September 16, 2025

Changying (Z) Zheng - Connecting Teams Through Ops

1 hour 14 minutes

Changying (Z) Zheng brings calm thinking to DesignOps — showing how clarity, storytelling, and ruthless prioritisation help design teams thrive .

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Episode Chapters:

00:00 – Why Design Needs to Prove Its Value

00:30 – Welcome and Introduction

02:30 – From Graphic Design to Design Ops Leadership

05:40 – Running a Dairy-Free Dessert Business and Learning Calm Leadership

10:00 – Leading Without Drama and Seeing Multiple Perspectives

13:00 – Design Ops as Service Design for Design Teams

16:00 – Storytelling, Outcomes, and Speaking the Language of Business

18:45 – Earning and Keeping a Seat at the Table

21:00 – Moving from Ticket Taking to Strategic Design Work

26:00 – Saying No Kindly and Introducing Office Hours

32:00 – People, Process, and Platform as Core Pillars

36:00 – Becoming the Connective Tissue Across Orgs

42:00 – Growing Into Product Ops at Cloudflare

55:00 – Communication as the Connective Tissue of Ops

1:10:00 – A Two-by-Two Framework for Career Development

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Who is Changying (Z) Zheng?

Changying (Z) Zheng is a Director of Product Operations at Cloudflare, where she’s scaled the operational backbone of one of the internet’s most recognisable infrastructure companies .

She has:

Started as a team of one and built thriving design and research operations

Worked in agencies, higher education, and at companies like Akamai, VMware, and Nasdaq

Founded and ran her own retail business

Delivered talks at The DevOps Conference and DesignOps Summit, shaping how people understand DesignOps in technical environments

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Find Changying (Z) Zheng here:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/changyingz/

Website → https://www.changyingart.com/

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Subscribe to Brave UX

Like what you heard?

🎙️ Subscribe to Brave UX for more conversations with world-class voices in UX, design, and product leadership. Your support helps others discover the show!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/brave-ux-with-brendan-jarvis/id1552607805

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7j2ocni6A00fzgHkj6TtCK

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSpaceInBetween

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======

Follow Brave UX for more great content!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/

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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/

The Space InBetween Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/

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By The Space InBetween

4.3

66 ratings

September 16, 2025

Changying (Z) Zheng - Connecting Teams Through Ops

1 hour 14 minutes

Changying (Z) Zheng brings calm thinking to DesignOps — showing how clarity, storytelling, and ruthless prioritisation help design teams thrive .

======

Episode Chapters:

00:00 – Why Design Needs to Prove Its Value

00:30 – Welcome and Introduction

02:30 – From Graphic Design to Design Ops Leadership

05:40 – Running a Dairy-Free Dessert Business and Learning Calm Leadership

10:00 – Leading Without Drama and Seeing Multiple Perspectives

13:00 – Design Ops as Service Design for Design Teams

16:00 – Storytelling, Outcomes, and Speaking the Language of Business

18:45 – Earning and Keeping a Seat at the Table

21:00 – Moving from Ticket Taking to Strategic Design Work

26:00 – Saying No Kindly and Introducing Office Hours

32:00 – People, Process, and Platform as Core Pillars

36:00 – Becoming the Connective Tissue Across Orgs

42:00 – Growing Into Product Ops at Cloudflare

55:00 – Communication as the Connective Tissue of Ops

1:10:00 – A Two-by-Two Framework for Career Development

======

Who is Changying (Z) Zheng?

Changying (Z) Zheng is a Director of Product Operations at Cloudflare, where she’s scaled the operational backbone of one of the internet’s most recognisable infrastructure companies .

She has:

Started as a team of one and built thriving design and research operations

Worked in agencies, higher education, and at companies like Akamai, VMware, and Nasdaq

Founded and ran her own retail business

Delivered talks at The DevOps Conference and DesignOps Summit, shaping how people understand DesignOps in technical environments

======

Find Changying (Z) Zheng here:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/changyingz/

Website → https://www.changyingart.com/

======

Subscribe to Brave UX

Like what you heard?

🎙️ Subscribe to Brave UX for more conversations with world-class voices in UX, design, and product leadership. Your support helps others discover the show!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/brave-ux-with-brendan-jarvis/id1552607805

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7j2ocni6A00fzgHkj6TtCK

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSpaceInBetween

Podbean: https://braveux.podbean.com/

======

Follow Brave UX for more great content!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brave_ux

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/

======

Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/