Product Design Manager II, Ad Formats

Pinterest; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 158,765 - 326,870; Full time

Job summary

Pinterest is seeking a player-coach Product Design Manager for the Ad Formats Design team in the United States. You will lead the Performance Pod, mentor four designers, and partner with PM, Eng, PMM, and Research to craft conversion-focused ad formats that balance long-term quality with impactful performance.

You will remain hands-on as needed, shaping strategy, roadmap, and culture while embracing AI tools to accelerate the team's workflow and product experience.

Qualifications

• Proven track record shipping ad products with product and engineering partners.
• Learner mindset and ability to onboard AI tools in the full product development process.
• Ability to balance multiple stakeholders and lead concurrent workstreams.
• Clear, confident communication of design decisions and tradeoffs to cross-functional partners.
• Meticulous attention to detail across flows, states, and edge cases.
• Experience designing within and extending design systems.
• Growth mindset; seeks feedback to improve craft and impact.
• 7+ years in Product Design and 2 years in management.
• Bachelor's degree in design or related field.

Responsibilities

• Set the vision for the Ad Formats Performance Pod and align teams.
• Operate as a player-coach: lead and hands-on design work.
• Partner with product and engineering to define strategy, roadmap, and culture.
• Work in a fast-paced, data-driven environment focusing on user needs.
• Maintain high design execution through mentorship and demos.
• Grow team members through coaching and feedback.
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate design processes and product interactions.

Skills

Digital ad design

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Design systems

AI tooling in design

Communication

Mentoring

Strategy & roadmap

Education

Bachelor's degree in design

Tools

Figma

Job description

Overview

Pinterest is looking for a player-coach Product Design Manager with a passion for craft, strategy, learning, and leading with empathy. You’ll join the Ad Formats Design team, managing the Performance Pod: leading a team of IC designers and partnering closely with PM, EM, PMM, and Research to shape conversion-oriented ad formats that drive meaningful performance. Your work will focus on improving long-term, high-quality conversion outcomes, avoiding ad fatigue and short-term mechanical lifts, while elevating the Pinner shopping and decision-making experience through both leading the team and taking on hands-on design yourself.

Responsibilities

• Set the vision and point of view for the Ad Formats Performance Pod — spanning consumer-facing ad experiences, advertiser-facing creation tooling, ad formats creation, and AI automation adoption and growth — and bring others along to think bigger and innovate
• Operate as a player-coach: alongside managing a team of four designers, stay hands-on and own executional design work yourself, with or without additional IC support
• Partner closely with product and engineering counterparts to define product strategy, roadmap, process, and culture for the Ad Formats Performance Pod
• Be comfortable in a fast-paced, data-driven, experimental environment — without ever losing sight of the big picture and true user needs
• Uphold and inspire a high level of design execution across the team, through both mentorship and hands-on demoing across projects
• Grow the people on your team through coaching and mentorship
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate how your team works, and pioneer new ways to use AI in the team's process and within the product experience

Qualifications

• Proven track record of envisioning, shipping, and iterating on digital ad products in close partnership with product management and engineering
• Learner and builder mindset: able to quickly onboard emerging AI tools and implement them appropriately in the full product development process with a focus on decision quality, craft and efficiency. Mentors and educates team members
• Ability to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders and lead multiple concurrent workstreams
• Clear, confident communication skills: able to explain complex design decisions and tradeoffs to align cross-functional partners
• Meticulous attention to detail and a high bar for quality across flows, states, and edge cases
• Experience designing within and extending design systems. Deep understanding of layout, typography, color, and other core interaction and information design principles
• High level of self-awareness and a growth mindset; you seek feedback and use it to grow your craft and impact
• 7+ years in Product Design (or equivalent), 2 years of management experience
• Bachelor's degree in design, a related field or equivalent experience

Relocation

• This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. Visit our PinFlex page to learn more about our working model.

In-office requirement

• We let the type of work you do guide the collaboration style. That means we're not always working in an office, but we continue to gather for key moments of collaboration and connection.
• This role will need to be in the office for in-person collaboration 1-2 times every 6 months, and therefore can be situated anywhere in the country.

Note: This role is listed as remote-friendly where allowed by location.

Compensation and inclusion

Base salary range for this position is $158,765 — $326,870 USD. The position is eligible for equity. Final salary is based on location, travel, relevant prior experience, or particular skills and expertise.

Information regarding the culture at Pinterest and benefits available for this position can be found here.

Our Commitment to Inclusion

Pinterest is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, status as a protected veteran, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state or local laws. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you require a medical or religious accommodation during the job application process, please complete this form for support.

By submitting this application, I certify that all information submitted in my application and throughout the hiring process is true, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that any false statement, omission, or misrepresentation may disqualify me from employment consideration or result in termination if discovered after hire.