Senior Design Manager

About the Team:

Grindr is an AI-native platform powering how millions of gay people connect globally. With 15M+ monthly users, 130B+ annual messages, and a team of fewer than 200, we move fast, stay lean, and tackle technical problems at a scale few companies ever see.

The Design team at Grindr punches well above its weight. Designers here work directly alongside product and engineering leadership, shaping what gets built and how it shows up for millions of users - not just executing against briefs handed down from above. This Design Manager role sits at the intersection of craft and culture: someone who brings the structural rigor and quality standards forged at scale, and the scrappy, high-ownership execution that only comes from building in a leaner environment.

This manager will support a strong team of 5-8 full time and contractor designers. They will manage core aspects of the Grindr app and help lead the charge on innovating with AI tools while improving quality. The opportunity is to build something that lasts - a design culture and operating model that makes every designer on the team better and every product decision sharper.

At Grindr, we operate in Grindr Mode. Moderately hardcore day to day, truly hardcore when it counts. It's about doing great work without burning out. Outcomes over outputs. Smart, driven people who raise your bar, with room to live full lives.

This is a hybrid role based in our San Francisco office and will require you to be in person Tuesdays and Thursdays.

About the Job:

- Lead and develop a team of product designers - setting a high craft bar, giving direct and actionable feedback, and creating the conditions for designers to do their best work

- Own the design quality and strategic direction for your product area, staying close enough to the work to make strong creative calls and credibly push back when the work isn't there yet

- Partner with product and engineering leadership to shape roadmap decisions up...