Product Design Management

Product Design Manager

Job Level

The Product Design Manager is outlined in the Job Levels resource.

Responsibilities

• Strategic partnership: Operate as equal strategic partner with Product and Engineering leadership in your area, asserting validated user needs and shaping what gets prioritized based on evidence, not asking permission.
• Experience vision leadership: Lead experience vision for your product areas with your team, bringing cohesive point of view that shapes product direction and drives design-led transformation.
• Cross-boundary opportunities: Proactively identify strategic UX opportunities that span your areas and across the product, looking beyond your scope to notice where experiences break across team boundaries.
• Business impact: Quantify impact of design decisions by connecting experience to business metrics, documenting when overruled so accountability is clear—serve as early warning system, not blame-holder.
• Domain expertise: Understand technology and features of areas you manage and have working knowledge of end-to-end GitLab product, maintaining credibility to lead strategic discussions.
• Design quality and direction: Lead design reviews focusing on both craft quality and strategic direction, ensuring the team creates high-quality output aligned with experience vision.
• Team enablement: Position designers to operate upstream by coaching them to assert validated needs, lead with vision, and shape priorities—not just react to requirements.
• Strategic research: Identify strategic user research initiatives that span multiple groups and organize research efforts that validate opportunities and challenge assumptions.
• Hiring and retention: Hire world-class designers and create conditions for team success, building a team capable of strategic partnership.
• People development: Provide coaching through weekly 1:1s, individual growth plans, and career development, improving team happiness and productivity while preventing burnout. Ensure alignment of employee goals and performance with organizational objectives through performance management.

Requirements

• Experience managing a group of designers who work on complex products.
• A clear philosophy about how to successfully manage remote design teams.
• Solid visual awareness with understanding of basic design principles like typography, layout, composition, and color theory.
• Proficiency with software like Figma, Sketch, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator.
• Experience defining the high-level strategy (the why) and creating design deliverables (the how) based on research.
• Experience driving organizational change with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Passion for creating visually pleasing and intuitive user experiences.
• Collaborative team spirit with great communication skills.
• You share our values, and work in accordance with those values.
• Leadership at GitLab.
• Ability to use GitLab.

Interview Process

Candidates can expect the hiring process to follow the below order, although it can change depending on calendar availability. Please keep in mind that candidates can be declined at any stage of the process.

• Screening call with a recruiter.
• Interview with product designer In this interview, the interviewer will want to understand the experience you have as a manager, what type of teams you have led, and your management style. The interviewer will also look to understand how you define strategy, how you work with researchers, how you handle conflict, and how you dealt with difficult situations in the past. Be prepared to talk about your work, your experience with Design Systems, and your technical ability.
• Interview with product design manager In this interview, we want you to share specific examples from your work that provide insight into a problem you solved as part of a project you led. We’ll look to understand the size and structure of your team, the goals of the project, how you/the team approached research, how you synthesized research data to inform design decisions, what design standards and guidelines you worked within, how you collaborated with the wider team, and the overall outcome. Broadly, we want to hear how you identified what needed to be done and then guided your team to the end result. A formal case study is not required but you’re welcome to share anything you feel will help better answer the question(s) or tell your story.
• Interview with hiring manager In this interview, the interviewer will want to understand the experience you have as a manager, what types of teams you have led, and your management style. The interviewer will also want to understand how you define strategy, how you work with researchers, how you handle conflict, and how you’ve dealt with difficult situations in the past. Be prepared to talk about your work, experience with Design Systems, and your technical ability.
• Interview with a group product manager In this interview, the interviewer will want to understand how your career experiences will set you up for success at GitLab. They will also look to understand how you work with cross-functional partners, the domains you’ve worked in previously, and the types of teams you’ve led.
• Interview with senior manager or director of product design In this interview, the interviewer will want to understand the experience you have as a manager, your experience working remotely, and how these two elements of your career intersect. They will also look to understand your technical skills and the types of products you’ve worked on previously.

Senior Manager of Product Design

Job Level

The Senior Manager of Product Design is outlined in the Job Levels resource.

Responsibilities

• Strategic partnership at scale: Operate as equal strategic partner with Product and Engineering leadership, asserting validated needs across multiple areas and coaching managers to do the same with their counterparts.
• Experience strategy leadership: Define and drive experience strategy across your areas, ensuring design-led thinking shapes product direction at the portfolio level.
• Cross-product vision: Actively identify and drive strategic UX opportunities spanning multiple sections, bringing vision that unifies fragmented experiences across product boundaries.
• Business impact at scale: Quantify impact across multiple teams, connecting design strategy to business metrics and documenting where design perspective is overruled to ensure accountability.
• Peer mentorship: Mentor product design managers to operate as strategic partners—asserting needs, leading with vision, quantifying impact, and looking beyond their scope.
• Design quality and strategic direction: Use product knowledge across all stages to drive strategic direction in design reviews and group conversations, not just quality feedback.
• Research strategy: Improve research quality and strategic value by helping managers identify research that validates opportunities and challenges assumptions.
• Organizational influence: Ensure design is positioned as an equal partner by working with product/engineering leadership to establish design’s role in shaping direction.
• Team building: Hire and retain world-class designers and managers capable of strategic partnership, creating conditions for teams to operate upstream.
• Performance and goal setting: Define and manage performance indicators and GitLab Operating Model epics for product design, ensuring team focuses on strategic outcomes and business impact.
• People development: Provide coaching through weekly 1:1s, individual growth plans, and career development for your direct reports, improving team happiness and productivity while preventing burnout. If managing managers, coach them on developing their teams effectively. Ensure alignment of employee goals and performance with organizational objectives through performance management. Conduct quarterly skip-levels with your reports’ direct reports to understand broader team health and support career development across your organization.

