growing teams.
Related Jobs in California
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