Design Operations Manager

About Kiln:

Kiln is a flex office and lifestyle brand. We deliver an exceptional experience that elevates the performance and lifestyle of our members through an ecosystem of people, products, places, and spaces.

Kiln launched in 2018 with locations in Salt Lake City and Lehi, Utah. Today, we’ve grown to 21 hubs across the Mountain West, and we’re just getting started. As a leader in the flex‑office movement, Kiln is shaping the future of hybrid work in the evolving landscape of commercial real estate.

• Human at the core
• Achieve & Celebrate Together
• Thoughtful and with Purpose
• Always Evolving
• Nothing short of Extraordinary
• Scrappy & Ingenious

Our mission is to change the world within the workplace, elevating the quality of life for our members and enabling teams to build in new and creative ways. Our community lifts individuals, facilitates learning, and is creating a collective that is capable of things we cannot imagine.

The Design Operations Manager is responsible for the day‑to‑day operational planning, coordination, and delivery of Kiln’s interior design projects across multiple locations. This role sits between the design team, project management, construction partners, and the wider Kiln business, ensuring that projects are well planned, appropriately resourced, and delivered on time, on budget, and to Kiln’s design standards.

The Design Operations Manager is not a creative director, but a hands‑on leader and operator who enables the design team to do their best work by managing workload, process, communication, and information.

• Deliver Projects with Excellence: Set clear plans and coordination practices that ensure design projects are delivered on time, on budget, and to Kiln’s design standards.
• Enable a High‑Performing Design Team: Create structure around resourcing, priorities, and capacity so designers can focus on doing their best work as the team grows.
• Create Consistency Across Locations: Establish shared processes, documentation, and design standards that support thoughtful, repeatable delivery across markets.
• Protect Brand Through Execution: Guide design decisions throughout development and construction to ensure Kiln’s experience and design intent are upheld.
• Strengthen Cross‑Functional
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Build clear communication and alignment between design, project management, construction partners, and internal stakeholders.

• Creative Director
• Interior Design Team
• Growth Team
• Build Team
• Construction Partners

• Plan and manage design team workload across multiple concurrent projects
• Allocate tasks and resources effectively based on project priorities, skills, and capacity
• Track key deadlines, milestones, and deliverables to maintain project momentum
• Monitor team availability and capacity, including time off and holidays
• Support team growth as the design function scales from 4 to 6 designers

• Serve as the primary design operations liaison with:
  • In‑house Project Management team
  • External construction teams and consultants
• Ensure design deliverables align with project budgets, schedules, and construction requirements
• Coordinate design reviews, feedback loops, and issue resolution throughout each project
• Support value engineering exercises while protecting Kiln’s design quality and brand

• Receive, filter, and coordinate comments, feedback, and suggestions from the wider Kiln team
• Translate business, operational, and brand input into clear actions for the design team
• Ensure design decisions are communicated clearly and consistently to all stakeholders

• Maintain consistent design processes and workflows across all projects
• Ensure drawing packages are complete, coordinated, and issued on schedule
• Oversee version control, file organization, and drawing standards
• Maintain and update drawing templates, details, and shared resources

• Maintain organized and up to date digital drawing files, specifications, and material libraries
• Ensure material samples, finishes, and product selections are well organized, documented…