Design Program Manager

Full Time
Toronto, ON, Canada
6 months ago

At Lyft, our mission is to improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation. To do this, we start with our own community by creating an open, inclusive, and diverse organization.

Lyft is seeking a Design Program Manager for our Rider Core Experience team. You will be one of two Design Program Managers across the Rider product space, responsible for the organization, processes, and community of a handful of cross-discipline design pods, working with a multitude of cross-functional partners. You will collaborate closely with design leadership both within the Rider organization, but also for use cases that connect in with the Driver product. In addition, you will work with the Design Ops discipline to scale practices and build community across the broader Product Design organization.

Design Program Managers are strategic partners with design leads, leading and driving the design work forward everyday. You’re passionate about design, and will help develop process and structure around projects within and around the design organization to make it as effective as possible. You will work across teams to shepherd and manage the delivery of design and customer experiences to completion. You’re a strong strategic thinker, you can execute the small tasks well, and you take a creative approach to operational challenges. You’re savvy at connecting the dots, and being a trusted partner to cross functional peers at Lyft. You’ll be a leader within the design organization and an advocate for the Product Design team and the design process.

Responsibilities:
  • Understand the core features and functionality of Lyft’s rider and driver product offerings inside out, and work with the team to help set goals and trajectory
  • Shape, drive and document processes and tools for effective team workflows and collaboration
  • Create, iterate on, or move process forward for the request and prioritization of product design team work
  • Support and elevate the quality of design work at a big-picture level (but also be in the weeds when needed)
  • Partner closely with design leadership to understand the big picture and to improve operational excellence at a larger scale than just within the day-to-day work of design teams 
  • Use an objective bird’s eye view on projects to resolve pain points and mitigate tensions. 
  • Work directly with a multidisciplinary team of designers, researchers, prototypers and animators to ensure projects are scoped properly and executed on time with leader alignment
  • Collaborate, communicate, and negotiate with product managers, engineers, brand and marketing leads, and stakeholders at all levels across the organization
  • Own and drive the design project lifecycle from strategic planning, scheduling, requirements gathering, design reviews, delivery and implementation to launch
  • Scope and define projects strategically with cross functional partners and design team
  • Lead planning and prioritization with cross-functional teams, balancing multiple inputs and needs
  • Provide up to date visibility into current projects, team utilization, project health and priorities
  • Participate in and facilitate design reviews and retros
  • Collaborate with program management team and design leads with resourcing and team allocation
  • Manage deliverables in an accurate and timely fashion
Experience:
  • 6-7+ years of experience working in relevant design industry—product design and/or consultancies—or program management
  • Passion for user experience and design
  • Proven ability to manage workflows, project plans and ship high quality design
  • A ‘big picture’ approach in helping establish, support, and engage teams, while still managing the details
  • Great communication skills, written and verbal, with a diverse group of stakeholders
  • Attention to detail with great organizational skills
  • Relevant understanding and appreciation of current product design processes and systems
  • Comfortable with ambiguity and malleable workflows
  • Strong conflict resolution and negotiation skills
  • Resilience and equanimity in dealing with change, challenges and adversity
  • Proactive in seeking opportunities to improve and expand team, personal skills and experience
  • Nice to have: experience working with remote or dispersed teams
Benefits:
  • Extended health and dental coverage options, along with life insurance and disability benefits
  • Mental health benefits
  • Family building benefits
  • Access to a Health Care Savings Account
  • In addition to provincial observed holidays, team members get 15 days paid time off, with an additional day for each year of service 
  • 4 Floating Holidays each calendar year prorated based off of date of hire
  • 10 paid sick days per year regardless of province
  • 18 weeks of paid parental leave. Biological, adoptive, and foster parents are all eligible

Lyft proudly pursues and hires a diverse workforce. Lyft believes that every person has a right to equal employment opportunities without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, pardoned record of offences, or any other basis protected by applicable law or by Company policy.  Lyft also strives for a healthy and safe workplace and strictly prohibits harassment of any kind.  Accommodation for persons with disabilities will be provided upon request in accordance with applicable law during the application and hiring process.  Please contact your recruiter now if you wish to make such a request.

This role will be in-office on a hybrid schedule — Team Members will be expected to work in the office 3 days per week on Mondays, Thursdays and a team-specific third day. Additionally, hybrid roles have the flexibility to work from anywhere for up to 4 weeks per year.