Director of Product Design
About the role
The experience design team in the central region has a large product design base spanning multiple geographies across the central US. We are looking for a Director of Product Design to lead this team.
Responsibilities
Practice Elevation: Serve as a design craft champion across the Central region—traveling to markets, facilitating hands-on sessions, and modeling AI-accelerated design fluency that pushes past AI averaging toward genuine differentiation.
Partner with Product Design leadership and regional go-to-market leaders to connect Experience Design capability leaders across markets—bringing coherence to a distributed team and creating the conditions for practitioners to do their best work.
Help lead our teams in selling priority solutions that push the boundaries of what is possible with smart humans, AI tooling and evolved processes.
Understand utilization and revenue goals and current performance across the region. Help to identify and lean into areas that need help and elevation.
Client Delivery & Business Development: Carry a utilization target through a mix of named delivery roles, pursuit leadership, and influence on significant client engagements across the Central region. Drive sales through proactive pitching and through delivery. Show up credibly in client rooms—contributing design strategy, storytelling, and product vision in ways that differentiate Slalom's CX offering from traditional consulting. Build trusted relationships with client stakeholders—particularly at accounts where product design has the potential to anchor a longer-term engagement.
People & Operational Leadership: Act as a connective tissue across the Central region's Experience Design community—supporting practitioners, building development relationships, and providing leadership presence where the Senior Director can't be everywhere at once. Collaborate with market and go-to-market leaders to match capacity to opportunity, advocate for practitioners in promotion cycles, and model what great looks like at every level. Support a culture of trust, autonomy, and curiosity—especially in a moment when practitioners are asking hard questions about what AI means for their careers.
Requirements
15+ years of experience in product design, experience design, or a closely related discipline—with a track record of delivery at enterprise scale.
Genuine design craft: you know what distinguishes great product design from averaged output, and you can teach it, model it, and hold the bar on a team.
Fluency with AI-accelerated design tooling—not just as a user, but as someone who has explored its edges and can help others do the same without losing the creative standard.
Experience operating in a consulting or professional services environment, including navigating account complexity, multi-market dynamics, and the sales/delivery balance.
A natural instinct for connecting people and building trust across distributed organizations—you're someone practitioners come to, not because of your title, but because of your judgment.
Strong executive presence: comfortable in a C-suite room and equally comfortable rolling up your sleeves on a working session with a junior designer in Ohio Valley or TOLA.
A commercial mindset: you understand the relationship between utilization, revenue influence, and practice health, and you can hold those conversations without losing your design identity.
Comfort with ambiguity and a history of thriving in environments that are evolving faster than the org chart.
Openness to regional travel—visiting markets, connecting teams in person, and showing up where it matters.
Qualifications
Master's degree in a relevant field or equivalent practical experience.
Proven ability to lead and mentor a team of designers.
Experience in managing complex projects and delivering high-quality results.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Skills
Strong understanding of design principles and methodologies.
Experience with AI and machine learning tools.
Excellent project management and organizational skills.
Ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and persuasively.
Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
Benefits
Slalom offers a comprehensive benefits package including:
Meaningful time off and paid holidays
Paid parental leave
401(k) with a match
Subsidized health, dental, and vision coverage
Adoption and fertility assistance
Discounted home, auto, and pet insurance
$350 reimbursement account for well-being-related expenses
Pay
The targeted base salary pay range for Director is $187,000 to $234,000. In addition, individuals may be eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. Actual compensation will depend upon an individual’s skills, experience, qualifications, location, and other relevant factors.
Schedule
Slalom is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining highly qualified talent who empower our innovative teams through unique perspectives and experiences. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veterans’ status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Slalom will also consider qualified applications with criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. Slalom welcomes and encourages applications from individuals with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are available for candidates during all aspects of the selection process.