We Make Life More Rewarding and Dignified
Location: Libertyville
Department: Research & Development
Summary:
This role for a Fellow level research and design leader who wants to shape that capability from the ground up. You will help define how Hollister discovers future opportunities in intimate health: how we listen, how we observe, how we frame problems, how we test early ideas, and how human insight informs investment decisions.
You will join a newly formed New Ventures group within R&D. The group exists to explore opportunities beyond today’s product roadmap and to build a credible pipeline of future solutions. Your role is to ensure those opportunities start from human truth, not internal assumptions, technology enthusiasm, or incremental product thinking.
It is a strategic, front-end role for someone who can help shape what problems the company should solve. This is not a downstream usability role. You will not inherit a mature playbook but will help create one. The work will require craft, judgment, courage, and the ability to bring others with you as the organization builds a stronger external orientation.
Responsibilities:
- Define the real human problems worth solving
- Lead discovery work that goes beyond stated needs. Understand routines, workarounds, stigma, fear, confidence, privacy, dependence, dignity, and the emotional weight of living with intimate health conditions.
- Shape future opportunity spaces
- Partner with the New Ventures leader to translate broad strategic themes into clear, evidence-based problem spaces and venture theses. Your work should help the organization decide where to explore, what to stop, and what deserves deeper investment.
- Build the research and insight capability for New Ventures
- Establish practical standards for how early-stage opportunities are explored: how questions are framed, how research is planned, how evidence is captured, how insights are synthesized, and how decisions are made to enable better strategic choices.
- Translate insight into design and venture direction
- Convert human insight into experience principles, design criteria, concept territories, early value propositions, and decision recommendations. Your work should make ideas sharper, more grounded, and easier to act on.
- Challenge assumptions constructively
- Use evidence to pressure-test internal beliefs, inherited category logic, premature solution bias, and concepts that sound attractive but do not meaningfully improve people’s lives. This role requires the judgment to know when to support, when to reframe, and when to say: we are solving the wrong problem.
- Connect human insight to technology and clinical reality
- Work closely with Technology Architects, Clinical Development, marketers, engineers, designers, external partners, and business leaders. Help ensure technology exploration is anchored in real human needs and that early concepts are desirable, usable, feasible, and strategically meaningful.
- Establish the New Ventures research operating model: question framing, research planning, synthesis, evidence standards, and decision outputs.
- Lead deep discovery in 2-3 priority opportunity spaces tied to intimate health and future growth.
- Create a practical problem-framing toolkit that helps teams move from broad themes to precise human problems.
- Build a living insight base from patients, caregivers, clinicians, and adjacent stakeholders.
- Shape key venture decisions: advance, pivot, stop, or reframe.
- Establish a strong working rhythm with the New Ventures leader, Technology Architects, Clinical Development, and selected external partners.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in Science or Engineering
- Advanced Degree Preferred
- 12+ years in UX research, design research, human-centered design, design strategy, service design, or adjacent disciplines.
- Deep experience in healthcare, medical devices, life sciences, or other high-sensitivity human contexts.
- Experience working with sensitive, private, emotional, or stigmatized topics.
- Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and cross-functional teams through evidence, synthesis, and judgment.
- Experience shaping early concepts and opportunity spaces, not only validating mature products.
- Exposure to regulated product development and human factors/usability work is strongly preferred.
Competencies:
- Strategic problem framing: sees beyond stated needs and defines the real problem worth solving.
- Research craft: selects the right method for the question; rigorous without being academic.
- Synthesis and judgment: turns messy human data into clear implications and decisions.
- Design translation: connects insight to concepts, experience principles, design criteria, and venture direction.
- Influence without authority: challenges senior stakeholders constructively and changes minds.
- Sensitive-context research: earns trust in conversations about private, emotional, or stigmatized health issues.
- Enterprise communication: communicates human insight simply, vividly, and with consequence.
Mindset and Behaviors:
- Deeply human-centered, curious, and observant.
- Comfortable operating before the brief is clear.
- Willing to challenge assumptions without becoming oppositional.
- Strong enough to say, "we are solving the wrong problem."
- Pragmatic enough to move quickly and avoid over-engineered research.
- Energized by building something that does not yet fully exist.
- Motivated by impact on people’s lives, not just research excellence.
Our Total Rewards package in aggregate is above market and includes competitive pay, paid time off programs, peer-to-peer recognition, health and life insurance, wellness programs and incentives, and generous retirement savings.
- The anticipated base pay range for this position is $161,000 - $250,000 yearly. The actual salary varies based on applicant's location, education, experience, skills, abilities, and other legitimate business factors.
- This position is also eligible to participate in the Hollister Corporate Bonus Plan.
- The Company’s health and welfare benefits include medical, prescription, dental, vision, spending/savings accounts, disability, company paid (parental and caregiver) leaves, statutory leaves/disability programs, accident, life, wellbeing, education assistance, adoption assistance, and voluntary benefit programs.
- The Company’s 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan includes: auto-enrollment, ROTH, vesting and eligible participants “safe harbor” matching contributions.
- The Company’s paid time off benefits include: 11 paid holidays, paid vacation based on length of service and exempt/non-exempt status, and sick days based on statutory requirements and/or exempt/non-exempt status.
- The Company’s additional benefits include: education assistance and adoption assistance benefit programs.
About Hollister Incorporated
Hollister Incorporated is an independent, employee-owned company that develops, manufactures and markets healthcare products worldwide. The company spearheads the advancement of innovative products for ostomy care, continence care and critical care, and also creates educational support materials for patients and healthcare professionals. Headquartered in Libertyville, Illinois, Hollister has manufacturing and distribution centers on three continents and sells in nearly 80 countries. Hollister is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Firm of John Dickinson Schneider, Inc., and is guided both by its Mission to make life more rewarding and dignified for people who use our products and services, as well as its Vision to grow and prosper as an independent, employee-owned company, and in the process, to become better human beings.
EOE Statement
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.
Job Req ID: 36093
