Design Program Manager

Description

Robert Half is partnering with our client, a global leader in digital entertainment and streaming, to identify a Senior Design Program Manager to support a high-impact Experience Design organization. This role is a force multiplier across the design studio, providing strategic and operational leadership to studio-wide programs, rhythms, and initiatives that amplify team effectiveness, creative impact, and internal community.

Location: Los Angeles, CA (Hybrid / Remote Flexible)

Duration: 9-month contract

Hours: 40 hours/week with potential for overtime (approximately 5 hours/week for studio open houses and events)

Pay Rate: $80-83/hour

Position Overview:

The Senior Design Program Manager will play a critical role in driving the rhythm of the business for a large, multidisciplinary design studio. This role is ideal for a program leader who has built internal programs from the ground up and thrives at the intersection of operations, community development, and thought leadership.

You will partner closely with studio leadership, business strategy, design operations, and cross-functional stakeholders to design and scale internal programs, events, and experiences that strengthen studio culture, elevate design craft, and foster a strong internal design community. This role requires a highly organized, ownership-driven leader who can translate vision into action in a fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Oversee and manage day-to-day operations for the Design Studio in partnership with studio leadership, business strategy, UX leadership, and Design Operations
• Design, build, and scale internal studio programs from scratch, including frameworks for engagement, learning, and community
• Drive planning and execution of monthly studio meetings, annual studio summits, and large-scale, in-person internal events hosted within the design organization
• Lead studio-wide community-building and design thought leadership initiatives, including internal design programming, speaker series, and studio open houses
• Own studio communications, including a monthly newsletter and evergreen documentation such as internal wikis, org charts, and shared resources
• Act as a central connector across the broader product, design, and employee engagement communities
• Foster studio culture through onboarding programs, learning series, studio rituals, and organizational health initiatives
• Oversee third-party budget management (outsourcing, tooling, research), including PO creation, budget tracking, and reporting to finance and leadership
• Plan and execute special projects aligned with executive priorities and long-term strategic goals
• Manage intake and planning for executive-level visual design resources, including sprint planning and prioritization

Requirements

Qualifications:

• 6+ years of experience in design program management, program management, or operations
• Demonstrated experience supporting design, UX, or creative organizations
• Proven ability to create and run internal programs, ideally within a design or creative department
• Strong experience planning and executinglarge-scale internal events, including physical, in-person programming
• Strong command of project and program management tools, with the ability to ramp quickly on new systems
• Experience managing budgets, vendors, and third-party partners

Preferred Experience:

• Experiencebuilding or shaping a design program, team, or community from the ground up
• Background in community development, internal engagement, or design evangelism
• Partnering closely with executive and senior design leadership
• Strong cross-functional stakeholder management skills
• Excellent communication, presentation, and storytelling abilities
• Understanding of UX design processes and software development lifecycles
• Experience working with distributed teams across multiple time zones

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Robert Half will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. All applicants applying for U.S. job openings must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Benefits are available to contract/temporary professionals, including medical, vision, dental, and life and disability insurance. Hired contract/temporary professionals are also eligible to enroll in our company 401(k) plan. Visit roberthalf.gobenefits.net for more information.

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