Product Design Manager - Design Systems and Operations - Hawthorn East

We’ve been trusted to serve Aussie communities since 1914 and grown to become a top 30-listed on the ASX with over 115,000 team members and a portfolio of iconic brands. At Coles Group, you’ll not only get to make a difference to millions of Aussie lives—you’ll also get to see your impact.

About the team

As shopping continues to evolve, our Digital team keeps us at the cutting edge, making us more accessible, more innovative, and better connected than ever before. Driven by our innovative, inclusive, and forward-thinking culture, we create differentiated, omni-channel experiences for customers and build the next generation of digital retailing.

About the role

As the Design Manager for Design Systems and Operations at Coles Group, you will lead and mentor a team of product designers, driving the creation and evolution of our design systems. Your focus will be on developing scalable, consistent, and accessible design solutions across various products and platforms, ensuring they meet customer needs and align with business objectives. You will champion operational excellence within product teams to enhance the customer experience and establish efficient design workflows that promote collaboration and the reuse of components. Working closely with engineering and cross-functional teams, you will ensure that design systems are not only usable but also aligned with technical constraints. Advocating for continuous improvement, design innovation, and accessibility, you will leverage user research and design thinking methodologies to optimize processes and ensure alignment with organizational strategies and goals.

About you and your skills

• Proven experience in building and scaling design systems for complex organisations, with a focus on consistency and scalability.
• Deep understanding of responsive, mobile-first design, and accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG 2.0/2.1), with experience ensuring compliance in designs.
• Demonstrated ability to drive collaboration between design, product, and engineering teams to deliver impactful outcomes.
• Skilled in facilitating workshops, design critiques, and fostering team growth and development.
• Experience managing stakeholder relationships, ensuring alignment of design strategies with business and customer needs.
• Expertise in design tools such as Figma and proficiency in Agile methodologies.

You'll also have

• 5+ years of experience as a Product Designer, UX Designer, or a similar role, with strong expertise in creating and managing design systems and design operations.
• 2+ years in a leadership or management role, leading teams of designers (3+ people), preferably within SaaS, e-commerce, or B2C environments.

About the recruitment process

We’re continuing to build a gender equitable team, and a culture that is just as diverse, inclusive and welcoming as the communities we serve. We are committed to creating a workplace that is safe and respectful for our team. We encourage applications from people of all ages, cultures (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples), abilities, sexual orientation and gender identities.

We’re happy to adjust our recruitment process to support candidates with disability. For further information and additional contact details visit the ‘Our Recruitment Process’ section of our careers site or email inclusionrecruitment@coles.com.au

Job ID: 134533

Employment Type: Full time

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