Design Operations is all about helping designers do the best work of their lives. Our job is to clear the path so designers can focus on what they do best: design.

At many tech companies, you’ll find a more traditional embedded model—one Design Program Manager (DPM) per major product area. But in a lean team environment, our small but mighty Design Ops team has shifted toward a model built for scale, speed, and strategic impact.

Why? Because in today’s tech landscape where business impact is under a microscope and resources are finite, we’ve learned that making a big impact means working smarter. Whether you’re running Design Ops at a startup, navigating a reorg, or simply operating with fewer hands on deck, here’s how we drive meaningful impact across business, people, and product.