Design Lead Jobs in Washington
Design Lead jobs in Washington are among the most active in the country, concentrated in technology, consumer products, enterprise software, and aerospace industries with openings at every level from mid-level practitioners through principal and director-track roles. Seattle and Bellevue anchor the market, with Redmond and the broader Eastside corridor adding significant volume, and companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Boeing maintaining consistent, long-standing demand for design leads across UX, product design, and design systems specialties. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 27+ Design Lead jobs
🚨 Hiring: Lead Systems Engineer — Design Control Remediation 🚨
Location: Bothell, WA (Hybrid)
Type: Long-Term Contract
Experience: 10+ Years
Key Skills:
- Medical Device Systems Engineering
- Design Control Remediation
- Design Assurance
- Post-Inspection Remediation
- Requirements Engineering
- Requirements Traceability
- Risk Management
- DFMEA
- Usability FMEA
- Verification & Validation
- Design Verification
- FDA 483 / Warning Letter Remediation
- ISO 14971
- ISO 13485
- 21 CFR 820.30
- PLM / ALM
- Windchill
- Codebeamer
- Systems Engineering
- Quality & Regulatory Compliance
- Medical Devices Class I & II
- Technical Leadership
🚨 Hiring: Lead Systems Engineer — Design Control Remediation 🚨
Location: Bothell, WA (Hybrid)
Type: Long-Term Contract
Experience: 10+ Years
Key Skills:
- Medical Device Systems Engineering
- Design Control Remediation
- Design Assurance
- Post-Inspection Remediation
- Requirements Engineering
- Requirements Traceability
- Risk Management
- DFMEA
- Usability FMEA
- Verification & Validation
- Design Verification
- FDA 483 / Warning Letter Remediation
- ISO 14971
- ISO 13485
- 21 CFR 820.30
- PLM / ALM
- Windchill
- Codebeamer
- Systems Engineering
- Quality & Regulatory Compliance
- Medical Devices Class I & II
- Technical Leadership
See All 27 Design Lead Jobs in Washington
Find roles in Washington that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Design Lead JobsDesign Lead Jobs by City in Washington
Where Washington roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Design Lead Job Market in Washington
A snapshot from current Washington openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Retail
- Aerospace & Defense
- Chemicals & Materials
- Electronics & Hardware
What Washington Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in design lead jobs across Washington.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in interaction design, product design, or a related field
- Five or more years of design experience with at least two years leading design teams or projects
- Portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product design work across multiple shipped products
- Proficiency in Figma, Sketch, or comparable industry-standard design and prototyping tools
- Experience collaborating cross-functionally with product managers, engineers, and research teams
- Familiarity with design systems, accessibility standards, and scalable component libraries
Design Lead Jobs in Washington: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a design lead in Washington?
Design lead is not a state-licensed role in Washington, so the path runs through education and experience rather than a government credential. Most Washington employers expect a degree in interaction design, visual design, product design, or a closely related field, followed by several years of hands-on design work before moving into a lead capacity. Building a strong portfolio of shipped work and developing experience with cross-functional teams are the clearest signals Washington hiring managers look for.
How much do design leads make in Washington?
Design leads in Washington earn a median of about $121,170 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $69,690 for the lowest 10% to over $215,900 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire design leads in Washington?
Employers hiring design leads in Washington right now include Rippling, HP, and Amazon, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Washington's concentration of large technology headquarters and enterprise software companies means design lead openings appear consistently throughout the year rather than in seasonal bursts.
Which Washington cities have the most design lead jobs?
Seattle, Everett, and Olympia have the most design lead openings in Washington. Seattle leads because of its dense concentration of technology companies and creative agencies headquartered there, while Bellevue and Redmond draw significant volume from major enterprise and consumer technology campuses that maintain large in-house design organizations on the Eastside.
Are there remote design lead jobs in Washington?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 75% of design lead openings tied to Washington are remote or hybrid as of August 2026, reflecting how naturally the role translates to distributed work. Strategic and conceptual design work, design critiques, and stakeholder presentations adapt well to remote formats, while hands-on prototyping sessions and workshop facilitation tend to draw teams on-site.
How can I get hired as a design lead in Washington with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is landing an individual contributor product or UX designer role first and building toward informal leadership from there. Large Washington technology employers frequently run structured new-grad programs and associate designer tracks where early-career candidates can progress quickly. Transitioning from adjacent roles such as UX researcher, visual designer, or content designer is common. A portfolio that shows systems thinking and cross-functional collaboration gives Washington candidates a concrete edge in competitive applicant pools.
Where can I find and apply to design lead jobs in Washington?
You can find and apply to design lead jobs in Washington on Migrate Mate, which lists current Washington openings. Find the roles that fit your experience and apply directly to each one.
See All 27 Design Lead Jobs in Washington
Find roles in Washington that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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