Lead Design Program Manager
Blink UX is the product design firm crafting your next breakthrough. We partner with ambitious companies like Amazon, Google, and NASA to create transformative products and experiences through strategy, research, and design. With headquarters and labs in Seattle and studios in Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, New York City, and Bengaluru, we partner with clients around the world.
This opportunity is a part of Blink's Embedded practice which supports long-term opportunities with some of Blink’s largest client partners.
Location: Remote- must be located in Denver, CO or Seattle, WA area Duration: ongoing
What you'll be doing We are seeking a Principal Design Program Manager (DPM) to be the operating backbone for eComm Design. This person owns how design work gets requested, planned, tracked, reviewed, and delivered across web and app. They are equal parts program leader and systems builder: running high-visibility programs and our Experimentation & Growth sprints, while also building the Jira, reporting, and review structures that keep 20+ designers visible, protected, and shipping. This role will partner daily with Design, Product, Engineering, Research, and Marketing stakeholders - raising their hand when something needs to be called out, not smoothed over. We are also looking for someone who uses AI in their own workflow and helps the team do the same.
Key Responsibilities
Design Operations & Systems
Own the Jira operating model for eComm Design: ticket intake, kanban board, sprint planning, status definitions, sub-task rules, and how blocked or stalled work gets flagged
Help maintain the team dashboard and reporting so leadership can see work in progress without needing a meeting
Drive story pointing and due dates on every ticket, and coach designers and Product partners until it sticks
Track designer capacity, spot overload and underuse early, and help the manager make resourcing calls with real data
Run the ops cadence: check-ins, ticket clean-up, and audits
Document ways of working so process survives turnover and new teammates can get up to speed fast
Program Ownership & Delivery
Lead design program management for major initiatives, from kickoff through post-delivery dev support
Run the working rhythm: daily design syncs, UX x PM working sessions, and weekly status updates
Translate cross-domain timelines (Product, Dev, Offers, Biller, QE) into design milestones, handoff dates, and clear risks
Keep design aligned with finalized requirements and call out early when design is running ahead of them
Manage scope by documenting the original ask and making mid-project changes visible and debatable
Experimentation & Growth
Facilitate the Experimentation & Growth sprint cycle: check-ins, grooming, sprint review and planning, and candidate prioritization
Keep experiment tickets tied to KPIs, owners, dependencies, and outcomes so results can be found and reused
Help evolve a more outcome-driven experimentation process and how results are shared with leadership
Stakeholder Management & Leadership Communication
Schedule and manage team Studio Reviews, Director office hour reviews, and Hot Sheet updates
Give senior leaders a clear read on status, tradeoffs, and asks, and get decisions unstuck when they are waiting on one person
Run kickoffs that bring in Design early, so designers are co-creators and not order-takers
Manage inbound requests: push back on side-channel asks, set expectations on priority, and hold the line on intake
Navigate disagreements between teammates and partners and surface tension instead of absorbing it
AI Enablement & Workflow Innovation
Use AI (Claude, Jira and Confluence connectors, Figma) to speed up reporting, status updates, and admin work, and own the accuracy of everything you send
Help design teams find real use cases for AI, with a focus on building confidence and saving time
Team Contribution & Influence
Act as a thought partner to the design manager on team health, capacity, and priorities
Partner with peer DPMs on shared practices, and coach new DPMs and project coordinators
Champion the value of design visibility, tracking, and shared definitions of done across the team and partner orgs
What we are looking for Required Skills & Experience
7+ years of program or project management in a design, product, or technology environment, with a record of delivering complex, cross-functional work
Deep Jira fluency: workflows, dashboards, JQL, custom fields, and reporting. Automation experience is a plus
Proven experience designing and rolling out process or operating models, not just following them
Experience with Agile practices (sprints, grooming, story pointing, retros) in a mixed team where not every pod runs the same way
Strong working knowledge of design processes, Figma, design systems, and UX terminology
Confluence and documentation habits that keep knowledge shared and current
Comfort presenting status, risks, and tradeoffs to Directors and VPs, in writing and live
Ability to work with ambiguity and juggle several large programs, each with its own stakeholders and pace
Working knowledge of AI tools such as Claude, plus curiosity and a track record of helping others adopt them
Strong facilitation and conflict skills: direct, friendly, and willing to name the issue
Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience. PMP, SAFe, or similar certification is a plus
Blink is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status or disability.