Design Researcher

Hard Problems; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Hard Problems seeks a grant-funded role to lead workshop design and curriculum development for a bilingual (English/Spanish) community co-design project in New York. The role involves coordinating with multiple organizations, delivering 8+ multilingual sessions, and guiding participant engagement across 150 individuals from Oct 2026 to Mar 2027.

The position runs 30+ hours per week, is benefits eligible, and salary is pro-rated for the engagement through March 2027.

Qualifications

• Experience designing and facilitating community-based events such as workshops, focus groups, or seminars.
• Ability to develop learning content and curricula for broad audiences.
• Strong written and verbal communication in English and Spanish; outreach in both languages.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead 8+ community co-design sessions and workshops.
• Design surveys and manage data collection for the project.
• Onboard and engage partnership organizations throughout the project.
• Engage communities to reach 150+ participants.
• Synthesize learnings and develop outputs including a Civic Feedback Framework.

Skills

Workshop design

Curriculum development

Community engagement

Bilingual EN/ES

Data collection

Research synthesis

Public outreach

Job description

The role

This is a grant-funded position supporting a bilingual (English/Spanish) community co-design project aimed at helping New Yorkers better understand and respond to AI use in civic life. The role leads workshop design and curriculum development in partnership with a multi-organizational team and 4-5 community-based organizations. The goal is to run 8+ multilingual workshops and co-design sessions reaching approximately 150 participants between October 2026 and March 2027, ultimately co-designing a Civic Feedback Framework for AI Transparency. The position is 30+ hours per week, benefits eligible, and runs through March 2027, with salary pro-rated for the duration of the engagement.

What you would do

• Design and lead workshops, curriculum, and facilitation materials for 8+ community co-design sessions
• Design surveys and manage data collection across the project
• Onboard and engage partnership organizations throughout the project
• Work closely with project partners and community-based organizations to reach 150+ participants
• Synthesize learnings from workshops and develop grant outputs, including the Civic Feedback Framework for AI Transparency
• Support the development of communications assets and content such as blog posts and learning resources for curriculum development and grant reporting

What they are looking for

• Demonstrable experience on community-based and/or civic engagement projects
• Demonstrable experience designing and facilitating workshops, focus groups, seminars, or other community events
• Experience with curriculum development and creating learning content for broad audiences
• Working proficiency in both Spanish and English, including confidence conducting outreach and workshops in both languages
• Based in New York (City or State) and available for 30+ hours per week during US Eastern work hours
• Experience with human-centered, participatory, or interview-based field research
• Ability to write clear, concise, and engaging research synthesis for non-technical audiences
• Strong independent working skills and comfort collaborating with a fully remote, distributed team
• Excellent project communication and meeting facilitation skills
• Nice to have: proficiency with graphic/visual design tools (Adobe Suite, Canva, Figma)
• Nice to have: familiarity with New York Latino communities and Latino nonprofit organizations
• Nice to have: knowledge of open source software, civic technology, urban/smart city technologies, internet freedom, tech criticism, or human rights
• Nice to have: comfort with collaborative tools such as Notion, Slack, Miro, and Google Suite
• Nice to have: awareness of best practices around informed research consent, data safeguarding, and participant anonymization

Working arrangements

The position is hybrid, working from home and in public community spaces across New York (City or State). In-person attendance is required for scheduled meetings and workshops. The role operates during US Eastern work hours at 30+ hours per week. Some physical activity is expected, including walking, bending, kneeling, and standing, as well as extended periods of sitting.

Pay and benefits

$60,000 - $80,000 base annual salary (pro-rated for the duration of the engagement through March 2027). The position is benefits eligible.