Sr. Product Design Manager – HRIS | India Design Site Lead

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Sr. Product Design Manager – HRIS | India Design Site Lead

Company: Rippling

Location: Bangalore, India

Job Type: Salaried Full-Time

Category: Product Design Management / Operations Leadership

Date Posted: July 28, 2026

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and grow a team of ~6 product designers focused on Rippling's Human Capital Management (HCM) and Human Resources Information System (HRIS) products, driving high-impact work across HR, Talent, Benefits, and Workforce Management.

• Serve as the India Design Site Lead, fostering a vibrant local office culture and providing operational leadership for an additional ~5 designers across Payroll, Finance, and Platform teams.

• Define and drive AI-first product strategies, leveraging automation and intelligent systems to simplify complex administrator and employee workflows.

• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and cross-functional stakeholders to define product strategy, prioritize initiatives, and deliver against ambitious roadmaps.

• Set a high bar for design craft, quality, and execution, mentoring designers and creating an environment where they can do their best work.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Product Design Manager," the emphasis on "India Design Site Lead," "operational leadership," and "fostering team culture" suggests a role that extends beyond pure design management into broader operational and community-building responsibilities within the design function for the India site. This is a key differentiator for candidates.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of approximately 6 product designers, overseeing the end-to-end design process for Rippling’s HCM and HRIS product suite.

• Drive the development of complex, business-critical experiences that are intuitive, scalable, and compliant with global regulatory contexts.

• Define and execute AI-native product experiences, focusing on intelligent workflows, automation, and agentic systems to significantly reduce operational overhead for users.

• Establish and reinforce systems thinking across the design team, creating scalable patterns and frameworks that ensure consistency and efficiency across Rippling's platform.

• Partner closely with Product Management, Engineering, and other cross-functional teams to shape product strategy, define roadmaps, and ensure successful product launches.

• Champion a deep understanding of customer needs, particularly in high-complexity domains like global HR operations, compliance, and hourly workforce management.

• Contribute to the evolution and application of Rippling’s design system to maintain consistency and quality while enabling rapid iteration.

• Drive alignment across interdependent systems (HRIS, Time, Payroll, Finance, Platform) to ensure a cohesive and integrated user experience.

• Foster a vibrant local design community in India by managing site operations, promoting collaboration, and supporting the professional growth of all designers at the site.

• Translate intricate operational, compliance, and workforce challenges into simple, elegant, and effective user experiences for both HR administrators and employees.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus: direct product design leadership for HRIS/HCM and broader site leadership for the design organization in India. This implies a need for strong operational management skills alongside design expertise. The emphasis on AI-native experiences and systems thinking points to the strategic importance of these product areas for Rippling's future.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a strong portfolio demonstrating design thinking and execution in complex enterprise environments is paramount. Candidates with backgrounds in HCI, Design, Computer Science, or related fields may have a foundational advantage.

Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in product design.

• At least 5 years of dedicated experience leading and managing product design teams, with a proven ability to grow and mentor designers.

• Demonstrated success in delivering high-impact, customer-facing products within complex domains such as Human Capital Management (HCM), HRIS, FinTech, enterprise software, or workforce management. Required Skills:

• Product Design Leadership: Proven ability to lead, mentor, and grow design teams, elevating the overall quality and execution of design work.

• Systems Thinking: Strong capability to design across interconnected products or platforms, establishing scalable patterns and frameworks.

• HCM/HRIS Domain Expertise: Experience with or deep understanding of complex operational, compliance, and workforce management challenges inherent in HR systems.

• AI-Native Design: Experience defining and shipping product experiences driven by AI, automation, intelligent defaults, or agentic systems.

• End-to-End Product Ownership: Ability to own and deliver design from strategy and roadmap definition through to execution and quality assurance.

• Stakeholder Management: Excellent communication and collaboration skills to influence cross-functional partners and drive alignment across diverse teams.

• Customer Focus: Deep empathy for users, with experience translating real-world workflows into effective product solutions.

• Bias for Action & Ownership: Thrives in fast-paced, evolving environments, driving clarity and direction.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience managing site operations and cultivating a high-performing design community.

• Familiarity with or experience in designing for global regulatory contexts and compliance.

• Contributions to or experience with mature design systems.

• Experience in translating complex business logic into intuitive user interfaces.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "10+ years of professional product design experience, with 5+ years leading and managing design teams" combined with the specific domain experience (HCM/HRIS, enterprise software) indicates a senior-level role requiring seasoned leadership and strategic thinking. The emphasis on AI-native experiences highlights a forward-looking requirement.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase end-to-end product design leadership, demonstrating the ability to guide teams through complex problem spaces from conception to launch.

• Include case studies that highlight experience in designing for intricate enterprise domains, such as HCM, HRIS, or workforce management, emphasizing the solutions for complex operational or compliance challenges.

• Present examples of systems thinking, illustrating how you've designed for interconnected products or platforms and established scalable patterns or frameworks.

• Feature projects that demonstrate experience with AI-native or automation-driven product features, detailing the design process and impact of intelligent workflows or agentic systems.

• Provide evidence of your ability to mentor and develop designers, possibly through team project examples or descriptions of your leadership approach. Process Documentation:

• Case studies should clearly articulate the design process employed, including problem definition, research methodologies, ideation, prototyping, user testing, and collaboration with engineering and product.

• Highlight how you translated complex operational requirements (e.g., global HR policies, compliance rules) into simple, elegant user experiences.

• Demonstrate how you drove alignment and consistency across multiple product surfaces or systems.

• Include examples of how you have set and maintained a high bar for design craft and quality within your teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role of this seniority, the portfolio is critical. It needs to go beyond individual design contributions to showcase leadership, strategic thinking, and the ability to manage complex product ecosystems and teams. The emphasis on "systems thinking" and "AI-native experiences" should be evident in the case studies presented.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Sr. Product Design Manager role with significant leadership responsibilities and site lead duties in Bangalore, India, with 10+ years of experience, the estimated annual salary range would be INR 40,00,000 to INR 65,00,000. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for senior design leadership roles in major tech hubs in India, considering Rippling's positioning as a rapidly growing tech company. Factors influencing the final offer would include specific experience, interview performance, and the exact scope of responsibilities.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.

• Comprehensive health insurance coverage for employees and dependents.

• Generous paid time off (PTO), including vacation, sick leave, and holidays.

• Opportunities for professional development, including access to training, conferences, and