Back to jobs
New

Senior Business Designer

Chicago, IL

ChIDEO BxD Designer

IDEO Chicago is in search of a Senior Business Designer who will frame complex business problems, translate insights into viable growth opportunities, and drive ideas toward real-world activation.

The role:

At IDEO, we help clients move forward when the path isn’t clear — whether driven by ambition, responding to disruption, or breaking out of entrenched ways of working. 

As a Senior Business Designer, you’ll help teams and organizations turn bold ideas into viable, real-world outcomes — shaping new products, services, and ventures while building the business models, strategies, and pathways to bring them to market. Working across the spectrum from insight to execution, you’ll use business tools, systems thinking, entrepreneurial creativity, and strategic analysis to drive competitive advantage and strategic growth for our clients.

The right person for this role has strong business acumen and strategic instincts, with experience in growth strategy, product management, go-to-market execution, or venture creation. They’re comfortable navigating ambiguity, working with multi-disciplinary teams, influencing senior stakeholders and building conviction for new ideas. They quickly understand how a business creates and captures value, connecting market insights, customer needs, and financial drivers into compelling strategies — moving work forward with the right balance of rigor and creativity to drive real impact. 

Why is this role important for IDEO’s work?

Business Designers make the biggest impact by turning ambiguity into clarity and connecting insights to commercially viable opportunities. Their skillset is critical to our work because they bring together strategy, business decision making, market understanding and business model thinking to help clients create and capture value. We count on them to move work beyond ideas into action and provide clear, informed pathways for winning investments.

Once here you will:

  • Creatively problem-solve by generating new ideas, business models, value propositions, etc., exploring unconventional or hidden solutions in a business context
  • Design viable business models, value propositions, and go-to-market strategies for new products, services, and ventures
  • Build an understanding of IDEO’s client organizations, and partner with clients to drive change and innovation within their teams and organizations
  • Conduct market, competitive, and financial analysis to identify new and emerging opportunities, inform decisions, shape business cases, and build conviction for new ideas
  • Synthesize research, data, and insights into clear narratives that guide decision-making and align stakeholders
  • Translate complexity into action by developing and leading experiments or pilots that produce insights to help identify and create innovation roadmaps to scale recommendations in real-world contexts
  • Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams with designers across all creative and technical disciplines (design research, interaction design, data science, communication design, etc.) 
  • Facilitate client workshops and conversations that drive alignment, momentum, and strategic decisions
  • Continuously grow with, as well as upskill, the Business Design craft through knowledge sharing and bringing unique perspectives to the greater IDEO community

Relevant experiences/skills:

Qualified candidates for this role will have:

  • A minimum of 4 years of full-time working experience – in a past life, you may have worked in strategy consulting, venture design, product strategy, product management, product innovation, corporate strategy, business insights, business analytics, business planning, go-to market, and/or growth strategy
  • Strong business acumen; i.e., broad knowledge or exposure to strategy, marketing, finance, operations, product development, organizational design, etc — MBA beneficial but not required 
  • Experience in business design, strategy, product management, venture building, or innovation roles
  • Ability to creatively problem-solve in a business context, i.e. generate multiple alternative ways to address feasibility, viability, and desirability, including ways that are not obvious
  • Comfort working in ambiguous situations with limited direction, independently shaping problem definitions and approaches
  • Ability to interpret and communicate complex business ideas to different audiences, through text, visual, and verbal communications
  • Experience working across stakeholders and influencing decisions in complex organizations
  • Track record in making ideas real and tangible, from concept to execution roadmap, as an entrepreneur and/or intrapreneur, and bringing others along with you
  • Strength in synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data into clear insights, recommendations and narratives, making potential impact clear and supporting decision making across options
  • Strong storytelling and strategic narrative-building skills

Standout candidates for this role will bring:

  • Direct experience applying human-centered design approaches, or signals of this skillset
  • Leadership in bringing a new product or venture to market (0→1)
  • Familiarity with tools (including AI) to accelerate thinking and workflow
  • Client centricity (direct experience or signals of this skillset)
  • Experience with venture building, incubation, innovation labs or product/service development
  • Experience in relevant industries (financial services, healthcare, technology, manufacturing), with an understanding of complex environments such as regulation, risk, and product innovation 

Key mindsets:

IDEO Designers 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

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.

As a Senior Business Designer in Chicago, we provide the opportunity for you to:

  • Work on breakthrough products, ventures (0→1) and strategies across industries like health, financial services, and technology
  • Collaborate with a studio of creative, curious, and deeply thoughtful people who challenge and inspire one another
  • Contribute to a portfolio deeply rooted in real-world, applied innovation with Midwestern makers, healthcare leaders, financial institutions, and digital product organizations
  • Shape end-to-end innovation—from early insight to market activation
  • Grow your craft within deeply multidisciplinary teams while building confidence and leadership in client-facing work

Payscale & Benefits

IDEO is committed to paying its employees equitably, regardless of gender identity or race/ethnicity/cultural identity. We support the holistic well-being of our community by providing a thoughtfully designed benefits package.

The salary range for this role is $100,000-120,000 USD. This range is influenced by a wide range of factors considered in compensation decisions at IDEO. This includes, but is not limited to: skills, industry knowledge, and experience. Final offers may vary from the amount listed based on geography, candidate experience & expertise, and other factors.

In addition to base compensation, IDEO offers a rich benefits package including the following:

Health Benefits: Vision, Dental, Healthcare

Financial Benefits: 401K matching

Family & Caregiving: Parental Leave, Adoption Assistance, Fertility Assistance, Transgender Medical Assistance, Breastmilk shipment, Back-up/Dependent Care, Pet Insurance

Other Benefits: Flexible Work, Flexible Time Off, Paid Holidays, Annual Education Stipend, Home Office Stipend

Commitment to Diversity

At IDEO, we are committed to the work of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion within our organization and in the world. Our purpose of having disproportionate, world-changing impact through design is directly connected to our ability to bring many different perspectives to the table. This applies to our candidates, the people we hire, the clients and customers we serve, and the communities we learn from in our research.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at IDEO? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...
Portfolio

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...

Please select N/a if based outside of the US.

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Additionally, we’re always looking for great talent across all of our IDEO studios.

Are there any other IDEO locations you’re open to being considered for future opportunities? If so, please let us know which ones by selecting from the following list. Select “none” if you do not want to be contacted regarding any other opportunities.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in IDEO’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.