Senior Design Lead

IDEO • San Francisco, CA

17d • $153,691 - $160,000 • Remote

About The Position

The Senior Design Lead will collaborate with junior employees on transformative interactive experiences through front-end user interfaces, narrative storytelling, systems thinking, prototyping, and creating production-ready assets. This role involves identifying and solving problems across a variety of industries with organizations large and small, established, and new. The position requires supporting junior designers by teaching advanced design skills and project-leading capabilities, and deepening their development of craft. The Senior Design Lead will navigate challenges, explore different outcomes, and cultivate collaboration to spark innovation and drive impactful results, while understanding the fundamentals of project financial health and working with key collaborators to ensure financial success. This role involves facilitating client participation in the design thinking process by leading workshops, co-creating concepts, and translating client input into actionable design prototypes and specifications, serving as the central point of contact for the client. The Senior Design Lead will apply principles of play, game mechanics, and interactive storytelling to inform design concepts, ensuring experiences are engaging, intuitive, and emotionally resonant. The role also includes contributing to toy invention brainstorms and rapidly producing digital prototypes that explore mechanics, narratives, and user interactions for testing and refinement. Additionally, the Senior Design Lead will mentor emerging talent, share knowledge, champion DEIB and psychological safety, and elevate collective work through curiosity, creativity, and craft rigor. The position requires being a trusted consultant to clients by building relationships, progressing project work appropriately, and clearly communicating with client partners. The Senior Design Lead will define immersive, compelling experiences and design, prototype, and execute delightful human experiences which act as the interface between an organization’s customers and their products, services, and brand. Up to 40% international & domestic travel may be required for client meetings or conferences. This is a 100% remote position, requiring the candidate to reside in the U.S. The role reports to HQ in San Francisco, CA.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or U.S. equivalent in Media Design, Interaction Design, or related field
• 3 years of professional experience as an Interaction Designer, Design Intern or any occupation, job title, position involving interaction and graphic design for digital platforms
• 3 years of professional experience in Experience Design, Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interactions, or Human Factors utilizing design prototyping to test and refine interactive user experiences
• 3 years of professional experience using tools including Figma, Origami, Protopie, and Framer to create virtual and interactive prototyping, and working across a variety of digital platforms, including web, app, TV, voice and motion, along with guiding and supporting other designers in effectively using these tools within the design process
• 3 years of professional experience utilizing Adobe Creative Suite (including Photoshop, Illustrator, XD, and After Effects) for visual design and asset creation
• 3 years of professional experience creating interactive prototypes with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python
• 3 years of professional experience using AR platforms and tools including ARKit and Spark AR
• 3 years of professional experience working with Unity and Unreal Engine for immersive or 3D experiences
• 2 years of professional experience performing project management, including interacting with Interdisciplinary teams
• 1 year of professional experience in visual design, applying core design principles including type, color, grid, and hierarchy to develop cohesive, user-centered interface designs across web and mobile platforms
• 1 year of professional experience applying emerging technologies including artificial intelligence platforms, augmented/virtual reality, or comparable new interaction methods to produce functional prototypes or deployed design solutions
• 1 year of professional experience designing and prototyping digital toys or interactive play experiences for consumer testing or market launch

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with junior employees on transformative interactive experiences through front-end user interfaces, narrative storytelling, systems thinking, prototyping, even creating production-ready assets and general design projects that identify and solve problems across a variety of industries with organizations large and small, established, and new
• Support junior designers by teaching advanced design skills and project-leading capabilities forward outside of project work and deepen the development of their craft
• Navigate challenges, explore different outcomes and cultivate collaboration to spark innovation and drive impactful results and understand the fundamentals of project financial health and work with key collaborators to ensure financial success
• Facilitate client participation in the design thinking process by leading workshops, co-creating concepts, and translating client input into actionable design prototypes and specifications and serve as the central point of contact for the client
• Apply principles of play, game mechanics, and interactive storytelling to inform design concepts, ensuring experiences are engaging, intuitive, and emotionally resonant
• Contribute to toy invention brainstorms and rapidly produce digital prototypes that explore mechanics, narratives, and user interactions for testing and refinement
• Mentor emerging talent, share knowledge, champion DEIB and psychological safety, and elevate collective work through curiosity, creativity, and craft rigor
• Be a trusted consultant to clients, by building relationships with clients, progressing project work appropriately, and clearly communicating with client partners
• Define immersive, compelling experiences and design, prototype, and execute delightful human experiences which act as the interface between an organization’s customers and their products, services, and brand

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior