Manager, UX/UI Design - Fully Remote!

At KinderCare Learning Companies, the first and only early childhood education provider recognized with the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award, we offer a variety of early education and child care options for families. Whether it’s KinderCare Learning Centers, Champions, or Crème de la Crème, we build confidence for kids, families, and the future we share. And we want you to join us in shaping it—in neighborhoods, at work, and in schools nationwide.

Responsibilities

• Success in this role equates to well-oiled UX operation: clear expectations, healthy cross-functional relationships, proactive communication, consistent design quality, and predictable delivery with minimal escalation.

• UX Practice Leadership

  • Define and own UX ways of working across the product lifecycle, from discovery through delivery.
  • Establish clear expectations for UX deliverables at each phase (e.g., wireframes, low-fidelity designs, high-fidelity production designs).
  • Implement and facilitate structured design reviews to ensure quality, alignment, and clear definitions of “done”.
  • Brainstorm and socialize UX principles that guide design decisions across products.
  • Support 3–4 products, including customer-facing websites/portals and internal tools used by call center teams.

• Design Quality & Delivery

  • Ensure high-quality, development-ready design output across all supported products.
  • Lead all aspects of the translation of strategy and wireframes into pixel-perfect, production-ready designs, particularly for large initiatives such as website redesigns.
  • Serve as the final reviewer and approver for UX deliverables, including the design system.

• Cross-Functional Partnership

  • Proactively establish and maintain effective relationships with Product Managers and Engineering leaders.
  • Confidently challenge partners when UX quality, readiness, or user outcomes are at risk.
  • Clearly communicate the value and role of UX to collaborators in group and leadership settings.

• Planning, Prioritization & Operations

  • Own UX intake, prioritization, and backlog management in partnership with Digital Product Leadership.
  • Forecast UX capacity and bandwidth 1–3 months ahead and set realistic delivery expectations.
  • Be accountable for delivery predictability, not just design output.

• People Management & Team Culture

  • Directly lead and develop 2+ full-time UX designers, including coaching, feedback, and performance management.
  • Foster a positive team culture that supports engagement, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Design System Management

  • Serve as the internal owner of the design system, with final approval authority over changes and usage; own the relationship, prioritization, and governance model with a third-party design agency.
  • Ensure consistent application of the design system across products.

Skills

• 5+ years of experience in UX, product design, or related fields.
• Prior experience managing designers and leading a UX practice or function.
• Proven ability to define and operationalize UX processes in a product-driven environment.
• Strong facilitation and communication skills, especially in cross-functional and stakeholder settings.
• Comfort owning decisions, setting direction, and challenging partners constructively.
• Experience delivering high-fidelity, development-ready designs in collaboration with engineering teams.

Benefits

• 🧒 Know your whole family is supported with discounted child care benefits.
• 🩺 Breathe easy with medical, dental, and vision benefits for your family (and pets, too!).
• 🧠 Feel supported in your mental health and personal growth with employee assistance programs.
• 💪 Feel great and thrive with access to health and wellness programs, paid time off and discounts for work necessities, such as cell phones.