Product Design Manager

Squarespace•New York, NY

11h•Hybrid

About The Position

Squarespace is a design-centric product company built on the belief that beautiful design should be accessible to everyone. We help millions of people and businesses build an online presence, from stunning websites to full commerce and service experiences. We are looking for a Product Design Manager to own a significant portion of the website creation experience, focused on the editing and refining experience of how Squarespace users build their sites. This role sits at the heart of how users create and refine their websites. You will lead a portion of the Websites design organization focused on the moment-to-moment experience of building on Squarespace. That includes the precision of every editing interaction, the quality of what is published, and the systems that make both possible at scale. The teams in your area are pushing into new territory, including creative tooling and AI-assisted workflows that expand what users can build and express. Your teams shape core parts of the Squarespace editing experience used by millions of people building their online presence. You are a people and systems operator first, but you carry a strong craft bar yourself. The designers on these teams are seasoned, including a Staff Designer, and they need a manager who earns their trust through taste and judgment, not just process. You know how to set direction, step back, and let strong ICs do their best work, while still being the person who raises the bar when it matters. You build the kind of team culture where high-quality craft is not negotiable. You will report to a Product Design Director on the Websites team in NYC.

Requirements

8+ years of product design experience.
3+ years of management experience leading seasoned designers, with direct ownership of hiring, performance, and career development.
Actively uses AI tools in their design practice and is curious about how AI is reshaping the creative process.
Strong portfolio demonstrating systems-level thinking alongside craft-level execution that demonstrates how you solved business problems while delighting users, including how you have guided teams through complex work.
Discerning taste in visual and interaction design, with the confidence to hold a point of view and the judgment to know when to evolve it.
Superior presentation and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to focus and adjust in an ever-shifting internal and external landscap

Responsibilities

Build and develop a high-performing team of senior and staff-level designers, setting clear goals, delivering direct feedback, and creating the conditions for each person to do their best work.
Own hiring, performance, and compensation decisions for your teams, and proactively invest in the growth of the people around you.
Translate broad product goals into a clear design roadmap for your teams, maintaining the focus and prioritization needed to execute with quality.
Foster a team culture where craft is expected, ownership is real, and collaboration is genuine.
Insist on the highest standards across visual design, interaction design, and systems thinking for everything your teams ship.
Engage actively with the work as a sharp, opinionated reviewer. You know what great looks like, you can articulate why something is not there yet, and your designers trust your judgment.
Guide your teams through complex, systems-level problems where design decisions have long-lasting consequences for the quality and coherence of the product.
Ensure the work your teams ship raises the overall quality bar of the Squarespace editing experience.
Stay current on the evolving landscape of creative tools, website builders, and AI-powered experiences, and bring that perspective into how your teams approach their work.
Partner with product management and engineering to shape roadmap direction, push on product strategy, and advocate for the user experience.
Build strong relationships across design, research, and brand, and drive alignment on the things that cut across teams.
Present your teams' work and strategic rationale with clarity and conviction to leadership.