Requirements

• Experience managing product design managers who focus on enterprise, developer, and/or business tools.
• Solid visual awareness with understanding of basic design principles like typography, layout, composition, and color theory.
• Experience defining the high-level strategy (the why) and helping your team connect design and research back to that strategy.
• Experience driving organizational change with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Passion for creating visually pleasing and intuitive user experiences.
• Collaborative team spirit with great communication skills.
• You share our values, and work in accordance with those values.
• Leadership at GitLab.
• Ability to use GitLab.

Interview Process

• Screening call with a recruiter.
• Interview with product designer In this interview, the interviewer will want to understand the experience you have as a manager, what type of teams you have led, and your management style. The interviewer will also look to understand how you define strategy, how you work with researchers, how you handle conflict, and how you dealt with difficult situations in the past. Be prepared to talk about your work, your experience with Design Systems, and your technical ability.
• Interview with a product design manager In this interview, the interviewer will focus on understanding your experience with driving design strategy, managing managers, and influencing the wider organization in which you worked. Examples of large, complex projects that had a significant impact on product experience will be helpful. Broadly, we want to hear how you identified what needed to be done and then guided your team to the end result.
• Interview with hiring manager In this interview, the interviewer will spend a lot of time trying to understand the experience you have as a manager, what types of teams you have led and your management style. The interviewer will also want to understand how you define strategy, how you work with researchers, how you’ve handled conflict, and how you’ve dealt with difficult situations in the past. Be prepared to talk about your work, experience with design systems, and technical ability, too.
• Interview with a director of product management In this interview, the interviewer will seek to learn how you and your design teams have interacted and collaborated with product management team members. Be prepared to talk through examples about situations you have led or how you’ve assisted your team of designers.
• Interview with senior manager or director of product design In this interview, the interviewer will follow up on some areas covered in previous interviews to dive deeper and learn more about you as a manager, your stakeholder management experience, and your comfort in working on and guiding a team on a highly technical product.

Director of Product Design

Job Level

The Director of Product Design is outlined in the Job Levels resource.

Responsibilities

• Portfolio strategic leadership: Operate as equal strategic partner with Product and Engineering leadership across multiple product areas, driving design-led approaches and ensuring design perspective shapes decisions across your portfolio.
• Design strategy for portfolio: Define and communicate design strategy decisions for your areas to leadership and wider company, positioning design as driver of product direction across your portfolio.
• Cross-area collaboration: Drive workflows and strategic initiatives across the multiple areas you lead, ensuring design perspective is integrated into product development and planning.
• Experience vision across areas: Shape strategy and vision across your portfolio through design perspective, bringing cohesive experience direction that unifies multiple product areas.
• Performance and goals: Create and execute on operating model goals for your areas with feedback from Product Management, Engineering, and UX leadership, focusing on strategic outcomes.
• Business impact for portfolio: Define and manage product design KPIs for your areas, demonstrating how design shapes business results across your portfolio.
• Cross-functional leadership: Work with product/engineering leadership to ensure design is prioritized and positioned as an equal partner in strategic decisions across your areas.
• Manager development: Coach senior managers and managers on strategic partnership, developing their ability to shape product strategy and assert validated needs.
• Team building: Hire and retain world-class designers and managers for your areas, building capability for strategic partnership.
• Organizational engagement: Conduct quarterly skip-levels to understand work, resolve escalations, support growth, and ensure teams operate strategically across your portfolio.

Requirements

• Relevant, progressive experience managing product design managers and leading product design for a company that focuses on enterprise, developer, and/or business tools.
• A strong philosophy about how to create an environment that empowers remote design teams and encourages them to deliver high-impact work.
• Solid visual awareness with understanding of basic design principles like typography, layout, composition, and color theory.
• Proficiency with software like Figma, Sketch, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator.
• Experience defining the high-level strategy (the why) and creating design deliverables (the how) based on research.
• Passion for creating visually pleasing and intuitive user experiences.
• Collaborative team spirit with great communication skills.
• You share our values, and work in accordance with those values.
• Leadership at GitLab.

