General Manager in Residence
Designer Fund is a venture fund and design partner that invests in early-stage technology companies where design is central to value creation. It supports founders with product and brand design, hiring, fundraising, and access to a design-focused community.
Maintainer signals as of 8/14/2026
About Designer Fund
Designer Fund invests in early-stage startups from pre-seed through Series A that use design to improve health, sustainability, and prosperity. The fund provides capital, design strategy, product and brand guidance, design hiring support, fundraising assistance, investor introductions, and access to the Designer Fund Collective of founders, advisors, and design leaders. Its portfolio includes technology companies serving sectors such as financial infrastructure, healthcare, developer tools, collaboration, climate technology, and productivity.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will start with a 2-month onboarding sprint in NYC. After that, you will spend your first year in a local market running a transit network transformation, taking full ownership of service performance, partner relationships, a 30+ frontline team, and $15M+ P&L. You will be deployed on Via's newest services in high-visibility markets that require building new operational systems from the ground up. At the end of this local deployment, you will transition into a General Manager role in one of Via's major markets: New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, or Dallas. You'll arrive with the credibility and operational fluency to lead at that level from day one.
Requirements
- MBA preferred
- 5+ years of pre-MBA experience in operations, consulting, strategy, tech or a field with meaningful P&L or client accountability
- Demonstrated ability to lead and develop teams
- Willingness to be based in a specific location for the first year of the program, with relocation to a major metro market thereafter
- Full on-site presence required
Responsibilities
- Own and manage the end-to-end operating strategy of Via's service on behalf of the partner
- Define and manage against KPIs spanning on-time performance, rider satisfaction, safety, and cost efficiency
- Translate weekly and monthly performance data into decisions
- Lead a 30+ team of field operators and drivers, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and culture setting
- Build an operation where people feel accountable, supported, and proud of what they're delivering
- Develop frontline leaders within the team who can grow into expanded roles
- Own Via's relationship with the transit agency partner
- Represent Via to community stakeholders, local officials, and riders
- Drive continuous improvement across vehicle operations, maintenance protocols, and service delivery
- Identify and execute cost and efficiency improvements that strengthen margin without compromising service
- Influence the product roadmap for Via's newest Fixed Route products
Benefits
- Free medical plans
- 401K matching
