Business Development Director

In a nutshell:

IDEO Chicago is looking for a Director of Growth to expand our client portfolio and build a strong pipeline of ambitious, meaningful human-centered design work.

Your role is to help us win the right work, build enduring relationships, and create consistent momentum in the market. You’ll identify opportunities, develop early-stage relationships, shape them into real pursuits, and help others do the same.

This role requires both doing and enabling. You’ll personally initiate conversations and generate new business, while also strengthening the systems and habits that make growth a shared responsibility across the studio. 

We believe business development is a team sport. You’ll work closely with Chicago studio leadership, our Chicago Business Development Lead, the Global Head of Growth, and other BD leaders across IDEO. As Growth Director, you’ll help shape the future of IDEO Chicago — the clients we serve, the challenges we take on, and how we show up in the world.

Once here you will:

Set direction and drive execution

• Partner with studio and global leadership to clarify growth priorities, focus areas, and goals
• Translate strategy into a focused growth plan for the studio
• Maintain visibility into progress and adjust where needed

Generate new leads and start conversations

• Proactively identify and reach out to prospective clients in priority sectors
• Build and maintain a strong external network in Chicago and beyond
• Represent IDEO at events and conferences — and create opportunities for others to do the same
• Turn informal conversations into qualified early-stage opportunities
• Activate the broader studio — equipping design and portfolio leaders with tools, messaging, and systems that support proactive growth

Developing and landing new business

• Partner closely with design leaders to shape opportunities from first conversation through signed contract
• Help determine where to invest energy for the highest impact

Strengthen key client relationships

• Partner with Client Relationship Leads to develop account plans that deepen trust and surface new opportunities
• Maintain a clear view of early-stage relationships and ensure consistent follow-up
• Support Directors in reconnecting with former clients or reframing stalled relationships
• Identify whitespace within existing accounts and help turn it into new work

Build growth capability in the studio

• Model effective growth behaviors and coach others to do the same
• Strengthen the systems and rhythms that support proactive business development
• Foster a culture of proactivity, curiosity, and follow-through

Relevant Experiences + Skills:

• Demonstrated experience leading business development, growth, or client partnerships within consulting, design, innovation, or adjacent industries
• A strong ability to identify opportunities, build relationships, and translate early conversations into meaningful work
• Experience developing and managing a pipeline from early outreach through proposal and contract
• Confidence partnering with senior leaders and cross-disciplinary teams to shape pursuits and close new business
• A well-developed professional network, ideally within Chicago and/or priority industry sectors
• Skill in communicating complex ideas clearly, crafting compelling narratives, and positioning creative work with clients
• Experience supporting account growth and long-term client relationships, including identifying new opportunities within existing partnerships
• Comfort operating both strategically and tactically, setting direction while also executing day-to-day outreach and relationship building
• A collaborative mindset and the ability to activate others around growth, coaching teams and building shared ownership of business development
• Curiosity about human-centered design and innovation, and excitement about bringing these approaches to organizations tackling meaningful challenges

Some previous projects to check out:

• Introducing LA’s mental health crisis first responders
• Disrupting the beauty goliaths
• Culture as catalyst
• Reintroducing The Lawrence Hall of Science
• Transforming sick days with play

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 $130,000–$180,000 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.

Payroll & Benefits Administrator

In a nutshell:

At IDEO, we use design to create new products, services, experiences, tangible strategies, and creative capabilities. As the Payroll & Benefits Administrator on our Talent team, you will be a steady engine behind the employee experience. In this role, you will ensure our payroll, retirement, and benefits programs run accurately, compliantly, and with care. You will partner closely with People and Finance to manage biweekly payroll, 401(k) administration, open enrollment, reporting, and global mobility logistics—bringing both rigor and empathy to the details that matter most.

