Design System Lead

Job Description At Sun Life Canada, we’re evolving how we design and deliver digital experiences – ensuring every interaction is consistent, intuitive, and inclusive. The Design System Lead will drive the creation and growth of two critical enablers for our digital ecosystem: our design system and digital accessibility program for Canada. This role will bring structure, governance, and momentum to how we design and build for accessibility, while creating shared standards and components that make it easier for teams to deliver great experiences at scale. Reporting the Director, Experience Design, this role plays a pivotal role laying the foundation for how we design and build inclusive digital experiences across all channels. You’ll lead a team responsible for shaping systems and standards that guide teams Canada wide – creating scalable impact and ensuring accessibility is not an afterthought, but core part of how we design and deliver. Responsibilities Define the vision, roadmap, and governance model for the design system and accessibility program for Canada. Establish frameworks and standards that help teams design and build accessible, consistent and human-centered experiences. Manage community feedback and contribution requests to understand needs and integrate into the system. Partner with the Experience Design, Engineering, Brand, Compliance and Product teams to drive alignment, adoption and best practices. Lead the design and evolution of the Sun Life Canada design system, including design tokens, components, and usage guidelines. Partner with Experience Designers and Engineers to ensure the system is scalable, inclusive and efficient to use. Define governance processes for how the system is maintained, evolved, and communicated. Build and operationalize Sun Life’s digital accessibility program working in partnership with the Accessibility Lead to set policies, standards and best practices. Develop and analyze critical metrics that measure effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and business impact. Train, onboard and enable teams to fully harness the system, ensuring broad and sustained adoption. Lead a small, specialized team focused on accessibility and design system foundations. Provide clarity, direction, and coaching to ensure the team delivers high impact, practical outcomes. Publish release notes, newsletters, adoption/usage/accessibility guides to the community. Qualifications 7+ years in digital product, UX, or front-end design leadership, with demonstrated experience building and scaling design systems and accessibility programs. Strong understanding of accessibility standards and inclusive design principles (AODA, WCAG 2.2 AA). Hands on experience with enterprise design tools and frameworks (Figma, Storybook, React, Angular, JIRA, Confluence, etc.). Preferred Skills Strong experience in stakeholder management, influence, and communication skills – able to drive alignment across a diverse set of teams. Ability to translate strategic vision into actionable frameworks and roadmaps. Strong influencing and communication skills – able to align diverse stakeholders across design, technology, and business. Collaborative mindset with a focus on enablement and continuous improvement. Demonstrated ability to stay current with emerging design trends, technologies, and AI-driven design tools, with experience applying these innovations to enhance user experiences. Benefits We’re honoured to be recognized as a 2024 Best Workplaces in Ontario by Great Place to Work® Canada. We are thrilled to be recognized by Excellence Canada with their top-level certification, the Canada Order of Excellence for Mental Health at Work®, for prioritizing employee well-being, fostering a positive work culture, and achieving excellence in mental health. Wellness programs that support the three pillars of your health – mental, physical, and financial. The opportunity to move along a variety of career paths with amazing networking potential. As a hybrid organization, you and your leader use business and Client need to choose where you work, at home or in the office. As a condition of the role, the successful candidate must obtain a Government of Canada Reliability Status security clearance through Sun Life in advance of the start date. The Base Pay range is for the primary location for which the job is posted. It may vary depending on the work location of the successful candidate or other factors. In addition to Base Pay, eligible Sun Life employees participate in various incentive plans, payment under which is discretionary and subject to individual and company performance. Certain sales focused roles have sales incentive plans based on individual or group sales results. Diversity and inclusion have always been at the core of our values at Sun Life. A diverse workforce with wide perspectives and creative ideas benefits our Clients, the communities where we operate and all of us as colleagues. We welcome applications from qualified individuals from all backgrounds. Persons with disabilities who need accommodation in the application process, or those needing job postings in an alternative format, may e-mail a request to We may use artificial intelligence to support candidate sourcing, screening, interview scheduling. We thank all applicants for showing an interest in this position. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Salary Range 90,000 / 140,000 Posting End Date 28/12/2025 Employment Details Seniority level: Not ApplicableEmployment type: Full-timeJob function: Design, Art/Creative, and Information TechnologyIndustries: Financial Services and Insurance #J-18808-Ljbffr