Innovation Design Lead

HSBC Group; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A global banking institution is seeking an Innovation Design Lead for their Global Design Team in London. This hybrid role involves leading innovative design initiatives, exploring forward-looking opportunities, and crafting compelling design narratives. The ideal candidate will have experience in service or product design, a passion for emerging technology, and strong collaboration skills. Join this dynamic team to make a meaningful difference in customer experiences and benefit from tailored professional development and competitive pay.

Benefits

Private healthcare

Enhanced maternity & adoption pay

Contributory pension scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in service or product design, speculative design or innovation-focused roles.
• Clear understanding of design research and human-centered design principles.
• Comfortable using tools like Figma and communicating visually.
• Passion for emerging technology and changing customer behaviors.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Support the discovery of new service or product spaces through trend research.
• Contribute to early-stage concepts and prototypes.
• Craft design narratives to articulate design intent.
• Participate in design sprints and collaboration with teams.
• Balance imagination with feasibility in global markets.

Skills

Service or product design

Speculative design

Innovation-focused roles

Design research

Human-centred design principles

Figma

Storytelling methods

Cross-functional teamwork

Tools

Figma

Job description

Innovation Design Lead - HSBC

London, Greater London, UK, EC2V 8

Join the Global Design Team within International Wealth and Premier Banking (IWPB) at HSBC, where we create best‑in‑class experiences that make a meaningful difference in customers' lives. We’re strategic thinkers and hands‑on makers who align business goals with customer needs across channels and touchpoints.

As an Innovation Design Lead, you’ll partner closely with senior team members to explore forward‑looking design opportunities, identify future customer needs, respond to technological and societal shifts, and shape concepts that span from speculation to pilot. This is a relatively new area to the Bank and an exciting time to join the team!

As an HSBC employee in the UK, you will have access to tailored professional development opportunities and a competitive pay & benefits package, including private healthcare for all UK‑based employees, enhanced maternity & adoption pay and support when you return to work, and a contributory pension scheme with a generous employer contribution.

Responsibilities

• Explore Emerging Opportunities: Support the discovery and framing of new service or product spaces through trend research, synthesis of insights, and identification of future possibilities.
• Design with Vision: Contribute to early‑stage concepts, storyboards, prototypes, and service journeys that bring speculative or future‑focused ideas to life.
• Communicate the 'Why' and the 'What': Craft compelling design narratives using visual, written, or interactive storytelling to clearly articulate design intent and value.
• Co‑Create with Purpose: Participate in design sprints, ideation workshops, and collaborative sessions with partners across product, strategy, tech, and research.
• Think Globally, Act Strategically: Balance imagination with feasibility, keeping concepts grounded in business, technical, and cultural realities across global markets.

Qualifications

• Experience in service or product design, speculative design, or innovation‑focused roles, with a portfolio that shows strong conceptual thinking and strategic framing.
• Clear understanding of design research and human‑centred design principles, and how they apply to long‑term or ambiguous challenges.
• Confidence using tools like Figma, and strong ability to communicate through visuals, prototypes, and storytelling methods.
• Passion for emerging technology, cultural shifts, and changing customer behaviours, and the confidence to challenge the status quo.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills: Comfortable working in cross‑functional teams, open to feedback, and effective at influencing and building relationships across disciplines.

This is a hybrid role, based out of London.

Opening a world of opportunity. You’ll achieve more when you join HSBC.

We are committed to creating diverse and inclusive workplaces - no matter gender, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or age. As a Disability Confident Leader, we will offer an interview to people with disabilities, long‑term conditions or neurodivergent candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the role.