Associate Experience Design Director

All applicants must include a link to their portfolio or attach work samples.
IA Collaborative is seeking an Associate Director of Experience Design who will serve as a strategic leader in our Experience Design discipline and report to the Managing Director of Experience Design. Experience designers at IA Collaborative are masters of their craft in user experience design, guided by an unwavering commitment to human-centered practices and strategic thinking.

At the forefront of user-centered design that creates business value, we live and work at the leading edge of Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies; at the intersection of design and business; of creativity and strategy. Join our team to support current clients in user experience and digital transformation strategy, service design, digital product design, and enterprise application design.

Responsibilities:

• Lead multidisciplinary teams across all phases of digital projects from strategy to design to production and launch and also dig into executing work with the team

• Define approaches and processes, partnering with other team leads, to deliver successful projects that are creative, compelling, and impactful for our client’s business

• Understand current trends in digital design and business and bring strategic thinking to insights and solutions

• Take a lead role in new business pitches, proposal development, and project initiation

• Deliver distinctive client service and authentic client experiences to build long-term relationships that grow the business

• Develop new initiatives to create opportunities to advance an open and inclusive environment that empowers team members and develops the culture of IA Collaborative

• Contribute to the future vision of the discipline, including skill development to ensure we continue to have the capabilities required to meet our clients’ needs   

• Manage individuals on the team, guiding their individual development and growth

• Know the Business of the Business: Act as a steward of IA Collaborative’s overall business by exploring future possibilities for the organization including new offerings and capabilities, talent acquisition, thought leadership, and other business growth-oriented activities.

Required Qualifications: 

• Eight or more years of UX/UI design experience, preferably within a design firm or digital agency, including experience with:

  • User research that can be translated into strategy, concepts and design decisions

  • Business strategy for digital projects at multiple scale

  • A range of methodologies for digital project engagements

  • Leading teams through complex engagements with enterprise clients

  • Hosting and structuring successful client ideation and prioritization work sessions

• Experience leading business development efforts for both existing clients and new prospects

• Experience driving organizational initiatives, including team management, talent recruitment, and overall office culture

• Experience leveraging AI tools within the design process 

• Experience designing for AI tools and interfaces is preferred

• Passion for contributing to thought leadership, public speaking and community outreach

• Ability to work from our Chicago HQ and onsite with clients/in the field, per our IA Collaborative Work Model policy

About the Experience Design Team

Experience designers at IA Collaborative create experiences for people through their engagement with products, services, and platforms. Employing our user-driven design approach, we translate insights and strategy into tangible experiences that meet business objectives and delight users. As digital innovators, we thrive on an iterative design process and explore emerging platforms and novel applications; as digital leaders, we guide organizations through transformation.

Our team thrives in a fast-paced, challenging, multidisciplinary and highly collaborative environment. We welcome new tools and processes, diverse perspectives and backgrounds, and challenges that demand unconventional thinking to push the boundaries of our discipline.

IA Collaborative Work Model

IA Collaborative leverages a hybrid work model with Chicagoland-area team members working from our downtown headquarters three days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) with additional, occasional required on-site days as needed. 

Occasional onsite and in-field work is required for all team members. We are typically in the field once or twice a month, for two to three consecutive days, conducting research or meeting with clients. We are committed to following CDC guidelines to ensure safety and well-being for our team members. 

Why IA Collaborative

At IA, you’ll push the boundaries of your craft by shaping the future of human experiences—transforming clients’ businesses, empowering communities, and creating lasting impact. Along the way, you’ll have opportunities to design with and for emerging technologies to address real human needs.

Our internationally recognized workspace provides the inspiration and flexibility to collaborate with teams or to focus as an individual.

IA’s comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, vision; Retirement Savings Benefits; scholarship funds to promote individual learning, growth and inspiration; discretionary bonus and profit-sharing programs; a suite of family benefits including paid time off for the birth of a child, caregiver leave, wellness check-in days, flexible spending accounts for dependent care, health expenses and childcare, and 529 college savings planning and contributions; and employer-paid life insurance and disability.

About IA Collaborative 

IA Collaborative is a global design and innovation consultancy. We help leading organizations and category disruptors find new growth, create new offerings, and empower a culture of innovation. We fully integrate human-centered design and business strategy into the ongoing operations of our clients, to launch new corporate ventures and drive continuous innovation. From Insight to Action, we define new business models and create new products, technology platforms, experiences, brands, services and environments. 

IA is on the national and global stage speaking about the business value of design. Featured by Fast Company as one of the country’s preeminent design thinkers and nominated by the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum as a “Design Visionary,” IA’s leadership and work has been profiled by prominent business publications and has received multiple design accolades, including Best Design North America and Best UX Design in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards; the SXSW Business Design Award; and multiple honors in the Red Dot International, International Design Excellence Awards (IDSA), the GOOD DESIGN Awards, and the iF World Design Awards. IA Collaborative works with the world’s most successful brands, including FedEx, Allstate, Airbnb, Fidelity, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, Lilly, and Audi.

At IA Collaborative, we are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We believe that welcoming a diverse variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills to our organization contributes to a thriving culture, a vibrant community, and breakthrough work. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristics protected by federal, state, or local law.

For more information about IA Collaborative visit iacollaborative.com, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Glassdoor.

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