UX Programs and Operations Manager, Watch Software at Google

About the job

At Google, we follow a simple but vital premise: "Focus on the user and all else will follow." UX Programs & Operations at Google drive projects within our UX organizations by increasing communication and connection points, streamlining the UX design process, and driving a culture of user centered development.

Google User Experience (UX) is made up of multi-disciplinary teams of UX Designers, Researchers, Writers, Content Strategists, Program Managers, and Engineers: we care deeply about the people who use our products. The UX team plays an integral part in gathering insights about the attitudes, emotions, and behaviors of people who use our products to inspire and inform design. We collaborate closely with each other and with engineering and product management to create industry-leading products that deliver value for the people who use them, and for Google’s businesses.

As a UX Program Manager (UX Programs & Operations), you will combine expert project management skills with a passion for user experience to help your team improve the design of products that are used by billions of users. You’ll plan projects, define milestones, assess risks, create actionable insights, and ensure projects meet deadlines. You’ll harmonize the work of UX Designers, Researchers, Content Strategists, UX Engineers, and other UX disciplines, while also working closely with our Engineering and Product Manager cross-functional partners, to drive UX team objectives and create innovative experiences for our business, products, and users.

In this role, you will lead a UX team to drive outcomes across multiple projects in ambiguous, complex problem spaces. You will set team-level direction for your team and cross-functional partners.

Are you ready to shape the future of wearable technology and impact how millions of people experience wearables daily? Are you ready to empower developers building the apps that define this rapidly evolving device category? Help us with one of the most important challenges: designing for the most personal devices worn today by millions of users. The Wear OS team's mission is to effortlessly connect users with their health, loved ones, and the world around them, offering a seamless smartwatch experience with access to their favorite apps and services. We provide the core Android experience, tailored specifically for wearables. The age of wearable computing is upon us and Wear OS is at the forefront of creating a place for users, hardware manufacturers, and app developers to come together and help make lives simpler and more seamless.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $178,000-$265,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Set the aim for Wear OS UX operations by defining program controls, standards, and communication cadences across a globally distributed team.

• Contribute to the Feature Development Lifecycle, and integrate UX into the full end-to-end process. Streamline and manage UX launch approval criteria and educate first-party app teams on requirements.

• Lead biweekly sprint planning sessions, managing task hygiene and sprint cleanliness. Introduce and standardize capacity estimations, managing complex engineering dependencies and multi-project workstreams. Plan and coordinate design sprints that align stakeholders across the company.

• Own UX budget planning, forecasting, and tracking. Manage the full vendor lifecycle. Drive the adoption of hand-off documentation to increase efficiency and collaboration with Engineering partners.

• Identify and implement AI-powered tools and workflows to automate routine UX tasks, improve prototyping speed, or enhance research synthesis.

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.

• 8 years of experience in Program Management within a UX, Design Operations, or Product environment.

• 2 years of experience in a people management or team leadership role.

• Experience in Agile/Scrum methodologies and sprint planning tools (e.g., Jira, Buganizer).

Preferred qualifications

• 10 years of experience leading complex strategic and operational initiatives in a fast-moving tech environment.

• Experience with the product development lifecycle.

• Experience with budget forecasting and vendor operations (SOWs, POs), and leading across geographically distributed teams.

• Experience in leveraging AI tools to optimize design and program management workflows.

• Experience publishing internal process guidance and documentation, with excellent writing skills.

• Ability to establish trusted relationships and influence, and drive alignment across a set of product management and engineering stakeholders.