The Visual Studio (VS) Code team in the Developer Division at Microsoft is seeking a Principal Design Manager to lead and manage a dedicated team of designers focused on VS Code, guiding and mentoring them to deliver world-class experiences for a passionate community of developers.
Requirements
- Fluency in basic web fundamentals (semantic and accessible HTML, CSS variables, progressive enhancement, modern vanilla JavaScript, and web components).
- Fluency in artificial intelligence, including agents and multi-component platforms (MCP) and a growth mindset to stay up to date on the latest advancements and best practices in the AI domain.
- Experience creating interactive prototypes.
- Experience working in an engineering sprint-based environment.
- 3+ years of experience in VS Code, GitHub, and other development tools.
- 5+ years experience designing products in a technical product space.
- 6+ years or relevant experience in product design, a design consultancy, agency, or other environment where you’ve worked on multidisciplinary design teams.
Responsibilities
- Lead and mentor a team of designers focused on improving the user experience of VS Code.
- Help guide the vision of AI-native experiences that closes the gap from idea to testable concepts.
- Collaborate closely with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to define and execute product and design strategy.
- Drive the creation of interactive prototypes to validate design concepts and user flows.
- Ensure design consistency and accessibility across all features and extensions of VS Code.
- Advocate for the developer experience and bring user-centered design thinking to every stage of product development.
- Contribute to sprint planning and agile development cycles with a focus on delivering high-quality design outcomes.
Other
- Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 6+ years experience working in product or service design
- 3+ years people management experience.
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements
- Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 8+ years experience working in product or service design
- Equivalent experience.
