Leadership
Design Manager
Design Managers lead a team of designers — setting direction, developing people, hiring, and connecting the team's work to the broader business.
Manager
5+ years, incl. people leadership
Director+
8+ years, incl. managing managers
Core skills
Core
- Design Strategy
- Hiring
- Mentoring
- Stakeholder Communication
- Team Leadership
Important
- Design Critique
- Facilitation
- Product Strategy
Common previous roles
possibleProduct Designer
Senior Product Designers who enjoy developing other designers and setting team direction more than doing hands-on design work often move into design management.
possibleDesign Systems DesignerDesign Systems Designers who take on more team-building and cross-functional influence than hands-on system work move into design management.
significantService DesignerA real step up in scope: from designing one service to leading and developing the people who design many. Most Service Designers who make this move build up team-leadership and hiring experience first.