Senior Design Strategist

LINK•Charleston, SC

4d•$112,000 - $151,000•Hybrid

About The Position

LINK is seeking a Senior Design Strategist to lead and execute innovative design strategies, collaborate with internal teams and executive-level clients, and use visual storytelling to meet client objectives. The role applies creative and strategic expertise to support business growth and deliver high-quality, design-thinking-driven solutions. The strategist works with clients to understand challenges, frame the right problems, prototype and test ideas, and develop narratives aligned with client missions, goals, and brand identities. The position calls for experience applying design thinking to ambiguous challenges, creating impactful visual experiences, using data-driven insights, and collaborating across functions to deliver client results. The role partners with clients and stakeholders to guide discovery, research, systems thinking, strategy development, workshops, facilitation, and strategic visualization. It also supports team development through mentoring, coaching, knowledge sharing, and contributions to LINK’s design strategy practice. Hybrid onsite presence of 3–5 days per week may be required for client meetings, presentations, or working sessions. The role is full-time at 40 hours per week, with some travel to events, conferences, and LINK team events. LINK is hiring in the Charleston, South Carolina area and welcomes candidates interested in relocating.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Design, Communication, Business, Architecture, Engineering, Innovation, Sociology, Psychology, or a related field.
10+ years of experience in design strategy, innovation, strategic consulting, facilitation, service design, communications, or a related field.
Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
Deep fluency in design thinking, including problem framing and reframing, divergent and convergent thinking, rapid prototyping, and iterative testing.
Strong expertise in systems thinking, facilitation, and strategic storytelling.
Ability to select an appropriate design strategy discipline for a given challenge.
Experience designing and facilitating workshops, design sprints, ideation sessions, stakeholder engagements, and collaborative working sessions that drive alignment and informed decision-making.
Demonstrated ability to lead complex discovery and research efforts and translate findings into actionable insights, strategic recommendations, and organizational outcomes.
Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with clients and cross-functional teams.
Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity and guide stakeholders through complex challenges and decision-making processes.
Demonstrated ability to balance multiple priorities and deadlines while maintaining high standards of quality and client service.
Ability to mentor and coach others.
Optimism, openness to new ideas, and a collaborative mindset.
Portfolio demonstrating problem framing, strategic decisions, and iteration toward solutions, rather than only final deliverables.

Nice To Haves

Current Secret-level security clearance or higher.
Familiarity with human-centered design.

Responsibilities

Serve as a trusted client advisor by framing complex challenges, identifying opportunities, and applying design thinking to strategic decisions.
Partner with client stakeholders to understand organizational priorities, user needs, operational constraints, and desired outcomes.
Lead the development of design strategy approaches aligned with stakeholder needs, business objectives, and mission requirements.
Lead teams through the design thinking process, from problem framing through ideation, prototyping, and iteration, toward tested and actionable direction.
Guide cross-functional teams and stakeholders through ambiguity, alignment, and informed decision-making.
Identify opportunities to create tangible business value and support long-term client success.
Lead mixed-method discovery, including stakeholder interviews, observation, journey mapping, ecosystem analysis, and systems mapping.
Synthesize qualitative and quantitative findings into insights, opportunity areas, strategic recommendations, and design directions.
Apply systems thinking to identify patterns, dependencies, root causes, and opportunities in complex organizational environments.
Translate technical, operational, and policy-focused challenges into human-centered insights and strategic considerations.
Guide discovery activities that inform organizational transformation, service design, experience design, and strategic planning.
Develop visual frameworks, concept prototypes, journey maps, service blueprints, ecosystem maps, decision-support tools, and strategic narratives.
Shape storytelling approaches that help stakeholders understand challenges, opportunities, tradeoffs, and future-state possibilities.
Collaborate with information designers and strategists on executive-level deliverables that support alignment and decision-making.
Establish quality standards for design strategy deliverables and provide guidance to improve consistency across engagements.
Ensure visual outputs communicate research findings, strategic recommendations, and organizational priorities effectively.
Design and facilitate design thinking workshops, design sprints, ideation sessions, and co-creation activities that move stakeholders from problem framing to tangible concepts and alignment.
Develop facilitation approaches, agendas, exercises, and collaborative experiences for productive dialogue and structured problem-solving.
Synthesize workshop outputs into actionable findings, recommendations, and implementation considerations.
Help stakeholders navigate competing priorities, organizational complexity, and change initiatives through structured facilitation and engagement.
Guide teams in applying design thinking methods throughout project lifecycles.
Mentor teammates through coaching, knowledge sharing, and constructive feedback.
Model LINK values and contribute to a collaborative, inclusive, high-performing team culture.
Share tools, methods, frameworks, and lessons learned to improve work quality and consistency across engagements.
Guide emerging practitioners in research, facilitation, synthesis, and visual storytelling.
Contribute to the evolution of LINK’s design strategy practice through innovation, experimentation, and continuous learning.
Attend relevant events and conferences and participate in LINK team events, as needed.

Benefits

$100 monthly internet/cell phone stipend.
$150 monthly commuter stipend for eligible participants.
LINK-sponsored medical, dental, and vision healthcare benefits.
Company-paid Short Term Disability Insurance.
401(k) with employer contribution of up to 4%.
11 federal holidays per year.
15 days of paid time off per year.
Paid holiday time off from Christmas Eve through the New Year.
Annual bonus plan participation.
Annual profit-sharing participation.
$2,000 Learning and Development program reimbursement.
Technology package including a LINK-owned MacBook Pro, monitor, mouse, and keyboard.