Title: Visual Design Program Manager
Location: Remote
Duration: 4 months
 
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced Program Manager to embed within our Visual Design team on a contract basis. This role is responsible for orchestrating the end-to-end operational rhythm of the design organization — from managing creative project pipelines and cross-team dependencies to facilitating reviews, tracking delivery, and ensuring design initiatives land on time and at the quality bar the team sets. The ideal contractor brings both program management rigor and a genuine appreciation for creative work, enabling designers to focus on craft while the PM keeps the machine running smoothly
 
Cross-functional Coordination

• Serve as the primary operational liaison between the Visual Design team and partner teams including Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Content.
• Facilitate handoffs of design assets and ensure downstream teams have what they need, when they need it.
• Coordinate with Brand and Marketing on campaign timelines, creative deadlines, and asset delivery schedules.
• Manage dependencies between design and development, flagging spec gaps or approval delays that could impact build timelines.

 
Design Program Operations

• Own the Visual Design team's program calendar, sprint cadence, and intake process for new work requests.
• Maintain and communicate the master project tracker across all active design initiatives, including status, owners, blockers, and ETA.
• Coordinate milestone reviews, critique sessions, and sign-off checkpoints with stakeholders across Product, Marketing, Engineering, and Brand.
• Track creative deliverable pipelines (e.g., UI components, brand assets, motion design, campaign creative) and surface risks early.

 
Stakeholder Engagement & Reporting

• Prepare and deliver weekly/bi-weekly design program status updates for design leadership and key stakeholders.
• Produce roadmaps, capacity snapshots, and delivery forecasts that inform planning and resourcing decisions.
• Drive retrospectives and continuous improvement conversations around how the team takes on and completes work.

 
Process & Tooling

• Maintain and improve program management tooling (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Asana, Figma project views) to give the team visibility into work in flight.
• Establish lightweight but effective governance for design request intake, prioritization, and escalation.
• Document and socialize team processes to ensure consistency as the design organization scales.
• Contract currently approved through the end of the year.
• Strong likelihood of extension based on business needs and performance.
• Potential future conversion to full-time employment.

 
Must Haves

• Experience supporting Visual Design, UX, Branding, or Creative organizations.
• Strong program or project management experience in cross-functional environments.
• Proven ability to manage complex stakeholder relationships and competing priorities.
• Experience coordinating with development and engineering teams.
• Familiarity with design systems, branding initiatives, or UX transformations.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Experience using Atlassian tools (Jira and Confluence) or similar project management platforms.
• Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced and evolving environments.

 
Required qualifications:

• 5–7 years of relevant experience in Program Management, Project Management, Creative Operations, UX Operations, or Design Program Management.
• Experience working within design, UX, visual design, branding, or creative organizations is strongly preferred
• Strong background in program/project management supporting design-focused teams.
• Experience with visual design systems, UX programs, branding refreshes, or large-scale creative initiatives.
• Ability to bridge communication between designers, technical teams, and business stakeholders.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and driving alignment across multiple workstreams.
• Candidates may come from program management backgrounds or be senior visual design professionals with strong operational and cross-functional leadership experience.
• Bachelor's degree preferred but not required (these kinds of candidates are typically highly educated)
• Relevant experience is considered more important than a specific educational background.
• PMP certification or equivalent program management training is a plus but not required.
• Manager is open to candidates who bring either traditional program management experience or very strong visual design leadership experience combined with cross-functional coordination skills.

 
What Success Looks Like:

• The intake-to-delivery process is documented, consistent, and continuously improving.
• Leadership has real-time visibility into program health, capacity, and risks.
• The Visual Design team feels operationally supported and freed up to do their best creative work.
• Design programs run on time, stakeholders are never surprised, and designers have clarity on priorities.

 
 
At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws.This position's pay range is $74.09/hr - $81.93/hr.