Manager, Product Design

Why project44

At project44, we believe in better.

We challenge the status quo because we know a better supply chain isnt just possible—its essential. Better for our customers. Better for their business. Better for the world.

With our Decision Intelligence Platform, Movement, were redefining how global supply chains operate. By transforming fragmented logistics data into real-time, AI-powered insights, we empower companies to connect instantly, see clearly, act decisively, and automate intelligently. Our Supply Chain AI enhances visibility, drives smarter execution, and unlocks next-gen applications that keep businesses moving forward.

Headquartered in Chicago, IL with a 2nd HQ in Bengaluru, India we are powered by a diverse global team that is tackling the toughest logistics challenges with innovation, urgency, and purpose.

AI at project44

We expect every project44 team member, regardless of role or function, to actively leverage AI in their day-to-day work. Whether youre building product, serving customers, managing people, or running operations, AI is a tool youre expected to use with intent, curiosity, and judgment. We dont expect everyone to be a data scientist. We do expect everyone to be an intelligent user of AI: able to identify where it adds value, direct it effectively, evaluate outputs critically, and govern it responsibly. We invest in our teams AI fluency because we believe its a competitive advantage for every person at project44, not just our engineers.

If youre driven to solve meaningful problems, leverage AI to scale rapidly, drive impact daily, and be part of a high-performance team – we should talk.

About the Role:

We are seeking a Product Design Manager to lead and grow our Product Design team in Bengaluru. This is a player-coach role: youll spend part of your time managing and developing a team of designers, and part of your time as a hands-on practitioner, designing intuitive, elegant, and scalable experiences across our platform.

Youll participate in creating the design vision and hold the quality bar for your team while directly owning design work on key initiatives—from discovery and research through prototyping, visual design, and delivery. Youre as comfortable giving feedback in a design review as you are opening Figma yourself. Youll work closely with Product, Engineering, and other cross-functional partners in India and globally to drive clarity, alignment, and innovation across the product lifecycle, while building a strong, high-performing design team on the ground in Bengaluru.

Responsibilities:

People & Team Leadership

• Manage and mentor a team of product designers based in India, including hiring, performance management, and career development.
• Set clear goals and quality standards for the team, and give regular, actionable feedback through critiques and 1:1s.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive team culture, and represent the India design team within the global Product Design org and the broader company.
• Partner with design leadership, product, and engineering to plan team capacity, prioritize work across initiatives, and spot growth opportunities for team members.
• Build strong relationships with cross-functional peers, communicating proactively and consistently.

Hands-On Design (Player)

• Lead design initiatives from discovery to delivery across multiple product surfaces, personally owning end-to-end design for key projects.
• Translate complex systems into intuitive, elegant experiences for a diverse set of users.
• Conduct or guide user research and usability testing to inform and validate design decisions.
• Contribute to and evolve our design system to ensure consistency and scalability.

Cross-Functional Impact

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align on goals, define problems, and co-create solutions.
• Advocate for design excellence and user-centric thinking across the organization.
• Act as a key design partner and voice for the Bengaluru team within global product and engineering planning.

Qualifications:

• Experience: 10+ years in product design
• Player-Coach Mindset: Youre energized by both hands-on craft and developing people—you dont see management as a step away from design, but as an extension of raising the bar for it.
• Craft: You set a high bar for visual and interaction design, and your work is seen as a benchmark by peers and your team.
• People Management: You have experience hiring, managing, coaching, and giving feedback to designers, and youre skilled at balancing team development with delivery pressure.
• Systems Thinking: Youre comfortable designing for complex, interconnected systems and understand how to scale design across products and teams.
• Collaboration: You thrive in cross-functional teams and are skilled at building alignment across disciplines and geographies.
• User-Centered: You ground your work and your teams work in research and data, and youre passionate about solving real user problems.
• Ownership: Youre proactive, self-directed, and excited to take initiative in a fast-paced environment.
• AI Fluency: You have experience designing AI-powered features or workflows, and understand how to make machine learning and automation feel intuitive, transparent, and valuable to users.
• In-office Commitment: Our office is where ideas spark, connections thrive, and innovation comes alive. The expectation is to be on-site, in office five days a week as this offers the chance to immerse yourself in the energy of the office and collaborate with your co-workers. Together, were building something extraordinary—learn, grow, and thrive in our fast-paced, transformative environment.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience managing a design team in a global or distributed organization, partnering with leaders and peers across time zones.
• Experience designing enterprise or B2B SaaS products.
• Familiarity with logistics, supply chain, or data-heavy platforms.
• Experience building, scaling, or maintaining a design system.

Diversity & Inclusion

At project44, were designing the future of how the world moves and is connected through trade and global supply chains. As we work to deliver a truly world-class product and experience, we are also intentionally building teams that reflect the unique communities we serve. Were focused on creating a company where all team members can bring their authentic selves to work every day.

Were building a company that every one of us at project44 is proud to work for, and our journey of becoming a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization, where all have a sense of belonging, is shaped through the actions of our leadership, global teams and individual team members. We are resolute in our belief that each team member has an equal responsibility to mold and uphold our culture.

project44 is an equal opportunity employer seeking to enrich our work environment by creating opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds and experiences to thrive. If you share our values and our passion for helping the way the world moves, wed love to review your application!