Senior Design Manager (Infrastructure)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Design Manager (Infrastructure) Company: Canonical - Jobs Location: Home based - Europe, Coimbra, Portugal Job Type: Full-time Category: Design Operations / Product Design Management Date Posted: September 18, 2025 Experience Level: 5-10 Years Remote Status: Fully Remote (EMEA Region)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and mentor a team of UX designers focused on Canonical's core infrastructure products, including cloud experiences and software distribution mechanisms.
• Drive the evolution of design systems and guidelines to ensure consistent quality and enhance operational efficiency across the infrastructure product suite.
• Collaborate closely with product and engineering stakeholders to define, validate, and deliver on strategic design outcomes, ensuring alignment with business objectives and technical feasibility.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement within the design team, focusing on user needs discovery, quantitative optimization, and transparent project delivery.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title "Senior Design Manager (Infrastructure)" might suggest a purely technical design role, the description emphasizes leadership, team management, stakeholder collaboration, and process improvement. This indicates a strong operational component, focusing on how design processes and team outputs contribute to the broader GTM strategy of Canonical's infrastructure products. The role requires a blend of design acumen and operational management skills.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Oversee the quality and effectiveness of design work produced by the Infrastructure Design team, providing constructive feedback and guidance.
• Support the professional development and growth of individual designers through regular coaching, performance reviews, and personalized development plans.
• Continuously improve operational workflows within the design function, including the integration of production outsourcing and enhanced collaboration with the Web Engineering teams.
• Actively engage with stakeholders, particularly within the Engineering organization, to clearly define project scope, validate design solutions, and ensure alignment on expected outcomes.
• Drive the development and refinement of design systems and guidelines to ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency in design production.
• Coordinate with other design leadership to mature the collective design practice across Canonical, sharing best practices and fostering a unified approach.
• Facilitate team cohesion and strengthen design culture by organizing collaborative sessions, knowledge-sharing events, and work reviews.
• Engage with the open-source community to gather insights, understand user needs, and communicate the value and impact of the team's design work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a significant focus on process optimization ("Continuously improving operational workflows," "Evolving design systems and guidelines to drive consistent quality and improve efficiency") and stakeholder management, which are core to Revenue Operations and Sales Operations roles. The emphasis on community engagement and understanding user needs also ties into GTM strategy by ensuring product-market fit.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design, Behavioral Science, or a related discipline. Exceptional educational achievements are highly regarded.

Experience: 5-10 years of experience in UX design with a proven track record in managing design teams and interacting with technical stakeholders. Full lifecycle experience from user needs discovery through validation and implementation guidance.

Required Skills:

• UX Design Excellence: A strong portfolio demonstrating outstanding quality in UX design, showcasing a deep understanding of user-centered design principles and methodologies.
• Team Leadership & Coaching: Proven experience in managing and mentoring design teams, fostering professional growth, and driving high performance.
• Technical Savviness: Aptitude for understanding and working within deeply technical domains, particularly related to cloud infrastructure, software distribution, and security.
• Stakeholder Management: Ability to effectively communicate, collaborate, and manage expectations with technical stakeholders, especially within Engineering.
• Project Delivery & Ownership: Commitment to transparent project delivery, owning team deadlines, and ensuring timely execution against roadmaps.
• Design Systems & Guidelines: Experience in developing, evolving, and implementing design systems to ensure consistency and efficiency.
• Quantitative Optimization: Familiarity with quantitative optimization approaches and data-driven decision-making in design processes.
• Communication & Active Listening: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, coupled with the ability to actively listen to diverse perspectives.
• Community Engagement: Experience or willingness to engage with open-source communities to gather feedback and build relationships.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with open-source software development environments and communities.
• Familiarity with cloud computing platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Knowledge of software packaging and delivery mechanisms.
• Experience with A/B testing and other data-driven validation techniques for design.
• Understanding of security best practices in software design and infrastructure.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "savviness in technology" and "managing a team that interacts with technical stakeholders" points strongly suggest the need for an individual who can bridge the gap between design and engineering/product, a key function in operations roles that facilitate cross-functional alignment. The emphasis on quantitative optimization also aligns with operations' data-centric approach.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• UX Design Case Studies: A comprehensive portfolio showcasing end-to-end UX design projects, detailing the problem, your process, solutions, and measurable outcomes. This should include examples relevant to complex technical products or infrastructure.
• Team Management Examples: Evidence of leadership capabilities, such as examples of how you've coached designers, improved team workflows, or managed project delivery and deadlines.
• Design System Contributions: Demonstrations of your involvement in developing or evolving design systems, highlighting their impact on consistency and efficiency.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Case studies that illustrate effective collaboration with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to achieve product goals.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Optimization Examples: Showcase instances where you've identified inefficiencies in design workflows and implemented improvements, including collaboration with engineering or outsourcing partners.
• User Needs Discovery & Validation: Document your process for uncovering user needs for technical products and how you validate design solutions through user research and testing.
• Metrics & Impact Reporting: Examples of how you track and report on the impact of design decisions, particularly concerning efficiency gains, quality improvements, or user adoption in technical contexts.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Design Manager role, especially in a technical domain like infrastructure, the portfolio needs to go beyond aesthetic examples. It must demonstrate strategic thinking, process management, team leadership, and the ability to translate technical requirements into user-centric solutions with quantifiable business impact. This is critical for operations-focused roles.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Given the Senior Manager level, 5-10 years of experience, and the EMEA remote location, a competitive salary range would typically fall between €70,000 - €100,000 annually. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for senior design management roles in tech companies with a global remote workforce, considering the cost of living variations across the EMEA region and Canonical's stated compensation philosophy of ensuring global equity.

