Staff Design Operations Program Manager

Summary

Join PENN Entertainment's digital team as a Staff Design Operations Program Manager and help evolve workflows, enable designers, and grow the UX team culture. Collaborate with design teams and cross-functional partners to improve processes and efficiency. Manage design operations logistics, facilitate workshops, and own initiatives addressing operational gaps. Define and communicate design standards, drive consistency in team rhythm, and manage project status. Create and document ways of working, anticipate team challenges, and assist with managing the design team's tech stack. This role requires 6+ years of experience in Design Operations or Design Program Management, a Bachelor's degree or equivalent, and a strong portfolio showcasing experience in shaping workflows and processes. PENN Entertainment offers a competitive compensation package, a fun work environment, education reimbursements, parental leave top-up, and opportunities for career progression.

Requirements

• 6 + years experience in Design Operations and/or Design Program Management roles
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Business Administration, or a related field
• A portfolio or case studies showcasing your experience with shaping workflows or processes, establishing best practices, and/or enabling designers to deliver best-in-class experiences
• Experience in leading projects and programs, with a strong organizational mindset
• Deep knowledge of and appreciation for the Product Design Lifecycle; you can speak our team’s language with ease
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional partners such as Product Management and Engineering, with an understanding and empathy of their objectives
• Experience selecting and onboarding UX tools that have made a positive impact on the efficiency and quality of the team’s output
• Deep empathy and care for your team’s well-being and promoting psychological safety
• You’ve worked in an agile environment and understand the software development life cycle
• You’re comfortable working autonomously and proactively, while also knowing when to bring others in to move things forward
• Comfortable leading workshops in tools such as Figjam (a plus if you are comfortable in Figma as well!)
• Comfortable with fast-paced work environment and managing responsibilities for multiple projects at any given time
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with design teams to improve workflows, documentation, playbooks and communication strategies, ensuring design processes are efficient, effective, and aligned with business goals
• Help manage design operations logistics, organization of team wide rituals, and performance tracking
• Facilitate rituals, design thinking exercises, workshops or presentations that cover complex concepts to technical and non-technical groups
• Work closely with UX partners (Product Design, UX Research, Design Systems) and cross-functional partners to continuously evolve the way we work together
• Own initiatives end-to-end that address Design operational gaps (People, Process, and Tools), leading internal discovery and crafting solutions to improve our existing Design programs
• Help define and communicate what sets the standard for great design at theScore, embedding in teams as needed to test new approaches, gather feedback, and identify friction points
• Drive consistency in the design team’s operating rhythm, including communication structure, templates, rituals, and playbooks
• Manage and communicate project and program status, working with our Design leadership and individual contributors to support our DesignOps roadmap, mitigate risks, and navigate ambiguity
• Create and document our ways of working via playbooks, documentation, videos, and more
• Anticipate and care for team challenges as they arise, with a commitment to team health and building a psychologically safe environment for the Design team
• Assist with management of our Design team’s tech stack, inclusive of evaluating tools, onboarding through procurement, implementation, building training resources and ongoing management

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with a team and product focused on native mobile apps
• Experience working directly with Design Systems and UX Research leaders

Benefits

• Competitive compensation package
• Fun, relaxed work environment
• Education and conference reimbursements
• Parental leave top up
• Opportunities for career progression and mentoring others