Design Thinking Strategist

Design Thinking Specialist - Charlotte, NC - Hybrid, 3 Days a Week

Optomi, in partnership with a leading enterprise organization, is seeking a Design Thinking Strategist to support an internal innovation and consulting team focused on solving complex, ambiguous business challenges through human-centered design and strategic facilitation.

This role sits at the intersection of design, business strategy, and innovation. You’ll work with cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders to help clarify problems, align priorities, and guide teams toward sustainable, high-impact solutions — often before a product or solution even exists.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys working early in the problem space, facilitating alignment, and influencing outcomes across large organizations.

• Lead and facilitate design thinking workshops to help teams define problems, explore opportunities, and align on next steps
• Guide stakeholders through the human-centered design process, from discovery and research to insight synthesis and solution framing
• Partner with business leaders, product teams, and data/AI stakeholders to ensure ideas connect to real user needs and business value
• Help internal clients slow down early ideas (e.g., “let’s add AI”) and uncover what they’re actually trying to solve
• Translate research, insights, and discussions into clear narratives, recommendations, and action plans
• Operate as an internal consultant — managing ambiguity, expectations, and multiple initiatives at once

• Experience in design thinking, human-centered design, service design, or innovation strategy
• Background in consulting, agency, or internal enterprise innovation teams
• Strong facilitation and communication skills, including leading workshops and virtual sessions
• Business-oriented mindset with the ability to connect ideas to strategy, value, and outcomes
• Experience supporting or contributing to AI-enabled products or process improvements
• Comfort working in ambiguous, fast-evolving environments with senior stakeholders

• Working upstream of product and delivery to shape what should be built — and why!
• Facilitating conversations that create clarity, alignment, and momentum!
• Balancing empathy for users with practical business realities!
• Being part of a collaborative, optimistic, and entrepreneurial team culture!
• Long-term contract stability with meaningful, enterprise-level impact!