Benefits:

• Fully Remote Working Environment: A long-standing remote-first culture since 2004, offering flexibility and global work opportunities.
• Personal Learning and Development Budget: $2,000 USD per annum to support continuous skill enhancement and professional growth.
• Annual Compensation Review: Regular reviews to ensure competitive and equitable compensation.
• Recognition Rewards: Programs to acknowledge outstanding contributions and achievements.
• Annual Holiday Leave: Standard paid time off to ensure work-life balance.
• Parental Leave: Support for new parents.
• Employee Assistance Programme: Confidential support services for personal and professional well-being.
• Opportunity to Travel: Up to four in-person team gatherings annually in various global locations for strategic alignment and team building.
• Priority Pass for Travel: Benefits for travel, including potential upgrades for long-haul company events, enhancing the remote work experience.

Working Hours: A standard full-time work week, typically around 40 hours, with the flexibility inherent in a remote-first global organization. Focus is on output and meeting deadlines rather than strict hour-by-hour tracking.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on standard compensation data for senior management roles in European tech markets, adjusted for a remote position within a global company. The benefits are directly extracted from the job description and highlight Canonical's commitment to employee well-being and professional development, which are attractive to operations professionals seeking a supportive work environment.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Open Source Software, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Technology. Canonical is a leader in providing open-source solutions, with Ubuntu being a foundational platform for AI, IoT, and cloud computing. This positions them at the cutting edge of enterprise and technology innovation.

Company Size: 1200+ colleagues in 75+ countries. This signifies a large, globally distributed organization with a mature, established presence in the tech industry. For operations professionals, this means exposure to complex, scaled processes and a diverse, international workforce.

Founded: 2004. Canonical has a long history as a pioneer in the tech industry, particularly in establishing and championing open-source solutions and a remote-first work model. This longevity suggests stability, a proven business model, and deep expertise in its domain.

Team Structure:

• Design Function: The Design function is integral to Canonical's mission, ensuring the user experience of their software and infrastructure aligns with their strategic intentions and meets the needs of their community and customers.
• Infrastructure Design Team: This specific team focuses on products crucial for building cloud experiences and software distribution mechanisms, as well as evolving the security of software packaging and delivery.
• Reporting: The Senior Design Manager will likely report to a Director or VP of Design or Product, with direct reports being the designers on the Infrastructure team.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Strong emphasis on collaboration with Product and Engineering stakeholders is a defining characteristic of how teams operate at Canonical.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Insights: The role mentions "quantitative optimisation approaches," indicating a reliance on data to inform design decisions and measure impact.
• Process Improvement: Continuous improvement of operational workflows is a stated responsibility, suggesting a culture that values efficiency and optimization.
• Agile & Iterative: Although not explicitly stated, the nature of software development, especially in open-source, implies an agile and iterative approach to product development and design.

