Product Design Manager

About the Job

At BuildOps, we’re building a groundbreaking software solution designed to empower today’s commercial contractors. From service management to project execution, we’re reimagining how our customers operate. Our team thrives on ambition, innovation, and collaboration—qualities we look for in every new hire.

As a Product Design Manager, you will play a pivotal role in the Design team, driving impact through driving impact through growing and developing a team of highly capable product designers while ensuring cohesive, high-quality experiences across multiple product domains. This is a high-leverage leadership role responsible for improving both the customer experience and how BuildOps ships product—you'll help define design direction at the portfolio level, grow designers into stronger owners, and ensure teams deliver scalable outcomes in a complex, real-world domain. Reporting to Head of Design, this role is perfect for someone who is energized by the intersection of strategy, execution, and talent development and eager to grow with a fast-moving, industry-defining company.

What You’ll Do

• Own design outcomes for a defined portfolio of product areas, ensuring cohesive experiences across multiple teams, surfaces, and workflows.

• Partner with Product and Engineering leaders to shape portfolio direction, prioritize opportunities, and drive clarity on what "great" looks like.

• Translate ambiguous problem spaces into structured plans that create momentum, unblock teams, and improve decision-making quality.

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of product designers, building strong growth plans and raising performance over time.

• Create a culture of accountability and craft excellence through clear expectations, consistent feedback, and high-quality design reviews.

• Build trusted partnerships with Product Management and Engineering, ensuring design is integrated early and consistently through delivery.

• Influence roadmaps and execution by proactively identifying risks, dependencies, and opportunities across teams.

• Establish and evolve design processes that increase speed, clarity, and quality without adding unnecessary overhead.

• Ensure design decisions scale through repeatable patterns, reusable components, and alignment with BuildOps' design system.

• Advocate for user research, usability testing, and customer feedback loops as part of the normal product development lifecycle.

What We Look For

• 7+ years of experience in product design, including 3+ years of people management with direct reports.

• Proven ability to lead complex product spaces and deliver measurable outcomes across multiple teams or functional areas.

• Strong portfolio-level thinking: capable of aligning multiple related initiatives into a coherent user experience and strategy.

• Excellent stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence without authority and drive alignment across senior partners.

• Demonstrated ability to break down complex problems and deliver simple, scalable solutions grounded in systems thinking.

• Strong communication skills: able to present clearly, give actionable feedback, and adjust message/tone/medium depending on the situation.

• Strong design craft fundamentals, with a high bar for interaction design, UX quality, and usability.

• Experience driving consistency through design systems, shared patterns, and design operations practices.

• Experience leveraging AI tools to enhance various stages of the product design process—from research and ideation to prototyping.

• Experience in enterprise software or vertical SaaS environments, preferred but not required.

• Familiarity with the commercial trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical) and/or construction workflows is a plus.

• Familiarity with HTML/CSS and technical constraints that affect UX quality is a plus.

• Experience with tools like Figma, Dovetail, UserVoice, and Jira is a plus.

Who You Are

• A strategic thinker and systems-level leader who thrives in a high-growth startup environment.

• A strong people leader who finds fulfillment in developing talent and raising the bar on craft.

• Comfortable navigating ambiguity—you bring clarity, momentum, and operational rigor to complex product spaces.

• A connective force across teams, reducing fragmentation and ensuring work ladders up to a coherent customer experience.

• A self-starter with integrity, grit, and a strong work ethic who takes ownership and delivers results.

• Willing to travel up to six times per year for team gatherings and customer visits.

Compensation

• [$136,000.00 - $160,000.00 / year] salary + bonus (LA hub).

• [131,000.00 CAD - 155,000.00 CAD / year] salary + bonus (Toronto hub).

What we offer:

• Generous equity grant, become an owner in our company!

• Macbook computer provided

• A comprehensive benefits package

• Flexible PTO and hybrid work schedules

• Work from home stipend

• Hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, and Raleigh with hybrid work schedules and lunch provided for in-office days

• Company events like BBQs and team-building activities, both in-person and virtual

• Fast-paced, collaborative, and dynamic work environment

• Opportunities for growth and career advancement

• Chance to work with cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions

• The chance to get in on the ground floor and build something truly groundbreaking for ourselves and our amazing customers

About BuildOps

Join BuildOps, the largest commercial trade platform in the country, as we transform the multi-billion dollar commercial contracting industry!

We’re not just talking incremental improvements—we’re talking a full-scale revolution, empowering the hardworking heroes who build and maintain the infrastructure that keeps our world running. See why contractors choose Buildops here.

This is your chance to be part of a rocketship. We’re fresh off a $1 billion valuation and a $127M Series C funding round (part of over $275M raised to date) led by industry-leading investors like Meritech Capital, BOND, and SE Ventures, backed by Schneider Electric (Reuters, TechCrunch, LA Business Journal) . Our latest investors join our team of industry heavyweights like Next47, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, former Salesforce President Gavin Patterson, and Boost Mobile CEO Stephen Stokols. Their investment is fueling our aggressive growth and our commitment to equipping contractors with AI-driven tools to conquer chaos, boost efficiency, skyrocket profitability, and ultimately, deliver exceptional service.

At BuildOps, we’re changing the game and doing the best work of our careers. You’ll be a key player in a company that’s truly making a difference for the backbone of our economy. If you’re ready to tackle big challenges, work with a passionate team, and build something extraordinary, BuildOps is the place for you. 🚀