Senior Design Systems Designer (9-month FTC)

We’re looking for a Sr. Design Systems Designer to join our Product Design team on a 9-month FTC to evolve Yoto’s design system, raising the visual bar and creating the foundations that help a growing team design consistently, confidently, and at pace.

About Yoto

Yoto is a screen-free interactive audio platform for kids. We make carefully connected audio players that kids control, with no microphones, cameras or ads. We have a catalogue of audio that inspires creative play and learning with 1,000+ titles in our card store from top creators, publishers and labels - think Disney, Marvel, Roald Dahl and Universal Music. We also create Yoto Originals like BrainBots.

Voted the 14th fastest-growing private software technology company in Britain in The Sunday Times 100 Tech 2025; and named the 94th fastest-growing company in Europe in the prestigious FT1000. Ranked 9th in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2024; and featured in the Sifted 100 fastest-growing startups across the UK&I by revenue growth. Featured in Bloomberg’s 25 UK startups to watch in 2023; and ranked second fastest growing tech company in the UK in the Deloitte Fast50. Named one of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Inventions of 2020. We’re over 200 employees spread across the world.. and growing!

We’re on a mission to be the soundtrack of childhood, and help families on their own unique adventures. By creating products that inspire independent play, we help families discover and grow with an inspiring world of audio - and we would like you to help us achieve it!

Yoto’s Product Design Team

The Product Design team at Yoto designs the end-to-end experiences that bring our screen-free audio platform to life, from the physical players children control independently, to the apps and services parents rely on every day. As the team has grown, one of our key priorities is creating stronger design foundations that allow us to move quickly without compromising quality. This role plays a critical part in that, evolving our design system to reflect Yoto’s playful brand, support consistent design across platforms, and enable designers and engineers to build joyful, accessible experiences that help families get the most out of Yoto.

What you’ll be doing

• Taking ownership of Yoto’s design system and evolving it to better reflect our brand, playfulness, and craft, with a clear focus on visual quality and interaction design.
• Raising the visual and UI standard across the product by creating polished components, patterns, and assets that designers can confidently reuse.
• Defining how the design system is used and contributed to, including principles, workflows, and decision-making frameworks that help a growing team design as one.
• Partnering closely with engineering to ensure the design system is well integrated into code and works effectively across native apps and web.
• Advocating for the value of the design system across the business, sharing progress and impact through presentations, documentation, and collaboration.
• Creating a pragmatic roadmap for system improvements, balancing long-term ambition with the realities of a fast-moving product organisation.

What you’ll bring

• Significant experience designing and maintaining design systems used across multiple products and teams.
• A strong visual and UI design eye, with a passion for craft, polish, and expressive yet functional design.
• Deep experience with Figma, including components, variables, tokens, and system-level thinking.
• Proven ability to work closely with engineers to deliver systems that are both beautiful and buildable.
• Experience designing for multiple platforms, including native apps and web.
• Confidence working as a senior individual contributor who can self-prioritise, influence others, and advocate for their work.

Nice to have

• Experience with motion, animation, illustration, or playful interaction design.
• Background in media, content, or playback-driven products.
• Experience using AI tools to enhance design to dev workflows.

Salary

£80,000 - £90,000 pro-rated based on experience.

What you can expect from Yoto

• Flexibility: Hybrid working - expectation of 1 day a week on average in our London office, but you are welcome to come in more than this. How you meet the minimum expectation is up to you, to ensure you’re happy and productive in your role whilst also getting that vital face time with your colleagues. Take advantage of our ‘work from anywhere’ policy to work from a different location for up to 6 weeks every year. Summer Hours policy to use between the months of June and August.
• Financial: Receive Income Protection, covering long term sickness for up to 2 years and company sick pay that increases with length of service. Life Assurance cover from day one of your service. Workplace Pension offering up to 3% employer contributions, following probation. Generous employee referral bonus scheme.
• Health & Wellness: Private Medical Insurance via Aviva, or a Wellbeing Allowance to be used for memberships, subscriptions, treatment or therapy. Access to 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) through WeCare and unlimited access to Dental advice and guidance via Toothfairy. Bike to work scheme to promote healthier lifestyles.
• Time Off: 25 days of holiday per year, plus bank holidays. On top of this, you also receive your birthday off, plus 1 extra day of holiday for every year worked after you hit your 2 year anniversary, up to 5 extra days. After 4 years of service, you are also eligible for our sabbatical policy offering up to 3 months of unpaid sabbatical.
• Helping Families: Variety of family-friendly leave, including enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, fertility, pregnancy loss and carers leave. Unlock savings with our workplace nursery scheme, designed to support parents of preschool-aged children.
• People & Planet: Up to 2 volunteer days a year. A Book Allowance of up to £50 a year to contribute to your professional development.
• Fun Perks: You receive your very own Yoto player and starter pack of cards! Regular company socials and celebrations, including our annual YotoFest!

Equity and Diversity

At Yoto, we love creating a world where childhood is rich with discovery and joy. We’re also passionate about building a workplace where everyone can thrive - both professionally and personally. We value flexibility and give our team the freedom to balance life and work in ways that suit them.

We’re committed to fostering a safe, diverse, and inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of their background, feel valued and supported. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion group holds bi-monthly forums to elevate diverse voices and perspectives, ensuring everyone at Yoto feels heard, respected, and appreciated. We don’t just embrace differences - we celebrate them. We share audio content from a vibrant and diverse community of creators, and we are building a team that reflects that same diversity. We invite candidates from all walks of life to explore opportunities with us and join a company that champions flexibility, equity, and inclusion.

Please only apply or engage with Yoto jobs posted on our careers page (careers.yotoplay.com or careers.yotoplay.com/en). All correspondence from our Talent team will only come through Teamtailor, our application tracking system.