Senior Industrial Designer-Front-End Innovation

Milwaukee Tool•Brookfield, WI

About The Position

The Senior Industrial Designer on the Front-End Innovation team helps shape the future of Milwaukee Tool products through user-centered design. Working with teams and strategic leaders across the company, the designer researches problems, identifies opportunities, generates ideas, defines concepts, and prototypes new solutions. The role calls for someone who can work in ambiguous situations, make progress with limited information, apply design thinking, and adapt as new information emerges. The designer leads collaborative, cross-disciplinary front-end projects, applies human-centered research and design methods, and communicates insights and design intent through visual models, frameworks, presentations, storyboards, user experience journeys, and system maps. The role encompasses digital and physical experiences as well as business strategies, and includes developing prototype stimuli to gather feedback. The designer also coaches others in human-centered design and collaborates with disciplines including engineering, product management, design research, machine learning, advanced development, technology, and marketing.

Requirements

At least 5 years of consultancy or corporate experience working in design or innovation teams.
Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Industrial Design, Visual Design, Experience Design, or Service Design.
Advanced experience with user-centered design and innovation mindsets, tools, and techniques.
Experience with behavioral research practices.
Strategic thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to connect disparate information.
Ability to use 2D and 3D design tools to create concepts.
Strong communication skills and the ability to craft compelling stories.
Ability to translate user research into design principles and product criteria.
Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders ranging from recent graduates to senior leaders.
Ability to bring ideas to life through model making and rapid prototyping.
Familiarity with generative AI visualization software.
Experience using Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft Office Suite.

Nice To Haves

Experience with design thinking methods, processes, tools, and execution.

Responsibilities

Lead design efforts on front-end projects, from discovering new areas for exploration to solving specific problems as part of a cross-disciplinary team.
Teach and coach others in human-centered design methods.
Conduct ethnographic field research to understand the reasons behind problems and identify insights and opportunity areas.
Translate research and design insights into visual models and frameworks.
Lead or design concept workshops, using brainstorming methodologies to develop product solutions with the team.
Envision ideas across digital and physical experience types and business strategies.
Help develop presentations that communicate project progress and design intent.
Create storyboards, user experience journeys, and system maps for research, synthesis, workshops, and prototype testing.
Create prototype stimuli to gather feedback on design concepts from varied audiences.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary leads, including those in machine learning, advanced development, technology, and marketing.
Identify project dependencies and impacts on the broader organization.