Interview Process

• Screening call with a recruiter.
• Interview with a senior manager of product design or director of product design In this interview, the interviewer will spend a lot of time trying to understand the experience you have as a manager, as well as what type of teams you have led and your management style. The interviewer will also be looking to understand how you define strategy, how you work with researchers, how you’ve handled conflict, and how you dealt with difficult situations in the past. Be prepared to talk about your work, experience with design systems, and technical ability, too.
• Interview with a director of product management In this interview, the interviewer will seek to learn how you and your design teams have interacted and collaborated with product management team members. Be prepared to talk through examples about situations you have led or how you’ve assisted your team of designers.
• Interview with the VP of UX
• Interview with the Chief Product Officer

Senior Director of Product Design

Job Level

The Senior Director of Product Design is outlined in the Job Levels resource.

Responsibilities

• Design quality and impact: Ensure Product Design delivers high-quality, strategically impactful work across GitLab’s entire product, maintaining design excellence and connecting design decisions to business results.
• Executive strategic partnership: Operate as equal strategic partner with executive leadership, driving design-led approaches to company strategy and ensuring user-centered thinking is foundational to company direction.
• Product Design function leadership: Define and drive Product Design strategy for the entire function, deciding what the organization prioritizes and builds based on research, analytics, and feedback.
• Cross-cutting vision leadership: Lead and approve cross-cutting vision work that spans organizational boundaries, deciding which company-level initiatives to pursue and how they shape experiences no single team owns.
• Organizational transformation: Partner with Chief Design Officer and lead transformation of how design operates, deciding on organizational structure, processes, and culture changes that position design as strategic driver..
• Design operations: Manage Product Design budget for the entire function including compensation planning and resource allocation, making strategic tradeoff decisions that enable design impact at company scale.
• Business impact measurement: Lead initiatives to measure and improve design quality across the organization using KPIs and evaluations, demonstrating how design drives user satisfaction, business outcomes, and competitive advantage.
• Platform and system strategy: Guide evolution of design system to ensure it scales and supports strategic product needs, connecting platform work to business strategy and company goals.
• Design advocacy at company level: Champion Product Design across organization at executive level, ensuring seamless integration into Product Development lifecycle and positioning design as equal partner in strategic decisions.
• Company-level goal setting: Manage creation and execution of product design GitLab Operating Model epics with Product Management, Engineering, and UX leadership, ensuring alignment with company strategy and focusing on strategic outcomes.
• Leadership development: Foster leadership skills and strategic thinking across all levels, coaching directors and managers to operate as strategic partners who shape company direction.
• Organizational awareness: Conduct regular skip-levels with all Product Design members to gain visibility, resolve escalations, support growth, and ensure organization operates strategically.

Requirements

• 15+ years in product design, with at least 7 years in leadership roles managing people and teams at scale.
• Relevant, progressive experience managing product design managers and leading product design for a company that focuses on enterprise, developer, and/or business tools.
• Proven ability to lead and create an environment that empowers remote design teams, driving the changes needed to enable them to deliver high-impact work.
• Solid visual awareness with understanding of basic design principles like typography, layout, composition, and color theory.
• Demonstrated ability to drive impactful outcomes by translating high-level strategy (the why) into actionable design deliverables (the how) informed by research.
• Passion for creating visually pleasing and intuitive user experiences.
• Collaborative team spirit with great communication skills.
• You share our values, and work in accordance with those values.
• Leadership at GitLab.

Interview Process

• Screening call with a recruiter.
• Interview with a Senior Manager of Product Design or Director of Product Design In this interview, the interviewer will spend a lot of time trying to understand the experience you have as a manager, as well as what type of teams you have led and your management style. The interviewer will also be looking to understand how you define strategy, how you work with researchers, how you’ve handled conflict, and how you dealt with difficult situations in the past. Be prepared to talk about your work, experience with design systems, and technical ability, too.
• Interview with a Senior Director or VP of Product Management In this interview, the interviewer will seek to learn how you and your design teams have interacted and collaborated with product management team members. Be prepared to talk through examples about situations you have led or how you’ve assisted your team.
• Interview with the VP of UX
• Interview with the Chief Product Officer

Design System Management Specialty

Design System managers fulfill all responsibilities of their respective management levels with these contextual differences:

• Strategic focus: Drive design system evolution and service excellence rather than product roadmap influence. Evolve the system to scale with product complexity, unite product and brand systems, and enable product teams through responsive service.
• Additional partnerships: Brand leadership (ensuring brand-product system unity) and engineering (architectural decisions).
• Additional success metrics: Service delivery effectiveness, adoption and velocity impact, platform-wide consistency, internal customer satisfaction.
• Required domain expertise: Design system architecture, component development, service operations, and brand integration at scale.

Performance Indicators

• Business impact metrics connecting design decisions to user satisfaction, acquisition, retention, revenue
• System Usability Scale (SUS) score
• User Satisfaction (USAT) score
• Pajamas component migrations

 

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