Senior Lead Program Manager, Design

Summary

Join Airbnb's Design Operations team as a Senior Lead Design Program Manager and play a crucial role in driving the delivery of quarterly and annual roadmap objectives. You will partner with Design Managers and Directors, cross-functional leaders, and manage multiple design teams focused on critical product initiatives. This role involves structuring design worktracks, establishing an operating rhythm, delegating program management responsibilities, overseeing the end-to-end scoping, planning, execution, and launch of programs, and serving as a bridge between critical business functions. You will also be responsible for aligning stakeholders, providing visibility into the portfolio's progress, elevating risks, and shepherding the team through the process of bringing their work to life. This position is US - Remote Eligible, with occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites.

Requirements

• BA/BS with 15+ years Consulting, Program Management, Product Management, Project Management or relevant experience
• Demonstrated ability to work through ambiguity to detailed solutions. You can take a vague problem, crisply frame the challenge, identify a path forward, and drive multiple initiatives over the finish-line
• Track record of managing and shipping impactful design initiatives in a large digital product org
• Long-term strategic thinking balanced with near-term execution skills. Distinctive problem solving skills
• Proven ability to build strong relationships and influence business leaders
• Demonstrable leadership skills and experience in mediation, negotiation, and conflict resolution
• Demonstrated track record successfully managing ambitious and operationally complex projects with cross-functional teams
• Experience in structuring and implementing initiatives at scale with design and product teams
• Background in establishing systems: experience developing process where little exists, and demonstrated flexibility to get things done
• Passionate and enthusiastic about organizational excellence and attention to detail
• Thrives in ambiguity in a fast-paced, hyper-growth organization
• Ability to effectively structure and delegate work, while creating career growth opportunities for others

Responsibilities

• Drive consistency and harmony in design team operating rhythm, including communication structures, project templates, leadership cadence, and resource utilization
• Initiate and run internal initiatives that significantly improve the Design org’s operations and cross-functional ways of working
• Optimize interaction models between Product Marketing, Engineering, Design, Creative, and Marketing, influencing cross-functionally to identify opportunity, unlock productivity, and accelerate execution
• Drive continuous improvement leveraging lessons learned from teams to celebrate successes as well as identify ways to improve
• Identify and predict obstacles, collisions, and risk to projects across multiple teams and seek solutions to eliminate them
• Inspire, develop, and challenge Airbnb's Design Program Management team, modeling excellence
• Build a following: attract and nurture the best talent

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of and appreciation for the Product Design process
• Experience with or understanding of cross-functional (Design, Product Management, Product Marketing, Engineering) product-driven organizations or digital agency

Benefits

This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits