Director, Design Operations

Company Description
Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. We build, power, and evolve the tools and technologies that connect millions of entrepreneurs with millions of buyers around the world. As an Etsy Inc. employee, whether a team member of Etsy or Depop, you will tackle unique, meaningful, and large-scale problems alongside passionate coworkers, all the while making a rewarding impact and Keeping Commerce Human.

Salary Range:

$235,000.00 - $305,000.00

What’s the role?

We're hiring a Head of Design Operations to lead and strengthen the operational foundation of Etsy's Design and Research organization. You'll be a strategic partner to design leadership and a hands-on practitioner. You'll lead a small team while personally owning our highest-leverage programs. This role is for someone who is energized by the work of building, not just running, the systems that let creative teams do their best work.

The Design and Research org is 130+ people strong and supports every part of the Etsy buyer and seller experience. As our DesignOps leader, you'll shape how this organization plans, prioritizes, collaborates, and grows. You'll partner closely with leaders across Product, Engineering, Brand, and our cross-functional Ops community to ensure Design is a meaningful driver of the business.

This is a full-time position reporting to the VP of Design and Research. In addition to salary, you will also be eligible for an equity package, an annual performance bonus, and our competitive benefits that support you and your family as part of your total rewards package at Etsy.

For this role, we are considering candidates based in the United States. Candidates living within commutable distance of Etsy's Brooklyn Office Hub may be the first to be considered. For candidates within commutable distance, Etsy requires in-office attendance once or twice per week depending on your proximity to the office. Etsy offers different work modes to meet the variety of needs and preferences of our team. Learn more details about our work modes and workplace safety policies here.

What’s this team like at Etsy?

Etsy's Design and Research organization is a 130+ person team that includes product designers, content designers, researchers, and operations. The team reports to the CPTO. We partner closely with Product, Engineering, Analytics, Brand, and Marketing to shape the experiences of millions of buyers and sellers around the world.

Design Operations is a small but central function within the org. We provide the systems, rituals, and partnerships that allow designers to focus on craft. This is a moment of transition for the function, and you'll have a meaningful runway to shape what comes next.

What does the day-to-day look like?

• Lead and grow the DesignOps team. You'll manage a small team of DesignOps practitioners, coaching them to grow their craft and impact. You'll also help shape the future of the function, including hiring as the team evolves.
• Set the operating rhythm. You'll establish the planning, prioritization, and review cadences that help our Design and Research organization stay aligned and effective. This includes resetting team rituals and work-tracking systems. You'll also evolve the operating model that supports both the buyer and seller sides of the marketplace.
• Own high-leverage programs personally. As a working leader, you'll lead one or two strategic programs at any given time. These might include AI training and enablement for the design team, scaling our intake and capacity systems, or evolving how we review and ship work.
• Partner with design leadership. You'll serve as a thought partner to the Design and Research leadership team. You'll consult on team health, help make decisions, and co-create new initiatives. You'll bring clarity and focus to ambiguous problems and help leaders make sharper bets.
• Steward the design tool stack and budget. You'll own our design tooling strategy and partner with Procurement to select and adopt tools that improve collaboration, craft, and AI fluency. You'll manage vendor relationships and ensure we're getting strong return on our investments.
• Build bridges across Operations. You'll partner with Research Ops, Brand Ops, Product Ops, and Eng Ops to align practices and create consistency in how teams work together. You'll be a generous citizen of the broader Ops community at Etsy.
• Make the team's impact visible. You'll develop audience-appropriate communications — newsletters, dashboards, executive summaries — that make Design and Research's work observable and credible to partners and leadership.
• Of course, this is just a sample of the kinds of work this role will require! You should assume that your role will encompass other tasks, too, and that your job duties and responsibilities may change from time to time at Etsy's discretion, or otherwise applicable with local law.

Qualities that will help you thrive in this role are:

• 10+ years of experience in design operations, program management, or chief-of-staff roles within a design, product, or creative organization.
• Experience leading a DesignOps function and managing a small team, with a track record of growing your people and shaping the discipline.
• A builder's mindset, with direct experience launching or evolving operational systems in a design or product organization — not just maintaining established ones.
• Comfort moving fluidly between strategic leadership and hands-on execution, and the judgment to know which mode the moment requires.
• Strong communication and influence skills, including a track record of partnering with senior leaders and earning trust without formal authority.
• Experience designing and managing operating models at scale — including planning rhythms, intake and prioritization, capacity systems, and team rituals.
• A history of partnering with Procurement, Finance, and Legal on tool selection, vendor management, and budget planning for creative teams.
• Curiosity about AI and a point of view on how it can enable design teams to work more effectively.
• Fluency with the tools modern design teams rely on, including Figma, Jira, Notion, Cursor, Claude, and Google Workspace.

Additional Information
 

What's Next
If you're interested in joining the team at Etsy, please share your resume with us and feel free to include a cover letter if you'd like. As we hope you've seen already, Etsy is a place that values individuality and variety. We don't want you to be like everyone else -- we want you to be like you! So tell us what you're all about.
 
Our Promise
At Etsy, we believe that a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace furthers relevance, resilience, and longevity. We encourage people from all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and experiences to apply. Etsy is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. If, due to a disability, you need an accommodation during any part of the application or interview process, please let your recruiter know. While Etsy supports visa sponsorship, sponsorship opportunities may be limited to certain roles and skills.