Consumer Experience Design Manager

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Consumer Experience Design Manager

Company: Memorial Hermann Health System

Location: Medical Plaza North, Houston, Texas, United States

Job Type: Full time

Category: Consumer Experience Design / Service Design Operations

Date Posted: September 23, 2026

Experience Level: 2-5 years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the design and strategic oversight of consumer journeys, ensuring a human-centered approach to healthcare experiences.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and implement innovative solutions that enhance patient and caregiver satisfaction.

• Analyze consumer feedback, experience data, and clinical workflows to identify opportunities for process improvement and service optimization.

• Facilitate workshops and stakeholder engagements to build consensus and champion new experiential visions across the organization.

• Support the implementation of designed experiences through goal setting, execution frameworks, and performance metric development.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is situated within a large, established health system, indicating a need for strong change management capabilities and the ability to navigate complex organizational structures. The focus on "consumer experience" suggests a strategic shift towards patient-centricity, requiring a blend of design thinking, data analysis, and operational execution. The emphasis on "scaling" solutions points to a need for robust implementation strategies and a focus on enterprise-wide impact.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct in-depth research, including shadowing, interviews, and surveys, to identify and quantify patient and staff pain points.

• Evaluate and map existing patient and staff experiences and operational processes to uncover areas for enhancement.

• Facilitate design thinking workshops with diverse stakeholder groups to collaboratively brainstorm and develop innovative solutions.

• Articulate future-state experiences and present compelling observations and opportunities to executive leadership through clear storytelling and presentations.

• Lead consumer testing initiatives to validate the effectiveness and business case for proposed solutions before enterprise-wide scaling.

• Support the implementation of new experiences by developing short- and long-term goals, execution frameworks, and defining key program evaluation metrics.

• Foster relationships with leadership across Memorial Hermann to cultivate a culture of patient-centered problem-solving and continuous improvement.

• Champion Memorial Hermann's service standards by ensuring all initiatives prioritize safety, compassion, personalization, and efficiency in patient and colleague interactions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic design and tactical execution. The emphasis on "gathering and analyzing customer feedback" and "evaluating and mapping patient and staff experiences" suggests a strong data-driven and analytical component to the role. The requirement to "lead consumer testing initiatives to substantiate effectiveness, prove value, and make the business case" indicates a need for strong business acumen and the ability to demonstrate ROI.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in Design, Communications, Social Science, or a related field. A Master’s Degree is preferred.

Experience: Minimum of three (3) years of experience in journey mapping, service/experience design, customer experience strategy, or a closely related field.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated proficiency in journey mapping, service design, and consumer experience strategy development.

• Strong understanding of design thinking principles and methodologies.

• Experience in analyzing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data, including consumer feedback and survey results (e.g., Qualtrics).

• Proven ability to facilitate workshops and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and diverse stakeholder groups, including patients, caregivers, physicians, and operational leaders.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with a proven ability to present complex ideas, observations, and opportunities clearly and persuasively to executive-level audiences.

• Strategic thinking capabilities with the ability to synthesize abstract concepts into actionable steps and pragmatic solutions.

• Strong business acumen and understanding of business processes.

• Proficiency in design and/or journey mapping and visualization software. Preferred Skills:

• Healthcare experience strongly preferred, with a deep understanding of patient experience and clinical workflows.

• Direct clinical experience (e.g., nursing, allied health) is a significant plus.

• Familiarity or technical experience with Epic, particularly in reporting and/or workflow design/build.

• Lean Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or higher preferred) or demonstrated experience applying Lean Six Sigma methodologies to process improvement.

• Experience with project management and implementation of new initiatives.

• Knowledge of contemporary trends in consumer-focused strategies within the healthcare industry.

📝 Enhancement Note: The preference for healthcare and clinical experience, along with familiarity with Epic and Lean Six Sigma, strongly suggests that candidates with a background in healthcare operations or clinical informatics will be highly competitive. The "2-5 years" experience level indicated by AI analysis aligns well with the "three years of experience" requirement, suggesting this is a mid-level role focused on design execution and early-stage implementation support.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of three (3) distinct projects demonstrating your expertise in consumer experience design or service design.

