Partner 20, Design Systems Lead

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz Andreessen Horowitz (aka a16z) is a venture capital firm that backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology. We are stage agnostic. We invest in seed to venture to growth-stage technology companies across AI bio healthcare consumer crypto enterprise fintech games and companies building toward American dynamism. a16z has $100B under management across multiple funds.

Weve established a team that is defined by respect for the entrepreneur and the company-building process; we know what its like to be in the founders shoes. Weve invested in companies like Anduril Airbnb Coinbase Cursor Databricks Deel Figma GitHub Roblox SpaceX and Stripe. Our team is at the forefront of new technology helping founders and their companies impact and change the world.

Most design orgs are built to execute. A request comes in a designer makes the thing and it goes out the door. That model works (until the volume of requests outpaces the size of the team) and suddenly design becomes a bottleneck instead of a multiplier.

Were building something different. The future of design at a16z isnt a bigger team cranking out more assets: its a design function that scales through systems. Templates tools AI-powered workflows and self-serve infrastructure that let anyone at the firm create high-quality on-brand work without routing every request through a designer. AI makes this possible in ways it wasnt before. But only if someone builds the design systems right which means deeply understanding our brand not just the tools.

We have an existing foundation: brand guidelines component libraries AI skills and apps and other templates across our core use casesand were looking for someone to take that foundation and continue to build it into something the whole firm can run on.

Were hiring a Design Systems Lead to own and evolve that infrastructure. This is a clear ownership role: youre the person accountable for the quality consistency and reach of our design systems and for what gets built next.

The work itself is equal parts brand design and systems building: half deep intuitive command of the a16z visual language half thinking in components workflows and repeatable outputs. Youll translate our brand into component libraries AI skills AI-powered tools and self-serve templates the whole firm can use. That means writing clean markdown files building high-functioning AI skills from scratch and vibe-coding lightweight apps purpose-built for design use cases. What youre building is the invisible design framework for the firm. The work it produces shouldnt be.

We are open to candidates based in the San Francisco Bay Area CA or New York City NY.

• Take clear ownership of the a16z design systems function: setting the direction maintaining the standards and being accountable for what gets built and how well it works
• Translate a16z brand systems into scalable templates components and modular frameworks across Krea Figma Google Workspace Claude Codex Gamma and many other core platforms with enough command of the brand to make those systems feel designed not just functional
• Build repeatable systems for high-volume design needs (presentations social assets event materials charts) so these dont require a designer every time
• Write and maintain markdown-based brand documentation style references and skill instruction files that serve as the source of truth for AI-generated outputs
• Build high-functioning AI skills from scratch: structured prompts reference frameworks and training inputs that produce design work thats distinctly and consistently a16z
• Vibe-code lightweight apps and custom tools purpose-built for design use cases (generators formatters asset builders etc.) using whatever combination of AI models APIs and front-end code gets the job done
• Create tools and templates that let non-designers produce polished on-brand work independently without the output looking like it came from a template
• Partner with designers to distill complex visual systems into usable building blocks and keep those systems current as the brand evolves
• Spot patterns in repeatable work build toward them and continuously improve whats running based on real usage and feedback
• Occasionally train people across the firm on the tools and systems we build (whether thats written documentation a quick video walkthrough or a 1:1) so what we make actually gets used the way it was intended
• Work with the project manager and new media ops team to track adoption and efficiency gains across the firm

• 4 years of experience in brand design design systems product design or a related field
• A deep command of visual identity: quick to sense when somethings off and able to diagnose and resolve it systematically
• Strong Figma skills including building and maintaining design systems libraries and component structures others actually use
• Fluent in typography layout and the details that separate considered design from competent design
• Experience writing and scaling AI skills not just prompting but structuring reference frameworks markdown files and instruction sets that produce reliably on-brand outputs
• Comfortable vibe-coding: youve built lightweight apps generators or custom tools for design use cases and you know where the edges are
• AI is already part of how you work not something youre experimenting with; youve used tools like Claude Codex Krea Midjourney or similar and youre curious about whats next.
• You see the forest and the tree(s): if given a recurring design problem your instinct is to build something comprehensive not just solve it once
• A natural collaborator with low ego and high empathy: you work well across teams and can translate between design thinking and the needs of people who dont speak it

The anticipated salary range for this role is between $210000 - $245000 actual starting pay may vary based on a range of factors which can include experience skills and scope.

This role is eligible to participate in the a16z carry program and various discretionary bonus programs as well as benefit and perquisite plans including health dental vision disability life insurance 401K plan vacation and sick leave.

• We do only first class business and only in a first class way
• We take a long view of relationships because we are in the relationship business
• We believe in the future and bet the firm that way
• We are all different we recognize that and we win
• We celebrate the good times
• We do it for the team
• We play to win

At a16z we are always looking to hire the absolute best talent and recognize that diversity in our experiences and backgrounds is what makes us stronger. We hire candidates of any race color ancestry religion sex national origin sexual orientation gender identity age marital or family status disability Veteran status and any other status. These differences are what enables us to work towards the future we envision for ourselves our portfolio companies and the World.

Our organization participates in E-Verify. Click here to learn about E-Verify.

Andreessen Horowitz hereby reserves the right to make use of any unsolicited resumes received from outside recruiting agencies and / or individual recruiters without being responsible for payment of any fees asserted from the use of unsolicited resumes.