Design Operations Manager

Global Relay • New York, NY

1d

About The Position

As a Design Operations Manager, you will play a pivotal role in driving design operations within our established global Design team of 50+ professionals. We're seeking a highly skilled and energetic individual with experience in large, distributed teams that collaborate seamlessly across multiple time zones.
You will work closely with the Chief Design Officer and design leadership team to optimize and scale team processes, fostering improved collaboration, governance, and continuous improvement. Based in New York, this role offers the opportunity to collaborate with our teams in Vancouver and London, providing valuable exposure to our global customer base and enabling you to make a significant impact on our design organization.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in DesignOps or a related field, with a proven track record of delivering successful projects
• A portfolio or case study demonstrating expertise in DesignOps, including process and results
• Proficiency in a range of tools (e.g. Miro, Confluence, Figma) and a willingness to adapt to new technologies
• Strong foundation in user-centered design principles, UX, and UX Research methodologies
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to document and share processes in a clear and engaging way
• Strong interpersonal skills, including active listening, trust-building, and collaboration facilitation
• Ability to drive buy-in and support for operational initiatives, with a talent for influencing stakeholders
• Strategic thinking, balanced with tactical operational expertise, and the ability to prioritize tasks in a dynamic environment
• Strong problem-solving, organizational, and time management skills, with experience in managing multiple projects and deadlines
• Knowledge of change management principles, methodologies, and tools, with experience in implementing organizational change
• Ability to work independently, with the judgment to know when to seek guidance and input from others

Nice To Haves

• Experience in enterprise product development is highly desirable, with a background in design or research being a significant plus

Responsibilities

• Conduct ongoing internal research to identify evolving design and research challenges and opportunities for process unification and efficiency gains.
• Collaborate with design leadership to prioritize initiatives, maintain a backlog and roadmap of operational projects, and drive strategic decision-making.
• Scope, design, and implement operational initiatives, including:
• Standardizing and optimizing design and research processes across distributed teams
• Evaluating and implementing tools and technologies to enhance team efficiency
• Developing templates and workflows for recruitment, onboarding, and career development to foster team growth
• Proposing improvements to design output quality and impact
• Showcasing success stories to promote design and research impact across the organization
• Creating and delivering training content on design best practices, tools, and methodologies
• Establishing benchmarks and tracking key design metrics to inform operations decisions
• Setting standards for onboarding new designers and researchers, and collaborating with the CDO and design leadership to optimize team structure
• Monitoring and measuring the success of design operations initiatives and staying up-to-date with industry trends and emerging technologies to maintain the team's innovative edge

Benefits

• comprehensive health benefits program, including extended health coverage and short-term / long-term disability insurance
• annual allotted vacation days, which increase based on tenure
• paid sick days
• maternity/parental leave enhanced program
• commuter benefits
• corporate bonuses
• 401(k)-retirement plan with company contribution matching
• subsidized meal program, courtesy of our in-house culinary team!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed