Director, Head of Product, Google Design Platform

Google•San Jose, CA

8d•$281,000 - $391,000

About The Position

As Director, Product Management for Google Design Platform (GDP), you will own the design systems that underlie all Google products. Your primary responsibility will be to lead GDP’s product mangement team to define the product and strategic direction, technical strategy, and roadmap to bring Google Design into the AI era. You will be an insightful and opinionated strategic leader with a passion and taste for great design, a front-end technologist with deep technical knowledge, and a deft executor who grows in a high-influence service model to drive rapid, impactful results. Partnering with UX Design, Engineering, User Research, and Program Management Directors, you will steer the evolution of our design systems and AI-powered workflows (e.g., GenUX, design-to-code pipelines, Design Agents) while driving broad adoption across Google Product Areas (e.g., Gemini, Search, Workspace, Android, YouTube). GDP as a team sits within a broader product area. Core’s mission is to make Google better for everyone, and do so at scale. Core builds foundational technology and experiences that power the Google family of products. Core is the owner and advocate for the cross-Google user experience, underlying design elements, safety and privacy technology, developer platforms, product components, and infrastructure at Google.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
15 years of product management experience in technology organizations.
Experience with AI/LLM-driven workflows, agentic developer loops, or generative UI tooling.
Experience with front-end development and UI infrastructure (e.g., modern web/mobile frameworks, token architectures, build systems, developer tooling).

Nice To Haves

Experience defining and scaling platform-level products, developer tools, or design systems at global scale.
Experience with multi-product design systems (e.g., Material Design) and large-scale framework migrations.
Experience managing, mentoring, and growing product management teams.
Ability to drive strategic programs and execute with speed in a highly matrixed, cross-functional service environment.
Technical knowledge including experience with AI/LLM-driven workflows, agentic developer loops, generative UI tooling, front-end development and UI infrastructure, and cross-platform development.
Authentic passion and eye for the craft of design including an appreciation for typography, motion, and interaction design.

Responsibilities

Define and execute the product roadmap for the next generation of Google Design systems and AI-driven tooling (GenUX, agentic dev loops) to dramatically elevate designer and developer velocity.
Partner closely with Engineering, Design, Research and Program directors. Advocate for and operationalize the design vision, translating design intent and complex technical constraints into clear, high-quality roadmaps without overstepping into design arbitration.
Operate GDP as a high-value service platform. Treat 1P product areas (Search, Gemini, Android, Workspace, etc.) as enterprise partners, driving adoption, reduction of integration friction, and measurable velocity gains rather than relying on top-down mandates.
Distill complex technical and system strategies into simple, compelling mantras that align cross-functional partners and executive leadership.
Establish a culture of rapid iteration and fearless accountability—avoiding multi-quarter planning traps by balancing fast, tangible developer wins with foundational platform bets.