Senior Design Operations Manager

What You'll Do:

We're seeking an experienced Senior DesignOps Manager to join our global Product Design team, reporting directly to the Head of Product Design. In this role, you'll be instrumental in scaling and optimizing our design operations across a distributed team of 30+ designers worldwide.

In this role, you'll be the operational backbone of our design function, ensuring seamless collaboration, efficient processes, and optimal resource utilization across our global design organization.

Key Responsibilities

Process Optimization & Collaboration

• Standardize design processes and methodologies across the organization

• Optimize design-to-engineering handoffs and cross-functional collaboration

• Organize and facilitate design team rituals and ceremonies

• Act as a strategic bridge between design leadership, engineering, and product management teams

Program Management & Strategy

• Develop and manage design programs, including resource allocation and timeline planning

• Drive operational excellence initiatives to maximize designer productivity and impact

• Provide stakeholders with visibility into project status, resource utilization, and team performance

• Lead critical project decisions around requirements, scheduling, and approval processes

• Align operational execution with business strategy and customer needs

Budget and Resource Management

• Lead procurement, software/tool management, and design technology stack optimization

• Manage talent onboarding and integration processes for the design team

Who You Are:

Required Experience

• A minimum of 5 years in design operations, design program management, or design agency operations

• Experience managing operations for mid to large-size design teams (20+ designers)

• Strong background working with creative teams and understanding their unique needs

• Demonstrated success in managing and supporting organizational change, including team reorganizations.

• Demonstrated success in stakeholder management and driving complex initiatives

• Proven experience with tools like Jira and Figma, as they will be integral to daily operations

Key Competencies

• Strong change management skills with the ability to guide teams through transitions effectively.

• Proactive mindset with the ability to anticipate team needs, identify bottlenecks, and create actionable plans to resolve them.

• Excellent problem-solving and planning abilities, ensuring smooth operational workflows.

• Strategic problem-solving abilities with a solutions-oriented mindset

• Outstanding organizational and process optimization skills

• Exceptional stakeholder management and communication abilities

• Strong empathy and team-building capabilities

• Ability to gather, synthesize, and act on feedback from diverse sources

• Detail-oriented with excellent project management skills

• Deep understanding of various design disciplines and their interconnections

Nice to Have

• Experience working in global, multicultural organizations

• Familiarity with design thinking methodologies

• Knowledge of agile development practices

• Experience with design analytics and metrics

We acknowledge that many candidates may not meet every single role requirement listed above. If your experience looks a little different from our requirements but you believe that you can still bring value to the role, we’d love to see your application!​

Who We Are:

Criteo is the global commerce media company that enables marketers and media owners to deliver richer consumer experiences and drive better commerce outcomes through its industry leading Commerce Media Platform.

At Criteo, our culture is as unique as it is diverse. From our offices around the world or from home, our incredible team of 3,600 Criteos collaborates to develop an open and inclusive environment. We seek to ensure that all of our workers are treated equally, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on race, gender identity, gender, sexual orientation, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, political opinion, pregnancy, migrant status, ethnicity, marital or family status, or other protected characteristics at all stages of the employment lifecycle including how we attract and recruit, through promotions, pay decisions, benefits, career progression and development. We aim to ensure employment decisions and actions are based solely on business-related considerations and not on protected characteristics. As outlined in our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, we strictly forbid any kind of discrimination, harassment, mistreatment or bullying towards colleagues, clients, suppliers, stakeholders, shareholders, or any visitors of Criteo. All of this supports us in our mission to power the world’s marketers with trusted and impactful advertising encouraging discovery, innovation and choice in an open internet.

Why Join Us:

At Criteo, we take pride in being a caring culture and are committed to providing our employees with valuable benefits that support their physical, emotional and financial wellbeing, their interests and the important life events. We aim to create a place where people can grow and learn from each other while having a meaningful impact. We want to set you up for success in your job, and an important part of that includes comprehensive perks & benefits. Benefits may vary depending on the country where you work and the nature of your employment with Criteo. When determining compensation, we carefully consider a wide range of job-related factors, including experience, knowledge, skills, education, and location. These factors can cause your compensation to vary.