Design Manager
Branch
Design
United States
Posted on May 28, 2026
About Branch
Branch is shaking up the $46B office products industry to create the best work experience for the 21st century: easy, affordable and adaptable so you can sit down (or stand) and get to work.
Most people spend eight hours a day at their workspace. Our mission is creating accessible and inspiring products to help people and teams feel their best at work, wherever that happens.
We're based in NYC and Toronto, and backed by the investors behind Quip, Caraway, Eight Sleep and Peloton. Our culture combines strategic clarity with scrappy execution; we think and plan rigorously but ship fast and have fun doing it. We're looking for entrepreneurial teammates who do the same.
The Role
Branch is building one of the most ambitious furniture portfolios in the DTC space, and the design team needs a leader to match. This role exists because great design at scale requires more than talented individuals; it requires process, prioritization, and someone who can raise the quality bar on every project that ships. As Design Manager, you'll be the operational and creative backbone of the furniture design function, reporting to the VP of Furniture Design and Development.
You'll own a meaningful design workload across NPI, CI, and process projects, work directly with Product Development and Engineering to bring products to life across three distinct sales channels, and take full ownership of the in-box experience: the printed materials customers encounter the moment they open a Branch product. Alongside that hands-on work, you'll build the systems, reviews, and standards that keep a growing team consistently producing great work.
This is an incredible opportunity to build the design leadership function at a category-defining, well-funded, and rapidly-growing startup. If you're passionate about exceptional design and developing great teams, we'd love to meet you!
What You'll Own
Design Execution and Ownership
Branch is shaking up the $46B office products industry to create the best work experience for the 21st century: easy, affordable and adaptable so you can sit down (or stand) and get to work.
Most people spend eight hours a day at their workspace. Our mission is creating accessible and inspiring products to help people and teams feel their best at work, wherever that happens.
We're based in NYC and Toronto, and backed by the investors behind Quip, Caraway, Eight Sleep and Peloton. Our culture combines strategic clarity with scrappy execution; we think and plan rigorously but ship fast and have fun doing it. We're looking for entrepreneurial teammates who do the same.
The Role
Branch is building one of the most ambitious furniture portfolios in the DTC space, and the design team needs a leader to match. This role exists because great design at scale requires more than talented individuals; it requires process, prioritization, and someone who can raise the quality bar on every project that ships. As Design Manager, you'll be the operational and creative backbone of the furniture design function, reporting to the VP of Furniture Design and Development.
You'll own a meaningful design workload across NPI, CI, and process projects, work directly with Product Development and Engineering to bring products to life across three distinct sales channels, and take full ownership of the in-box experience: the printed materials customers encounter the moment they open a Branch product. Alongside that hands-on work, you'll build the systems, reviews, and standards that keep a growing team consistently producing great work.
This is an incredible opportunity to build the design leadership function at a category-defining, well-funded, and rapidly-growing startup. If you're passionate about exceptional design and developing great teams, we'd love to meet you!
What You'll Own
Design Execution and Ownership
- Lead design across a portfolio of active NPI, CI, and process projects; owning work from early concept through production handoff.
- Develop and refine concepts through sketching, 3D CAD, renderings, and prototypes that clearly communicate design intent at every stage.
- Produce comprehensive spec packs, drawings, and design documentation to drive prototyping and development.
- Collaborate with Product Development, Sourcing, and Engineering to ensure designs are manufacturable and aligned with cost, quality, and performance targets.
- Visit factories and review samples throughout development, partnering with the Asia team on reviews and feedback.
- Support post-launch improvements by responding to customer feedback, production learnings, and quality insights
- Own the end-to-end design and production of all printed materials that ship inside the box: assembly guides, hardware kits, packaging inserts, and welcome kits.
- Ensure every in-box printed piece is accurate, on-brand, and production-ready, with zero errors at the point of manufacturing handoff.
- Partner with the Industrial Design and Product Development teams to confirm printed materials reflect final, approved product specifications before files are released.
- Manage print vendor relationships and production timelines, flagging risks early and driving resolution.
- Design and maintain support materials across the full product portfolio: assembly guides, packaging dielines, product specifications, and related documentation.
- Evolve the design process: refine how concepts are developed and reviewed internally, and establish clear gates that ensure the strongest work advances to prototyping and production, with cross-functional milestones across PD, Engineering, and Leadership.
- Own project intake, sequencing, and lead time planning across NPI, CI, and process work; maintain an accurate view of team capacity and ensure new work is scoped and resourced before it begins.
- Work in close partnership with the VP of Furniture Design and Development to manage the team's day-to-day, running independently over time and serving as an available design collaborator and coach who raises the quality bar through structured feedback and multiple iterations.
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design (BID) or a related field.
- 5+ years of experience at a design-led product company or product development consultancy, with at least 1-2 years in a people management or team lead capacity.
- Proven experience designing and developing physical products that have shipped to market.
- Hands-on experience designing and producing printed materials for physical products: assembly guides, packaging inserts, in-box printed components, or equivalent.
- Strong passion for researching, sketching, 3D modeling, rendering, prototyping, and storytelling design ideas.
- Experience with furniture-related products, or products of similar scale that interact with humans and the built environment, strongly preferred.
- Working knowledge of furniture materials, construction methods, and manufacturing processes.
- Strong design sensibility across form, proportion, color, materiality, ergonomics, and usability.
- Ability to translate conceptual designs into dimensioned drawings and CAD suitable for prototyping and manufacturing by international suppliers.
- Proficiency in 3D CAD (SolidWorks preferred) and Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.
- Proven ability to manage multiple projects and priorities with minimal oversight.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to represent design priorities and constraints clearly to cross-functional partners.
- An entrepreneurial mindset and genuine comfort operating in ambiguity. You move toward problems, adapt quickly, and bring energy to whatever the team needs, even when the path is not fully defined.