• For each project, clearly articulate the problem statement, your role, the methodologies employed (e.g., journey mapping, user research, design thinking), and the resulting solutions.

• Highlight your ability to analyze data and insights to inform design decisions and demonstrate measurable impact or potential impact.

• Include examples of how you have collaborated with cross-functional teams or stakeholders to bring designs to fruition.

• Demonstrate your skills in visualizing complex processes or customer journeys through clear and effective diagrams or mockups. Process Documentation:

• Provide examples of how you have documented current-state customer journeys and proposed future-state experiences.

• Showcase your ability to translate research findings and stakeholder feedback into actionable design recommendations and implementation roadmaps.

• Include documentation that illustrates your approach to defining metrics and evaluating the success of implemented experience designs.

• Highlight any experience with creating process flows or workflow diagrams to support the implementation of new service designs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the emphasis on design, research, and implementation support, a strong portfolio is crucial. Candidates should be prepared to present case studies that clearly articulate the problem, their process, the solution, and the (ideally quantified) impact. The inclusion of Lean Six Sigma and Epic familiarity suggests that demonstrating process optimization and system integration within the portfolio will be highly advantageous.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Consumer Experience Design Managers with 2-5 years of experience in a major metropolitan area like Houston, Texas, and considering the complexity of the healthcare industry, an estimated salary range for this role is $95,000 - $125,000 annually. This estimate accounts for the preferred qualifications such as Lean Six Sigma certification, Epic familiarity, and clinical experience, which often command higher compensation.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Generous paid time off (PTO) and holiday schedule.

• Retirement savings plan with employer match (e.g., 401(k) or 403(b)).

• Opportunities for professional development, including training, certifications (e.g., Lean Six Sigma), and conference attendance.

• Employee assistance program (EAP) for mental health and well-being support.

• Potential for performance-based bonuses or incentives.

• Access to Memorial Hermann's extensive network of healthcare services and potential employee discounts.

Working Hours: Standard full-time work schedule, typically 40 hours per week. While the role is on-site, there may be occasional flexibility required to accommodate critical project deadlines or stakeholder availability, potentially including some evening or weekend work for workshops or research activities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on market data for similar roles in Houston, TX, considering the experience level and the specialized nature of healthcare consumer experience design. Memorial Hermann, as a large health system, is expected to offer a robust benefits package competitive within the industry. The role's on-site nature necessitates adherence to standard business hours, with potential for occasional off-hours work common in project-driven roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Healthcare (Hospitals & Health Systems)

Company Size: Large (Memorial Hermann Health System is one of the largest non-profit healthcare systems in the Houston area, employing tens of thousands of individuals). This size implies a structured environment with established processes, but also potential for significant impact through well-executed initiatives.

Founded: Memorial Hermann was founded in 1907, bringing over a century of experience in healthcare delivery to the communities it serves. This long history suggests a stable organization with a deep-rooted commitment to its mission.

Team Structure:

• The Consumer Experience Design Manager will report to the Director, Consumer Experience Design, indicating a dedicated team focused on enhancing patient and caregiver journeys.

• This role will likely collaborate closely with operational leaders, clinical staff, IT (especially those managing Epic), marketing, patient advocacy, and potentially quality improvement teams.

• The structure suggests a matrixed approach to project execution, requiring strong influence and collaboration skills to navigate different departmental priorities. Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making is a core expectation, utilizing consumer feedback (e.g., Qualtrics), journey mapping, and performance metrics.

• Human-centered design and design thinking are explicitly mentioned as foundational methodologies.

• Process improvement techniques, including Lean Six Sigma, are valued for optimizing workflows and enhancing efficiency.

• A strong emphasis is placed on collaboration, consensus-building, and stakeholder engagement to ensure buy-in and successful implementation of new experiences.

