Title – Freelance Design Operations Manager, Branded Retail Spaces
Location: Remote (Preference for Los Angeles, New York, Portland)
Hours: appx 20-25 hours per week
Employment Type: Freelance / Contract as a w2
The ideal candidate understands both the creative process and the realities of physical execution, bringing structure and rigor without slowing innovation.
About the Role
We are seeking a highly organized and collaborative Design Operations Manager to support a global retail brand. This is a unique opportunity for someone who thrives at the intersection of creative development, physical production, and program management.
This is not a traditional operations role. Instead, you’ll serve as an embedded partner to a creative design team, helping guide seasonal retail and brand environment initiatives from concept through execution. You’ll ensure projects stay on track across design development, prototyping, fabrication, engineering, and final delivery while balancing timelines, resources, and cross-functional priorities.
The ideal candidate understands both the creative process and the realities of physical execution, bringing structure and rigor without slowing innovation.
What You’ll Do
Program & Design Operations Management
- Manage multiple design workstreams supporting seasonal retail and brand environment initiatives.
- Develop and maintain project plans, timelines, workback schedules, and milestone tracking.
- Ensure projects progress efficiently from concept refinement through final execution.
- Identify risks, dependencies, and resource gaps, proactively driving solutions.
- Facilitate communication, documentation, and status reporting across stakeholders.
Creative Development & Physical Production
- Partner closely with design leadership to support concept development, prototyping, and engineering workflows.
- Coordinate reviews, approvals, revisions, and production readiness milestones.
- Collaborate with agencies, vendors, fabricators, and production partners to ensure deliverables remain on schedule.
- Help balance creative vision with practical execution considerations, including materials, fabrication methods, and build requirements.
Cross-Functional Coordination
- Connect design deliverables to broader retail marketing and go-to-market timelines.
- Ensure alignment across creative, operations, marketing, retail, and external partners.
- Lead project meetings, follow-ups, and workflow management to keep teams moving forward.
Resource & Budget Support
- Track agency, freelance, and vendor support across active projects.
- Monitor scope changes and resource needs.
- Provide visibility into project budgets and support operational governance throughout the design process.
What We’re Looking For
- 5+ years of experience in design operations, creative operations, project management, experiential marketing, retail design, environmental design, or physical production.
- Strong program or project management experience within a creative, design-led environment.
-
Experience managing projects involving physical spaces, retail environments, experiential activations, fabrication, or production.
- Understanding of design development processes, including prototyping, engineering handoff, fabrication, and execution.
- Ability to partner effectively with senior creative leaders while maintaining project rigor and accountability.
- Experience managing agencies, vendors, budgets, timelines, and complex stakeholder groups.
- Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
- Comfortable navigating ambiguity and shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Bachelor’s degree preferred.
Ideal Backgrounds Candidates may come from:
- Retail Design
- Brand Environments
- Experiential Marketing
- Environmental / Spatial Design
