Senior Design Program Manager II

Remote · 6+ years experience · Full-time · Remote · Posted Oct 2, 2026

At a glance

The Senior Design Program Manager II drives operational excellence and programmatic execution across the Design organization.
This role focuses on building AI-enabled systems, scaling critical processes, and managing vendor relationships to support creative work.
The position bridges design craft, technical operations, and strategic execution to ensure efficient delivery of design initiatives.

Drive end-to-end delivery of complex, multi-quarter design initiatives across cross-functional teams.
Build and deploy AI-enabled workflows to automate program management tasks like status reporting and resource tracking.
Own strategic vendor relationships and contract management for design tooling.
Optimize licensing spend and ensure infrastructure scales with growth.
Manage contractor and agency relationships in partnership with Finance, Legal, and IT.
Champion team health through capacity planning, roadmapping, and resource allocation.
Partner with the Instacart Design System (IDS) team to align programs with system evolution and component adoption.
Drive governance programs that scale IDS across product teams.
Facilitate planning cycles and milestone reviews where design intersects with product roadmaps.
Apply design thinking to build operational systems that empower designers and product managers.

6+ years in program management and design operations within design or product organizations.
Strong product sense and design craft sensibility.
Experience with all stages of the product development lifecycle.
Technical fluency to collaborate with design system and engineering teams regarding system architecture and component APIs.
Proven track record driving complex, cross-functional programs from 0 to 1.
AI fluency with experience leveraging LLMs and automation platforms.
Vendor and contract management experience including negotiation and compliance.
Deep knowledge of design and program management tooling ecosystems.
Ability to drive organizational change and influence cross-functional partners.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Design systems expertise including building/scaling systems and defining tokens.
Experience building AI-powered workflows for creative operations or design tooling integrations.
Success translating leadership vision into actionable roadmaps and operating models.
Experience in hybrid/embedded team models.
Comfort balancing hands-on execution with strategic oversight.
Track record using data and storytelling to influence leadership.

Employees have the flexibility to choose where they work, including home, an office, or other locations.