Futureheads have been chosen as the exclusive partner to hire a Head of Design for a global medical technology business, whose devices and software give hope to cancer patients and those with neurological disorders.
This is a strategic leadership role, responsible for a design & research org of 25 people, and the long-term vision of design within the business.
The company The organisation is well-established, with a current headcount of close to 5000 employees and offices in over 100 countries.
The focus of the business is both straightforward and complex – straightforward in the sense that their single mission is to provide hope to anyone undergoing cancer treatment globally, and complex in the ways that hope is achieved; whether via state-of-the-art scanning and testing devices, precision guided surgery tools, or treatment-focused software.
All products are designed via their internal teams, co-located between core offices in the UK, Central Europe, Scandinavia and the U.S.
The team & opportunity The design teams responsibility and breadth has expanded significantly over the last 3 years, growing from a team of 3 to 25 designers and researchers spanning both software and industrial design across 3 squads; Hardware, Software, and Usability Engineering (the latter including a significant amount of regulatory usability and research).
Having built a talented, multidisciplinary team the focus is now on advancing the maturity and sophistication of design within the organisation.
This is an opportunity to promote designs' value as a force multiplier, creating hope for patients and clinicians globally.
There are a significant number of responsibilities in a broad design leadership role such as this, but to summarise four of the core components to this role: Lead a team of 25 designers & researchers, spanning software and industrial design ( please note, you will have a direct report that leads the industrial design side of the business, and hands-on industrial design experience is not a pre-requisite for this role).
Responsible for advancing the maturity and sophistication of design within the organisation, anchored to the core mission of giving hope to patients globally and realising the value of design as a force multiplier.
Balancing current tactical needs, combined with steering a vision for the future – all within a heavily regulated environment.
Close collaboration with board-level stakeholders across business leadership, medicine, product, and technology.
The core experience required for this role You will need to have design leadership experience within the medical devices / healthcare space, as prior knowledge within this heavily regulated environment is essential for the success of the role.
Demonstrable experience in leading large, multidisciplinary teams is essential – skill set should span Research, UX & Interaction Design, and Visual Design.
Any experience in leading physical device / industrial design teams would be considered advantageous, but not essential.
Clear experience in advancing the sophistication of design within large organisations.
The practical details Location: The role can be hired in two locations, but will be anchored to one of core 'hubs' where you will be expected to spend 3-days per week on-site.
Please note, you must have full right to work in the country that you are based and no visa sponsorship/support can be provided.
The locations are: Crawley, United Kingdom Helsinki, Finland