Design Strategy Manager

Etihad food group; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi is seeking a Design Strategy Manager to shape the guest experience strategy by translating brand ambitions into tangible service ideas across all touchpoints.

You will work with brand, guest insights, operations and crew to translate insights into actionable design initiatives, driving NPS and guest satisfaction through strategic storytelling and collaborative leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Design with focus on user research and strategy.
• 7+ years of experience in developing experience design strategies.
• Expert in storytelling and articulation of concepts.
• Expert in turning insights into opportunities and value-driven solutions.
• Ability to lead and command respect as the subject matter expert.

Responsibilities

• Translation of brand into experience design strategies for the end-to-end guest journey.
• Identify opportunities across the guest journey to improve premium position.
• Create a delivery roadmap with business impact and timelines.
• Develop opportunities into tangible solutions with clear implementation plans.
• Develop new tools, methods and processes to capture and share trends and insights.
• Articulation of experience design guardrails for product development and service implementation.

Skills

Strategic mindset

Collaboration

Storytelling

Insights into opportunities

Education

Bachelor's degree in Design

Job description

The Design Strategy Manager is responsible for shaping guest experience strategy, translating insights and brand ambitions into tangible service and experience innovations.

The role collaborates closely with multiple stakeholders from brand, guest insights, ground operations and crew & service to translate brand strategy into tangible experience design opportunities in every touch point of the guest journey.

The role requires an ability and proven track-record of translating Brand and Customer Insights into compelling design strategies and tangible outcomes.

• Strategic Mindset: The candidate needs to see the big picture to form a strategic narrative across multiple experience touchpoints and clearly articulate and communicate the strategies and opportunities for guest benefit.
• Solution Oriented: The strategies need to be grounded in operational realities and lead to implementable solutions both in the short and long term.
• Collaboration: The role requires a highly collaborative and proactive mentality to align with multiple stakeholders.

1. Translation of brand into experience design strategies for the end-to-end guest journey

• Lead creation of experience design principles to form a holistic guest experience strategy aligned with our brand positioning and hospitality philosophy

2. Identification of experience design opportunities within the guest journey that will improve Etihad's premium position and market leadership

• Using guest data and insights, market analyses, Industry and lateral trends, to identify and form experience design opportunities across the guest journey. The range of opportunities covers digital, physical and service design across booking, airport, cabin and post flight.

3. Delivery plan and project roadmap

• From the pool of experience opportunities, create a business impact led prioritized roadmap with delivery timelines.

4. Development of the experience design opportunities into tangible solutions that will improve our NPS and other guest performance metrics

• In close partnership with internal stakeholders, develop the opportunities into tangible solutions with clear implementation plan agreed with the stakeholders.

5. New tools and methodology

• Identify and develop new tools, methods and processes to capture and share trends, insights, ideas and opportunities across the organization.

6. Governing Documentation

• Articulation and capture of experience design principles and strategic design guidelines that serves as guardrails for product development and service implementation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in the field of Design (Industrial, Interior, Transportation) with focus on user research and design strategy. Or bachelor's degree in the field of Design Research and Strategy, or relevant experience with proven track record.
• 7+ years of experience in developing experience design strategies in a consultancy or in-house capacity, ideally in aviation, hospitality or guest-experience-driven industries.
• Expert in storytelling and articulation of concepts.
• Expert in turning insights into opportunities and value driven solutions.
• Ability to lead and command respect as the subject matter expert.

Job posting close date: 29th October 2026

Additional Information

Etihad Airways is more than the UAE’s national airline - we’re shaping the future of global aviation. From our hub in Abu Dhabi, we connect people across continents and cultures, while driving our “Journey 2030” ambition to double our fleet, expand our network and grow our people for a new era of excellence. Join us and become part of a vision where the world is your workplace and extraordinary experiences take flight.