A day in the life: Operations at Microsoft AI

Chieu Van may have trained as a painter in the past, but today she artfully orchestrates people, processes, and priorities to amplify design’s impact. With a foundation in studio art and graphic design, Chieu has an “ability to speak the design language” to bridge creativity and operations, working closely with design leaders to deliver ambitious AI initiatives. Fueled by resilience, Chieu thrives on empowering her teams.

How would you describe your job and what you do?
I’m a DesignOps PM and my hybrid role touches on Team Ops to help build the right product culture, and Product Ops to support core business priorities. During my tenure I’ve helped scale a massive visual design update across our consumer-facing web experiences, building a team and production pipeline from the ground up. I also get to work on interesting projects such as design systems coherence and partner with creative agencies on vision sprints to explore what’s next on the horizon. It is the intersection of people and process that I enjoy most!

How did you first become interested in product design and what motivated you to pursue it as a career?
To be honest, I was unaware that DesignOps was an established discipline. However, there is a grassroots initiative underway at Microsoft to better define this role in order to support our career growth. I fell into this role because our organization needed more rigor around the business. Streamlining design processes and removing friction ultimately leads to building better products. Titles in my profession can vary, including Design UX PM, DesignOps PM, Studio Manager, or Producer. Despite the titles, our unique value empowers teams to focus on their core priorities.

I knew I wanted to work within the design field and be in a space that challenges you every day. I love the learning aspect of my job and how I can make an impact on the team culture and overall product quality.

What educational background or training do you have that has helped shape your skills?
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and formally trained as a painter. My passion for the creative process led me to further my education, obtaining an Associate of Applied Science in Graphic Design. Although I do not work directly as a designer anymore, my ability to speak the design language and comprehend fundamental principles has enabled me to quickly adapt and flourish in this field.

“I’m providing the scaffolding to help the team do their best work as they design products with AI in mind.”

Chieu Van, Design Ops at Microsoft AI

What are you currently working on?
I provide dedicated ops support to the Brand and Design Systems Team within our MAI Design & Research Studio. I partner closely with the Principal Creative Director to ensure our team is working on the right things. Currently I am leading an effort to operationalize a massive design system initiative that will allow us to uphold quality, scale fundamentals like new AI patterns in a cohesive way and evolve our visual design language at scale. It involves implementing a communications strategy to keep key stakeholders informed about our progress on delivering product roadmap options.

Can you share an overview of your role as a Design Ops PM and how it specifically relates to Microsoft AI?
My PM skillsets matched with product, team and culture expertise enables me to orchestrate and optimize people, process, and craft to amplify design’s value and impact at scale. I partner with design thought leaders to run our MAI Design & Research Studio like a business, to advocate decision making, accountability, trade-offs, and prioritization. Though I‘m not directly working on a product feature, I’m providing the scaffolding to help the team do their best work as they design products with AI in mind.

What role do user feedback and usability play in your process? How do you incorporate feedback to improve your work?  
Leveraging user feedback to identify unmet user needs can be the difference between table stakes and driving innovation to differentiate our product from other competitors. If we make a hypothesis, it should be grounded in research if we’re aiming to be relevant and meaningful to our users. This is core to our design process, and we iterate based on these insights to build better user experiences. As a Design Ops PM I helped document how we work in a Design Sprint Playbook to capture best practices around these design fundamentals.

With the introduction of AI, what changes or shifts do you anticipate within the industry?
I recently visited the Inclusive Tech Lab on our Redmond campus and was amazed to learn how AI can help level the playing field and benefit the disability community. We can design AI to be inclusive and promote accessibility. For example, text to speech technology has made strides so that drafting a document or email is streamlined to avoid cognitive overload. There is so much potential considering our global audience with diverse experiences.

What excites you as a Design Ops PM with the integration of AI?
In my own day to day role I’m using AI to take on tasks like recapping meeting notes and wordsmithing emails so I can dedicate more time on being strategic and relationship building. There is a lot of excitement around incorporating Gen AI into our workflow and an appetite for learning. I am curious to see how automation can expedite the design process, encompassing everything from conceptual exploration to establishing a production pipeline that creates assets consistent with our product brand.

How do you stay updated on current tech trends and emerging practice? 
I love how our team encourages exploration and learning as part of our work culture. We’ve hosted multiple lunch and learns driven by individuals who are passionate about new tech. For example, my team facilitated an introduction to AI tools to emphasize the importance of staying relevant and creative in the evolving landscape of design tools. We touched on the role of creative direction in using AI tools and being mindful of the ethical implications of AI-generated content.

Looking back at your journey, what advice would you give to aspiring DesignOps PMs who are just starting out on their own path?
I am here today because resilience is my motto. My journey has been shaped by my experience of being a first-generation refugee. Throughout my career, I have embraced the ethos of building from scratch, fostering a commitment to lifelong learning, and appreciating the journey in the face of challenges. Seek out mentorship to learn from others and stay inquisitive!