Design System Product Owner

Are you looking for the perfect mix of design, tech and product management? Do you want to help our vast university community to improve the user experience of varying digital channels?

We are looking for a Design System Product Owner

to a parental leave substitute position.

As the product owner you will be in a key role to improve the user experience of various digital services and platforms within Aalto University. You will be working with designers, developers and other digital product owners within the university and its partners. You also manage the design system and brand site.

This is a fixed-term position covering for a parental leave. Estimated duration: 1.5.2026 – 31.8.2027. The exact end date will be confirmed when the postholder returns.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading the design and development of the design system components in collaboration with the brand and digital experience team: maintaining the roadmap and managing the backlog for design system development
• Being the single point of contact for the Aalto University community in design system usage and contribution, and facilitating the use of our design system in various projects
• Reaching out to the Aalto University community, both academics, service personnel and students, to find new possible use cases for the design system
• Acting as the owner to the design system presentation and brand site brand.aalto.fi with the support of the rest of the Brand and Digital Experience team
• As part of the Brand and Digital Experience team, you will also be the main customer for the design system by utilizing it on aalto.fi Drupal site.
• In addition to design system work, you will have a role in the aalto.fi design, UX and service design decisions and work (for example run the weekly design review meetings)
  
  

Your Experiences And Interests

• Experience in managing and/or using a design system; you understand the benefits and possibilities of a design system
• You may come from a more technical or design-led background; you might have worked as a front-end developer or a UX/UI designer – either way, you communicate fluently with both designers and developers
• You’re eager to improve the user experience of various digital channels, in both technical, design and content points of view
• Experience in (digital) service design
• Strong project management skills
• Experience working with digital agencies
• Understanding of React and possibly other front-end frameworks; you are keen to learn and understand other technologies and their possibilities
• Interest in finding new ways of utilizing AI in design system work
• Ability to manage and develop a large entities and to prioritize your tasks across multiple stakeholders
• Basic skills in Figma, e.g., creating layouts and prototypes using ready-made components
• Familiarity with WCAG accessibility requirements
  
  

Ideally, You Also Have Experience With

• Drupal as a content management system and/or
• a university or higher education environment
  
  

What We Offer

• You will join the Brand and Digital Experience team in Aalto University Communications, where the focus is naturally on brand, visual identity, and digital experience
• Depending on your interests and skills, you can also take a role in the continuous development design process of the aalto.fi site and in managing Aalto’s material bank
  
  

Ready to apply?

If you want to join our community, please submit your application through our recruitment site by using the link on Aalto University’s web page ("Apply now!”) latest on Sunday 29.3.2026.

When applying, please share the following application materials with us in English:

• Application letter
• CV
  
  

If you wish to hear more about the position, you can reach out to the team lead, Senior manager, Brand and Digital experience, Eivor Biese (040 839 9706). She is available by phone on Wed 11.3. 15.15.-16.15 or Fri 20.3. 13-14.30. You can also reach out to the current postholder, Design Product Owner Anna Savisaari (050 408 6938). She is available by phone on Thu 12.3. 14-16, Fri 13.3. 14-16, Tue 17.3. 08.30-10.00 or Fri 20.3. 08.30-11.

Aalto University’s employees and visitors should apply for the position via the internal HR system Workday (Internal Jobs) by using their existing Workday user account (not via the external webpage for open positions).

Please note that we are likely to begin interviewing candidates during the application period. You will hear from us latest at the end of week 16. We aim to have a transparent and equal recruitment process, so feel free to ask us for feedback.

Want to know more about us and your future colleagues? You can watch these videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MirHf3kkD4s

More about Aalto University:

Aalto University is where science and art meet technology and business. We shape a sustainable future by making research breakthroughs in and across our disciplines, sparking the game changers of tomorrow and creating novel solutions to major global challenges. Our community is made up of 16,000 students and 5,200 employees, including 446 professors. Our campus is in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland.

More about Aalto University:

Aalto.fi

youtube.com/user/aaltouniversity

linkedin.com/school/aalto-university/

www.facebook.com/aaltouniversity

instagram.com/aaltouniversity

To view information about Workday Accessibility, please click here.

Please see more of our Open Positions here.