Design Operations Manager

About ownpath

ownpath is a design and technology company building at the intersection of design, engineering, and AI.

We work across three verticals:

• Studio — We partner with startups and global enterprises like Hero MotoCorp and Philips to solve high-stakes design and engineering challenges across automotive, finance, healthcare, enterprise software, and AI.
• Labs — We build our own products, tools, and experiments.
• Academy — Where our journey began, and which we're now re-launching to help shape the next generation of designers.

We've built exceptional products and experiences for ambitious companies. Now we're looking for someone to help us discover the next ones.

The Role

ownpath is looking for a Design Operations Manager to help us bring structure, visibility, and efficiency to how our studio plans and delivers work.

You’ll work closely with design leadership, project teams, and the wider studio to manage roadmaps, coordinate projects, support capacity planning, and ensure teams are set up to deliver great work. You’ll also have exposure to project scoping, stakeholder management, and hiring as the studio grows.

This role is ideal for someone who is highly organised, proactive, and comfortable working across multiple projects and teams. You should enjoy bringing clarity to ambiguity, keeping things moving, and building systems that help a creative team operate better.

What We're Looking For

• 4–7 years of experience in design operations, project management, creative operations, studio management, or a similar role.
• Experience working in a design studio, agency, product company, or other creative environment.
• Strong project management and organisational skills.
• Experience managing multiple projects, timelines, and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Strong understanding of team capacity, resourcing, and project planning.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to bring structure to ambiguous and fast-moving situations.
• Strong attention to detail with excellent follow-through.
• Comfortable working with senior leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Proactive problem solver who can identify issues before they become blockers.
• Comfortable working with tools such as Outline, Google Workspace, Slack, and project management platforms(Trello, ClickUp etc).

What You'll Do

• Support project scoping by helping define timelines, team requirements, deliverables, and dependencies.
• Own and maintain roadmaps across projects and studio priorities.
• Drive day-to-day project management, ensuring timelines, deliverables, dependencies, and next steps are clearly tracked.
• Coordinate with designers, strategists, engineers, clients, and other stakeholders to keep projects moving smoothly.
• Support bandwidth and capacity management across the design team and help identify resourcing gaps or upcoming requirements.
• Help leadership make informed decisions around project priorities, team allocation, and timelines.
• Identify blockers and risks early and proactively work with relevant stakeholders to resolve them.
• Establish and improve processes, templates, and systems that make project delivery more efficient.
• Support hiring and resource planning based on upcoming project requirements and team capacity.
• Work closely with design leadership on team planning, onboarding, and operational requirements.
• Maintain clear documentation and visibility across active and upcoming projects.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve how the studio plans, communicates, and delivers work.

Why ownpath

• Work at the centre of a growing design and technology studio, helping shape how teams, projects, and processes come together.
• Work across a diverse portfolio of enterprise and startup projects, giving you exposure to different industries, teams, and ways of working.
• Have real ownership over how the studio plans projects, manages capacity, and improves its operating rhythm.
• Work closely with design leadership and founders on roadmap planning, project scoping, resourcing, and studio priorities.
• Help build the systems and processes that allow a growing creative team to operate more effectively without adding unnecessary complexity.
• Get exposure to hiring and team planning as we continue to grow the studio.
• Work closely with designers, strategists, engineers, and clients, giving you a broad view of how a multidisciplinary studio operates.
• Use modern tools, AI workflows, and data to continuously improve how we plan and deliver work.
• Work with a company-provided MacBook, premium software, and a flexible hybrid setup