Senior Manager of Product Design

Compass; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Compass is seeking a Senior Design Manager to oversee a talented team of product designers and partner as a strategic peer to Engineering and Product Management, shaping design strategy, milestones, and customer outcomes.

You will lead Consumer Experience across web and mobile, guiding compass.com and the Compass iOS/Android apps, while coaching designers, managing roadmaps, and ensuring usability, accessibility, and cross‑functional alignment with Directors, VPs, and executive leadership.

Qualifications

• 8-10+ years of total product/UX design experience with 2-4+ years in people management.
• Experience leading design for consumer-facing digital products at scale.
• Strong collaboration with UXR and Product Analytics to drive insights.
• Proven executive storytelling and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Oversee a team of product designers and partner with Engineering and Product Management.
• Bridge vision and execution, balancing craft, research, and delivery.
• Lead design for consumer web and mobile experiences across platforms (web and native).
• Drive governance with senior leadership and align roadmaps and milestones.
• Coach designers, manage capacity, and foster a collaborative design culture.
• Collaborate with Design Systems and Engineering on reusable patterns.
• Focus on metrics like conversion, engagement, and customer outcomes.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Cross-functional alignment

Executive communication

User experience design

Design strategy

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in HCI

Product Design

Tools

Figma

Prototyping tools

Design Systems

Job description

• Reporting to a Senior Director of Product Design, you will oversee a talented team of product designers while serving as a strategic peer to Engineering and Product Management leaders.
• You will bridge high-level vision and tactical execution—balancing world-class visual craft, user research, and interaction design with disciplined project resourcing, milestone tracking, and stakeholder management.
• As a Senior Design Manager, your orientation spans across (driving strategic cross-functional alignment and shared roadmaps with Consumer EPD partners), down (mentoring talent, raising the craft bar, and operationalizing delivery), and critically up – ensuring Director, VP, and executive leadership are continually aligned on design strategy, milestones, and customer outcomes.
• You excel in a fast-paced organization, maintaining clarity and momentum while ensuring that critical consumer initiatives are thoroughly vetted, tracked, and reviewed across all levels of leadership
• Consumer Experience Leadership (Web & Mobile): Lead the design vision and execution for consumer touchpoints, including compass.com and the Compass iOS/Android native mobile apps. Drive cohesive, modern, and high-converting discovery, search, listing exploration, and decision-making experiences across platforms
• Upward Alignment & Executive Governance: Drive continuous, high-visibility alignment with senior leadership. Confidently interface with and present to Directors, VPs, and executive stakeholders, framing design challenges around business value and customer outcomes. Ensure executive feedback is rapidly synthesized and integrated into team priorities
• Operational Diligence & Timeline Tracking: Drive rigorous operational discipline across all design workstreams. Proactively scope and resource projects, manage capacity, establish delivery milestones, and track project timelines in close collaboration with Product and Program Management. Ensure design commitments are met with predictability in a fast-paced, iterative environment
• People Leadership & Coaching: Manage, coach, and inspire a team of product designers (spanning mid-level to senior/staff ICs). Conduct regular 1:1s, support career growth paths, drive performance evaluations, and foster a collaborative, psychologically safe team environment. Coach designers on leading complex projects, articulating design rationale, and managing stakeholder dynamics
• Design Craft & Usability Standards: Champion an uncompromising bar for design quality. Conduct hands‑on critiques and reviews to elevate visual finish, interaction polish, information architecture, accessibility, and overall usability across responsive web and native mobile interfaces
• Cross-Functional Partnership : Foster high-trust, peer-level partnerships with Product Management, Engineering, and Analytics leads. Act as a facilitative leader who aligns multi‑quarter roadmaps, resolves dependencies, balances technical feasibility with customer delight, and drives shared accountability for consumer KPIs
• Systems Thinking & Multi‑Platform Cohesion: Partner closely with Design Systems and Engineering teams to implement reusable component patterns and design tokens. Ensure unified brand consistency and seamless transitions between web, mobile web, and native mobile apps
• Data‑Informed & Insight‑Led Discovery: Champion continuous user research and data‑driven iteration. Guide your team in planning qualitative usability testing, competitive benchmarking, and quantitative metrics tracking (e.g., search conversion, engagement, retention), translating insights into actionable design iterations
• Hiring & Design Org Culture: Identify team staffing needs, shape job requisitions, and partner with Talent Acquisition to recruit, interview, and close exceptional, diverse product design talent. Actively contribute to company‑wide design operations, leveling frameworks, and design culture

Consumer Product Provenance:

Demonstrated success leading design for high-traffic, consumer-facing digital products across both responsive web platforms and native mobile applications (iOS and Android) at scale

Operational Rigor & Execution:

Proven ability to manage complex resourcing across multiple concurrent tracks of work, establish dependable delivery cadences, track timeline health, and adapt swiftly to shifting business priorities in a fast-paced environment

Craft, Systems & Native Patterns:

Deep fluency in native iOS Human Interface Guidelines, Android Material Design, responsive web paradigms, design systems governance, and modern design tooling (Figma, advanced prototyping)

Multi‑Directional Leadership:

Proven capability operating across, down, and up—effortlessly managing direct reports, collaborating across EPD disciplines, and engaging Director-, VP-, and C-suite stakeholders with executive poise and clarity

Education & Background:

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Product Design, or equivalent practical industry experience

Customer Research & Analytical Literacy:

Experience partnering with UXR and Product Analytics to leverage qualitative feedback and quantitative behavioral data (e.g., Amplitude, Google Analytics, A/B testing) to inform design decisions and measure consumer impact

Executive Communication & Storytelling:

Exceptional verbal, visual, and written communication skills. Proven track record of pitching strategic design vision, building consensus, and leading high‑stakes reviews with executive and cross‑functional leadership

Experience:

8-10+ years of total product/UX design experience, with 2-4+ years of dedicated people management experience directly leading and developing product designers in high‑growth, modern technology organizations

People Management & Talent Development:

Demonstrated track record of coaching designers through ambiguous product spaces, elevating individual craft, conducting fair and constructive performance reviews, and retaining top talent

• Experience in real estate tech, two-sided marketplaces, consumer discovery/search, or similar consumer-facing platforms
• Experience integrating AI‑assisted search, personalized recommendations, or intelligent discovery tools into consumer surfaces
• Active involvement in the broader design leadership community or design mentorship programs