Cross - channel Design Program Manager

Design Operations Manager

General Motors' Human Interface Design organization creates the digital experiences that power our in-vehicle software, mobile apps, and branded web platforms. As a Design Operations Manager, you will shape the operating models, cross-functional rhythms, and delivery processes that enable our designers to work at scale. You will partner across product, engineering, marketing, brand, and design leadership to align priorities, accelerate decision-making, and ensure design intent is carried through to launch. You will also manage a small team of Producer and guide their performance for design production.

Design Operations Managers serve as strategic operators – linking design with product, engineering, program, and marketing teams while building systems that help teams deliver high-quality products with speed and confidence.

About the team:

The Design Ops Vehicle OS practice drives the end-to-end operational strategy and execution behind GM's in-vehicle digital design ecosystem. Partnering closely with Product Management, Program Management, and Engineering, the team translates user-experience vision into high-quality, cross-platform deliverables while championing design excellence. Design Ops establishes and manages the workflows, governance structures, planning cadences, and communication channels needed to keep complex cross-functional teams aligned and unblocked. They create clarity around scope, timing, dependencies, and review cycles so designers have the structure and support required to deliver intuitive, cohesive, and future-forward in-vehicle experiences. As the operational backbone of the Vehicle OS organization, this practice is essential to achieving scale, efficiency, consistency, and excellence across all design initiatives.

What You'll Do

• Orchestrate the strategic alignment and execution of cross-channel design initiatives across multiple surfaces—including in-vehicle displays, emerging hardware, and mobile/companion apps—to ensure a holistic, future-forward experience architecture that seamlessly supports customer needs across modalities and contexts.
• Lead and evolve scalable workflows, operating models, and planning frameworks that improve predictability, velocity, and quality of design delivery.
• Facilitate alignment across design, product, engineering, and brand teams, ensuring shared understanding of priorities, dependencies, and decision points.
• Manage end-to-end delivery of key design initiatives, safeguarding design intent, accessibility, timelines, and quality from concept through launch.
• Build communication artifacts—roadmaps, briefs, risks, and status updates—that improve visibility for cross-functional partners and senior leadership.
• Identify risks, blockers, and cross-team impacts early; drive resolution through influence, negotiation, and structured decision-making.
• Champion adoption of standardized tools, methodologies, and best practices that support multi-brand, multi-region design operations.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

• 9+ years of professional experience in design program management, design operations, UX program management, or supporting programs with design intent (software product design, HMI, service design, design systems). • Demonstrated ability to build strategic partnerships in highly matrixed environments, influencing leaders across design, product, engineering, and brand organizations. • Experience leading end-to-end design delivery using structured methodologies (Agile/Lean) with cross-functional operating rhythms. • An online portfolio or privately shared case studies demonstrating how you built operating models, drove alignment, and delivered measurable outcomes in quality, customer impact, or efficiency. • Strong communication and storytelling skills, with ability to create executive-ready narratives and decision frameworks. • Proficiency with design-related or software-related project management tools, such as Jira/Confluence, Asana/Smartsheet, Figma/FigJam, or Miro. • Commitment to inclusive and accessible design. • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, and ambiguous environment.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

• 10+ years of professional experience supporting vehicle-related design programs. • Multi-brand or multi-region design operations experience, including vendor or external partner management. • Background in design system governance or integrated research-to-design-to-engineering workflows. • Experience with OKRs, KPIs, or change management frameworks. • Familiarity with automotive, transportation, or regulated product environments.

• PMP or Agile certification or relevant equivalent.