Solutions Design Lead (Technical Design) – Software Solution

Solutions Design Lead (Techincal Design) – Software Solution – England or Barcelona

Day rate: £400 – £600 (inside IR35)

Duration: 6 months

Start: ASAP

My new client is looking for a Solution Design Lead to take on critical role, using empathic methods to design and deliver products and services that delight our users.

Solution Designers combine user knowledge with analysis and artistry. They:

• Are inspired by first-hand user engagement, and immersed in user context and the problem domain.
• Transform complex business scenarios into useful solutions that are easy to learn, and efficient to use, meeting the exact needs of the user with simplicity and elegance.
• Delight users with extraordinary emotional experiences, delivering innovative experiences that users love.

The ideal candidate is a recognised expert and leading performer in design craft.

• Delivers robust and effective processes, practice, and strategy to enable individuals and teams.
• Delivers exceptional quality design projects covering product areas, whole products, or undefined spaces.
• Delivers high-performing, thriving and contented teams.

Design Skills, Know-how and Experience

• A recognised expert in solution design.
• A recognised expert in design standards, processes, industry best practice, and trends.
• Systems-level design thinker and visionary with strong instincts and outstanding intuition.
• Has an uncanny sense of design, acts as a fierce advocate for the user, and is committed to creating elegantly simple user experiences from otherwise complex workflows.
• Understands not just execution of design, but the business aspects of products as well.
• Expert knowledge of design thinking, designing with rationale and leader in a design critique.
• Expert knowledge of industry-standard design tools.
• Shares knowledge, skills, and inspires other team members.

Project Skills, Know-how and Experience

• Appropriate experience of leading major design projects and setting strategic design direction.
• Demonstrates exceptional people skills – communication, presentation, negotiation, collaboration, and interpersonal skills.
• The ability to communicate complex interaction concepts clearly and persuasively across different audiences and varying levels of the organisation.
• Effectiveness in working across organisational boundaries to define, manage, and prioritise work.
• Develops processes for tackling design problems using known methods; anticipates problems; develops facilitation skills to engage cross-functional teams.
• Handle uncertainty and acute challenges with grace and calm.
• Are proactive, goal-oriented, and go after exciting challenges, rather than only being reactive.

Design Accountabilities

Recognised expert and leading performer in product teams and across XD in at least one of:

• Solution design – as domain experts, SCRUM Product Owners, experts in technical expertise and legislative insight, providing the interconnect between PM, XD and Engineering

Process, Practice, and Strategic Skills, Know-how and Experience

• Appropriate experience in defining effective high-level design processes, practice, and strategies.
• Ability to tailor textbook and industry-standard solutions to organisational and user context.
• Ability to operate with wide organisational scale and influence.
• Experience of influencing stakeholders and leadership to drive improvement.

Responsibility split:

30% hands-on design

20% Process & Strategy

20% Leading design projects

30% Managing people

Project Accountabilities:

• Delivers exceptional quality design projects covering product areas, whole products, or undefined spaces.
• Ensures quality, completeness, competitiveness, and timeliness of design craft in the projects assigned to them.
• Provides creative leadership, owning design direction and high-level decision making.
• Ensures ultimate design success in terms of:
• Customer and user satisfaction
• Commercial goals
• Ensures an effective and energising relationship with other professions
• Connects the team’s efforts with a savvy grasp of the ecosystem and organisational context.
• Coaches in craft and ways of working, enabling juniors and peers.
• Plans resourcing and task assignment, coordinates work and routines.
• Drives design creativity and innovation.
• Manages constraint, iteration, phasing, and scalable solutions.

*Rates depend on experience and client requirements