Digital Design Manager

Location: Bellevue, WA (Hybrid, 3 days/week in office, 2 days remote)

Reports To: Design Director

Salary Range: $130K-$150K

Position Type: Full Time

Who We Are
We are Design Citizen, a human-centered talent agency working with organizations to create innovative, inclusive, and sustainable business solutions through design.

Our client, an established design and innovation firm, has secured a major multi-year transformation program with a national institution — spanning digital, experience, and physical design. We’re hiring a Design Manager to join the effort as a dedicated lead to this high-impact initiative - focused on modernizing digital platforms that reach and support millions of members.

This is a rare opportunity to shape how people interact with a legacy organization as it rethinks its digital future. Our client is growing their multidisciplinary studio and looking for a Manager to help shape not only the work they deliver, but how their team works together.

This role is hybrid, located in the Greater Seattle Area, and interested applicants must be open to going into the office 3 days per week.

About the Role
You’ll lead multiple client engagements across a portfolio of digital products and services — while helping designers do their best work. You’ll partner closely with project managers, developers, industrial designers, and studio leadership to ensure projects are well-defined, thoughtfully executed, and delivered at a consistently high standard.

This role balances design craft, operations, people management, and mentoring. You’ll manage designers directly, oversee work across project teams, and help build the collaborative, multidisciplinary studio environment our client is growing.

What You’ll Do
Lead Design Across Projects

Guide multiple concurrent client engagements from discovery through delivery

Ensure work is grounded in user needs, technical realities, and business objectives

Maintain a high bar for UX quality, interaction design, visual execution, and overall experience

Partner with Project Management to balance scope, schedules, budgets, and quality

Grow Designers

Provide day‑to‑day leadership, coaching, and constructive critique on projects

Manage individual designers, conduct performance reviews, and support career development

Help onboard new designers and create an environment where people can grow

Foster curiosity, experimentation, and continuous improvement

Improve How We Work

Balance workload across projects and identify resource needs early

Lead design critiques, workshops, and alignment sessions

Improve studio processes, documentation, and delivery practices

Help remove bottlenecks before they impact projects

You’ll work closely with Product Management, Development, Industrial Design, Motion Design, Business Development, and Program Management — helping teams navigate ambiguity, align around shared goals, and make informed design decisions.

As a consulting practice, every engagement is an opportunity to build long‑term relationships. You’ll contribute to project planning, staffing, estimates, proposals, and client presentations, helping ensure exceptional work while continuing to grow the practice.

What You’ll Bring

8+ years designing digital products, software, or services

Experience leading designers within a consulting, agency, or product environment

A strong portfolio demonstrating systems thinking, UX, interaction design, and product strategy

Experience leading complex, cross‑functional projects with multiple stakeholders

Excellent facilitation, communication, and presentation skills

Comfort balancing strategic thinking with practical execution

The ability to mentor designers while building trust across disciplines

A mindset that's strategic, tactical, and open.

Success in This Role Looks Like
Designers become stronger through your guidance. Projects stay aligned, focused, and moving forward. Clients trust your judgment. Cross‑functional collaboration improves. Teams deliver ambitious work without sacrificing quality or sustainability.

Join Us
At Design Citizen, we believe that great design starts with diverse perspectives. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer, providing equal opportunities regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability.

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