Staff Design Program Manager

Etsy•New York, NY

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Etsy is hiring a Staff Design Program Manager to drive the operations that power Etsy’s UX Foundations team. This role blends hands-on program and project management with strategic operational impact, helping the team plan, build, review, and drive adoption of the design system and content strategy across product teams. The position primarily supports the Design Systems and Content Design teams, with flexibility to take on org-wide initiatives. This is a full-time position reporting to the Director of Design Program Management. The UX Foundations team is a core part of Etsy's design organization, empowering a team of exceptional designers who create the systems, components, and patterns that power both Buyer and Seller experiences on Etsy. The Staff Design Program Manager will partner daily with product designers, content designers, PMs, and Engineers, and collaborate with the Brand Design organization to align product and brand systems and standards. This work directly contributes to Etsy's mission of Keeping Commerce Human by enabling product teams to focus on solving customer problems while maintaining the unique, human-centered experience that defines Etsy.

Requirements

8+ years in program management, project management, or design operations within product development.
Direct experience with design systems and component libraries.
Experience working with content designers.
Ability to context switch smoothly between tactical execution and strategic planning, delivering at a high bar on both.
Clear, succinct communication that adapts depth and detail to the audience and moment.
A focus on improving team flow, decision quality, and craft standards, not just velocity.
Strength in planning and negotiation with leaders while building trust through ownership and follow-through with ICs.
A generous collaborative spirit with a passion for leveling up the operational skills of those around you.
Familiarity with Jira, Figma, Notion, and Google.2F.1-IC4

Responsibilities

Design and maintain the operational infrastructure that allows the UX Foundations team to work with deep focus.
"Shield" the team by streamlining intake and ensuring the roadmap is realistic and well-protected.
Drive the end-to-end lifecycle of the Design System and Content Design backlogs, ensuring work is granular, actionable, and aligned with quarterly goals.
Establish and socialize clear, observable principles for how the team prioritizes work—balancing urgent "bug fixes" with long-term "foundational builds."
Create high-signal, low-friction cadences (standups, retros, crits) that improve team flow, decision quality, and craft standards.
Lead occasional org-wide programs with the Director of Design Program Management to extend practices beyond the Design Systems team.
Facilitate the high-level framework for how product teams interact with UX Foundations.
Focus on the interplay between core standards and local team needs, ensuring product designers have the structure to stay consistent and move fast without creating bottlenecks.
Act as the primary link between UX Foundations and the broader Product Design organization, ensuring that system updates are synchronized with product release cycles.
Develop streamlined, audience-appropriate reporting (dashboards, newsletters, executive summaries) that makes the team’s impact and progress observable to collaborators and leadership.
Build the operational framework for Content Design, including running their backlog, developing capacity deployment strategies, and ensuring their work is integrated into broader design reviews.
Partner with Engineering Ops and Brand Design to ensure the design system remains technically viable and brand-aligned.
Participate in technical discussions regarding the design-to-code pipeline.
Serve as the operational lead for design agencies or vendors as needed, ensuring external work meets Etsy’s standards and is integrated seamlessly into the team’s workflow.