Microsoft Logo

Microsoft

Senior Visual Designer, Windows

Reposted Yesterday
Be an Early Applicant
In-Office
Seattle, WA, USA
120K-261K Annually
Senior level
In-Office
Seattle, WA, USA
120K-261K Annually
Senior level
Lead visual design and design system work for Windows, establishing visual language, scalable components, tokens, patterns, and implementation guidance. Partner with product designers, UX engineers, engineers, researchers, and brand teams to improve quality across products and contexts. Drive visual exploration through adoption, ensure accessibility and platform adaptability, communicate design rationale, mentor designers, and influence cross-functional partners without direct authority.
The summary above was generated by AI
Overview

Join Microsoft as a Senior Visual Designer on the Windows Design Systems and Brand team and help define the visual foundation of Windows. You will lead key visual design and systems work that shapes how Windows experiences look, feel, move, and communicate across products and surfaces.

You will establish visual direction and translate design principles into scalable components, patterns, tokens, Figma libraries, and implementation guidance. Working within a multidisciplinary team, you will partner with product designers, UX engineers, engineers, researchers, and brand partners to solve complex UI and interaction challenges while raising the quality and consistency of Windows experiences.

This role requires exceptional visual craft, solid systems thinking, and the ability to influence across organizational boundaries. You will balance expressive creative direction with the accessibility, technical constraints, platform conventions, and durability required of a design system used at global scale.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.


Responsibilities
  • Define and advance visual language territories for the future of Windows, translating exploration into clear principles and scalable system decisions.
  • Own significant design system workstreams from problem definition and visual exploration through implementation, documentation, and adoption.
  • Create and evolve visual and interaction foundations, including color, typography, iconography, motion, materials, layout, design tokens, components, and patterns; with exceptional craft across states, themes, densities, input methods, accessibility modes, and edge cases.
  • Translate product and user needs into scalable solutions that remain flexible across distinct Windows contexts.
  • Partner with UX engineering and engineering to define specifications, evaluate feasibility, review implementation, and hold shipped experiences to a high-quality bar.
  • Identify systemic product-quality gaps and develop reusable solutions supported by compelling presentations, prototypes, and narratives.
  • Strengthen the team’s visual design practice through mentorship, critique, documentation, shared standards, and thoughtful application of AI-assisted workflows and emerging interaction paradigms.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

  • Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 4+ years experience working in product or service design.
    • OR Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 5+ years experience working in product or service design.
    • OR equivalent experience (e.g., demonstrated experience working in product or service design or using design thinking to solve problems).

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Interaction Design, Product Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field and 6+ years of professional design experience, or equivalent experience.
  • A portfolio demonstrating exceptional visual and UI craft across typography, color, composition, hierarchy, iconography, interaction states, and adaptive interface design.
  • Demonstrated ability to create or evolve visual design systems, translating visual direction or brand identity into scalable components, patterns, tokens, templates, and guidance across products or platforms.
  • Advanced Figma proficiency, including components, variables, shared libraries, and prototyping.
  • Proven partnership with engineering through specification, implementation, design QA, and resolution of visual or interaction-quality issues.
  • Ability to communicate design rationale, facilitate critique, reconcile competing requirements, and influence partners without direct authority.
  • Working knowledge of accessibility and inclusive design, including contrast, scaling, input modalities, localization, high-contrast modes, and assistive technologies.
  • 8+ years of professional experience in visual design, UI design, product design, or design systems.
  • A track record of establishing visual language for a platform, operating system, or multi-product ecosystem.
  • Leadership of a significant design system workstream from exploration through implementation and adoption.
  • Deep expertise in one or more visual disciplines, such as typography, color, iconography, motion, illustration, spatial design, or data visualization.
  • Background designing complex desktop or productivity environments across windows, input methods, display densities, themes, and accessibility modes.
  • Familiarity with design token architecture and the relationship between design libraries and production code.
  • Demonstrated impact through mentorship, critique, standards, documentation, or design education.
  • Knowledge of AI-assisted design workflows and emerging interaction paradigms.
  • Work on global products accounting for localization, internationalization, and culturally inclusive design.


#W+DJOBS


Product Design IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $160,200 - $261,000 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay


This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.



Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

HQ

Microsoft Redmond, Washington, USA Office

1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA, United States, 98052

Microsoft Bellevue, Washington, USA Office

Bellevue, United States

Microsoft Issaquah, Washington, USA Office

Issaquah, United States

Microsoft Kirkland, Washington, USA Office

Kirkland, United States

Microsoft Mercer Island, Washington, USA Office

Mercer Island, United States

Microsoft Sammamish, Washington, USA Office

Sammamish, United States

Microsoft Seattle, Washington, USA Office

Seattle, United States

Similar Jobs

14 Minutes Ago
Hybrid
Seattle, WA, USA
208K-332K Annually
Expert/Leader
208K-332K Annually
Expert/Leader
AdTech • eCommerce • Information Technology • Software • Travel • Generative AI
Serve as the global brand lead for media and sponsorships, bridging Integrated Marketing and Global Media. Own briefs, strategic planning, P&L decisions, reporting, stakeholder alignment, and delivery of integrated media and sponsorship plans across markets, driving data-informed measurement, optimization, and creative integration.
14 Minutes Ago
Hybrid
Seattle, WA, USA
173K-277K Annually
Senior level
173K-277K Annually
Senior level
AdTech • eCommerce • Information Technology • Software • Travel • Generative AI
Own the strategy, roadmap, and execution of Expedia Group’s air shopping metasearch platform. Improve flight offer visibility, traffic acquisition, conversion, content quality, pricing competitiveness, and profitability across external channels. Partner with Engineering, Marketing, Finance, Analytics, and airline teams on search architecture, scalability, airline content economics, experimentation, and marketplace performance. Establish product goals and influence cross-functional stakeholders while shaping the long-term air-commerce vision.
Top Skills: APIsCachingDistributed SystemsExperimentation PlatformsPerformance OptimizationSearch ArchitectureSystem Scalability
14 Minutes Ago
Hybrid
Seattle, WA, USA
128K-219K Annually
Senior level
128K-219K Annually
Senior level
AdTech • eCommerce • Information Technology • Software • Travel • Generative AI
Drives new business and strategic partner growth for Expedia Group Advertising. Owns the full sales cycle from prospecting and solution development through negotiation, closing, and renewals. Builds senior-level client relationships, develops tailored advertising solutions, manages pipelines, uses market and revenue insights for territory planning, and collaborates with sales, marketing, product, planning, insights, and operations teams. Also contributes to revenue targets and coaches peers.
Top Skills: CRMSalesforceSlack

What you need to know about the Seattle Tech Scene

Home to tech titans like Microsoft and Amazon, Seattle punches far above its weight in innovation. But its surrounding mountains, sprinkled with world-famous hiking trails and climbing routes, make the city a destination for outdoorsy types as well. Established as a logging town before shifting to shipbuilding and logistics, the Emerald City is now known for its contributions to aerospace, software, biotech and cloud computing. And its status as a thriving tech ecosystem is attracting out-of-town companies looking to establish new tech and engineering hubs.

Key Facts About Seattle Tech

  • Number of Tech Workers: 287,000; 13% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
  • Major Tech Employers: Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Google
  • Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, software, biotechnology, game development
  • Funding Landscape: $3.1 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
  • Notable Investors: Madrona, Fuse, Tola, Maveron
  • Research Centers and Universities: University of Washington, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle Children’s Research Institute

Sign up now Access later

Create Free Account

Please log in or sign up to report this job.

Create Free Account