Senior Design Strategist

The posting, as LINK wrote it

Who We Are: LINK is a fast-growing Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) that leverages human-centered design to support strategy, innovation, communication, change, and branding within the federal government and adjacent industry partners. At LINK, we partner with engineers, futurists, and thought leaders to untangle complexity, discover opportunity, and communicate clearly with visual stories.

Let us be your partners in change.

Location: We are actively hiring in the San Diego area and welcome candidates who are interested in relocating to the area.

About the Opportunity

LINK is actively seeking a Senior Design Strategist to join our dynamic team, where we leverage strong partnerships and a robust portfolio of clients across diverse industries. You will be responsible for leading and executing innovative design strategies, collaborating with both internal teams and executive-level clients, and driving impactful visual storytelling to meet client objectives.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced professional to bring a combination of creative and strategic expertise to elevate LINK’s business growth and deliver high-quality, design-thinking-driven solutions. You will work closely with clients to understand their challenges, reframe them into the right problems to solve, prototype and test ideas, and develop compelling narratives that align with their mission, goals, and brand identity. Ideal candidates will have a proven track record of applying design thinking to ambiguous challenges, designing impactful visual experiences, utilizing data-driven insights, and collaborating cross-functionally to deliver exceptional client results.

Qualifications

• 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. Familiarity with human-centered design is a plus.
• Well-versed in a variety of design strategy disciplines and able to select the appropriate approach 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 the ability to collaborate effectively with clients and cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity

[…]
to a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture.

• Shares tools, methods, frameworks, and lessons learned that improve the quality and consistency of work across engagements.
• Supports development of emerging practitioners by providing guidance on research, facilitation, synthesis, and visual storytelling approaches.
• Contributes to the continued evolution of LINK’s design strategy practice through innovation, experimentation, and continuous learning.

Work Schedule

• On-site with the client 2-3 days per week.
• Full time, 40 hours per week
• Some travel required to attend relevant events and conferences, and participate in LINK team events

Salary: LINK is committed to offering competitive compensation. While the salary range for this position is $112,000 - $151,000 , your final offer may be adjusted based on factors such as experience and location.

Benefits

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

LINK is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by applicable state, local, and federal law.

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact Human Resources to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.