Design Operations Manager

About Kiln:

Kiln is a flex ­office and lifestyle brand. We deliver an exceptional experience that elevates the performance and lifestyle of our members through an ecosystem of people, products, places, and spaces. 

Kiln launched in 2018 with locations in Salt Lake City and Lehi, Utah. Today, we’ve grown to 21 hubs across the Mountain West, and we’re just getting started. As a leader in the flex-office movement, Kiln is shaping the future of hybrid work in the evolving landscape of commercial real estate.

Our Core Values

1: Human at the core 

2: Achieve & Celebrate Together

3: Thoughtful and with Purpose 

4: Always Evolving

5: Nothing short of Extraordinary

6: Scrappy & Ingenious

Our Mission

Our mission is to change the world within the workplace, elevating the quality of life for our members and enabling teams to build in new and creative ways. Our community lifts individuals, facilitates learning, and is creating a collective that is capable of things we cannot imagine.

Role Summary: 

The Design Operations Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operational planning, coordination, and delivery of Kiln’s interior design projects across multiple locations. This role sits between the design team, project management, construction partners, and the wider Kiln business, ensuring that projects are well planned, appropriately resourced, and delivered on time, on budget, and to Kiln’s design standards.

The Design Operations Manager is not a creative director, but a hands-on leader and operator who enables the design team to do their best work by managing workload, process, communication, and information.

Goals and Objectives 

Deliver Projects with Excellence: Set clear plans and coordination practices that ensure design projects are delivered on time, on budget, and to Kiln’s design standards.

Enable a High-Performing Design Team: Create structure around resourcing, priorities, and capacity so designers can focus on doing their best work as the team grows.

Create Consistency Across Locations: Establish shared processes, documentation, and design standards that support thoughtful, repeatable delivery across markets.

Protect Brand Through Execution: Guide design decisions throughout development and construction to ensure Kiln’s experience and design intent are upheld.

Strengthen Cross-Functional Collaboration: Build clear communication and alignment between design, project management, construction partners, and internal stakeholders.

Key Relationships:

Creative Director

Interior Design Team

Growth Team

Build Team

Construction Partners

Major Responsibilities:

Team & Resource Management

Plan and manage design team workload across multiple concurrent projects

Allocate tasks and resources effectively based on project priorities, skills, and capacity

Track key  deadlines, milestones, and deliverables to maintain project momentum 

Monitor team availability and capacity, including time off and holidays 

Support team growth as the design function scales from 4 to 6 designers

Project Coordination

Serve as the primary design operations liaison with:

In-house Project Management team

External construction teams and consultants

Ensure design deliverables align with project budgets, schedules, and construction requirements

Coordinate design reviews, feedback loops, and issue resolution throughout each project

Support value engineering exercises while protecting Kiln’s design quality and brand

Stakeholder Communication

Receive, filter, and coordinate comments, feedback, and suggestions from the wider Kiln team

Translate business, operational, and brand input into clear actions for the design team

Ensure design decisions are communicated clearly and consistently to all stakeholders

Design Process & Standards

Maintain consistent design processes and workflows across all projects

Ensure drawing packages are complete, coordinated, and issued on schedule

Oversee version control, file organization, and drawing standards

Maintain and update drawing templates, details, and shared resources

Libraries & Documentation

Maintain organized and up to date digital drawing files, specifications, and material libraries

Ensure material samples, finishes, and product selections are well organized, documented and accessible

Support consistency of materials and details across Kiln locations

Quality & Delivery

Review design outputs for completeness, coordination, and buildability

Ensure designs meet Kiln’s brand, operational, and spatial standards

Support post-project reviews to capture learnings and improve future delivery

Experience & Skills:

Strong organizational and project management experience is required, with a proven ability to coordinate complex, multi-stakeholder work and drive it across the finish line

Background in or strong passion for interior design, architecture, or workplace design, with experience working alongside designers and construction teams, is highly preferred

Comfort working within budgets, schedules, and evolving priorities

Clear, thoughtful communication across design, construction, and business teams

Strong attention to detail with confidence managing documentation and process

A tenacious, proactive, and solutions-focused approach in fast-paced environments

An energetic, people-oriented leadership style

High integrity, accountability, self-awareness, and a strong work ethic