User Experience Design Lead in London

Interaction Design LeadIn a NutshellIDEO London is seeking an Interaction Design Lead with a passion for creating human-centred experiences and helping teams do their best work. Your work will span digital and physical experiences, including new ways for people to interact with AI.About IDEO LondonWe're a global design consultancy where curiosity, empathy, and solving complex challenges drive us. Interaction Design is at the heart of creating meaningful human-centred experiences that meet people's needs and help businesses move forward. As an Interaction Design Lead, you'll bring together craft, creative direction and project leadership to help teams turn strategy into experiences people can use. As AI becomes part of everyday products and services, you'll help us explore how people understand, trust and stay in control of systems that can act on their behalf. Once Here You WillLead and co-lead multidisciplinary project teams from research and framing through design, prototyping and delivery, balancing people's needs, client goals and technical possibilitiesSet a clear design direction and stay hands-on with journeys, flows, interfaces and interaction details, connecting individual touchpoints to a coherent product or service experienceBuild and guide prototypes at the right fidelity to answer the team's questions, using Figma, code and AI-assisted tools to make ideas tangible early and test them with peoplePartner with researchers and technologists to plan experiments, test usability and accessibility, and use qualitative feedback and product data to refine designs and assess their impactExplore conversational and agentic UX: design how people express intent, approve actions, understand what an AI system is doing, redirect it and recover when things go wrongOwn project plans, resource needs and delivery milestones; brief and delegate work clearly, spot obstacles early, and help the team navigate ambiguity while maintaining creative qualityBe a main client point of contact, facilitate working sessions and present compelling design narratives; align stakeholders on decisions, trade-offs and next stepsHelp scope client challenges and shape proposals and follow-on opportunities with senior colleagues, drawing on project learnings and collaboration across Europe and beyond; travel as projects requireMentor designers, give actionable craft feedback and build an inclusive team culture; share methods and learnings across our London community, including thoughtful use of AI that protects client and participant informationWe're looking for someone with6–8 years of professional experience in interaction design, digital product design, UX/UI or a related discipline, including 1–2+ years leading projects or multidisciplinary teamsStrong interaction design craft and a portfolio showing how you turn complex requirements into clear experiences; advanced expertise in one or more areas of digital, visual, service or systems design, with fluency across othersA strong grounding in human-centred design, research and usability testing, with the ability to guide a team from evidence to design decisions and measurable outcomesThe ability to scope, brief and delegate design work, manage timelines and resources, and empower a small to medium team to take ownership of different parts of a projectA keen eye for visual hierarchy, responsive interfaces, motion and micro-interactions, and the ability to critique work and offer clear, actionable feedbackStrong prototyping skills in Figma or comparable tools, and confidence experimenting with AI-assisted ideation and prototyping while checking outputs and making your own design judgementsA commitment to accessibility and inclusive design, and thoughtful judgement about privacy, bias and people's agency when designing with AIThe ability to connect interaction details to wider service and system needs, and work with engineers to understand technical constraints and bring designs to lifeExcellent storytelling, presentation and facilitation skills; confidence building trusted client relationships, aligning stakeholders and helping others succeed with empathy and opennessAn Interaction Design qualification or equivalent work experience, alongside curiosity, self-awareness and a willingness to give and seek feedbackIt's a bonus if youHave worked closely with product managers and engineers to take digital products or services from concept to launch and learn from their useHave used product analytics and experimentation to evaluate design decisions and improve outcomesHave designed conversational or agentic experiences, including human approval, transparent system behaviour, error recovery and hand-offs between people and AIHave built functional prototypes with code or AI coding tools, and can explain where these tools improved your process and where your judgement changed the outcomeHave helped shape proposals, scope engagements or develop repeat client workHave contributed to design systems or reusable interaction patterns, or explored emerging technologies through creative experimentationWhat does IDEO offer you? Dive into a variety of projects from creating breakthrough digital products and experiences, to designing new customer interactions, to building innovation capabilities – working alongside talented individuals across disciplines. Whether it's strengthening your project leadership, deepening your interaction design craft or exploring new technologies, we're here to support your journey. Community and well-being: Collaboration and community are central to what we do. We foster moments for creativity, connection, and reflection, respecting the need for work-life balance. Projects with purpose: We partner with clients to use design as a means of realising their purpose and making a positive impact. Some Previous Projects To Check OutTo get a flavour of the work we do in London, take a look at these case studies: Climate action for SMBs – Designing a strategy and experience to help Sage's SMB customers transition to net zero. Redefining retail with FEMSA – Designing Spin Premia, a digital loyalty experience connecting everyday shopping at OXXO with rewards and services. Sustainable packaging system – Helping H&M increase their sustainability and growth, by designing and scaling a universal packaging system for all of their brands. Commitment to DiversityAt IDEO, we are committed to the work of advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organisation 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. We recognize that this commitment requires ongoing work and sustained attention, as well as adaptation to new insights and best practicesApplication Requirements And InstructionsIf you identify with our values, are excited about great design, and would like to contribute to our community, we would love to see your CV, a cover letter and examples of your work. CV: please highlight experiences related to the 'We're looking for someone with' and 'It's a bonus if you' sections aboveCover letter: please share why you are interested in this role and how it aligns with how you are looking to grow in your career. Work examples (confidentiality permitting): please include two projects that show your interaction design craft and project leadership. We'd love to see how you think, make and help a team move forward. In your work examples, focus on: The challenge you were trying to solveThe context, users and client goals you were designing forYour specific design contribution and how you led or supported the teamThe research, design and prototyping methods you used, including any AI tools and how you evaluated their outputsKey design decisions, iterations and trade-offs, illustrated with flows, interfaces or prototypesThe impact on people, the client and the team, and what you learnt from the outcome