Design Operations Manager - Toronto / London (Hybrid)

Info-Tech Research Group; London; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research organization in London, Ontario is seeking a Design Ops Manager to optimize design processes and drive efficiency across teams. This role focuses on integrating AI tools into workflows and advocating for operational excellence. Ideal candidates should have over 8 years of experience in design operations, including leadership roles, and proficiency in tools like Figma and Jira. Join us to enhance design innovation and take part in a growth-focused culture.

Benefits

Financial assistance for training and certifications

Opportunities for professional development

Qualifications

• 8+ years in design or design operations, with at least 2 years in a leadership role.
• Experience in implementing design systems and agile workflows.
• Familiarity with integrating AI tools in design environments.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement scalable workflows across design teams.
• Own the design system and integration of AI efficiencies.
• Mentor and support designers to foster a growth mindset.

Skills

Generative design tools familiarity

Agile methodologies knowledge

Figma proficiency

Jira competency

WCAG understanding

Education

Post-secondary education in Design or Operations Management

Tools

Figma

Jira

Lucidchart/FigJam

Job description

Info-Tech Research Group delivers impartial, highly pertinent IT research, enabling CIOs and IT leaders to make well-informed, strategic decisions. We serve over 30,000 professionals worldwide, providing actionable tools and expert guidance that drive measurable results. Join our collaborative, high-growth environment where innovation, efficiency, and customer impact are at the heart of everything we do.

Why Join Us?

• We pride ourselves on consistent year-on-year growth, even during global uncertainty.
• Ranked in the Top 3 on LinkedIn’s Top Companies in Canada.
• We foster a growth-focused, entrepreneurial culture with abundant opportunities for professional development.
• We support your ongoing learning through financial assistance for training, certifications, and conferences.

The Role

We are looking for a creative and operationally-savvy Design Ops Manager, reporting to the Vice President of Creative, to optimize our design processes, scale design systems, and drive cross-functional efficiency. This role is ideal for someone who is equally passionate about enabling and evangelizing the team and leveraging the latest AI technologies to transform design workflows.

You will be instrumental in creating seamless end-to-end experiences by embedding AI into the design pipeline; from research and ideation, to prototyping and delivery. As the Design Ops Manager, you’ll champion operational excellence, improve tooling and workflows, and act as a catalyst for AI-driven innovation across the design team.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement scalable workflows, governance, and tooling across multiple design teams.
• Own and evolve the design system and component libraries, ensuring AI-based efficiencies.
• Establish documentation and onboarding processes to ensure consistency and alignment.
• Evaluate and integrate generative AI tools (e.g., for wireframing, prototyping, asset generation, accessibility auditing).
• Work directly with Product Dev to help us align process.
• Partner with Product Dev to drive AI adoption that supports product innovation and design team efficiency.
• Champion AI literacy and effective usage among the design organization.
• Work collaboratively with Product Dev (product, design, dev).
• Defining better practice in running design critiques, standups, and syncs.
• Manage design resources, tools, and vendor relationships (training focused).
• Mentor and support designers, fostering a growth-mindset culture.
• Lead retrospectives and process reviews to continuously evolve team effectiveness.
• Look for opportunities to showcase the team’s achievements and work in the larger design community both in North America and globally.

Education and Experience

• Post‑secondary education or equivalent experience in Design and/or related Operations (or studio) Management, or a related field.
• 8+ years in design or design operations, with at least 2 years in a leadership or coordination role.
• Proven experience implementing design systems, agile workflows, or tooling for design teams.
• Experience working with and integrating AI tools in a design or product environment is strongly preferred.

Skills & Qualifications

• Familiarity with generative design (and front‑end coding) tools (current tools are changing constantly).
• Strong knowledge of maintaining scalable component libraries and documentation tools.
• Understanding of Agile, Kanban, and Lean UX methodologies.
• Competent in Figma, Jira, Lucidchart/FigJam, and other product design and project management platforms.
• Ability to translate operational data into compelling stories for stakeholders, and the ability to seek out hard data where it resides in the org.
• Understanding of WCAG, inclusive design principles, and how AI can both help these efforts.

Bonus Skills

• Familiarity with front‑end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
• Knowledge of how tools (AI or otherwise) can be used to support motion and storytelling.
• Understanding of how LLMs and computer vision impact user expectations from design.

Info-Tech Research Group of companies is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion and does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected status or characteristic including Minority/Female/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Disability/Veteran and are pleased to consider all qualified applicants. To that end, upon request, ITRG will ensure, to the extent possible, that accommodation be made available to applicants throughout the recruitment and hiring process.