Manager - Operations - Studio Manager ( LY -OP02)

Role Overview

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain a live view of every designer's allocation, utilization, and availability across all active client projects.
• Work with the Director of UX and the Project Management team to staff projects with the right people at the right time, balancing skills, growth needs, and workload.
• Flag over-allocation, under-utilization, and burnout risks early; propose rebalancing before they become problems.
• Plan capacity ahead of incoming work and support hiring forecasts with utilization data.

• Own the team's HR-admin rhythm in coordination with central HR: leaves, attendance, approvals, and documentation for the design team.
• Run smooth onboarding for new designers (accounts, tools, buddy assignment, 30-60-90 day plans) and structured, respectful offboarding with knowledge handover.
• Schedule and track one-on-ones between leads and team members; make sure they actually happen and follow-ups are closed.

• Drive the performance review cycle end-to-end: timelines, templates, reminders, calibration logistics, and documentation.
• Track goals, feedback, and development plans so nothing waits for the next review cycle to be noticed.
• Support leads with data and structure for promotion cases, improvement plans, and skill-gap mapping.

• Build and continuously improve internal processes: allocation trackers, leave workflows, review templates, onboarding checklists.
• Manage design-team tooling and licenses (Figma seats, plugins, research tools) and coordinate procurement.
• Organize team rituals—reviews, retros, knowledge-sharing sessions, team events—and keep internal documentation current.
• Be the first point of contact for designers' operational questions, handled with empathy and discretion.

Requirements

• 2–4 years in design operations, studio/team operations, program coordination, people operations, or a similar role, ideally in an agency, studio, or services environment.
• Demonstrated experience with resource/bandwidth planning or team coordination at 20+ people scale.
• Strong organizational skills, follow-through, and comfort owning recurring processes end-to-end.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to work with senior leadership, leads, and junior designers alike.
• Proficiency with productivity and resourcing tools (e.g., ClickUp, Sheets or similar resource planners, HRMS tools).
• High empathy, discretion, and sound judgment—you'll handle sensitive people matters.

• A formal education or working background in design (B.Des or hands-on design experience). We're looking for someone who understands the dynamics of creative teams. While a design background isn't mandatory, a strong appreciation of how designers work, what creative problem-solving demands, and why a designer's calendar shouldn't be managed like an accountant's is essential.
• Familiarity with design tools and workflows (Figma, design systems, research processes).
• Experience in a design agency or creative services firm.

What This Role Is Not

• Not a client-facing role — client servicing and project coordination sit with our PM team.
• Not a hands-on design role — though design literacy is a real advantage.
• Not an HR role — you'll work closely with the HR team, but your home is inside the design team.
• Not Project Management — our Project Management team owns client servicing, client communication, and project coordination.

Why This Role Matters