# Chris Heimbuch > Design partner to founders, C-suites, and creative leaders. Location: San Francisco, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/chrisheimbuch I build organizations that work. Effective, scalable, and grounded in clear cross-disciplinary communication. I partner directly with founders, C-suite leaders, and department heads — stepping in when product/design velocity stalls, stabilizing teams through executive transitions and operational breakdowns, and establishing decision frameworks that hold up through hypergrowth. I've done it as a GM and Chief of Staff across consumer platforms, enterprise SaaS, and design-led hardware companies, from Series A through post-IPO scale. Today, I advise founders, executives, and creative leaders on building world-class product design teams, embedding equity into how organizations operate, and forming creative partnerships that endure. Organizations do their best work when inclusion and creativity aren't initiatives, but expectations — and when people are genuinely set up to thrive ## Work Experience ### Operating Partner @ Uplift by Inneract Project Jan 2024 – Present | San Francisco + Oakland, California • Developed organizational structure and operating model for platform growth • Led Executive Director search and full leadership hiring strategy • Prepared organization for early-stage investment and expansion • Pressure-tested strategy across accelerators, partnerships, and product-market fit • Aligned teams around scalable mentorship and career pathways ### Chief of Staff, Head of Product Design Operations @ Roblox Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco, California • Rebuilt design operating model during hypergrowth, restoring delivery velocity • Embedded design leadership into VP- and COO-level product strategy forums • Shaped senior leadership hiring, including VP and several Principal Designers • Produced Roblox’s first SF Design Week partnership, engaging thousands in-platform • Founded Women in Design + Engineering ERG, expanding leadership pathways ### Head of Product Design Operations @ Nextdoor Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco, California • Stabilized design and research team through CEO transition and multiple VP exits • Partnered with CEO to reset product, engineering, and design priorities • Led design org rebuild and onboarding of new Chief Product Officer • Established operating cadence that accelerated cross-functional shipping by 40% • Aligned product, engineering, and comms around clearer execution ### GM, Product Design Operations @ Sonos, Inc. Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 | Santa Barbara, California • Unified UX, research, and hardware under single operating model for a 50+ person org • Elevated design to peer leadership with Product and Engineering • Secured founder and CEO sponsorship for company-wide operating redesign • Clarified ownership across UX, hardware, and brand to accelerate decision velocity • Led Sonos’s first national agency RFP; selected Instrument to relaunch core app features ### Director, Brand Operations @ Block Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 | San Francisco, California • Scaled brand org from 30 to 85 people, building high-output in-house agency • Managed ~$10M budget, enabling scaled design, production, and brand output • Expanded brand operations to Japan, establishing in-country creative capability • Delivered 30+ global campaigns across print, video, and broadcast • Built a 14-person producer org responsible for delivering all cross-functional creative ### Senior Manager, Creative Operations @ Adobe Jan 2005 – Jan 2012 | San Francisco, California • Supported 100+ designers across 4 int’l regions, enabling global design operations • Founded Adobe Inspire (later Adobe Create), scaling to 1.4M+ subscribers • Built editorial partnerships with The New York Times, Nike, and O’Reilly Media • Shaped Adobe's design identity and market positioning ahead of the Creative Cloud era ### Creative Recruiter @ Apple Jan 2005 – Jan 2005 | Cupertino, California ## Education ### Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Design University of Denver ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/chrisheimbuch - Portfolio: https://chrisheimbuch.com --- Source: https://flows.cv/chrisheimbuch JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/chrisheimbuch/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13