Lead Design Tech PM — AI-Driven Operations

The Walt Disney Company; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 171,000 - 229,000; Full time

Job summary

The Walt Disney Company is seeking a Lead Design Technical Program Manager in San Francisco to drive complex design initiatives for our Ad Platforms team. You will orchestrate cross‑functional delivery, strengthen design operations, and leverage AI to streamline workflows, delivering value to our streaming and consumer experiences.

You will partner with design, product, and engineering leadership to ensure thoughtful planning, execution, and integration into broader product delivery, while

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in design and/or creative environments, design operations, product operations, or related roles.
• Broad understanding of the product and experience design process.
• Proven success leading complex cross-functional initiatives in product development environments.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multi-team dependencies and delivery risk.
• Experience facilitating alignment across senior stakeholders.
• Strong operational leadership, facilitation, and organizational problem-solving skills.
• Strong experience in Airtable, Jira, and other related project management software.
• Experience using AI tools and emerging technologies to explore new ways of improving program workflows, automating operational tasks, and scaling how design programs operate.

Responsibilities

• Drive design activities in a large multi-faceted product development space, ensuring design work is planned, sequenced, and integrated effectively in order to meet product OKR commitments, including:
• Ensure strong alignment between design initiatives, product roadmaps, and engineering delivery plans.
• Manage complex cross-team dependencies and proactively mitigate delivery risks.
• Facilitate cross-functional tradeoff discussions across Design, Product, and Engineering leadership.
• Ensure design contributions are represented in executive reporting and program plans.
• Identify systemic friction that slows delivery and implement durable improvements.
• Foster a strong design team culture by championing rituals, connection, and a sense of belonging across the team.
• Improve operational frameworks that support design execution, including implementation of AI-driven workflows.
• Oversight of Intake, prioritization, and governance models.
• Mentor and guide other program managers, helping to elevate program leadership practices across the organization.
• Serve as a trusted delivery partner to design and product leadership.

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Airtable

Jira

Job description

The Walt Disney Company is seeking a Lead Design Technical Program Manager in San Francisco to drive complex design initiatives for our Ad Platforms team. You will orchestrate cross‑functional delivery, strengthen design operations, and leverage AI to streamline workflows, delivering value to our streaming and consumer experiences.

You will partner with design, product, and engineering leadership to ensure thoughtful planning, execution, and integration into broader product delivery, while