IDEO Chicago is looking for a Creative Technology Lead who is passionate about using technology to imagine and create products, services, and experiences that people love.
You’ll sit at the intersection of design and technology, using software, AI, hardware, and emerging tools as a creative material for exploration, invention, and making. This is a hands-on role for someone who lets the challenge at hand guide the technology they use: a curious maker who learns quickly, experiments fearlessly, and is as interested in what a technology means as in how it works.
You might prototype an AI-powered product experience one week, build an interactive physical prototype the next, and explore an entirely new tool or medium after that. Through it all, you’ll stay focused on the humans involved — using technology in service of people’s needs rather than as an end in itself.
The technology landscape is changing quickly. AI is a powerful force, but it is far from the only one changing what is possible, easy, and commercially viable. At the same time, the boundaries between design, prototyping, development, and delivery are shifting.
We believe Creative Technologists have an important role to play in that change: staying curious about what is becoming possible, making those possibilities tangible, and helping teams imagine better things to build.
IDEO is a place where you can solve diverse, complex challenges for our clients and their organizations, alongside thoughtful, intelligent individuals who lead with curiosity, empathy, and humility. We intentionally craft moments that allow our community to pause, create, and connect. We encourage our community to bring their whole selves to work, respect the need for work-life balance, and allow for autonomy in the design process and your career.
As a Creative Technology Lead in Chicago, we provide the opportunity for you to:
To apply, please submit your resume, cover letter, and your portfolio. In particular, we would like to see your approach and process of your projects in addition to the final outputs.
IDEO is committed to paying its employees, contractors & vendors equitably, regardless of gender identity or race/ethnicity/cultural identity.
The salary range for this role is $120,000-140,000 USD. Final offers may vary based on candidate experience, location, and other factors. As a full-time position, this role is eligible for employee benefits.
In addition to base compensation, IDEO offers a rich benefits package including the following:
Hybrid Model: Team members based in Chicago are expected to work in the studio on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, with flexibility based on client travel, project needs, and deliverables.
Health Benefits: Vision, Dental, Medical/Healthcare
Financial Benefits: 401K with Employer Contribution
Family & Caregiving: Parental Leave, Adoption Assistance, Fertility Assistance, Transgender Medical Assistance, Breastmilk shipment, Back-up/Dependent Care, Pet Insurance
Other Benefits: Flexible Work, Flexible Time Off, Paid Holidays, Annual Education Stipend, Home Office Stipend, Commuter Reimbursement, and Phone & Internet Reimbursement
IDEO (pronounced “EYE-dee-oh”) is a global design consultancy helping the world’s most audacious dreamers create braver tomorrows. We activate our science of design with the alchemy of our wide-eyed and wonderful creative people to make futures you can click, feel, taste, test, and believe in. Our early days were filled with designing groundbreaking physical products, but 40 years in, you’ll find that we’ve been busy working on the future of almost everything, from sustainable supply chains with H&M to design-oriented organizations with Ford, entire civic infrastructures with Intercorp—and so much more.
