The Principal Design Strategy and Research role is a senior practitioner role within Experience Design and Research (EDR). It helps Northern Trust make better decisions faster by using human-centereddesign, strategic facilitation, service design, systems thinking, and evidence-based strategy to frame the right problems, uncover meaningful opportunities, align stakeholders, and move from ambiguity to action.
This role is designed for senior human-centered design practitioners who can flex across research, strategy, facilitation, service design, product discovery, and engagement leadership whilemaintainingdepth in at least one core capability. Based on project needs, the Principal Design Strategy and Research practitioner may lead research, drive strategy, facilitate executive alignment, shape service models, guide discovery, or manage transformation outputs, helping business, product, technology, operations, risk, and transformation partners make evidence-based decisions.
Design Strategy engagements are typically delivered through small, dedicated teams assembled around a defined strategic question, transformation objective, or opportunity area. Team composition varies based on the challenge and may require research-heavy, strategy-heavy, facilitation-heavy, or delivery-readiness leadership. The model is intentionally flexible so senior practitioners can play the highest-value role required by the engagement.
As part of Experience Design and Research (EDR), this role ensures transformation work is grounded in client, partner, employee, and stakeholder needs while connecting to broader design, product, technology, and operating model outcomes. The role directly supportsour transformationinitiativeswhileremaininganchored in EDR practice standards, methods, communities of practice, talent development, and quality expectations.
This Chicago-based role requires candidates tosharework, process, and outputs during the interview process, including how they frame problems, select methods, conduct or guide research,facilitatealignment, synthesize evidence, create strategic recommendations, and influence outcomes.
Lead Design Strategy and Research engagements from intake through problem framing, discovery, synthesis, recommendations, delivery readiness, handoff, and organizational adoption.
Serve as a senior human-centered design practitioner who can flex across research, strategy, facilitation, service design, product discovery, and transformation leadership responsibilities based on project needs.
Partner with Transformation Office leaders, business sponsors, product teams, technology partners,operations, risk, clients, and subject matter experts to clarify objectives, define success criteria, and align decision-making.
Translate ambiguous business questions into focused learning agendas, opportunity frames, research plans, workshop designs, service design activities, and executive-ready recommendations.
Lead or guide qualitative and mixed-method research across discovery, evaluation, strategy, innovation, stakeholder understanding, and service/system mapping efforts.
Facilitate synthesis, sense-making, executive reviews, co-creation sessions, decision workshops, and stakeholder alignment activities that build shared understanding and drive action.
Synthesize business goals, client needs, operational realities, technical constraints, risk considerations, and research insights into actionable experience strategies and roadmaps.
Develop experience concepts, service models, journey maps, service blueprints, ecosystem maps, experience principles, prioritization frameworks, and decision narratives that shape future-state experiences.
Help teams understand implications, tradeoffs, dependencies, adoption needs, and implementation considerations that emerge from the work.
Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension), health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability), paid time off, parental and caregiver leave, life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well-being benefits. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.
