Manager, Design Operations

Overview

The Design Operations Manager supports the day-to-day operations, strategic planning, portfolio execution, and program management of key, high-level projects. This role is an individual contributor but relies heavily on building authentic relationships with peers, partners, and leaders.

What You’ll Do

• Business & People Operations: In close collaboration with design leadership, manage the design team’s people operations and business operations. Activities may range from KPI/OKR management, headcount, and partner management to developing team rituals, culture, and fostering overall positive team health.

• Mentor and share design operations expertise with team members.

• Support the hiring and onboarding of employees, manage contractors and vendors, strategically balance attrition.

• Design Standards & Practice Management: Enable high quality design outcomes by maintaining design standards and practices across teams, identifying bottlenecks in the workflow or opportunities to improve the design process and outcomes for teams. Collaborate with peers across the broader Design organization on priority initiatives, scaling best practices, and building new processes to ensure the organization is well managed. Shape agendas, facilitate collaboration sessions, and build frameworks to drive teams towards outcomes. Identify team and project needs with regards to design process, tools, documentation, asset management. Take steps to implement necessary changes to make sure design teams are operating at optimum efficiency.

• Design Portfolio & Program Management: Develop resourcing, capacity planning, and program management routines to ensure teams are delivering against established goals and objectives. Using industry best practices, drive delivery, collaboration, and risk mediation across cross-functional teams, including product and tech partners. Provide clear communication to cross-functional leadership on status, resources, issues, and priorities.

Basic Qualifications

• At least 5 years of experience in design management, project or program management of design deliverables, and operations management including experience working directly with experience designers, researchers, and strategists.
• At least 5 years of experience leading project delivery for cross-functional projects.

Preferred Qualifications

• 3+ years of design tool use and tool management experience.
• Experience with design systems.
• Experience working with corporate design teams.
• Understanding of design quality and product strategy.

Pay Range

McLean, VA: $164,800 - $188,100 for Manager, Design

Qualifications

• At least 5 years of experience in design management, project or program management of design deliverables, and operations management including experience working directly with experience designers, researchers, and strategists.
• At least 5 years of experience leading project delivery for cross-functional projects.