Design Program Manager

Handshake; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 112,000 - 182,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company seeks a Design Program Manager to oversee operations within its design organization. This pivotal role involves partnering with the design team to streamline processes and enhance efficiency. Candidates should possess 5+ years of program management experience, an understanding of design integrations, and exhibit strong communication skills.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in program/project management or design operations.
• Strong understanding of the design process and integration with product and engineering.
• Experience building operational systems from scratch.

Responsibilities

• Define and own a cross-org design approval process.
• Partner with the Design Systems team to optimize global design patterns.
• Create visibility into design workflows and maintain documentation.

Skills

Communication

Facilitation

Project Management

Design Process Understanding

Tools

Figma

Linear

Job description

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Role

As Handshake’s dedicated Design Program Manager, you will be the operational heartbeat of our design org. You will partner closely with our Design team to implement processes that support quality, consistency, and clarity across our design practice—freeing up our designers to focus more fully on their core roles. You’ll take on the critical challenges we face today, including:

• Establishing and maintaining a design process with clear points of approval and decision-making across squads and horizontals.
• Bringing structure and accountability to design systems governance (colors, typography, components, etc.).
• Supporting our growing design team with scalable workflows, rituals, and tools that increase efficiency and reduce ambiguity.
  
  

Role

As Handshake’s dedicated Design Program Manager, you will be the operational heartbeat of our design org. You will partner closely with our Design team to implement processes that support quality, consistency, and clarity across our design practice—freeing up our designers to focus more fully on their core roles. You’ll take on the critical challenges we face today, including:

• Establishing and maintaining a design process with clear points of approval and decision-making across squads and horizontals.
• Bringing structure and accountability to design systems governance (colors, typography, components, etc.).
• Supporting our growing design team with scalable workflows, rituals, and tools that increase efficiency and reduce ambiguity.
  
  

What You’ll Do

• Define and own a cross-org design approval process: who reviews what, when, and how.
• Partner with the Design Systems (DS) team to define, standardize, communicate, and optimize global design patterns.
• Create visibility into design workflows—e.g., design review cadences, timelines, dependencies.
• Define and own recurring rituals such as critiques, design share-outs, and sprint planning.
• Proactively identify process gaps and areas of inefficiency, and implement practical, user-centered solutions that support quality and speed without unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Maintain documentation and tooling to support clarity and continuity across the team.
• Foster a culture of operational excellence in design, advocating for smart process—not process for its own sake.
  
  

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years of experience in program/project management or design operations, ideally within a product design org.
• A strong understanding of the design process and how design integrates with product and engineering.
• Experience building and evolving operational systems from the ground up.
• Comfortable leading meetings, aligning stakeholders, and managing cross-team workflows.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills—you bring clarity to complexity.
• Empathetic, proactive, and process-minded. You thrive in ambiguous environments and take initiative to make things better.
  
  

Nice to Have

• Previous experience with Figma, Linear, or similar design/project management tools.
• Exposure to or direct involvement with design systems governance.
• Background in UX/design and experience working closely with Product and Engineering teams.
  
  

Why You’ll Love It Here

• You’ll play a pivotal role in shaping the operational backbone of a high-impact, mission-driven design team.
• You’ll collaborate with a team that cares deeply about craft, collaboration, and inclusion.
• You’ll help ensure every design decision at Handshake is intentional, scalable, and user-centered.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology

• Industries

  Software Development

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