[Hiring] Senior/Staff Design Program Manager @Instacart

Role Description

Instacart is on a mission to make eating well effortless for everyone, and great design is a key ingredient. As a Design Program Manager on our Design Program Management team, you will drive operational excellence and programmatic execution across a Design organization serving 90+ cross-functional partners and multiple company priority areas.

This role sits at the intersection of design craft, technical operations, and strategic execution. You will:

• Drive end-to-end program delivery for complex, multi-quarter design initiatives spanning Design, Product, Engineering, Marketing, Legal, and Business Development—ensuring clear goals, crisp execution, and predictable outcomes.
• Build and deploy AI-enabled workflows to automate status reporting, resource tracking, documentation synthesis, and stakeholder communications; champion AI fluency across the Design org to improve speed and quality.
• Own operations and vendor management for design tooling (e.g., Figma, prototyping, asset management, collaboration platforms): negotiate contracts, optimize licensing, ensure compliance, and manage contractor/agency engagements.
• Establish scalable systems for capacity planning, resource allocation, and roadmapping; implement metrics and integrations that create seamless workflows across tools and teams.
• Partner with the Instacart Design System (IDS) team to align programs with system evolution and component adoption; lead governance programs that scale IDS usage across product teams.
• Translate leadership vision into actionable operating models, run planning cycles and milestone reviews, and bring clarity to complexity in a high-change environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in program management or design operations within design and/or product organizations, delivering complex cross-functional initiatives end to end.
• Hands-on experience with design systems concepts (component libraries, tokens, documentation, cross-platform patterns) and modern product development lifecycles.
• Technical fluency collaborating with design systems and engineering teams, including familiarity with system architecture, component APIs, design-to-code workflows, and technical constraints.
• Proven track record building and scaling operational systems in fast-paced environments, including taking programs from 0→1 and maturing them for scale.
• Demonstrated AI fluency using LLMs and/or automation platforms to streamline workflows and improve program efficiency.
• Vendor and contract management experience: negotiating software contracts, optimizing licensing/spend, and ensuring compliance in partnership with Finance, Legal, and IT.
• Proficiency with design and program management tooling (e.g., Figma, Linear or Jira, asset management tools, research repositories, prototyping tools).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with experience presenting to and influencing executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field (e.g., Design, HCI, Engineering, Business) or equivalent practical experience.

Requirements

• Experience building or scaling a design system and driving component adoption across multiple product teams.
• Experience implementing AI-powered workflows or integrations for creative operations or design tooling ecosystems.
• Success translating leadership vision into operating models, measurable roadmaps, and governance programs.
• Experience supporting organizations of 90+ cross-functional partners across Design and Engineering.
• Ability to balance strategic oversight with hands-on execution in dynamic, ambiguous environments.
• Strength using data and storytelling to influence decisions and secure investment in operational improvements.

Benefits

• Highly market-competitive compensation and benefits.
• Remote work flexibility under the Flex First policy.
• Base pay range for a successful candidate: CAN $143,000 - $177,500 CAD.
• Eligibility for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants.