Director of Design Operations

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

11d

About The Position

Microsoft’s Business & Industry Copilot (BIC) Experience Studio is a creative community committed to shaping the future of work through thoughtful, AI-powered experiences. We believe great products come from teams who feel connected to a mission, supported by strong systems, and energized by clear purpose. Design Operations is the engine that enables this—building the structures, practices, and rhythms that help people do their best work with clarity, speed, and heart.
The Director of Design Operations leads both the people and the systems that make this possible. This role defines the Studio’s end‑to-end operating model and brings focus, momentum, and craft to how our multiteam, cross‑discipline organization works. They integrate AI-accelerated workflows, governance frameworks, readiness standards, and decision architecture that enable disciplined, high-velocity product development, without compromising quality or creativity.
As a director-level leader, they generate clarity and energy, coach and grow operational talent, and steward a culture where teams feel supported, aligned, and empowered. They operate at an organizational altitude, architecting workflows, strengthening cross-team connections, and ensuring our operating systems evolve in step with Microsoft’s ambitions in an AI first world.
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Requirements

• Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 7+ years experience working in product or service design OR Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 9+ years experience working in product or service design OR equivalent experience (e.g., demonstrated experience working in product or service design or using design thinking to solve problems).
• 5+ years people management experience.

Nice To Haves

• Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 12+ years experience working in product or service design OR Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 15+ years experience working in product or service design OR equivalent experience (e.g., demonstrated experience working in product or service design or using design thinking to solve problems).
• 7+ years people management experience.
• 8+ years experience shipping products, services, or games and/or delivering to customers as a result of an end-to-end design process.
• 10+ years in Design Operations, Design Program Management, Producer, or related experience enabling cross functional product development at scale.
• Proven ability to drive operational transformation through AI enabled workflows and tooling.
• Demonstrated ability to architect and evolve organizational workflows, governance systems, and readiness frameworks across large product ecosystems.
• Experience leading org level workflow strategy, operating models, and multidisciplinary orchestration in complex, high-velocity environments.
• Complex systems thinking, org level communication, and executive partnership capabilities.
• Track record of cultivating inclusive culture, team health, and operational excellence across distributed organizations.
• Deep familiarity with tools such as Figma, Lovable, Claude, Azure DevOps, M365, and AI powered workflow tooling.

Responsibilities

• Define the Studio’s end-to-end operating model: Establish org-level workflow strategy, sequencing, and decision architecture that translate product direction into coordinated, high quality delivery at scale.
• Lead AI-enabled operational transformation: Introduce tooling and workflows that reduce coordination overhead, increase clarity, and support high velocity decision making across the Studio.
• Direct cross organizational initiatives: Align design, research, product, and engineering to ensure shared priorities, clear dependencies, and unified execution across complex, multi-team programs.
• Architect enterprise grade readiness and governance systems: Defining quality bars, milestone frameworks, and go/no-go criteria that maintain judgment and velocity as teams accelerate.
• Drive organizational clarity and strategic alignment: Work with CVP of Design to surface constraints, tradeoffs, systemic issues, and opportunities to support informed product and portfolio level decision making.
• Establish and measure org level KPIs: Include cycle time, quality signals, and team health, use of AI design tools and AI methodologies (e.g. evals), using insights to evolve systems and improve operational excellence.
• Develop and lead a high performing Design Operations team: Build discipline craft, mentor emerging leaders, and scale capabilities to support the Studio’s growth.
• Cultivate an inclusive, sustainable operational culture: Design communication rhythms, team rituals, and cross team practices that strengthen trust, alignment, and a healthy pace across the organization.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director