Director, Product Management, Google Design Platform

Google•San Jose, CA

1d•$281,000 - $391,000

About The Position

Core’s mission is to make Google better for everyone, and at scale. The Core team builds foundational technology and experiences that power the Google family of products. We are owners and advocate for the cross-Google user experience, underlying design elements, safety and privacy technology, developer platforms, product components, and infrastructure at Google. Core Experience focuses on shared user experiences across Google. The team aspires to make users’ experience excellent, safe, and useful, regardless of which Google product they are using. Among the products the team owns are Google Account and Identity solutions, user education and notifications, contacts, design elements, accessibility solutions, and UI platforms. The Google Design Platform (GDP) enables internal Google teams and external developers and designers to build beautiful, usable, and AI-native products faster and at scale. The team owns material design, design tokens, UI infrastructure, fonts, design guidelines, and next-generation design tooling. As the PM Director for GDP, you will lead the product management organization and define the vision, technical strategy, and roadmap to bring Google Design into the AI era. You are a rare hybrid: a front-end technologist who genuinely loves design craft, thrives in a high-influence service model, and cuts through planning paralysis to drive rapid, decisive execution. Partnering as a peer with the GDP Design, Engineering, 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).

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 navigating B2B or internal platform service models (influence without direct authority across independent business units).
Experience with multi-product design systems (e.g., Material Design) and large-scale framework migrations.
Demonstrated ability to drive strategic programs and execute with speed in a highly matrixed, cross-functional service environment.
Authentic appreciation and eye for design craft, typography, motion, and interaction design.
Proven track record of managing, mentoring, and growing product management teams.

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.