Design Lead

Location negotiable across NSW (subject to campus availability); Sydney Region preferred due to travel requirements

Permanent Full Time

$205,590 salary package - includes base salary $181,324 plus employer’s contribution to superannuation and annual leave loading

At TAFE NSW, we are dedicated to life-changing impact.

That’s why we offer world-class training and education that delivers the skills needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

Life-changing impact starts with an incredible team that sees their career as an opportunity to transform someone’s world. Whether that’s inspiring students, supporting each other, or helping our communities and industries flourish.

We live by TAFE NSW values: Customer Focus, Integrity, Collaboration, and Excellence. They define who we are, how we work, and inspire our performance.

We invest in our people

At TAFE NSW, you will discover a diverse, dynamic, and collaborative environment, where you can innovate, create value, and do meaningful work.

We provide you with tools, ongoing training and career development, health and wellbeing programs, and a 35-hour working week with a variety of flexible working options.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced Design Lead to join the team and currently have a permanent full-time role available. Sydney location is preferred as the role requires regular attendance at a weekly team connection day in Ultimo.

*Other locations maybe negotiable however the candidate should note that they will be required to attend the weekly connection day in Ultimo and the travel needs to be at their own expense.

The Design Lead is responsible for championing,



growing and embedding customer-centred design practices across the organisation. Working closely with the Senior Manager Design and embedded in a cross-functional product team, you will combine strategic design leadership with hands-on delivery to create impactful digital experiences for students, and staff.

You will lead product discovery, user research and usability testing to inform product decisions and prioritisation. Facilitating workshops and co-design sessions with users and stakeholders, you will ensure teams are solving the right problems that balance user and business needs and delivering meaningful outcomes for TAFE NSW.

This is a small team with great culture. Everyone pitches in and you will need to be adaptable, on tools and wear different hats. From influencing executives to supporting peers across multiple squads with the evolution of our practice, promoting accessibility, and scaling consistency in the adoption and development of the TAFE NSW Design System.

About you

You are a purpose led, design leader who cares about customers, have good judgement to dig with curiosity, balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery and highly collaborative in building relationships, influencing stakeholders, and driving outcomes without formal authority. You thrive in complex enterprise environments and deliver.





You will bring:

- Experience leading the design of digital products and services within large and complex organisations.
- Strong capability across discovery, user research, design strategy, prototyping and usability testing.
- Expertise in designing and facilitating workshops, building alignment and influencing diverse stakeholder groups.
- Experience working within agile, cross-functional product teams.
- Digital accessibility, proficiency in design systems and modern design collaboration tools like Figma and Miro.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex concepts simply and effectively to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Experience using data and analytics to inform decisions, measure outcomes and identify opportunities for improvement.

Highly Regarded

- Experience leveraging AI tooling and emerging technologies to enhance design outcomes while maintaining strong customer-centred design practices
- Basic coding literacy and an understanding of front-end development principles
- Experience working in organisations with developing design maturity and contributing to capability uplift.
- Design degree qualification

To find out more about the role, click to view the Role Description.

How to Apply For further information regarding the role please click the apply button where you will be redirected to the Careers at TAFE NSW website where you can review the Position Description, application process and application instructions.

A career of life-changing impact awaits you. Apply now!

Applications close 11:55pm AEST Wednesday 26th August 2026

📌 Design Lead (Sydney)
🏢 TAFE NSW
📍 Sydney