Job Information
Publicis Groupe Senior Manager, Product Design in Toronto, Ontario
Company description
Publicis Groupe Canada is the Canadian subsidiary of Publicis Groupe, the largest communications group in the world and a global leader concentrated within four main activities: Communication, Media, Data and Technology. Publicis Groupe Canada represents the vision of a set of collaborative and integrated agencies that offer expertise and insightful services to many of the biggest brands in North America.
Publicis Groupe Canada is committed to its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion mandate which focuses on four pillars: Education, Talent Management, Outreach and Giving Back. Since the mandate's launch in 2020, they have made strong and continued growth in all their pillars including top-tier mental health benefits, regular education sessions for employees, six business resources groups for employees of various backgrounds and their allies and developing training and scholarships programs with POV and the Miami Ad School Canada. The Groupe also launched This Is The Job, an initiative designed to work with Canada's largest school boards to change the complexion of the marketing industry and inspire racialized teens and young adults to consider a career in the industry.
Canadian brands include: Publicis Canada (Publicis Canada, Hawkeye, Razorfish, Publicis Health, ThePubProductions, Nurun, Publicis Sports & Entertainment), Publicis Media (Starcom, Spark Foundry, Zenith), Leo Burnett (Leo Burnett Canada, Ove Brand Design, Leo Burnett Design), Saatchi & Saatchi (Saatchi & Saatchi Canada, Synergize, TPM),MSL Canada/North Strategic (North Strategic, MSL Canada, Notch Canada) and Publicis Sapient.
Overview
We are seeking a visionary Senior Manager, Product Design to establish and lead our UI pillar. This is a critical leadership role for someone who can drive design strategy while staying close to execution.
In this role, you are the architect of the Product Design discipline, responsible for guiding the team toward innovative, high-fidelity design. You will focus on advancing the visual and interaction quality of our products, evolving our design system to support future integrations, and mentoring designers on technical excellence.
You will work closely with UX, product designers, product owners, engineering, and QA to ensure alignment across the full product lifecycle.
Responsibilities
Product Design & Systems Thinking
Act as the primary authority on visual craft and interaction design. Define the standards, tools, and workflows that will allow the UI function to scale.
Evolve the visual language and interaction models to support advanced AI-driven features and third-party integrations.
Lead the creation of high-fidelity, narrative-driven prototypes for executive reviews, setting the bar for what "innovation" looks like for our product.
Lead and mentor a team of senior and intermediate designers, fostering a culture of excellence in craft, file hygiene, and systemic thinking.
Design System & Brand Stewardship
Maintain and contribute to the evolution of our global design system. Ensure it is built with high-level logic such as semantic tokens, variables, and robust auto-layout.
Champion WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA standards, ensuring that programmatic association and inclusive design are baked into the Product Design pillar.
Identify UI inconsistencies or design debt and propose scalable, system-level solutions.
Collaboration & Delivery
Partner closely with UX Designers, Product Owners and Engineers throughout the design lifecycle to ensure technical feasibility and alignment.
Participate in sprint planning, reviews, and design critiques to ensure work stays on track and meets quality standards.
Support development teams through clear handoff, detailed specifications, and ongoing design QA to ensure the live product matches the design.
Track work, manage feedback loops, and document issues effectively using.
Quality, Documentation & Operations
Maintain high standards for file management including clean, well-structured Figma files with consistent naming and organization.
Use Figma’s collaboration features, such as branching and version history, to support team-wide workflows and library stability.
Assist with documenting components, patterns, and features in Confluence to provide a clear roadmap for stakeholders and engineers.
Qualifications
8–10+ years of experience in UI/Product Design, focused on complex web and mobile applications within agency and/or product‑led environments.
Proven leadership presence, with experience guiding design teams and managing senior stakeholders through periods of rapid change.
Expert-level Figma proficiency, including Variables, Prototyping, and Library Governance, with the ability to build design systems that are both efficient and visually refined.
Strong experience in design system governance, including large-scale libraries, design tokens, nested components, and accessibility standards (WCAG).
Deep understanding of Google Material Design, with the ability to customize and adapt components to meet specific brand needs.
A portfolio demonstrating scalable design systems and high‑fidelity, “premium” interactions.
Strategic and resilient, balancing innovation with pragmatism around timelines, team stability, and delivery.
A collaborative, delivery‑focused mindset, working effectively across design, product, and engineering.
Excellent communication skills, capable of telling a story through UI and translating complex product requirements into intuitive, visually compelling experiences.
Bonus / Nice to Have
Experience or interest in designing AI‑enabled features or products
Advanced prototyping or motion design skills in Figma
Basic front‑end knowledge (HTML/CSS) to support effective developer handoff
Experience working on both the agency and product side
Additional information
Location: Canada‑based candidates only, with valid work authorization for at least 12 months. Remote role.
Time Off:
Up to 3 weeks vacation, with additional paid closure between Christmas and New Year's
Extended long weekends for provincial holidays — we give you both the Monday and Friday so you get a full 4-day break
6 sick days and 2 personal days per year
Flexibility & Global Mobility: Work remotely for up to 6 weeks per year from any of our 50+ global offices through our Work Your World program.
Benefits: Comprehensive group coverage including:
Medical, dental, and vision care
Psychological and paramedical services
Disability insurance
Fertility support and gender-affirming care
Dedicated internal guidance programs for employees navigating cancer, fertility treatments, or gender transition
Compensation: The salary range for this position is $116,000–$166,000 per year, based on experience, skills, and relevant certifications. We believe in pay transparency and are committed to offering competitive, market-aligned compensation.
We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of our hiring process, such as reviewing applications or analyzing resumes. These tools assist our recruitment team but never replace human decision-making. We believe in a human-first approach, where your experience and potential are recognized by people.
Publicis Groupe is committed to building a diverse workforce representative of our community. We encourage and are pleased to consider all qualified candidates, without regard to race, colour, citizenship, religion, sex, marital / family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, aboriginal status, age, disability or persons who may require an accommodation, to apply. If you require a specific accommodation please contact Human Resources at 416-925-7733 or by email at inquiries@publicisna.com .