Company Website: https://canonical.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Canonical's established remote-first culture and global distribution are key operational differentiators. For operations roles, understanding how a company manages such a distributed workforce, maintains culture, and ensures consistent processes is crucial. The focus on open source and infrastructure products implies a need for technical depth and a community-oriented approach in operations.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is a Senior Management position within the Design function, with significant operational responsibilities. It sits above individual contributor designers and potentially junior managers, overseeing a critical product area (Infrastructure). The scope includes team leadership, strategic input on design systems, process improvement, and cross-functional stakeholder management. This level requires a blend of deep domain expertise and strong leadership and operational acumen.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Design Manager will manage a team of designers and likely report to a higher-level design leader (e.g., Director of Design, VP of Product Design). They will work closely with Engineering leads and Product Managers for the infrastructure products. This structure emphasizes collaboration and influence across departments.

Operations Impact: The role's impact extends beyond traditional design purely focused on user interfaces. By leading the Infrastructure Design team, the manager influences the usability, efficiency, and security of core software distribution mechanisms and cloud experiences. This directly impacts developer adoption, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency for Canonical's users, contributing to revenue generation through product adoption and retention. Their work in evolving design systems also has a strategic, scalable impact on the entire product portfolio's quality and development velocity.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Advancement: Potential to move into Director-level roles, overseeing larger design teams or broader product portfolios within Canonical.
• Strategic Influence: Opportunity to shape the strategic direction of design for Canonical's core infrastructure products and contribute significantly to the company's overall GTM strategy through product experience.
• Process & Operations Specialization: Deepen expertise in operationalizing design processes, managing distributed teams, and implementing scalable design systems, valuable for future operations leadership roles.
• Industry Recognition: Contribute to open-source communities and potentially speak at industry events, enhancing personal brand and industry influence.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth analysis focuses on how this role, while titled "Design Manager," offers significant operational leadership and strategic impact, aligning with career progression in GTM and operations functions. The emphasis on scaling processes and influencing product strategy is key.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully remote. Canonical has operated on a remote-first model since 2004, meaning there are no traditional office-based requirements for this role. This fosters a culture of autonomy and trust.

Office Location(s): Home-based within the EMEA region. While the role is remote, the requirement for occasional travel (up to 4 times a year) to interesting global locations for internal events and team sprints suggests a dynamic, globally connected work environment.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Despite being remote, Canonical emphasizes bringing teams together virtually and in person for "sprints" to align on strategy and execution. This indicates a deliberate effort to foster connection and collaboration within a distributed model.
• Tools & Technology: As a tech company, expect access to modern collaboration tools, project management software, and design platforms necessary for remote teamwork and efficient workflow.
• Team Interaction: Opportunities for interaction with colleagues will be through digital channels (e.g., Slack, video conferencing) and scheduled in-person events, allowing for focused work and dedicated team building.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, with the inherent flexibility of a remote-first company. While core hours might exist for team collaboration, the emphasis is on delivering results and meeting project deadlines rather than rigid time tracking, which is beneficial for managing complex operational tasks and global coordination.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature and emphasis on intentional collaboration (both virtual and in-person sprints) are critical operational aspects for this role. It highlights how Canonical manages a distributed workforce effectively, which is a key consideration for operations professionals.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a review of your resume and portfolio to assess your experience in UX design, team management, and technical aptitude. Be prepared to articulate your leadership philosophy and operational approach to managing design teams.
• Hiring Manager Interview: A deeper dive into your experience, focusing on your ability to manage designers, improve workflows, and collaborate with technical stakeholders. Expect questions about your approach to quality assurance and deadline management.
• Portfolio Presentation & Case Study: A crucial stage where you will present specific examples from your portfolio, likely focusing on a complex technical project or a team management success story. Prepare to detail your process, the challenges faced, the solutions implemented, and the measurable outcomes. This is where you demonstrate your operational thinking in design delivery.
• Cross-functional Stakeholder Interview: An opportunity to meet with potential peers or collaborators from Product and Engineering. This assesses your communication style, ability to influence, and understanding of cross-functional dynamics crucial for operations.
• Final Interview: May involve senior leadership to assess cultural fit, strategic alignment, and overall suitability for the role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Operations: Beyond showcasing design quality, highlight how your work improved operational efficiency, streamlined processes, or contributed to measurable business outcomes (e.g., developer adoption, reduced support tickets, faster delivery cycles).
• Structure for Impact: Clearly articulate the problem, your role and team's approach, the specific design and operational solutions you implemented, and the quantifiable results. Use metrics wherever possible.
• Demonstrate Leadership: Include examples of how you've managed teams, fostered growth, and driven process improvements.
• Technical Context: For this role, emphasize your ability to navigate and design for technical infrastructure, showing an understanding of the domain.
• Conciseness: Be prepared to present your most impactful work efficiently, as time will be a factor.

