Design Manager, XR

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Design Manager, XR

Company: Google

Location: San Jose, CA & San Francisco, CA

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Design Management / UX Operations

Date Posted: August 03, 2026

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and manage a team of UX designers focused on next-generation XR (Extended Reality) and AI-powered experiences, driving product strategy and conceptualizing ecosystem-level UX.

• Champion user-centered design principles and usability best practices within a complex, cross-functional organization, ensuring the delivery of elegantly simple and innovative user experiences.

• Foster a forward-thinking design culture, guiding direct reports' career development and promoting a culture of continuous learning and design excellence.

• Collaborate closely with Engineering and Product Management leaders to align business objectives with cutting-edge design innovation, particularly at the intersection of AI and XR technologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within Google's XR team, focusing on the convergence of AI and XR. The "UX Operations" category is inferred due to the management and strategic aspects, implying a need for operationalizing design processes, team management, and cross-functional alignment, which are core to operations functions. The "10+ Years" experience level is derived from the sum of minimum and preferred years of experience (8+3 or 5+3).

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Drive product strategy and conceptualize ecosystem-level UX for XR devices and AI-augmented experiences, ensuring a cohesive and user-centric approach.

• Lead and mentor a team of UX designers, guiding their career growth, performance management, and individual OKR development.

• Influence stakeholders across Engineering, Product Management, and other functions to gain buy-in and support for design strategies and initiatives.

• Oversee the development of innovative design solutions that address complex user, product, and business challenges within the XR space.

• Drive the evolution of a holistic design process, design system, or design language across multiple teams or products to ensure consistency and scalability.

• Translate user research, UX testing insights, and stakeholder feedback into actionable design improvements.

• Provide expert guidance and effectively engage stakeholders on product design to achieve strategic product goals and deliver exceptional user experiences.

• Coordinate resource allocation within design projects and drive project priorities in alignment with overarching project and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary responsibilities have been expanded to reflect the strategic and leadership nature of a Design Manager role, emphasizing strategic influence, team development, process ownership, and cross-functional collaboration, all crucial for operationalizing design efforts within a large tech organization.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

• Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field is preferred. Experience:

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in product design or UX, with a strong foundation in user-centered design methodologies.

• Minimum of 3 years of experience leading design projects and managing people or design teams.

• Preferred: 5 years of experience working within a complex, cross-functional organization, navigating intricate decision-making processes.

• Preferred: 3 years of experience working directly with executive leaders, demonstrating strong communication and influencing skills. Required Skills:

• Expertise in core interaction design, user-centered design, and their application to usability.

• Proven experience in defining product strategy and conceptualizing complex, ecosystem-level user experiences.

• Demonstrated ability to manage and