In a Nutshell

IDEO London is looking for a Digital Product Director to help shape what it means to design AI-driven products that people actually trust. This is a senior role for someone who thinks of AI as a design material — not a feature set — and who understands that the hardest problems in AI aren't just technical. They're human.

You'll spend most of your time embedded in client work, directing product engagements from brief through to market. But you'll also help build something bigger: IDEO's AI product practice in Europe, at a moment when the regulatory landscape — the EU AI Act, CSRD, EHDS — is becoming a genuine creative opportunity for the organisations brave enough to treat it that way.

You'll report to the London Leadership Team and work closely with directors and interdisciplinary teams across the studio. Business development is a natural part of the role — growing relationships, shaping opportunities, and helping clients understand what it genuinely means to build AI into their products and organisations responsibly.

Why is this role important for IDEO's work?

The question has shifted. Companies aren't asking "what can AI do?" anymore. They're asking "how do we make AI investment turn into something our customers actually want — and trust?"

That's the work. And it takes more than technical fluency. It takes the ability to sit at the intersection of human need, business ambition, and the emerging rules that will define how AI gets built in Europe. IDEO's London studio is positioned to lead here — and this role is central to making that happen.

We're not building an ML shop. We're building the practice that helps clients move from aspiration to reality: designing socio-technical systems that are trustworthy by design, not just compliant by accident.

Once here you will

Lead digital product engagements from brief through to market, owning quality, pace, and the client relationship throughout
Act as the main client point of contact on strategic accounts, building trust beyond the immediate project team
Direct multidisciplinary teams with clear thinking and steady hands, keeping work moving without losing rigour or craft
Help clients navigate the shift from AI-bolted-on to AI-native — including what it means to design for agentic systems, human–AI collaboration, and the messy reality of non-deterministic interfaces
Prototype and pressure-test concepts early. IDEO's edge is that we prototype with live models — revealing the nuance of human and AI interaction rather than theorising about it
Contribute to our AIx practice — developing tools, methods, and points of view that sharpen how IDEO and our clients think about designing with AI responsibly and at scale
Help us treat the European regulatory environment as a design brief. The EU AI Act isn't a constraint to manage around; it's a creative opportunity to design through
Coach and mentor designers and product leads, modelling excellent craft and client communication
Scope and frame follow-on work, growing relationships and helping define where IDEO can have the greatest impact
Represent IDEO externally through talks, writing, and thought leadership — particularly at the intersection of trustworthy AI and human-centred design

We're looking for someone with

Someone with a strong track record of leading and launching complex digital products — senior or director-level, ideally across both in-house and consultancy environments
A designer and leader who has shipped products where AI plays a meaningful role — not as decoration, but as something that genuinely changes what the product can do and how people experience it
Someone who can hold both rigour and imagination: the discipline to ship, and the curiosity to prototype what hasn't been built yet
Genuine fluency in how AI is reshaping product design — including agentic systems, LLM-powered capabilities, and human–AI interaction patterns. You understand the real trade-offs, not just the marketing
Confident working in Figma and prototyping early — whether that's a clickable mockup, a coded proof-of-concept, or a live model running in a workshop. IDEO's differentiator is that we build to think
Strong people leadership: you develop talent, manage performance, and create the conditions for good work in fast-moving, cross-functional teams
Experience scoping and framing new work, writing proposals, and presenting to senior clients
Experience navigating complex stakeholders — you know how to build alignment without losing the point of view that makes the work worth doing
A genuine understanding of UX and interaction design fundamentals, with a portfolio that shows breadth across platforms and contexts

It's a bonus if you

Have shipped AI-native products — not AI features layered onto existing ones, but products where AI is structural to the experience
Have familiarity with the EU AI Act or the broader European regulatory landscape around AI — and ideally a point of view on what it means for design practice
Have experience in health, financial services, consumer technology, retail, or sustainability — the sectors where the London studio is most focused
Have helped build an innovation practice or capability within a larger organisation
Are fluent in a second European language

What We Believe

AI is a new material. The outcome still needs design. We build things because people want them — not just because we can. And we believe the best AI products aren't the most technically sophisticated ones; they're the ones that earn trust, create genuine agency for the humans using them, and hold up when the stakes are real.

If that's how you think about this work, we'd love to talk.

What does IDEO offer you?

Innovation and creativity: Lead work that genuinely matters — from designing AI-powered products and services to building innovation capabilities at some of the world’s most ambitious organisations, working alongside talented people across disciplines.

Learning and growth: Whether it’s deepening your AI product craft, taking on more senior client relationships, or building your external profile through speaking and writing, we’re here to support your development.

Community and well-being: Collaboration and community are central to what we do. We foster moments for creativity, connection, and reflection, and respect the need for work-life balance.

Projects with purpose: We partner with clients to use design as a force for good, solving meaningful problems from inception through to implementation.

Compensation: £90,000–£100,000 GBP, depending on experience.

Location: This position is based out of our London studio with an in-person-first working model, including at least three days a week working from the studio.

Please note that the successful candidate must be based in the UK and have the unrestricted right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. IDEO proudly supports flexible work.

Commitment to Diversity

At IDEO, we are committed to the work of advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organisation and in the world. Our purpose of having disproportionate, world-changing impact through design is directly connected to our ability to bring many different perspectives to the table. This applies to our candidates, the people we hire, the clients and customers we serve, and the communities we learn from in our research.

As a human-centred organisation, we are committed to working with and designing for people of every race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, physical ability or attribute, religion, national origin, or political belief. We recognise that this commitment requires ongoing work and sustained attention, as well as adaptation to new insights and best practices. We keep our diversity data public for the sake of accountability and transparency.

Application requirements and instructions:

If you identify with our values, are excited about great design, and would like to contribute to our community, we would love to see your CV, a cover letter, and examples of your work.

CV: please highlight experiences related to the ‘We’re looking for someone with’ section above
Cover letter: please share why you are interested in this role and how it aligns with how you are looking to grow in your career
Work examples (confidentiality permitting): please include two or three projects that demonstrate your product thinking and AI fluency. For each, tell us the challenge, your role, the approach, and the impact

We know that many of you are coming from a range of backgrounds — product management, UX design, technology consulting, engineering, or a mix of all of the above. We think of digital product broadly, so include examples of whatever work best represents how you think and what you build.

Digital Product Director