Senior Director - Product & Design Operations

WHAT MAKES US, US 

Join some of the most innovative thinkers in FinTech as we lead the evolution of financial technology. If you are an innovative, curious, collaborative person who embraces challenges and wants to grow, learn and pursue outcomes with our prestigious financial clients, say Hello to SimCorp!   

At its foundation, SimCorp is guided by our values — caring, customer success-driven, collaborative, curious, and courageous. Our people-centered organization focuses on skills development, relationship building, and client success. We take pride in cultivating an environment where all team members can grow, feel heard, valued, and empowered.  

If you like what we’re saying, keep reading!  

WHY THIS ROLE IS IMPORTANT FOR US 

The Senior Director of Product & Design Operations is a foundational leader responsible for implementing, scaling, and sustaining the product management and design operating models defined in SimCorp’s Enterprise Product Management Playbook. 

As we continue to grow and evolve our product organization, success depends not only on strategy, but on operational excellence: the systems, rituals, tooling, standards, and shared ways of working that help teams execute with clarity, consistency, and speed at enterprise scale. 

This role ensures that: 

• Product managers have purpose-built tooling for discovery, prioritization, roadmapping, dependency management, and stakeholder communication. 
• Product and Design operating models are translated from playbooks into daily practice. 
• Teams use clear, repeatable workflows and high-quality artifacts, with cross-functional alignment and executive-ready visibility. 

The Senior Director partners closely with the CPO, Head of Experience Design, and Head of Strategic Product Enablement to turn intent into execution and ensure the organization operates as designed. 

WHAT YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR 

Product Management Tooling Ownership & Enablement 

• Own implementation, configuration, and continuous evolution of SimCorp’s product management tooling ecosystem enabling end-to-end product management from strategy and discovery through delivery and communication. 
• Ensure integration between product tools and downstream execution systems, preserving strategic context while enabling execution. 
• Drive consistent, high-quality adoption through training, documentation, office hours, and direct support

Product & Design Operating Model (Tools, Rituals & Artifacts) 

• Translate the Enterprise Product Management Playbook and Design Operating Model from as-designed into daily practice, implemented through shared tooling, rituals, workflows, and artifacts. 
• Define and maintain the operational backbone in tools (templates, fields, workflows, dashboards, and reporting) that makes the operating model easy to execute and hard to drift from. 
• Partner with Product and Design leadership to run consistent, tool-supported cadences across teams: planning and prioritization, roadmap/portfolio reviews, PDLC rituals, and launch readiness. 
• Ensure high-quality, consistent artifacts are stored in the system of record (e.g., roadmaps, prioritization outputs, dependency views, design documentation) to enable cross-functional alignment and executive-ready visibility. 
• Strengthen design operations in a way that supports creative excellence, including effective design critiques, design-to-engineering handoffs, and clear review criteria. 

Governance, Standards & Quality 

• Establish standards for product and design artifacts, and embed them into tooling via templates, definitions, required fields, and quality checks. 
• Set up governance and decision forums with clear inputs/outputs and tool-based reporting, balancing team autonomy with enterprise alignment and scale. 
• Instrument the operating model: monitor quality and adoption (e.g., completeness, consistency, timeliness) and continuously improve workflows based on real usage and outcomes. 

Change Management & Adoption 

• Lead change and adoption of tools, processes, and operating models through influence, enablement, and trust. 
• Anticipate resistance and complexity; address it through clear communication, well-planned rollouts, and close partnership with teams
• Measure adoption and effectiveness, iterating based on feedback and outcomes over rigid process adherence.  

WHAT WE VAL