Organizational Design Lead

SF Organizational Design Lead

When organizations decide to do something they’ve never done before — develop a new offer, integrate emerging technology, reinvent their operating model, redefine leadership expectations, or shift long-standing mindsets and norms — they rarely need more slides. They need the confidence to act that comes from a clear plan and shared momentum.

At IDEO, we help our clients navigate toward action when they’re doing something new. We work at the messy, high-stakes intersection of ambition and reality — translating bold strategy into tangible structures, rituals, behaviors, and systems that actually work in the day-to-day.

As an Organizational Design Lead, you’ll help organizations activate their purpose, shift behaviors, and deliver meaningful results — from the boardroom to the break room to the front line. The right person for this role has led large-scale transformation from within an organization, believes in fit-for-purpose organizational design and exceptional employee experiences as drivers of business impact, and can turn workforce insights and future signals into tangible organizational prototypes that spark real change. They quickly understand what makes an organization unique — and know how to pull the right structural, cultural, and talent levers to make change real and successful.

This role is a rare blend of systems thinker, change catalyst, and grounded operator. You’ll help organizations redesign how work gets done — aligning strategy, structure, talent, and culture so people can move forward with clarity, confidence, and shared purpose. You’ll do this as part of a deeply multidisciplinary team — partnering with experts in areas like design research, visual communication, experience design, and beyond — giving you creative leverage and problem-solving range that simply isn’t possible elsewhere.

In a nutshell:

Organizational Designers help IDEO’s clients turn business ambition into organizational reality. We assess the gap between where an organization is today and the outcomes it aims to achieve — then design the necessary shifts in strategy, structure, processes, culture, incentives, and talent to close that gap. What makes IDEO different is that our work doesn’t end in a deck. We prototype the future with our clients — testing ideas in action, learning quickly, iterating deliberately, and building the confidence needed to scale change.

The following are examples of what this has looked like in the recent past:

• Identifying and testing key strategic assumptions in practice to validate and iterate before scaling
• Crafting tangible futures and implementation roadmaps that turn ambition into action
• Redefining how teams work together in the AI era
• Co-creating operating models and ways of working aligned to new business realities
• Building onboarding and learning experiences that more quickly unlock new mindsets and skills
• Prototyping talent systems like new career pathways, innovation functions, and cross-functional collaboration models
• Building a new innovation function from the ground up and measuring its success as innovation projects run through it

Once here you will:

Lead complex client work with craft and care

You'll serve as a designer and consultant, fully deployed to lead multidisciplinary projects that deliver bold organizational outcomes. You’ll lead teams and clients through ambiguity with clarity, while holding a high bar for creative excellence. 

Stay on the edge of your craft

Through the work, internal and external learning opportunities, and your own initiative, you’ll continue to grow your own and IDEO’s thought leadership on the next evolution of must-have innovation capabilities and the future of creative teams and leadership.

Project lead with confidence

Design Leads at IDEO frequently lead one client relationship and project at a time, steering interdisciplinary teams through all phases of work — from research and synthesis to prototyping and implementation. You’ll manage scope, timelines, budgets, and stakeholder relationships with transparency and rigor.

Build trusted client relationships

You’ll show up as a trusted advisor alongside other client relationship leaders, helping clients make sense of complexity, align in direction, and take action toward lasting change.

Design the systems that shape behaviors and bring strategy to life

You’ll design tangible organizational components such as:

• Org and people strategy aligned to business ambition
• Operating models, team structures, governance, and workflows
• Roles, rituals, and ways-of-working that shape culture
• Capability frameworks, learning experiences, and employee programs
• Change activators — from communication strategies to adoption tools
• Metrics and measurement systems that ensure change sticks

Mentor and elevate others

You’ll mentor emerging talent, foster inclusive team cultures, and help IDEO’s organizational design practice grow stronger through shared learning, critique, and collaboration.

Contribute to IDEO’s growth

You’ll support business development by shaping proposals, joining client conversations, and helping build lasting partnerships.

Relevant experiences/skills:

We’d love to meet you if you bring:

• 5-7+ years of experience designing, activating, and leading change initiative(s) at a large organization, ideally in healthcare or technology
• Experience designing world-class talent initiatives or employee experiences that drive measurable business impact
• Experience leading complex, interdisciplinary projects
• Experience advising, coaching, or facilitating learning for senior leadership
• Experience with a human-centered design approach to work, including organizational prototyping to learn and iterate
• Strength across areas like:
• AI-enabled ways of working
• Org purpose, mission, and values activation
• Organizational structures, roles, and operating models
• Culture creation and behavior change
• Employee lifecycle design (hiring, onboarding, development)
• Learning experience and capability design
• Leading change, measurement, and storytelling
• Organizational or behavioral psychology

Key mindsets:

IDEO Org Design Leads are people who:

• Lead with curiosity and optimism
• Hold space for authenticity and psychological safety
• Embrace ambiguity (and still ship)
• Collaborate generously across disciplines
• Learn from failure and iterate forward
• Take ownership and make others successful

Some previous projects to check out:

• Moderna defines its mindsets to preserve its future.
• Ascend Public Charter Schools designs a “grown-up” vision for its young educational network.
• Intercorp launches an innovation lab to benefit Peruvians.
• How an organizational culture change is helping newbies at NYU navigate campus life.

What does IDEO offer you?

IDEO is a place where you can solve diverse, complex challenges for our clients and their organizations, alongside thoughtful, intelligent individuals who lead with curiosity, empathy, and humility. We intentionally craft moments that allow our community to pause, create, and connect. We encourage our community to bring their whole selves to work, respect the need for work-life balance, and allow for autonomy in the design process and your career.

Payscale & Benefits

IDEO is committed to paying its employees, contractors & vendors equitably, regardless of gender identity or race/ethnicity/cultural identity.

The salary range for this role is $115,000–$135,000 USD. Final offers may vary based on candidate experience, location, and other factors. As a full-time position, this role is eligible for employee benefits.