The Design System Salary Survey was created by Marta Conde, inspired by Cris Busquets’s Product Design Salary survey.

If you haven’t yet, you’re invited to contribute to this ongoing survey, the results dashboard remains open, and we’ll be refreshing the data every quarter to keep insights up to date.

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Intro

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All survey responses are organized by

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📉 Data

This dataset captures responses from 100 Design Systems professionals, 55 % women, 38 % men, and 1 % undisclosed, primarily based in Spain, the U.S., and United kingdom. Participants span from juniors (< 1 year in DS) to veterans (> 10 years), aged mostly between 26–50, and overwhelmingly hold university or master’s degrees.

🗺️ Dashboard

🤝 Community Profile

💸 Salary Landscape

🎓 Design Systems Role

💼 Work Climate

✨Conclusions

Here’s an overview of a 10 important findings from the Design Systems survey:

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1. Product Designer remains dominant:

   28 % of respondents carry the “Product Designer” title (26 of 94), underscoring its broad umbrella over DS work.

2. Dedicated teams aren’t universal:

   79 % sit on formal DS squads (avg. size 4.3); the remaining 21 % split evenly between those balancing DS with other duties (11 %) and solo practitioners (11 %).

3. Salary by DS tenure:

   Median pay rises from €35 k (0–1 yr) to €65 k (3–5 yrs), peaks at €125 k (5–7 yrs), then eases to €100 k (7–10 yrs).

4. Geographic pay gaps:

   North America leads at €125 k, Europe follows at €45 k, with South America (€17.5 k) and Asia (€10 k) trailing far behind.

5. Gender gap:

   Men and women report identical median salaries (€45 k), suggesting base‑pay parity in this dataset.

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1. Pay‑fairness perception tracks salary: Those rating fairness 4–5 earn €65 k median vs. €35 k for 1–2 raters—perceived value aligns with actual pay.

2. Early‑career under‑value:

   Practitioners with < 2 yrs DS see median pay of €35 k and fairness score of 3.5, indicating room for better early‑career recognition.

3. High‑value DS areas:

   Education/onboarding, Tooling, and Design Ops top the charts at €65 k median, highlighting premium for enabling functions.

4. Benefits skewed to Tech/SaaS:

   Tech/SaaS firms far outpace others, offering core perks plus bonuses, equity, profit‑sharing, and retirement extras.

5. Work–life balance strong but gendered:

   74 % of men vs. 66 % of women rate their balance 4–5, pointing to subtle gender differences in work–life satisfaction.

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💡 Recomendations

Career Recommendations for Aspiring Design Systems Professionals: (Based on the findings from this Design Systems salary survey)

Use these insights to map out your career path, target the right roles and regions, and negotiate the compensation you deserve as a Design Systems professional.