Manager, Product Design

Job Summary

Cambridge Investment Research is seeking a Manager, Product Design to lead, scale, and mature Product Design as a strategic enterprise capability within Cambridge’s Product Operating Model. This leader will manage and develop the Product Design team, serve as a key member of the Product Strategy leadership team, establish the standards and operating rhythms that enable high-quality product discovery, and strengthen the partnership between Product, Design, Engineering, Data, Operations, Compliance, and business stakeholders.

This player‑coach role dedicates approximately 60–70% to team leadership, design strategy, governance, stakeholder influence, and capability building, and 30–40% to hands‑on discovery, journey framing, design reviews, experience storytelling, and high‑impact initiatives.

Lead Product Design as an enterprise capability aligned to Cambridge’s product taxonomy, portfolio priorities, product operating model, and enterprise product strategy. Set the vision, standards, and operating expectations for interaction design, visual design, information architecture, service design, usability, accessibility, research quality, and design governance. Strengthen Product, Design, and Engineering partnership by clarifying decision rights, promoting shared accountability for outcomes, and improving product triad effectiveness.

Advance the shift from late‑stage design handoffs to continuous discovery, evidence-based decision‑making, and outcome‑oriented product development. Build and improve Design Ops practices for intake, capacity planning, prioritization, design rituals, review processes, operational metrics, and governance. Represent Product Design in product strategy discussions and provide leadership‑level guidance on customer experience quality, product discovery, and design maturity.

Lead, mentor, and develop Product Designers while setting clear expectations for design craft, collaboration, discovery, accountability, and measurable product impact. Build career frameworks, competency models, coaching practices, growth paths, succession plans, and future design leadership capability. Recruit, hire, onboard, retain, and develop high‑performing design professionals who can operate effectively in a regulated, product‑led environment. Create a team culture focused on quality, customer outcomes, learning, inclusion, accountability, and strong cross‑functional partnership.

Guide performance management, workload planning, and team effectiveness while ensuring designers are focused on the highest‑value product priorities.

Partner with Product, Engineering, Data, Operations, Compliance, and business stakeholders to translate customer insights, workflow needs, and business priorities into practical product direction. Facilitate alignment with senior stakeholders through clear framing of customer problems, opportunity areas, trade‑offs, experience principles, and recommended product direction. Use design reviews, discovery readouts, experience narratives, and executive‑ready recommendations to improve decision quality and build confidence in product direction.

Serve as a change leader who can influence adoption of product operating model practices, design standards, research methods, and stronger discovery habits across teams.

Provide hands‑on design leadership for strategic, complex, ambiguous, or high‑priority product initiatives where senior judgment and facilitation are needed. Lead or guide discovery workshops, journey maps, service blueprints, workflow models, concepts, prototypes, usability tests, and research synthesis when the work requires leadership‑level involvement. Model strong design practices through targeted participation in product discovery, customer validation, design critiques, and executive‑ready experience storytelling.

Ensure design artifacts are decision‐ready, evidence‑based, accessible, and aligned to customer outcomes, compliance…