Junior Design Researcher

The Mission

Dubai Design Lab is an action lab under the Dubai Future Foundation, harnessing the power of design and creativity to position Dubai among the world’s most livable cities. The lab (re) designs, prototypes, and tests policies, strategies, and systems aligned with Dubai’s vision; creating a platform where individuals and organizations come together to imagine and shape a better future. By combining experimentation, collaboration, and human-centered design, the lab drives innovation and contributes to Dubai’s growth as a leading global hub.

The Junior Human-Centered Designer contributes to multidisciplinary design projects that span across service design, policy, strategy and business. The designer will contribute to help in deeply listening to people, understand behavior in order to create meaningful change. This role blends rigorous research with hands-on design. The successful candidate will help uncover human insights and translate them into tangible solutions - from digital experiences and service journeys to policy prototypes and systemic interventions.

Working within cross-functional teams, the Junior Human-Centered Designer supports the full design process: research, synthesis, ideation, prototyping, and testing. This is not a purely academic research role. It is a practice-based position embedded within live design projects.

• Research and Insight Development (40%)
  • Support qualitative and mixed-method research
  • Conduct secondary research and benchmarking across multi-disciplinary projects
  • Conduct interviews, contextual inquiries, field observations, and stakeholder engagements.
  • Map user journeys, service ecosystems, and system dynamics.
  • Contribute to synthesis outputs including insight frameworks, personas, opportunity areas, and design principles.
• Design Collaboration and Prototyping (30%)
  • Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across design, strategy, and policy.
  • Participate in iterative prototyping and user feedback loops to test and refine ideas.
  • Support the development of tools, frameworks, and narratives that bridge research and design outcomes.
  • Contribute to documentation, presentations, and storytelling that communicates insights and impact.
• Workshop, Co-Creation and Stakeholder Engagement (20%)
  • Contribute to workshops, design sprints, and exhibitions that foster dialogue and creativity.
  • Engage with academic, government, and industry partners to expand design research impact.
  • Support the lab’s role as a thought leader by curating and sharing insights within the wider design community
• Documentation & Storytelling
  • Translate complex research into clear, compelling narratives.
  • Contribute to presentations, visual summaries, and case documentation.
  • Support internal knowledge systems and research repositories.