Principal Design Program Manager

About the Role

In this role you will drive program strategy and cross‑functional execution across Design, Research, Product, Engineering, and Analytics, establishing operating rhythms, standards, and best practices that support experience work without over‑processing. You will act as the integrative layer across disciplines, translating ambiguous goals and evolving scopes into clear program structures, priorities, success measures, and decision frameworks, while ensuring visibility, managing interdependencies, and escalating risks with clear trade‑offs. • Drive program strategy and cross‑functional execution for complex, experience‑centered initiatives across Design, Research, Product, Engineering, and Analytics. • Establish and model operating rhythms, standards, and best practices that support experience, research, and design work. • Serve as the integrative layer across disciplines, aligning, sequencing, and informing work as programs evolve. • Translate ambiguous goals, evolving scope, and diverse inputs into clear program structures, priorities, success measures, and decision frameworks. • Ensure cross‑program integration and visibility, identifying interdependencies, risks, and gaps, and escalating issues with clear options. • Synthesize complex information into executive‑ready recommendations to enable effective decision‑making. • Partner with senior leaders to maintain clarity on goals, progress, and readiness. • Drive continuous improvement of program management approaches, tools, and ways of working.

Key Responsibilities

• ▸program strategy
• ▸cross‑functional execution
• ▸operating rhythms
• ▸integration layer
• ▸risk management
• ▸tool improvement

What You Bring

Minimum qualifications include 8+ years of experience in program management, design operations, product operations, or experience‑focused transformation roles, a proven track record managing complex multi‑team programs, strong influencing skills without authority, deep knowledge of experience and research workflows, operational excellence, excellent communication, and familiarity with AI tools. Preferred qualifications feature experience scaling complex experience‑centered initiatives, a low‑ego high‑impact mindset, comfort thriving in ambiguity, systems‑thinking, partner management, and the ability to bring clarity to fast‑moving environments. • 8+ years of experience in program management, design operations, product operations, or experience‑focused transformation roles. • Proven track record managing complex, multi‑team programs spanning design, research, and product development. • Strong ability to influence without authority and align diverse senior stakeholders. • Deep understanding of experience and research workflows, including qualitative insight, synthesis, testing, and user journeys. • Demonstrated operational excellence and ability to create clarity without excessive process. • Excellent communication skills, translating complexity into actionable plans and executive updates. • Familiarity with and comfort using Artificial Intelligence tools and workflows. • Experience enabling complex experience‑centered initiatives at scale. • Low‑ego, high‑impact mindset measuring success by others' ability to deliver. • Ability to thrive in ambiguity and structure evolving problems without over‑constraining creativity. • Systems‑thinking view of experience work as an integrated whole. • Skilled at translating insight into coordinated action across multiple teams. • Comfortable managing external partners, production timelines, and evolving scopes. • Ability to bring clarity and continuity to fast‑moving, uncertain environments.

Requirements

• ▸8+ years
• ▸program management
• ▸ai tools
• ▸systems thinking
• ▸influencing
• ▸complex programs

Benefits

Autodesk offers a competitive compensation package that includes a base salary range for Canada, annual cash bonuses, stock grants, and comprehensive benefits. The company prides itself on a culture of belonging, diversity, and inclusion, encouraging candidates to join the talent community and contribute to building a better world.

Work Environment

Hybrid