New

Design Specialist, Ariadne Labs

Brigham and Women's Hospital
United States, Massachusetts, Somerville
399 Revolution Drive (Show on map)
Dec 04, 2025
Ariadne Labs is a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Our goal is to save lives and reduce suffering by developing and implementing solutions for better care at critical moments in people's lives everywhere. Better care means better health outcomes, lower costs, and more actual caring. Critical means solving health systems failures that have major impact, typically touching people by the millions. Ariadne Labs currently has research and implementation projects in the areas of childbirth, surgery, palliative care, home hospital, and primary health care. Ariadne Labs' platform teams support projects by providing expertise in the fields of informatics, statistics, implementation science, monitoring and evaluation, quality improvement, strategic communications, human centered design and program management. The Ariadne Labs' Innovation Platform accelerates programs' ability to successfully design, test, and spread solutions. Our design work begins with precisely identifying the problem and patient outcomes to change, background research, generating solution options and prototyping, collecting rapid-cycle feedback, and then iterating on solution design and implementation elements. The Design Specialist will be part of the Innovation Platform at Ariadne Labs to provide support in designing effective improvement solutions in accordance with project goals, to meet the needs of end users. The Innovation Platform includes an Director, Platform Coordinator, and Innovation/Design consultants. The Design Specialist is a hybrid role requiring at least two days a week in our offices at Assembly Row in Somerville, Massachusetts and will report to the Director of Innovation and work closely with staff and faculty across the Lab. The Design Specialist's anticipated portfolio will include collaboration with Ariadne Labs' Home Hospital Program-a team leading work focused on advancing hospital-level care to patients at home, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Key current initiatives include the DEMOCRATIZE (Driving Equitable Medical Care in Rural America Through Innovative VehiclZE) project, which is developing and implementing mobile hubs-specialty vans that deliver acute and oncology care directly into rural communities.The Specialist will work alongside this diverse team of clinicians, engineers, implementation specialists, and researchers to help design and deliver the next generation of accessible, patient-centered healthcare. Summary Responsible for managing and coordinating design innovation projects to enhance healthcare delivery and improve patient experience. Works cross-functionally with stakeholders, designers, and project teams to drive innovation from concept to implementation, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and timelines. Essential Functions Manages the end-to-end project lifecycle for design innovation initiatives, from ideation through execution. Collaborates with clinical and administrative teams to identify areas for improvement and develop innovative solutions. Develops project timelines, budgets, and resource plans to ensure alignment with project goals and deadlines. Facilitates workshops and brainstorming sessions to generate ideas and promote creative problem-solving. Conducts market research and competitive analysis to inform project direction and design strategy. Oversees testing and pilot phases, gathering feedback to refine project outcomes and ensure user-centered solutions. Monitors and reports on project progress, adjusting plans as needed to meet objectives. Prepares presentations and communicates project results, outcomes, and impact to stakeholders and senior leadership. Ensures all design projects align with hospital standards, compliance, and quality measures. Principal Duties And Responsibilities Integrate principles of innovation, design thinking, human factors engineering, product development, and systems design into project work. Contribute to small, innovative projects as well as for large-scale projects seeking to develop scalable solutions to complex health system problems. Lead the design, facilitation, and synthesis of workshops for brainstorming, workflow and journey mapping, user profiling, etc. Co-lead with project teams community outreach and engagement efforts Support internal teams and external collaborators to connect to end-users' pains and gains as well as facilitators and barriers to systems changes. Drive teams to simplify concepts and ideas, drive clarity, develop insights and always keep the goal and end-users in mind Produce early versions and revisions of tools to be used in rapid cycle testing with end users Guide teams in executing frontline interviews and/or prototype testing Provide creative services to help visualize ideas to drive clarity and understanding in early stages of ideas Develop and produce final versions of tools to be used in formal testing (tools may be paper based, web based, or integrated into existing systems in the healthcare setting) Add to the catalog of innovation, design, and product management approaches, activities and methodologies that will lead future direction of Ariadne Labs work. Serve as an innovation and design content expert for the Lab by conducting lab-wide learning sessions and lectures Other duties as assigned Qualifications BA required Masters preferred in related field (MBA, MPH, other) 5+ years experience working in the field of innovation, design, systems engineering public health, or a related area required 3+ years experience working in the field of healthcare and/or public health required Current certification in human centered design, innovation, human factors, or a related field preferred Experience in a supervisory or leadership role 3-5 years required Preferred Experience: Experience working in a multi-functional, matrixed public health or non-profit environment strongly preferred Experience collaborating with engineers Experience working with low-and-middle income countries Expected In Person Time: This position is based out of our Assembly Row, Somerville, MA office and follows a hybrid work model. Team members are expected to work onsite in the Somerville office at least two days per week, with the flexibility to work remotely for the remainder of the week. Preferred Skills Ability to integrate and adapt approach to design and innovation into that of Ariadne Labs' own approach to design and research Bring an equity, inclusion, and accessibility lens to their approach Bring energy to their work and attitude of collaboration and co-creation Leverage Miro (or similar) to support virtual design process Strong communication skills, including technical writing, public speaking, small and large group facilitation and training Ability to gather, synthesize and translate stakeholders' needs and provide recommendations Strong planning, problem solving and analytical skills Ability to maneuver through complex political situations to achieve desired outcomes Skilled in industry-standard design software like Adobe Creative Suite and Figma Knowledge, Skills and Abilities- Strong project management skills, including planning, budgeting, and resource allocation.- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills for collaborating with multiple teams and stakeholders.- Ability to facilitate ideation sessions and promote creative thinking to solve complex challenges.- Proficiency in research and data analysis to inform project direction and evaluate outcomes.- Adaptability and problem-solving skills to adjust project plans and address unexpected challenges. The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. By embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.