Sr Manager, Product Design

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to large, Fortune 100 enterprises with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential.

Last year, more than $3.8 billion of work was done through Upwork by skilled professionals who are gaining more control by finding work they are passionate about and innovating their careers.

We're seeking a talented Senior Manager, Product Design to join our team. You'll collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to develop, refine, and evolve the platform that serves our expansive two-sided freelancer marketplace. Armed with your extensive expertise, you'll play a pivotal role in steering the success of our endeavors while delivering exceptional user experiences for freelancers and clients alike. Our mission is to facilitate seamless connections between customers and relevant results, fostering trust through welcoming, intuitive, and efficient experiences.

By joining our collaborative and tight-knit community of UX, product, engineering, research, content design, AI, machine learning, and analytics professionals, you'll immerse yourself in a culture that values purpose-driven design, attention to detail, and mutual support. Here, you'll have the autonomy and support you need to craft meticulously designed solutions that enrich the experiences of millions of users on the world's leading work marketplace.

Your Responsibilities:

Manage Your Team:

• Foster success through leadership and practices like team rituals, coaching, performance management, feedback, and skill development.
• Provide clear growth paths for designers while maintaining standards and visibility.
• Proactively enhance processes, share strategies, and connect business goals to design work.

Manage the Work:

• Ensure team efficiency and high-quality outcomes by modeling and supporting best UX practices.
• Oversee all aspects of UX (e.g., research, design, strategy, execution) and establish a strong feedback culture.
• Facilitate alignment through reviews and support the product development lifecycle (PDLC) stages from planning to launch.

Design Strategy & Leadership:

• Shape UX strategy to meet customer needs and business goals.
• Build empathy for users, suggest improvements, and ground design decisions in data.
• Lead experiment design with clear hypotheses and qualitative/quantitative measures.

Partnership:

• Collaborate with PM and Eng leads on strategy, roadmaps, and execution.
• Align cross-functional partners through shared understanding, clarity in prioritization, and streamlined processes.
• Cultivate relationships through regular meetings with Sr PM, VP, and Eng leads.

Additional:

• Up to two annual trips to the San Francisco office for leadership events.

What it takes to catch our eye:

• Proven track record as a Product Design or UX manager in a cross-functional UX team, dedicated to the complete UX design and development lifecycle of several successfully launched features and products
• A self-starter, owner mindset that proactively drives improvements in process, product, and how teams collaborate
• Ability to work seamlessly with product, research, engineers, operations, and customers
• Experience architecting system-wide design solutions that satisfy both product and engineering requirements
  Prior experience designing for search and recommendation systems, mobile design, and/or messaging is a plus. 
• Experience designing for AI and ML products is a plus.

Come change how the world works.

At Upwork, you'll shape talent solutions for how the world works today. We are a remote-first organization working together to create exciting remote work opportunities for a global community of professionals. While we have physical offices in San Francisco and Chicago, currently, we also hire full-time employees in 19 states in the United States.

Our vibrant culture is built on shared values and our mission to create economic opportunities so that people have better lives. We foster amazing teams, put our community first, and have a bias toward action. We encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work and grow together through development opportunities, mentorship, and employee resource groups. And we've also got amazing benefits - including medical insurance for you and your family, unlimited PTO, 401(k) with matching, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and a generous Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about our benefits and the employee experience.

Check out our Careers page to learn more about the employee experience.

Upwork is proudly committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we never discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Additionally, a criminal background check may be run on a candidate after a conditional offer of employment is made. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered in accordance with applicable law, including the California Fair Chance Act and local Fair Chance ordinances.

To learn more about how Upwork processes and protects your personal information as part of the application process, please review our Global Job Applicant Privacy Notice.