Design Strategist - Workplace

General Information

Posting Date

09-11-2026

Time Type

Full-Time

Job ID

9026

Areas of Expertise

Strategy

Job Category

Strategy

Locations

New York, NY, US

Description

Design Strategy at Gensler is focused on enabling transformation. Our creative and collaborative approach, supported by research, data and intelligence, enables impactful change and evolution of our clients’ organization, culture, and environment.

Our New York practice is growing, and we are looking for a talented Design Strategist to work across workplace strategy, real estate portfolio strategy, change management, design guidelines, and experience strategy. We develop holistic real estate and design strategies for influential organizations, including major corporations, healthcare providers, cultural institutions, real estate developers, and universities. We are looking for an emerging leader who is energized by complex challenges, passionate about shaping the future of work and experience, and excited to help grow one of the firm’s leading strategy practices.

Your Role

As a Design Strategist, you’ll help clients navigate change by understanding current conditions, defining future goals, and creating integrated strategies for how space, technology, policies, and services can support organizational success. Projects span everything from pilots that test emerging ideas to global programs that shape the future of work at scale.

Working alongside multidisciplinary teams, you’ll lead research efforts, uncover meaningful insights, and translate findings into innovative concepts and actionable solutions. The role also includes designing and facilitating engaging stakeholder experiences that build alignment, inspire participation, and move ideas forward.

You’ll join a team that values curiosity, collaboration, experimentation, and continuous learning, where great ideas can come from anyone and everyone is encouraged to contribute.

What You Will Do
On Projects, as a Design Strategist you’ll:

• Partner closely with Strategy Leads, Directors, and Managers to support project success, strong

  client experiences, and high-quality deliverables

• Plan and conduct user research, stakeholder engagements, and data collection activities
• Design and facilitate engaging workshops with clients, internal teams, and other stakeholders
• Analyze qualitative and quantitative information from multiple sources to determine impact on business goals, organizational culture, or performance criteria for spatial design
• Translate research into clear insights, strategic narratives, and actionable recommendations

• Develop scenarios (with plans, data, feedback, relevant precedents, etc.) to illustrate a range

  of relevant solutions that meet the client’s objectives and expresses the tradeoffs associated

  each option

• Define and develop concepts and prototypes of experiences, programs, services, and spaces to test with users and stakeholders
• Communicate findings through compelling presentations, reports, graphics, videos, websites, and other formats
• Guide other team members, encourage original thinking, and help maintain alignment throughout the course of a project
• Collaborate with Gensler design studios to seamlessly translate strategy into design implementation
• Identify opportunities to grow the practice, strengthen client relationships, and support proposals that clearly articulate process, scope, and value

Your Qualifications

You are passionate about the built environment and its impact on people and organizations. You:

• Are a self-starter and quick learner who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment
• Are comfortable with ambiguity and can help teams chart a path when project parameters evolve
• Can balance multiple projects and shift comfortably between independent and team-based work
• Are a clear communicator and confident presenter of ideas, findings, and points of view
• Are naturally curious and continuously seek new perspectives, skills, and ideas
• Are a critical and creative thinker with a practical, solution-oriented mindset

• Have experience with research methodologies and activities, and are comfortable working

  with both qualitative and quantitative data

• Embrace continuous learning, share knowledge generously, and help elevate the success of those

  around you.

• Can synthesize complex inputs into clear, persuasive stories and recommendations
• C…