At Lyft, our mission is to connect our customers to the people, places, and moments that matter most to them.

Lyft is seeking a Director, Design Foundations to oversee our three core central design functions: design systems, content design, and design operations. Design Foundations, as a central team, is responsible for defining the patterns of our UI and interaction language, product voice and tone, and design program management that all of our teams across Lyft rely on to build the end user features that define the Lyft experience and brand. The leader we’re looking for will lead this central team to deliver a consistent, accessible, and branded experience for all of our customers. They will provide technical and creative direction to guide their team’s output as well as work closely with cross-organizational partners to shape the future of transportation as experienced through our products.

This leader will also chair the Design Functional Excellence council at Lyft, composed of senior design leaders across Lyft, with a mission to define quality and craft excellence for all design teams across the company. The functional excellence group will build the rituals and practices to deliver on these expectations, and will nurture a strong and supportive design community.

99% of the Lyft experience takes place in the real world and it’s critical you know how to think beyond the pixel. As a qualified candidate, you bring deep experience building elegant, beloved products, a sharp eye for detail, and the vision to push boundaries and shape what comes next. You can inspire a team and drive action. You have experience leading teams designing for online and offline. Your work demonstrates customer obsession while delivering meaningful business impact.

You must be a proven design leader, an excellent communicator, a seasoned collaborator, and a cross-functional, cross-organizational team player that can thrive in a very fast-paced, dynamic working environment. You are comfortable working closely with passionate designers, product managers, engineers, scientists, marketers, and executives that care deeply about creating beautiful, high-impact products.

We’re intent on changing the world by delivering exceptional products that make transportation easy, safe and joyful for everyone and we are excited to find the right design leader to join us on this journey.

Responsibilities:

• Own and shape the design system and design standards that define the Lyft product experience
• Lead, mentor, and inspire a multi-disciplinary team of 30+ including systems-focused product designers, content designers, and program managers
• Push the boundaries of your team’s execution. Foster creativity to explore divergent concepts and create a trajectory for the company
• Provide technical and creative direction that supports and elevates the quality of the work and design system
• Own and drive the design project lifecycle from strategic planning, scheduling, requirements gathering, design reviews, delivery and implementation to launch
• Lead the team to define and deliver the step-change processes and tools that enable effective team workflows and collaboration
• Partner closely with Marketing to bring the brand to life through the design system and content guidelines
• Chair the cross-org Design Functional Excellence Council to drive design excellence broadly across Lyft, continuing to elevate our (already) strong design community within Lyft and a strong design reputation outside of Lyft
• Collaborate, communicate, and negotiate with other design leaders, product managers, engineers and stakeholders at all levels across the organization
• Lead quarterly planning and prioritization with cross-functional teams, balancing multiple inputs and needs
• Provide up to date visibility into current projects, team utilization, project health and priorities
• Manage the resource allocation within Central Design and across partner teams
• Build relationships with cross-functional team members and executives across organizations, and effectively speak to process, design goals, and team vision

Experience:

• 10+ years of applied product design management experience with a track record of delivering high-quality user experiences
• Technical understanding and execution of UX design and general design principles and best practices
• Experience leading and mentoring multi-disciplinary teams of design professionals
• A passion for design, design process, and design management
• Proven ability to manage workflows, project plans and ship high quality design
• A ‘big picture’ approach in helping establish, support, and engage teams, while still managing the details
• Great communication skills, written and verbal, with a diverse group of stakeholders
• Attention to detail with borderline obsessive organizational skills
• Relevant understanding and appreciation of current product design processes and systems
• Comfortable with ambiguity and malleable workflows
• Strong conflict resolution and negotiation skills
• Resilience and equanimity in dealing with change, challenges and adversity
• Proactive in seeking opportunities to improve and expand team, personal skills and experience
• Knowledge of accessibility best practices and industry standards

Benefits:

• Great medical, dental, and vision insurance options with additional programs available when enrolled
• Mental health benefits
• Family building benefits
• Child care and pet benefits
• 401(k) plan to help save for your future
• In addition to 12 observed holidays, salaried team members have discretionary paid time off, hourly team members have 15 days paid time off
• 18 weeks of paid parental leave. Biological, adoptive, and foster parents are all eligible
• Subsidized commuter benefits
• Lyft Pink - Lyft team members get an exclusive opportunity to test new benefits of our Ridership Program

Lyft is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace that fosters belonging. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by law. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.

Lyft highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. This role will be in-office on a hybrid schedule — Team Members will be expected to work in the office 3 days per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Lyft considers working in the office at least 3 days per week to be an essential function of this hybrid role. Your recruiter can share more information about the various in-office perks Lyft offers. Additionally, hybrid roles have the flexibility to work from anywhere for up to 4 weeks per year. #Hybrid

The expected base pay range for this position in the San Francisco area is $203,000 - $253,750. In addition to the base pay, this role is eligible for competitive equity awards, bonuses, and benefits. You can read more about Lyft’s employee benefits here. [https://www.lyft.com/careers/life-at-lyft]

Total compensation is dependent on a variety of factors, including qualifications, experience, and geographic location. Your recruiter can share more information about the salary range specific to your working location and other factors during the hiring process.