Staff Design Program Manager

Changing the world through digital experiences is what Adobe's all about. We give everyone-from emerging artists to global brands-everything they need to design and deliver exceptional digital experiences! We're passionate about empowering people to create beautiful and powerful images, videos, and apps, and transform how companies interact with customers across every screen.

Our goal is to hire the very best and we are committed to crafting outstanding employee experiences where everyone is respected and has access to equal opportunity. We realize that new ideas can come from everywhere in the organization, and we know the next big idea could be yours!

We are looking for a Staff Design Program Manager to join our team and provide immediate impact to the Customer Experience Orchestration design team within the broader Adobe Design team. In this role, you will lead complex, cross-functional initiatives that scale design execution and impact across teams and products. You will shape how design partners with product, engineering, and business leadership to deliver world-class experiences at scale. This role is strategic and action-focused - combining operational excellence, influence without authority, and deep organizational insight.

Success performing these duties requires the ability to establish relationships and build rapport across teams, as well as to negotiate and influence cross-functional teams and leadership effectively. A successful Staff Design Program Manager demonstrates deep application/platform and design knowledge in combination with business and project management domain expertise to drive successful programs.

End-to-End Program Leadership

• Lead multi-team, cross-functional design programs from discovery through delivery.
• Define program goals, key achievements, success metrics, and risk plans.
• Coordinate dependencies across design, product, engineering, research, and other functions.

Strategy, Planning & Prioritization

• Partner with design and business leadership to align design deliverables to organizational goals.
• Drive prioritization frameworks to focus effort on highest-impact opportunities.
• Balance long-term critical initiatives with near-term delivery needs.

Operational Excellence & Enablement

• Build and refine processes that improve velocity, predictability, and clarity.
• Standardize guidelines for planning, tracking, and reporting for build org work.
• Identify and remove cross-org blockers.

Collaborator Partnering & Influence

• Act as a central connective tissue between design, product management, engineering, and business teams.
• Influence decisions without direct authority through clear communication and relationship building.
• Translate complex strategy into actionable plans.

Metrics, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Define, track, and report key performance indicators for design programs.
• Conduct retrospectives and incorporate takeaways into future programs.
• Surface insights and trends that inform planning and investment decisions.

Mentorship & Leadership

• Coach program managers and peers on program execution practices.
• Advocate for operational excellence and evolving ways of working.
• Represent the design org in cross-functional leadership discussions.

You will be successful in this position if you:

• Deliver cross-org design initiatives reliably and with measurable business impact.
• Cultivate trust and collaboration across teams and collaborators.
• Surface issues early and drive pragmatic resolution paths.
• Enable design teams to focus on craft while minimizing friction.
• Improve the organization's ability to plan, implement, and learn.

• Bachelor's degree and/or an advanced degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• 10+ years of applicable background in a build and technology environment.
• Demonstrated delivery of large-scale programs and projects within a large internal design team.
• Strong conflict resolution and negotiation skills with a proven capacity to lead in an environment of ambiguity with a diverse range of partners.
• Talent for developing relationships, building rapport, and influencing cross-functional teams and leadership.
• A passion to have an influential role with the product and engineering team as a driver for design process and product strategy, communicating design ideas persuasively and concisely to all functions of the organization, including executives.
• Working knowledge of Adobe Workfront, Jira, and AI Tools (Cursor, Claude and Replit) is highly desired.
• Strong verbal, presentation, and written communication skills.
• A love for fun while getting things done! We have a strong culture of collaboration that embraces sharing opinions but always underscored by kindness.

About Adobe

Adobe empowers everyone to create through innovative platforms and tools that unleash creativity, productivity and personalized customer experiences. Adobe's industry-leading offerings including Adobe Acrobat Studio, Adobe Express, Adobe Firefly, Creative Cloud, Adobe Experience Platform, Adobe Experience Manager, and GenStudio enable people and businesses to turn ideas into impact, powered by AI and driven by human ingenuity.

Our 30,000+ employees worldwide are creating the future and raising the bar as we drive the next decade of growth. We're on a mission to hire the very best and believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. At Adobe, we believe that great ideas can come from anywhere in the organization. The next big idea could be yours.

Let's Adobe together

At Adobe, we believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. Learn more about Adobe life, including our values and culture, focus on people, purpose and community, Adobe for All, comprehensive benefits programs, the stories we tell, the customers we serve, and how you can help us advance our mission of empowering everyone to create.

Adobe is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Learn more.

Adobe aims to make our Careers website and recruiting process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, email accommodations@adobe.com or call +1 408-536-3015.

AI Use Guidelines for Interviews:
Our interviews are designed to reflect your own skills and thinking. The use of AI or recording tools during live interviews is not permitted unless explicitly invited by the interviewer or approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation. If these tools are used inappropriately or in a way that misrepresents your work, your application may not move forward in the process.

At Adobe, we empower employees to innovate with AI - and we look for candidates eager to do the same. As part of the hiring experience, we provide clear guidance on where AI is encouraged during the process and where it's restricted during live interviews. See how we think about AI in the hiring experience.

Expected Pay Range:

At Adobe, for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC = base + commission), and short-term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans. Non-sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short-term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).

In addition, certain roles may be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.

State-Specific Notices:

California:

Fair Chance Ordinances

Adobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.

Colorado:

Application Window Notice

If this role is open to hiring in Colorado (as listed on the job posting), the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time, in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location, no specific application window applies, and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.

Massachusetts:

Massachusetts Legal Notice

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.