Once here you will:

• Manage biweekly payroll processing, ensuring accuracy and timeliness within ADP
• Oversee W2 preparation and year-end payroll activities
• Conduct NDX testing and support payroll compliance audits
• Execute and review quarterly payroll adjustments
• Administer our 401k program, including enrollments, compliance testing, and vendor coordination
• Lead operational execution of open enrollment, partnering on communications and education
• Support global mobility processes for employees relocating across markets
• Partner with the Finance team on payroll-related financial reporting, reconciliations, and forecasting inputs
• Identify opportunities to streamline systems and improve clarity across compensation and benefits processes
• Monthly benefits billing reconciliation
• Manage expense report approvals 
• Ad hoc projects as needed

Relevant experiences/skills:

• Experience managing biweekly payroll with accuracy and care, ideally using ADP or a similar system
• Working knowledge of U.S. payroll compliance, including W-2 preparation and year-end activities
• Experience administering 401(k) and employee benefits programs, including enrollments and vendor coordination
• Comfort supporting open enrollment operations and benefits billing reconciliation
• Ability to partner with Talent and Finance on payroll reporting, reconciliations, and adjustments
• Experience maintaining audit readiness and payroll compliance processes
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple operational workflows simultaneously
• A collaborative, service-oriented approach when working across People, Finance, and external partners
• Curiosity and initiative to improve systems and streamline payroll and benefits processes

Key mindsets:

• Detail as craft — You understand that precision builds trust.
• Systems thinker — You see payroll and benefits as interconnected ecosystems, not transactions.
• Calm under deadlines — Quarter-end and year-end moments don’t rattle you.
• Human-centered operator — You balance compliance with empathy.
• Collaborative partner — You move fluidly between People, Finance, and external vendors.

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 $80,000–$90,000 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.

Senior Visual Communication Designer

In a nutshell:

Visual Communication Designers at IDEO make the biggest impact through visual storytelling. They work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to bring ideas, research, strategy, and stories to life through strong craft execution.

The ideal candidate has a strong foundation in graphic design and experience applying practical and conceptual design principles across brand expression, interaction and digital product experiences, motion, and storytelling. We’re looking for designers who bring a distinct visual voice, curiosity, and a commitment to craft excellence.

In this role, you will… 

In this role, you’ll work you'll work on a single multidisciplinary team that focuses on Entertainment and Technology and tackle all aspects of the design process from user research to physical prototyping and communicating the overall project story to the client team.You’ll have the opportunity to work on projects that span data, experience, interaction, digital product, and service design. Your contributions may take on a variety of forms including brand expression, storytelling, information, motion, packaging, interface, wayfinding, and environmental design. You will work closely on strategic communications helping transform complex data, systems, and ideas into visuals and narratives that are intuitive, engaging, and actionable. 

Relevant experiences/skills:

• Relevant experience and/or educational background required in communications design, graphic design, or a closely related discipline, gained in a studio, agency, or in-house environment
• A strong foundation in visual design craft, including typography, layout, composition, color, and systems thinking
• Experience designing across multiple mediums, such as brand and brand expression, information design, digital and interactive experiences, motion, and presentation design
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex ideas, data, and strategies into clear, compelling visual narratives
• Comfort working from early concepting and synthesis through execution, refinement, and delivery
• Experience collaborating closely with multidisciplinary teams
• Confidence in explaining design decisions, and using storytelling to align teams and move projects forward
• High level of self-direction, organization, and accountability

Once here you will:

• Partner closely with a single, long-term Entertainment and Technology client, contributing to the ongoing evolution of their brand, platforms, and experiences over time
• Set the visual design direction of projects through exploration, strategy, graphic design, and storytelling
• Design environments, experiences, websites, apps, and combined digital and physical experiences with the end user in mind
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary designers with backgrounds such as industrial design, interaction design, business design, and mechanical engineering to solve problems
• Work through all phases of a project, from translating verbal ideas into rough visual concepts to creating production-ready artwork, to create looks like/works like prototypes of different levels of fidelity to help teams determine design direction
• Create compelling visual narratives that communicate user stories and our strategic solutions
• Be an advocate for exceptional visual design elevating craft, clarity, and coherence while working within complex systems, constraints, and timelines

