Senior Design Operations Specialist - Enterprise Digital

This is a remote position that may only be hired in North Carolina.

We are seeking a Senior Design Operations Specialist to play a critical, hands-on leadership role in defining and scaling the operational strategy for the enterprise digital design organization. You will partner directly with design managers and leaders to ensure the design team is operating at peak efficiency, clarity, and is in good morale. In this role you will be responsible for coordinating work across the design team on cross-functional initiatives, optimizing and standardizing design processes for design excellence, coordinate design risk mitigation, and managing the systems that enable our designers, content strategists, and researchers to focus on high-impact creative work.

This role is a high-level, strategic position focused on scaling the efficiency, impact, and quality of the design organization. This individual acts as a key thought partner to design leadership and is responsible for defining and driving the operational strategy across the enterprise digital design team.

Why you'll thrive here:

If you're a self-starter who is an advocate for the design process and care deeply about all details that enable great end-to-end experiences. This is the right place for you.

As the digital design center of excellence, we support multiple brands with varying segments of users across the bank, giving you the chance to shape experiences for a wide variety of users and business contexts through your support of designers. You'll find that on our team, we foster a design culture of trust, safety, fun and community because we believe that kind of environment will enable all of us to do our best work.

We are looking for team members with a learning mindset, who can jump right in, collaborate with cross-functional partners and are excited to learn and help us evolve how design is engaging and working. You embrace ambiguity, thrive in complexity, and have ability to adapt through change.

1. Strategic planning and execution (25%)

• Function as trusted advisor and strategic thought partner to design leadership, assisting in the development and execution of the design organization's long-term vision and operational plan.

• Participate in the annual and quarterly business planning process for the design team, including objective setting, budgeting, resource forecasting, and portfolio prioritization in collaboration with product, engineering, and strategy.

• Identify, scope, and drive strategic operational design projects that simplify complexity and scale the design function across the entire company.

• Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational metrics to measure the health, efficiency, and impact of the design team and its processes.

2. Workflow and process optimization (25%)

• Analyze, redesign, and implement scalable, standardized design workflows, practices, and playbooks (e.g., Project intake, design review, handoff, and documentation) to enhance consistency and productivity.

• Own and manage the governance of core design operations functions, such as the tool evaluation/implementation (e.g., Figma, research tools) and knowledge sharing systems.

• Drive continuous improvement by identifying bottlenecks, managing ambiguity, and implementing solutions to unblock design teams.

• Collaborate with risk in coordinating the execution of mitigation plans for identify risks relevant to digital design.

3. Resource and Project Portfolio Management (25%)

• Oversee high-level resource allocation and capacity planning for large, complex portfolios of work, ensuring the right talent is aligned to the most critical business priorities.

• Collaborate with product managers and design managers to maintain a clear, up-to-date view of overall portfolio health, risks, and dependencies.

• Work with design leadership to identify and coordinate skill development to ensure the team has the talents needed.

4. Communication and Culture (25%)

• Oversee high-level resource allocation and capacity planning for large, complex portfolios of work, ensuring the right talent is aligned to the most critical business priorities.

• Collaborate with product managers and design managers to maintain a clear, up-to-date view of overall portfolio health, risks, and dependencies.

• Work with design leadership to identify and coordinate skill development to ensure the team has the talents needed.

Bachelor's Degree and 8 years of experience in User Experience (UX) OR High School Diploma or GED and 12 years of experience in User Experience (UX)

Core Competencies:

• Critical Thinking Skills (Advanced, Required)
• Communication Skills (verbal / written) (Advanced, Required)
• Analytical Skills - Data (Advanced, Required)
• Organization Skills (Advanced, Required)
• Interpersonal Skills (Advanced, Required)
• Adaptability (Advanced, Required)
• Attention to detail (Advanced, Required)

Position Specific Skills:

• Advanced UX strategy and design thinking (Advanced, Required)

• Digital design, user experience, Information Architecture, and interaction design (Advanced, Required)

• Wireframing & rapid prototyping tools and skills (e.g., Axure, Figma) (Advanced, Required)

• Advanced user research methodologies and data analytics (Advanced, Required)

• Design thinking and human-centered design methodologies (Advanced, Required)

• Enterprise Design systems and scalable design solutions (Advanced, Required)

• Stakeholder management and influence (Advanced, Required)

• Emerging technologies, digital trends, and their impact on UX (Advanced, Required)

• Agile development methodologies and practices (Advanced, Required)

• Accessible and inclusive design practices (Advanced, Required)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in design operations

• Experience scaling design systems, research operations, or content operations.

• Strong system-thinking approach, with the ability to see how individual projects connect to the larger organizational and business strategy.

• Proficiency with JIRA and Confluence for partnering with developers and product partners.

• Resiliency and soft skills to communicate respectfully when challenging assumptions and tactful style when receiving feedback, adapting work and designs to the needs and constraints of the business.

• Ability to effectively adjust communication and storytelling of design decisions to various levels of product, design, and business leadership.

• Excellent cross-functional collaboration, communication, and workshop facilitation skills to develop alignment with and between stakeholders to then execute on aligned roadmaps with quality and speed.

Benefits are an integral part of total rewards and First Citizens Bank is committed to providing a competitive, thoughtfully designed and quality benefits program to meet the needs of our associates. More information can be found at https://jobs.firstcitizens.com/benefits.