Senior Futures Design Strategist

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Arizona, +14 more states.

📋 Description

• Define long-term product opportunities for Horizon 3 (5–10+ years).

• Develop concrete future-state artifacts, including prototype interfaces, speculative journey maps, and immersive world-building narratives.

• Convert abstract future scenarios into actionable business opportunities, encompassing value propositions, target audiences, business models, competitive positioning, and essential assumptions.

• Outline Strategic Opportunity Briefs.

• Conduct activation workshops.

• Transition validated concepts to downstream R&D, product, and incubation teams with a clear next step and assigned owner.

• Present strategic alternatives, trade-offs, and risks to C-suite executives and senior leadership.

• Collaborate with researchers to anchor concepts in human needs as well as market and technological contexts.

• Assist in AI-supported signal scanning.

• Facilitate foresight methodologies, including STEEP, CLA, and Delphi.

• Mentor colleagues and enhance the quality of experiential design throughout the organization.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor's degree with over 5 years of experience in UX research or design strategy.

• At least 3 years of experience in design strategy, speculative design, innovation strategy, or strategic foresight within a product strategy team, consultancy, or incubation environment.

• More than 5 years in design strategy, innovation strategy, speculative design, strategic foresight, or innovation consulting.

• Proven ability to create tangible future artifacts and frameworks based on human-centered research, demonstrating progression into funded explorations, product roadmaps, pilots, or new ventures.

• Strong expertise in speculative design, design fiction, and scenario development.

• Outstanding visual craftsmanship using Figma, FigJam, physical prototyping, and video storytelling.

• Proficient understanding of business model design, market and competitive dynamics, and risk/return analyses.

• Practical knowledge of scenario planning, backcasting, STEEP, causal layered analysis, and Delphi techniques.

• Capability to guide R&D, product, and design teams without direct authority.

• Willingness to travel for in-person research as required.

• Ability to work collaboratively across US and European time zones.

• Preferred: advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) or equivalent professional expertise in Design Futures, Strategic Foresight, HCI, Anthropology, Systems Design, or a related discipline.

• Preferred: experience in a design-oriented consultancy, corporate innovation, new ventures group, or incubation environment.

• Preferred: experience utilizing or developing AI tools for signal scanning, trend analysis, and synthesizing unstructured data.

• Preferred: demonstrated history of researching complex socio-technical systems; experience in public safety, government, or enterprise security is advantageous.

🏝️ Benefits

• Incentive Bonus Plans.

• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits.

• 401K with Company Match.

• 10 Paid Holidays.

• Generous Paid Time Off Packages.

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

• Paid Parental & Family Leave.

• Travel for in-person research when needed.