Some previous projects to check out: 

• Enhancing garment worker well-being with AI
• Redefining retail in Mexico
• Teaching robots to dance
• Hot Sauce Success

Key mindsets:

• Collaborative and adaptable: able to navigate team dynamics, timelines, and client contexts while delivering exceptional design
• Growth oriented and resilient: open to feedback, eager to iterate, and comfortable learning through experimentation and critique
• Curious and proactive: able to generate ideas, take initiative, and contribute wherever needed, from early exploration to final delivery

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. 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. 

In this role, you’ll have the opportunity to work deeply with a single Entertainment and Technology client over time. Rather than moving quickly between projects, you’ll build sustained context, developing a nuanced understanding of the client’s strategy, systems, audiences, and organizational dynamics. This depth will enable you to contribute not just to design outcomes, but to strategic thinking, long-term vision, and the evolution of ideas as they move from concept to reality.

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 $80,000–$100,000 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.

Senior Visual Communication Designer

In a nutshell:

Visual Communication Designers at IDEO make the biggest impact through visual storytelling. They work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to bring ideas, research, strategy, and stories to life through strong craft execution.

The ideal candidate has a strong foundation in graphic design and experience applying practical and conceptual design principles across brand expression, interaction and digital product experiences, motion, and storytelling. We’re looking for designers who bring a distinct visual voice, curiosity, and a commitment to craft excellence. 

In this role, you will… 

You’ll work as a key contributor on project teams, supporting all phases of the design process—from early exploration and prototyping through to polished, client-facing deliverables. Your work may span brand, storytelling, motion, interaction and digital product, information design, packaging, and environmental expression.

Once here you will:

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to translate research and strategy into compelling visual narratives
• Contribute to the development and expression of brand identities across mediums
• Create looks-like/works-like prototypes at varying levels of fidelity to explore and communicate design directions
• Design thoughtful experiences across digital, physical, and hybrid touchpoints with the end user in mind
• Produce high-quality visual deliverables that communicate user stories and strategic intent working across a variety of industries (health, financial services, consumer products, etc.)
• Advocate for exceptional visual craft through making, iteration, and collaboration

Some previous projects to check out:

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology Brand
• Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health
• The Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California Berkeley
• Cities United Rebrand

Design Craft:

• Relevant experience and/or educational background required in interactive/graphic design across a variety of applications and media
• Strong portfolio demonstrating elevated design craft, typography, layout, and visual storytelling
• Extensive experience with tools such as Adobe Creative Suite and Figma
• Familiarity with motion and interaction tools (After Effects, prototyping platforms, etc.)
• Comfort collaborating in client-facing presentation environments such as Google Slides and FigJam/Figma Slides
• Curiosity and openness to experimenting with emerging mediums including 3D, motion, and AI-assisted design

Diverse Experience:

• Experience establishing and expressing brand identity, from understanding strategy through creative interpretation and execution, including: visual identities, brand systems, and guidelines for implementation
• Experience in concept ideation, design research, and prototyping, with a curiosity for learning and experimenting across visual, digital, and experiential mediums
• Ability to work across a wide range of design challenges, recognizing patterns, and translating insights into thoughtful visual solutions
• Comfort moving between exploratory and polished work, helping teams bring ideas to life through strong craft and storytelling

Key Mindsets:

• Collaborative and adaptable: able to navigate team dynamics,timelines, and client contexts while delivering exceptional design. 
• Growth oriented and resilient: open to feedback, eager to iterate, and comfortable learning through experimentation and critique
• Curious and proactive: able to generate ideas, take initiative, and contribute wherever needed, from early exploration to final delivery. 

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 $80,000–$100,000 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.