Company Website: http://www.memorialhermann.org

📝 Enhancement Note: Working within a large health system like Memorial Hermann means candidates must be adept at navigating complex organizational structures and influencing diverse stakeholders. The company's long history suggests stability, while its size offers opportunities for broad impact. The culture likely values a blend of established best practices and a forward-thinking approach to patient-centric care.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Managerial level within the Consumer Experience Design function. It requires a combination of specialized design skills, analytical capabilities, and the ability to manage projects and influence stakeholders. It's a step beyond individual contributor roles in design or research, involving strategic planning and oversight of experience design initiatives.

Reporting Structure: The Consumer Experience Design Manager reports to the Director, Consumer Experience Design. This structure suggests a clear line of leadership within the experience design domain, with opportunities to learn from and contribute to higher-level strategic initiatives managed by the Director.

Operations Impact: The primary impact of this role is on improving the overall patient and caregiver experience within Memorial Hermann. This directly influences patient satisfaction scores, HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) ratings, patient loyalty, and potentially clinical outcomes by ensuring smoother, more intuitive healthcare journeys. By optimizing processes and service delivery, this role contributes to operational efficiency and can indirectly impact revenue through improved patient retention and reputation.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific areas of healthcare consumer experience design, such as digital health interfaces, patient navigation, or care coordination design.

• Leadership: Advance to a Senior Manager or Director-level position within Consumer Experience Design or a related patient experience/service excellence function.

• Cross-functional Mobility: Transition into roles within operational leadership, strategic planning, quality improvement, or innovation departments, leveraging a strong understanding of patient needs and operational processes.

• Skill Development: Pursue advanced certifications in areas like Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, service design, or change management.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for career progression within a specialized field of healthcare operations. The emphasis on both design and implementation suggests that success here could lead to broader leadership opportunities in patient experience or operational strategy. The "2-5 years" AI-derived experience level suggests the role is ideal for an individual looking to take on more responsibility after gaining foundational experience.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is an on-site role, implying a traditional office environment within Memorial Hermann's facilities. The specific location is Medical Plaza North, Houston, TX.

Office Location(s): The primary work location is Medical Plaza North. However, the role requires regular travel to various Memorial Hermann locations throughout the Houston area for research, stakeholder meetings, and site visits. This necessitates a candidate who is comfortable commuting and traveling within the region.

Workspace Context:

• The workspace will likely be a collaborative office setting, designed to facilitate teamwork and communication among the experience design team and with other departments.

• Access to standard office technology, including computers, communication tools, and potentially specialized design software, will be provided.

• Opportunities for direct interaction with patients, caregivers, and frontline staff in clinical settings will be integral to the role, providing rich insights into real-world experiences.

• The environment will require adaptability, as the role involves both desk-based analysis and on-the-ground observation and facilitation.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is expected. While the core hours will be during typical business times, flexibility may be required to accommodate patient availability for interviews or shadowing, or to attend critical stakeholder meetings that fall outside standard hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement and need for travel across the Houston area are key considerations. Candidates must be based in or willing to relocate to the Greater Houston area. The blend of office-based work and field observation signifies a dynamic work environment that demands adaptability and strong time management skills.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess qualifications, experience, and alignment with the role's requirements.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion focused on your background, experience with consumer experience design, service design methodologies, and understanding of the healthcare landscape. Expect questions about your approach to research, journey mapping, and stakeholder engagement.

• Case Study/Presentation: You may be asked to present a portfolio piece or a hypothetical case study demonstrating your problem-solving skills, design process, and ability to articulate solutions and their potential impact. This is a critical step to evaluate your communication and strategic thinking.

• Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with potential peers, cross-functional collaborators, or senior leaders to assess cultural fit, collaboration style, and ability to influence.

• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior executive or director to discuss strategic alignment and overall fit with the organization's vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best showcase your skills in journey mapping, service design, and process improvement within a healthcare or complex service context.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your specific role and contributions, the methodologies you used, the insights you uncovered, the solution you designed, and the measurable outcomes or expected impact. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight Collaboration: Emphasize how you worked with diverse stakeholders (patients, clinicians, administrators) and how you built consensus for your designs.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include data points, metrics, or evidence of the positive outcomes or business value your designs delivered or are projected to deliver.

