Job Description

The Philadelphia Inquirer is looking for a Manager, Product Design to lead a team of designers creating thoughtful, reader-centered experiences across Inquirer.com, our mobile apps, newsletters, and emerging platforms.

This is a hands-on, coaching-focused role. You’ll help designers do their best work through clear feedback, strong project guidance, and close partnership with product and engineering. You’ll set a high bar for quality and process, and you may jump in directly on important projects when needed.

Reporting to the VP, Product, you’ll work closely with product management, user research, engineering, newsroom leadership, sales, and consumer marketing to improve subscriber growth, engagement, and retention.

What You’ll Do

• Lead, coach, and support a team of product designers through regular feedback, career development, and day-to-day guidance
• Provide detailed design feedback to improve interaction design, information architecture, accessibility, and visual quality
• Oversee the team’s projects to ensure work is well scoped, thoughtfully executed, and aligned with reader and business needs
• Help designers move work from discovery through delivery, including framing problems, reviewing flows and prototypes, and supporting iteration
• Own design team assignments and help balance priorities across projects
• Strengthen team processes, including critiques, documentation, and design-to-development handoff
• Partner closely with product managers and engineers to create experiences grounded in research, experimentation, and measurable outcomes
• Step in as a hands-on designer on high-impact or time-sensitive work when needed
• Help evolve design patterns and systems that create consistency across platforms
• Collaborate with editorial and brand partners to ensure product experiences reflect The Inquirer’s brand
• Contribute to an inclusive and positive work environment

What We’re Looking For

• 10+ years experience in digital product design, including experience leading or coaching designers
• A strong track record as a thoughtful coach who helps teams grow through feedback, collaboration, and high standards
• Experience designing and shipping consumer digital products
• Comfort working across responsive web and native mobile experiences
• Experience with product discovery, experimentation, and iterative design practices
• Strong cross-functional partnership and communication skills
• Experience in subscriptions, media, or other consumer engagement products is a plus
• Familiarity with personalization, recommendations, or discovery experiences is also a plus

What success looks like
In your first year, you’ll shepherd a strong, well-supported design team, improve the consistency and quality of our product experiences, and strengthen how design contributes to discovery, experimentation, and delivery. You’ll also help improve key subscriber journeys, including onboarding, engagement, and retention.

About Us.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is the media brand of record in Philadelphia and the region, and the largest news media organization in the state of Pennsylvania. A daily habit for almost 200 years, The Inquirer delivers Pulitzer Prize-winning news, sports, food, and lifestyle journalism multi-platform: Inquirer.com, Inquirer newspaper, e-editions, apps, newsletters, social, video, podcasts, and live events, generating 15M monthly impressions. Locally owned and headquartered in Philadelphia, no media brand is more deeply connected to the city or better understands what drives it. Our influence also extends across key drive markets, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York, as well as to Philadelphia expats who live across the country and root for the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and the Union.

The Inquirer is an equal opportunity employer for all regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, and any other category protected by federal, state and/or local law.