Who We Are: LINK is a fast-growing Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) that leverages human-centered design to support strategy, innovation, communication, change, and branding within the federal government and adjacent industry partners. At LINK, we partner with engineers, futurists, and thought leaders to untangle complexity, discover opportunity, and communicate clearly with visual stories.

Let us be your partners in change.

Location: We are actively hiring in the San Diego area and welcome candidates who are interested in relocating to the area.

About the Opportunity

LINK is actively seeking a Senior Design Strategist to join our dynamic team, where we leverage strong partnerships and a robust portfolio of clients across diverse industries. You will be responsible for leading and executing innovative design strategies, collaborating with both internal teams and executive-level clients, and driving impactful visual storytelling to meet client objectives.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced professional to bring a combination of creative and strategic expertise to elevate LINK’s business growth and deliver high-quality, design-thinking-driven solutions. You will work closely with clients to understand their challenges, reframe them into the right problems to solve, prototype and test ideas, and develop compelling narratives that align with their mission, goals, and brand identity. Ideal candidates will have a proven track record of applying design thinking to ambiguous challenges, designing impactful visual experiences, utilizing data-driven insights, and collaborating cross-functionally to deliver exceptional client results.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Design, Communication, Business, Architecture, Engineering, Innovation, Sociology, Psychology, or a related field.
10+ years of experience in design strategy, innovation, strategic consulting, facilitation, service design, communications, or a related field.
Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
Deep fluency in design thinking, including problem framing and reframing, divergent and convergent thinking, rapid prototyping, and iterative testing. Strong expertise in systems thinking, facilitation, and strategic storytelling. Familiarity with human-centered design is a plus.
Well-versed in a variety of design strategy disciplines and able to select the appropriate approach for a given challenge.
Experience designing and facilitating workshops, design sprints, ideation sessions, stakeholder engagements, and collaborative working sessions that drive alignment and informed decision-making.
Demonstrated ability to lead complex discovery and research efforts and translate findings into actionable insights, strategic recommendations, and organizational outcomes.
Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with clients and cross-functional teams.
Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity and guide stakeholders through complex challenges and decision-making processes.
Demonstrated ability to balance multiple priorities and deadlines while maintaining high standards of quality and client service.
Capable of mentoring and coaching others.
Approaches work with optimism, openness to new ideas, and a collaborative mindset.
Portfolio that shows how you frame problems, make strategic decisions, and iterate toward solutions, not just final deliverables.

Responsibilities

Client Partnership & Design Strategy Leadership

Serves as a trusted advisor to clients by framing complex challenges, identifying opportunities, and applying design thinking to inform strategic decision-making.
Partners directly with client stakeholders to understand organizational priorities, user needs, operational constraints, and desired outcomes.
Leads the development of design strategy approaches that align stakeholder needs, business objectives, and mission requirements.
Leads teams through the full design thinking arc, from framing the right problem through ideation, prototyping, and iteration, to move clients from ambiguity to tested, actionable direction.