Senior Manager - Design Systems and Design Ops

Location Designation: Remote 

When you join New York Life, you’re joining a company that values career development, collaboration, innovation, and inclusiveness. We want employees to feel proud about being part of a company that is committed to doing the right thing. You’ll have the opportunity to grow your career while developing personally and professionally through various resources and programs. New York Life is a relationship-based company and appreciates how both virtual and in-person interactions support our culture.

It is an exciting time to join New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company and the largest mutual life insurance company in the US, as we continue to innovate our technology and build the next generation digital experience for our customers and agents. You will join a team which is at the forefront of New York Life’s evolution to providing more innovative and differentiated consumer and agent/advisor experiences that lean into the power of human guidance, improving our customer’s financial wellness and peace of mind, and enabling our agents to grow their small businesses.  You'll step into a world where your expertise will play a pivotal role in driving the development of cutting-edge web and other digital marketing products that are redefining how individuals perceive and engage with life insurance and financial solutions. This is your chance to be at the forefront of an exciting transformation, working alongside a group of talented professionals dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what's possible. If you're ready to channel your creativity, strategic insight, and leadership into an environment that values impact, we can't wait to welcome you to our team.

We are looking for hands-on Senior Manager of Design Systems and Design Ops to join a growing digital UX/UI team.  The Senior Manager will drive the implementation and scaling of our Enterprise design system strategy including execution, structuring, and management of the of the design system, help craft and manage the governance and contribution processes and roles, assist in design and documentation of future componentry, and help mature design operations. The Senior Manager will work with our UX and UI designers, production team, product managers, external design agencies, and engineers in/for Marketing and with counterparts other parts of the organization (e.g., Digital customer service).  The Senior Manager may manage and supervise contractor resources for purpose of executing the role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design Systems Strategy & Implementation
  • Further refine and implement a comprehensive design systems strategy that aligns with NYL’s business strategy and agent and customer experience visions
  • Collaborate with design and brand peers to refine and promote design principles, style guides, and component and pattern libraries to ensure consistency and scalability across NYL businesses, across digital channels (responsive web, native mobile, email, etc.) and teams including design, content, authoring, engineering, and varied front-end platforms
  • Identify and establish a measurement plan for design system KPIs to track and continually improve design system ROI
• Design Operations Management
  • Streamline design processes and workflows, optimizing efficiency and collaboration across the design team
  • Identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and pain points in the design process and implement strategies to overcome them
  • Refine and maintain design tools, software, and infrastructure, ensuring they are up-to-date, accessible, secure, and well-documented
  • Help maintain and ensure perpetual prioritization of design backlogs including componentry and production
  • Ensure design system structure, version control, and documentation including attributes, behaviors, and variations and usage guidelines are thorough, up-to-date, and easy to use
• Collaboration, Governance, and Stakeholder Management
  • Collaborate closely with designers, product managers, engineers, and stakeholders to understand requirements, translate them into additional design system components, and ensure seamless integration across products and platforms.
  • Define and facilitate stakeholder alignment on design system governance and contribution processes, roles, feedback methods, and decisioning criteria to ensure the design system delivers consistent, seamless experiences at scale while meeting stakeholder needs and system constraints
  • Design and deliver orientation, onboarding, how-to resources, tutorials, materials, and training for new users of the design system to accelerate adoption and proficiency
• Design Quality and Accessibility Assurance
  • Partner with peers to further define and implement measurement of design quality, usability, and accessibility KPIs
  • Refine design quality assurance processes to ensure the brand alignment, consistency, usability, and accessibility of design assets.
  • Conduct regular design audits, reviews, and support usability testing to identify areas for improvement and maintain design system integrity.
• Industry Innovations and Trends
  • Stay up-to-date with industry trends and advancements in design operations, design software, prototyping tools, collaboration platforms, and other relevant technologies.
  • Identify opportunities to leverage new tools and technologies to enhance design productivity and quality

Qualifications:

Education Requirements

• A bachelor's in a relevant field such as Design, Interaction Design, User Experience, or a related discipline (Master’s degree preferred). Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Work Experiences

• 5-10 years of experience in design systems, design operations, or a related field, with at least 3 years in a leadership or management role
• A track record of successfully developing and implementing Enterprise-level design systems and optimizing design processes within a complex organization
• Experience managing design operations in a Scaled Agile environment

Technical Expertise

• In-depth understanding of design principles, interaction design, visual design, and user experience.
• In-depth knowledge and mastery of design stack of tools including design (e.g., Figma, Adobe Creative Suite), design hand off (e.g., Zeplin), design system management tools (e.g., Zeroheight), front-end workshop (e.g., Storybook), and operations/workflow/collaboration tools (e.g., Confluence, Jira, Asana)
• Experience designing componentry and writing specifications and documentation for Content Management Systems (CMS) such as Adobe Experience Manager, common front-end development frameworks (e.g., React) and coding languages (e.g., HTML, CSS)
• Experience collaborating with product managers and product owners to inform user stories
• Advanced skills with design for and evaluating accessibility standards such as WCAG and ADA
• Experience in conducting design audits, usability testing, and data-driven decision-making is highly beneficial.

Leadership and Collaboration Expertise

• Ability to quickly build relationships with stakeholders and peers and facilitate alignment on complex (and often competing) interests and needs among teams
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills are necessary to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams, stakeholders, and executives.
• The ability to articulate design concepts, technical concepts, and principles to both technical and non-technical audiences is vital.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think analytically and systemically
• Experience with managing multiple projects in a fast-paced, very deadline-driven environment

Please include case studies or similar materials showcasing design systems you have built and scaled with your resume when applying**

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Salary range: $82,500-$122,500 

Overtime eligible: Exempt 

Discretionary bonus eligible: Yes 

Sales bonus eligible: No 

Click here to learn more about our benefits. Starting salary is dependent upon several factors including previous work experience, specific industry experience, and/or skills required.

Recognized as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, New York Life is committed to improving local communities through a culture of employee giving and volunteerism, supported by the Foundation. We're proud that due to our mutuality, we operate in the best interests of our policy owners. We invite you to bring your talents to New York Life, so we can continue to help families and businesses “Be Good At Life.” To learn more, please visit LinkedIn, our Newsroom and the Careers page of www.NewYorkLife.com.

Job Requisition ID: 89513