The Vanguard Experience Team (VET) is seeking a Senior Technical Lead to shape the next generation of Vanguard’s enterprise design system, which enables consistent, scalable, and accessible digital experiences across our web and mobile platforms. In this role, you will provide deep technical leadership, guide architectural direction, mentor engineers, influence long term product strategy, and drive modernization across the design system ecosystem. You will ensure the system is built “the right way,” remains technically robust, and continues to scale as it supports a wide range of teams delivering experiences to millions of clients. **This Hybrid role can be based in either Charlotte, NC, or Malvern, PA**

About the Team

The design system is Vanguard’s comprehensive design ecosystem, which includes:

• A coded, reusable UI component library
• Design and content guidelines
• A cross‑platform design token system
• A design UI kit and supporting tooling for product teams

The design system enables teams across the company to build accessible, inclusive, and consistent digital experiences. As a Senior Technical Lead, you will play a critical role in its modernization, expansion, and architectural evolution.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership to ensure the design system’s architecture is modern, scalable, accessible, and aligned with industry best practices.
• Define and drive the future‑state technical vision, including component architecture, design tokens, accessibility standards, and platform‑aligned tooling.
• Lead major contributions to the next evolution of the system, improving discoverability, reducing duplication, and strengthening consistency across component libraries.
• Shape contribution and governance models that support distributed development and shared quality standards across teams.
• Identify modernization opportunities and support the creation of reusable patterns, reference architectures, and frameworks used enterprise‑wide.
• Guide and review complex engineering solutions, resolve technical blockers, and uphold high standards for code quality and documentation.
• Partner closely with the mobile design‑system team to ensure alignment across web and mobile platforms.
• Lead day‑to‑day technical execution, ensuring delivery of high‑quality, maintainable, and accessible components and tooling.
• Collaborate with product and design partners to shape roadmaps and support broader modernization goals.
• Mentor engineers, promote engineering excellence, and foster a learning‑focused and inclusive team culture.
• Explore emerging technologies and help drive continuous improvements in accessibility, automation, developer experience, and engineering standards.

Qualifications

• Deep proficiency in modern web development (TypeScript, HTML, SCSS) and component‑driven architecture.
• Significant experience building or maintaining enterprise‑scale design systems or component libraries.
• Strong experience with modern UI frameworks (Lit preferred; React, Angular, Vue, Svelte, or Stencil acceptable).
• Proven ability to lead architectural decisions, establish engineering standards, and drive modernization initiatives.
• Experience with design tokens, Storybook, automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and WCAG‑aligned accessibility practices.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence without authority and articulate complex technical concepts to diverse stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience contributing to large‑scale or multi‑platform design systems.
• Familiarity with modernization principles and reference architecture patterns.
• Experience with DevOps, SRE practices, or automated quality pipelines.
• Experience supporting design systems across web, mobile, and/or design‑tool ecosystems.

Special Factors

Sponsorship

Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.

About Vanguard

At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission—we're on a mission.

To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.