Challenge Preparation:

• Process Design Challenge: You might be asked to outline how you would improve a specific design workflow or address a hypothetical operational challenge within the design team. Focus on structured problem-solving, data gathering, and phased implementation.
• Team Management Scenario: Be ready to discuss how you would handle a situation involving underperforming team members, conflicting stakeholder demands, or balancing innovation with consistency.
• Strategic Thinking: Prepare to discuss your vision for the Infrastructure Design team, how you would align it with Canonical's broader GTM goals, and how you would measure success.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section is tailored to emphasize the unique requirements of a design management role with strong operational components, focusing on how candidates can showcase their process-oriented thinking and leadership in their application and interviews.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• UX/UI Design Software: Proficiency in industry-standard tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator), or similar for wireframing, prototyping, and visual design.
• Prototyping Tools: Experience with tools like InVision, Axure, or built-in prototyping features in design software to create interactive user flows.
• Design System Management: Familiarity with tools and methodologies for creating, maintaining, and scaling design systems (e.g., Storybook, Zeroheight, or internal platforms).
• Collaboration Platforms: Daily use of tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or similar for team communication and project discussions.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Analysis Tools: Familiarity with tools that can help understand user behavior and product usage, potentially including analytics platforms like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or internal logging systems.
• Quantitative Optimization Tools: Experience with A/B testing platforms or methodologies to validate design hypotheses and measure performance improvements.
• Project Management & Tracking: Tools such as Jira, Asana, Trello, or similar for tracking design tasks, sprints, and project progress, essential for operational oversight.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct CRM role, understanding how design impacts user journeys within systems like Salesforce or other CRMs can be beneficial.
• Familiarity with workflow automation concepts as they apply to design processes or integrations between design tools and development pipelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The tools listed reflect a blend of core design software and operational tools used for project management, collaboration, and data analysis, common in technology companies with a strong focus on process and efficiency.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Excellence & High Standards: Canonical expects excellence from its employees, requiring individuals to be the best at what they do. This translates to a commitment to high-quality design output and operational execution.
• Data-Driven Approach: The emphasis on "quantitative optimisation approaches" underscores a value placed on using data to inform decisions, measure impact, and drive continuous improvement in design and operational processes.
• Efficiency & Optimization: With responsibilities including "continuously improving operational workflows" and "evolving design systems... to improve efficiency," a core value is the relentless pursuit of efficiency and streamlined processes.
• Transparency & Ownership: Commitment to "transparent project delivery and owning team deadlines" highlights a value placed on accountability, clear communication, and taking responsibility for outcomes.
• Innovation & Consistency: A passion for "balancing consistency and innovation" suggests a culture that encourages creative solutions while maintaining brand integrity and user experience standards.

Collaboration Style:

