Principal Design Operations Manager

Candescent is the leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions. We are transforming digital banking with intelligent, cloud-powered solutions that connect account opening, digital banking, and branch experiences for financial institutions. Our advanced technology and developer tools enable seamless, differentiated customer journeys that elevate trust, service, and innovation. Success here requires flexibility in a fast-paced environment, a client-first mindset, and a commitment to delivering consistent, reliable results as part of a performance-driven, values-led team.  With team members around the world, Candescent is an equal opportunity employer.

The Role

Candescent is seeking a Principal Design Operations Manager to bridge the creative rhythm of the Design organization with the operational structure of the Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC). Reporting to Product Operations and embedded within the Design team, this role serves as an operational partner to the Chief Design Officer—helping scale the impact of design through systems, processes, and tools that enable clarity, predictability, and high-quality outcomes.

You will build the connective tissue between Design, Product, and Engineering—creating an environment where designers can focus on craft, quality and outcomes while the broader organization benefits from transparency, alignment, and repeatable delivery. This is both a strategic and hands-on role for someone who thrives at the intersection of creativity and structure.

Primary Responsibilities

Operational Strategy & Alignment

• Partner with design leadership to define and evolve the operating framework for how design executes from discovery through delivery.
• Align design milestones, dependencies, and priorities with product roadmaps and PDLC planning cycles.
• Build repeatable systems for visibility, status reporting, and communication across Product, Design, and Engineering.

Workflow, Tools & Process Improvement

• Optimize design tooling and workflow integrations (Figma, Miro, Confluence, Jira) to reduce friction and improve efficiency.
• Establish and maintain documentation standards, ensuring design systems and component governance remain current and accessible.
• Identify bottlenecks and lead continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen quality and speed of delivery.

Resource & Capacity Management

• Maintain visibility into design team capacity and workload; partner with leadership on resourcing plans and headcount forecasting.
• Provide data-driven insights into throughput, utilization, and operational performance to inform planning and prioritization.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Culture

• Serve as the connective tissue between Design, Product, and Engineering—facilitating smooth handoffs and shared accountability.
• Support onboarding, training, and knowledge-sharing practices that help scale design operations maturity.
• Foster a culture of operational excellence that balances creative freedom with delivery discipline.

Transformation

• As AI brings new tools, platforms, and methods to transform the design and research process,
  partner with leads to identify how we evolve our ways of working.
• Identify new ways of working that incorporates AI to improve design and research velocity, quality,
  and capability

Qualifications

Experience & skills

• 7+ years of experience in Design Operations, Product Operations, or Design Program Management within a SaaS or technology organization.
• Strong understanding of PDLC and agile delivery frameworks in Agile environment.
• Demonstrated success scaling design systems, workflows, and tooling ecosystems.
• Advanced proficiency in Figma, Miro, Abstract, Jira, and Confluence.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence across creative and technical teams.
• Analytical and systems-oriented mindset with experience tracking and reporting on operational KPIs.
• Experience with design system governance, documentation, and accessibility standards.

Education & background

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Design, Operations, Product Management, or related field.
• Proven record of partnering with design leadership to operationalize strategy and improve cross-functional alignment.

Statement to Third Party Agencies
To ALL recruitment agencies: Candescent only accepts resumes from agencies on the preferred supplier list. Please do not forward resumes to our applicant tracking system, Candescent employees, or any Candescent facility. Candescent is not responsible for any fees or charges associated with unsolicited resumes.