• Showcase Process: Clearly outline your design thinking and research process. Demonstrate how you translated data and insights into actionable design solutions.

Challenge Preparation:

• Healthcare Context: Familiarize yourself with current trends and challenges in healthcare consumer experience, patient engagement, and service delivery.

• Process Improvement Frameworks: Be ready to discuss your experience with Lean Six Sigma, design thinking, and journey mapping methodologies.

• Problem-Solving Scenarios: Prepare to walk through how you would approach a given scenario, such as improving patient wait times, enhancing the discharge process, or designing a new digital patient portal feature. Focus on your analytical and problem-solving approach.

• Stakeholder Management: Be prepared to discuss how you would manage differing opinions or resistance from various stakeholder groups.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes practical application of skills through portfolio review and potential case studies. Candidates should prepare to demonstrate not just theoretical knowledge but also the ability to apply it within the complex healthcare environment. Strong storytelling and data-driven argumentation will be key to success.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Journey Mapping Software: Tools like Lucidchart, Miro, Smaply, or similar platforms for creating visual representations of customer journeys.

• Design & Prototyping Tools: Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop), Figma, Sketch, or other visual design tools for creating mockups and prototypes.

• Collaboration Platforms: Microsoft Teams, Slack, or similar for team communication and project collaboration.

• Project Management Software: Tools like Asana, Trello, Jira, or Microsoft Project for tracking project timelines, tasks, and progress.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Survey & Feedback Platforms: Qualtrics is specifically mentioned as a valued tool for analyzing consumer feedback and survey data. Other tools like SurveyMonkey may also be relevant.

• Data Analysis Tools: Microsoft Excel for data manipulation and analysis; potentially Tableau or Power BI for dashboard creation and visualization, though not explicitly mentioned.

• Reporting & Analytics within EHR: Familiarity with reporting capabilities within Epic is a significant plus, particularly for understanding workflow data and patient interactions.

CRM & Automation:

• While not explicitly stated as primary tools for this role, an understanding of how CRM systems (if used for patient relationship management) and workflow automation tools integrate with the overall patient experience is beneficial.

• EHR System: Deep understanding of Epic's functionality, workflows, and reporting is highly valued, indicating its centrality to the operational and experience ecosystem.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency with journey mapping and design visualization tools is essential. The specific mention of Qualtrics and the strong preference for Epic experience highlight key technology areas that candidates should be prepared to discuss and demonstrate familiarity with. While not directly used for design, understanding how data from these systems informs design is critical.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Compassion & Personalization: A core value, evident in the commitment to creating "compassionate and personalized experiences" for every patient and colleague. This means designs should aim to be empathetic and tailored.

• Safety & Efficiency: Paramount in healthcare operations, these values underscore the need for robust, reliable, and streamlined processes. Designs must prioritize patient safety and operational effectiveness.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: The emphasis on analyzing feedback and metrics indicates a culture that relies on evidence to inform strategy and design choices.

• Collaboration & Teamwork: The role heavily relies on working with diverse groups, suggesting a culture that values cross-functional partnerships and shared ownership of patient experience improvements.

• Continuous Improvement: The pursuit of "healthier communities" and the application of methodologies like Lean Six Sigma point to a culture committed to ongoing enhancement and innovation.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expect to work closely with clinical teams, IT, operations, marketing, and leadership. Collaboration will involve active listening, translating needs, and co-creating solutions.

• Process Review & Feedback: A culture that encourages open discussion of current processes and constructive feedback on proposed changes is likely, enabling iterative design and improvement.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouragement of sharing best practices, research findings, and lessons learned across teams to elevate the collective understanding and capability in experience design.

• Influence Without Authority: The role requires strong interpersonal skills to influence stakeholders and gain buy-in for new ideas and designs, often without direct reporting lines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core values of compassion, safety, and efficiency are foundational to healthcare. For this role, it means applying design thinking to create experiences that are not only user-friendly but also ethically sound and operationally viable within a high-stakes environment. The collaborative style emphasizes influencing and partnership over direct command.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Complex Healthcare Systems: Implementing new designs and processes within a large, established health system can be challenging due to existing protocols, legacy systems, and varied stakeholder priorities. Mitigation involves strong stakeholder management and phased implementation.