• Distributed & Connected: Canonical fosters a culture where global, remote teams collaborate effectively through digital tools and intentional in-person "sprints" to ensure alignment and cultural cohesion.
• Cross-functional Integration: Strong emphasis on working closely with Product and Engineering stakeholders, indicating a collaborative style that breaks down traditional silos to achieve shared goals.
• Community-Oriented: Engagement with the open-source community suggests a willingness to share knowledge, solicit feedback, and build relationships within a broader ecosystem.
• Mentorship & Growth: The focus on supporting individual designers' professional growth implies a culture of mentorship and shared learning.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture section emphasizes values and collaboration styles that are highly relevant to operations professionals, focusing on efficiency, data, transparency, and cross-functional teamwork.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Managing a Distributed Team: Leading and motivating a geographically dispersed design team requires strong communication, trust-building, and asynchronous collaboration strategies.
• Bridging Design & Technical Domains: Effectively translating complex infrastructure concepts into intuitive user experiences and managing design expectations with highly technical stakeholders.
• Balancing Consistency with Innovation: Establishing and enforcing design standards while allowing for creative problem-solving and adapting to new technological advancements.
• Driving Process Adoption: Implementing and ensuring the adoption of new design systems, workflows, or optimization techniques across the team and with collaborators.
• Measuring Design Impact: Quantifying the business value and operational impact of design initiatives within the infrastructure product suite.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Leadership Skill Enhancement: Opportunities to hone management, coaching, and strategic leadership skills in a global, remote-first environment.
• Technical Domain Expertise: Deepen understanding of cloud infrastructure, software distribution, and security through close collaboration with engineering teams.
• Design Operations Specialization: Gain expertise in operationalizing design processes, scaling design systems, and managing design as a strategic business function.
• Industry Exposure: Participate in Canonical's global team sprints and potentially engage with industry events to stay abreast of design and technology trends.
• Mentorship: Benefit from Canonical's culture of learning and potential mentorship from senior leaders within the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section frames potential challenges as opportunities for growth, a common theme in operations roles that require continuous learning and problem-solving.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your approach to managing and developing a team of UX designers, particularly in a remote-first environment. How do you ensure individual growth and team cohesion?" (Focus on coaching, feedback loops, and team-building strategies for distributed teams.)
• "How would you go about evolving the design system for Canonical's infrastructure products? What are the key considerations and stakeholders involved?" (Highlight your process for system design, documentation, adoption, and cross-functional buy-in.)
• "Given the technical nature of infrastructure products, how do you ensure designers effectively collaborate with engineering teams and understand complex requirements?" (Emphasize your strategies for stakeholder communication, technical empathy, and translating user needs to technical solutions.)
• "Can you walk us through a project where you used quantitative optimization approaches to improve a design outcome? What metrics did you track, and what was the result?" (Prepare a concise case study demonstrating your data-driven decision-making.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Canonical and our role in the open-source and cloud infrastructure space?" (Research Canonical's mission, products like Ubuntu, and their impact on the tech industry.)
• "How do you see your leadership style fitting into a globally distributed, remote-first company culture like Canonical's?" (Connect your values and collaboration style to the company's stated culture.)
• "How do you foster a culture of excellence and continuous improvement within a design team?" (Provide examples of initiatives you've led to drive quality and efficiency.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process, the solutions, and the outcomes. Emphasize the "why" behind your decisions.
• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use data, metrics, and specific results to demonstrate the value of your design and operational contributions. Focus on how your work improved efficiency, user adoption, or business objectives.
• Highlight Leadership & Process: Showcase your ability to manage teams, improve workflows, and collaborate effectively with stakeholders. This is as crucial as the design solutions themselves.
• Be Ready for Technical Questions: Anticipate questions about the technical feasibility of your designs and your understanding of infrastructure concepts.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation advice emphasizes demonstrating operational acumen, strategic thinking, and leadership, aligning with the advanced requirements for a Senior Manager role in a tech-focused, globally distributed organization.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Design Manager (Infrastructure) position:

• Submit your application through the Canonical Jobs portal.
• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most impactful projects that best showcase your UX design expertise, team management capabilities, and experience with technical products or infrastructure. Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your process, the solutions, and quantifiable outcomes, with a strong emphasis on operational improvements or efficiency gains.
• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords from the job description, such as "UX Design," "Team Management," "Technical Stakeholders," "Design Systems," "Quantitative Optimization," and "Operational Workflows." Quantify your achievements with specific numbers and results.
• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your leadership philosophy, your approach to managing remote teams, and your strategy for driving design quality and efficiency. Be ready to discuss your experience with Canonical's mission and the open-source space.
• Research Canonical: Understand their products (especially Ubuntu and infrastructure offerings), their remote-first culture, and their position in the tech industry. This will help you tailor your responses and showcase your genuine interest.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.