UX Product Design Operations Manager

Position Summary

Job Description: Manager, Design Operations (DesignOps) Leader

Overview

We are seeking experienced, strategic, and empathetic Design Operations to elevate our design organization's culture, processes, and cross-functional impact. As a key leader in pioneering the adoption of lean product practices, this leader will drive operational excellence, nurture team growth, and champion programs-including our design system-that enable scalable, consistent, and innovative product experiences.

Key Responsibilities

• Team Culture & People Development
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture that attracts, retains, and grows top design talent.
• Mentor DesignOps team members and empower designers to do their best work.
• Process & Program Management
• Architect, implement, and optimize design processes that unlock efficiency and quality at scale.
• Lead strategic initiatives, end-to-end, ensuring seamless integration within design and partner teams.
• Deliver proven results managing multiple concurrent design programs across organizations, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and on-time delivery.
• Pioneer Lean Product Process

• Serve as a key leader driving the organization-wide adoption of lean product processes.
• Champion lean methodologies in collaboration with product, engineering, and business stakeholders to enable rapid, value-driven delivery and continuous improvement.
• Guide teams in applying lean principles to product development workflows, and embed best practices in culture, process, and mindset.

• Build strong, trust-based relationships with cross-functional partners-including Product, Engineering, Marketing, Business, and other key internal stakeholders.
• Proactively champion UX best practices and influence stakeholders to ensure organizational alignment with user-centered design principles and operational excellence.

• Plan and facilitate workshops that drive alignment, solve problems, and inspire innovation across multidisciplinary product teams.
• Advocate for design excellence and process discipline to promote shared understanding and enthusiasm for design-led thinking.

• Oversee the rollout and ongoing adoption of our design system.
• Partner with design and engineering to ensure system responsiveness and usability meet the highest standards.
• Socialize the value and usage of the design system throughout the organization via demos, onboarding, and ongoing education.

• Required
• Minimum 6+ years in design, UX, or product roles.
• Minimum 1+ years in people management and leadership roles, including direct people management for multi-disciplinary design or product teams.
• Proven record of successfully managing multiple large-scale, cross-functional design programs simultaneously across organizations.
• Ability to travel 0-10%, on average, based on the work you do and the clients and industries/sectors you serve
• Limited immigration sponsorship may be available
• Operational Mastery
• Demonstrated expertise in building and scaling design programs and processes for high-velocity product or digital teams.
• Deep experience with lean product or agile methodologies and a change-maker mindset for driving their adoption.
• Design System Leadership
• Hands-on experience supporting or leading design system initiatives-including cross-functional, multi-team implementation.
• Facilitation & Communication
• Skilled at running collaborative workshops, facilitating complex discussions, and championing change in a fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with a proven ability to align diverse groups around common goals.
• Stakeholder Influence
• Track record of successfully managing complex stakeholder landscapes and influencing at all organization levels-including executives, designers, engineers, product managers, marketing, and business functions.

• Are passionate about scaling design impact through process, systems, and people.
• Thrive in environments where people, processes, and outcomes are equally important.
• Get energy from building bridges between teams and inspiring organization-wide transformation.