Service Design Lead

SoftServe; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Senior Staffing Lead, where you will shape innovative service design strategies that blend human-centered design with advanced technology. This role is pivotal in delivering seamless experiences, mentoring cross-functional teams, and contributing to thought leadership in AI-enabled service innovation. You will collaborate with diverse professionals, ensuring that design methodologies are inclusive and scalable, while also positioning the firm as a leader in the industry. If you are passionate about transforming service design and driving impactful change, this opportunity is for you.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in service design, experience strategy, or systems design.
• Portfolio showcasing systems thinking and measurable outcomes.
• Strong knowledge of AI trends and ethical design principles.

Responsibilities

• Lead service design efforts connecting user experiences with backend systems.
• Drive discovery processes including user research and stakeholder interviews.
• Mentor designers and contribute to a culture of continuous learning.

Skills

Service Design

Experience Strategy

Systems Design

AI Knowledge

Public Speaking

Stakeholder Engagement

Visual Communication

Collaboration

Cultural Awareness

Storytelling

Education

Master’s degree in Design

Business education or certification (MBA)

Tools

Figma

Miro

Adobe CC

Smaply

Mural

Lucidchart

Job description

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SoftServe is a digital authority that advises and provides services at the cutting-edge of technology. We empower enterprises and software companies to (re)identify their differentiation, accelerate solution development, and vigorously compete in today’s digital economy.

As a senior leader in SoftServe’s Design Office, the Service Design Lead is responsible for advancing, scaling, and evangelizing our global Service Design practice. This role is key to connecting the dots between customer needs, digital and physical touchpoints, and complex backend systems to deliver seamless, innovative, and measurable end-to-end service experiences. You will lead and execute service design strategies for major client engagements, mentor crossfunctional teams, and contribute to thought leadership—while also driving AI-informed and AI-enabled service innovation across sectors.

You’ll play a critical role in partnering with Product Managers, Business Analysts, Solution Architects, and Client Partners to shape holistic solutions that fuse human-centered design with technological capability. You will also contribute to the evolution of SoftServe’s broader experience design group, which includes product designers, visual designers, motion designers, and immersive specialists (VR, AR, XR), helping define how service design complements and integrates with these disciplines.

As a senior member of the global design team, you will also take a leading role in building out SoftServe’s service design practice. This includes growing our internal knowledge base, coaching design talent, evolving service design methodologies, and helping position SoftServe as a global leader in human-centered, AI-enabled service innovation.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead holistic service design efforts at both project and practice levels, connecting frontline user experiences with backend systems, business operations, and AI-powered capabilities.
• Design for AI and with AI—incorporate responsible AI practices into service delivery blueprints, and adopt generative and agentic AI as tools for ideation, research synthesis, prototyping, and delivery.
• Drive discovery and co-creation processes including in-depth user research, stakeholder interviews, workshops, and service safaris to uncover pain points, behaviors, and latent needs.
• Visualize complex ecosystems by crafting experience maps, customer journeys, service blueprints, ecosystem maps, and operating models.
• Deliver actionable strategy including service value propositions, opportunity framing, concept development, and service MVP definition to guide cross-functional product delivery teams.
• Act as a bridge between design and delivery, ensuring service vision is carried through implementation, collaborating closely with engineering, data science, and business stakeholders.
• Partner effectively across functions—working hand-in-hand with Product Managers, Business Analysts, Solution Architects, Delivery Leads, and Go-to-Market teams to ensure cohesive experiences and measurable impact.
• Represent the service design discipline in presales and consulting engagements—scoping design programs, supporting proposals, and driving service-led opportunities.
• Mentor designers across levels, contributing to a culture of continuous learning, critique, and design excellence within distributed and multidisciplinary teams.
• Establish and scale methodologies, tools, frameworks, and best practices across our global design network.
• Champion inclusive design and accessibility, ensuring services are equitable and resonate across user groups and markets.
• Contribute to public thought leadership through conference speaking, publishing, and involvement in design communities.
• Support practice development by helping grow the service design discipline within SoftServe— shaping our IP, community, recruitment, training, and design standards.

Required Skills

• Minimum of 8 years in service design, experience strategy, or systems design.
• Extensive experience working with globally distributed teams across the US, EMEA markets, and LATAM countries.
• Demonstrated success working across many cultures and backgrounds, applying cultural awareness to inform inclusive, localized, and scalable design solutions.
• Portfolio showcasing systems thinking, service journeys, and measurable outcomes.
• Public speaking, client-facing workshops, and presales experience is a strong plus.
• Demonstrated expertise in end-to-end service design across industries and digital ecosystems.
• Strong knowledge of AI trends, ethical design principles, and how AI impacts service and product experience.
• Experience designing services that span digital, physical, human, and automated interactions.
• Proficiency in Figma, Miro, Adobe CC, and service design tools (e.g., Smaply, Mural, Lucidchart).
• Familiarity with data-informed design and service experimentation methods.
• Excellent storytelling, systems thinking, and visual communication skills.
• Strong collaboration and facilitation experience across cross-functional and multicultural teams.
• Ability to handle ambiguity, navigate complexity, and translate insight into opportunity.
• Fluent English (C1+), with superior written and verbal communication skills.
• Capable of influencing executives and engaging clients at the C-level.
• Master’s degree in Design (Service Design, Strategic Design, Interaction Design, etc.) or equivalent experience.
• Certifications - Business education or certification (MBA, service innovation, behavioral science) is a plus.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, or protected veteran status. SoftServe is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Consulting, Design, and Information Technology

• Industries

  IT Services and IT Consulting

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