• Demonstrating ROI for Experience Design: Quantifying the direct financial impact of experience design initiatives can be difficult. Success requires developing robust metrics and compelling business cases that link experience improvements to patient loyalty, retention, and operational efficiency.

• Balancing Patient Needs with Operational Constraints: Designing ideal patient experiences often requires balancing patient desires with the practical realities of healthcare operations, resource limitations, and regulatory requirements. This requires pragmatic and creative problem-solving.

• Driving Cultural Change: Shifting an organization's mindset towards a more patient-centric approach requires consistent effort, communication, and leadership support. Preparation involves understanding change management principles and building strong relationships.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Certifications: Opportunities to pursue certifications in Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, advanced service design, or change management.

• Industry Conferences: Attendance at leading healthcare experience and service design conferences to stay abreast of the latest trends and best practices.

• Mentorship & Leadership: Potential to be mentored by senior leaders in patient experience or operations, and to develop leadership skills through managing projects and influencing teams.

• Exposure to Diverse Healthcare Settings: Gaining experience across various Memorial Hermann facilities and service lines, providing a broad understanding of different operational contexts and patient populations.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents opportunities to tackle significant challenges in healthcare experience design, offering substantial professional development. Candidates should be prepared to discuss how they approach these challenges and leverage the learning opportunities for continuous growth within the organization.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you used journey mapping to identify a critical pain point and how you translated that into a design solution. What were the outcomes?" (Focus on methodology, insight generation, and impact).

• "How would you approach designing a new patient intake process for a specialty clinic, considering both patient needs and operational efficiency?" (Demonstrate problem-solving, design thinking, and understanding of healthcare operations).

• "Walk me through a challenging stakeholder engagement where you had to gain buy-in for a new experience design. What was your strategy, and what was the result?" (Highlight influence, communication, and collaboration skills). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about Memorial Hermann's commitment to patient experience and community health?" (Show research and alignment with company mission).

• "How do you see your role contributing to Memorial Hermann's values of compassion, safety, and efficiency?" (Connect your skills and approach to core organizational values).

• "How would you measure the success of a new patient experience initiative you helped design?" (Discuss metrics, data analysis, and ROI demonstration). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each portfolio piece, follow a clear story arc: Problem -> Your Role/Process -> Solution -> Impact.

• Visual Storytelling: Use high-quality visuals (journey maps, mockups, data charts) to illustrate your points. Ensure they are easy to read and understand quickly.

• Focus on 'Why' and 'How': Explain the rationale behind your design choices and the specific methods you used to arrive at them.

• Quantify Everything Possible: Be ready to discuss the metrics you tracked or proposed, and how they demonstrate value.

• Engage Your Audience: Speak conversationally, make eye contact, and be prepared to answer questions throughout or at the end of your presentation, depending on the interviewer's preference.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on showcasing a blend of design expertise, analytical rigor, and strong interpersonal skills. The ability to articulate the "why" and "how" behind your design decisions, backed by data and a clear understanding of healthcare operations, will be critical.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Consumer Experience Design Manager position:

• Submit your application through the Memorial Hermann Health System careers portal via the provided link.

• Curate Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight experience in consumer experience, service design, journey mapping, process improvement, and any healthcare-specific accomplishments. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio is up-to-date, professionally presented, and showcases 2-3 relevant projects that demonstrate your end-to-end design process, analytical skills, and impact. Be ready to walk through it.

• Research Memorial Hermann: Understand their mission, values, recent initiatives, and any publicly available information on their patient experience efforts. Familiarize yourself with the Houston healthcare landscape.

• Practice Your Presentation: Rehearse presenting your portfolio or a mock case study, focusing on clear communication, storytelling, and demonstrating your problem-solving approach and understanding of healthcare operations.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.