Design operations manager with 8 years of experience in design and program management, supporting a 35-person design org. Consolidated tools and licensing to save $210k a year while speeding handoff. Brings process design, tooling strategy and team rituals that let designers spend more time designing.
Experience
Design Operations Manager, Summit Travel Group (Denver, CO)
Sep 2022 – Present
Support a 35-person design and research org across 9 product teams
Consolidated design tooling and licenses, saving $210k a year
Rolled out Figma branching and a review workflow that cut handoff defects by 30%
Run quarterly design org planning, headcount tracking and onboarding for 12 new hires in 2025
Design Program Manager, Rockledge Software (Denver, CO)
Apr 2019 – Aug 2022
Coordinated design work across 5 squads with shared intake and prioritization in Jira
Launched a design onboarding program that shortened time to first shipped work from 8 to 4 weeks
Organized quarterly design weeks and critique calendars
Designer and Project Coordinator, Front Range Agency (Boulder, CO)
Jun 2017 – Mar 2019
Designed digital campaigns while managing timelines for 10 concurrent projects
Built resourcing spreadsheets that improved on-time delivery to 92%
Education
BA, Studio Art and Business, University of Denver (Sep 2013 – Jun 2017)
A strong Design Operations Manager resume shows the problems you framed, the decisions you drove, and the user or business outcomes they produced. Show the organization you ran (team size, budget, revenue) and the business results you are accountable for.
Sections, in order
Summary
Experience
Projects
Skills
Education
Length: Two pages are common for leadership roles; keep the first page strong enough to stand alone.
Summary: Lead with your leadership scope and the business outcomes you are known for.
Skills to feature
User research
Product strategy
Prototyping
Figma
Design systems
Usability testing
Roadmapping
Experimentation (A/B testing)
Stakeholder management
Accessibility
Example bullet points
Redesigned onboarding from 9 steps to 4, lifting week-one activation from 31% to 44%
Built a 120-component design system adopted by 5 squads, halving UI build time for new features
Ran 40 user interviews and a pricing test that informed a packaging change worth $1.2M ARR
Tips from recruiters
Put a portfolio link in the header; for product roles, link a case study or launch write-up instead.
Describe your role in shared outcomes precisely ("led", "co-owned", "contributed").
Keep visuals for the portfolio: a clean, readable resume signals design judgement better than decoration.
Recommended templates
Modern (ATS-friendly): Clean single column with accent headings and rules
Timeline (ATS-friendly): Clean accent layout with a dated career timeline
Vanguard (ATS-friendly): Bold display name, accent-led headings with line rules
Design Operations Manager resume FAQ
What should a Design Operations Manager resume include?
A Design Operations Manager resume should show the problems you framed, the decisions you drove, and the user or business outcomes they produced. Use these sections in this order: Summary, Experience, Projects, Skills and Education. Show the organization you ran (team size, budget, revenue) and the business results you are accountable for.
What is the best resume template for a Design Operations Manager?
Modern, Timeline and Vanguard work well for Design Operations Manager roles. They are single-column with standard headings, so applicant tracking systems (ATS) parse them reliably.
How long should a Design Operations Manager resume be?
Two pages are common for leadership roles; keep the first page strong enough to stand alone.
Which skills should a Design Operations Manager put on a resume?
Prioritize the skills named in the job posting. Common ones for Design Operations Manager roles are User research, Product strategy, Prototyping, Figma, Design systems and Usability testing.
How do I write strong Design Operations Manager resume bullet points?
Start with an action verb, say what you did, and end with a measurable result such as activation, conversion and retention. For example: "Redesigned onboarding from 9 steps to 4, lifting week-one activation from 31% to 44%."