Experience Design Strategist

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Experience Design Strategist

Company: Modus Create

Location: Costa Rica

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Experience Design / Product Strategy

Date Posted: April 09, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5-8+ years)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead early-stage product and AI innovation initiatives, transforming ambiguous challenges into actionable product and experience strategies.

• Bridge the gap between business objectives, user needs, and technical feasibility, ensuring strategic insights translate into concrete product decisions.

• Drive cross-functional collaboration across design, engineering, and business stakeholders to define and deliver impactful digital products.

• Leverage AI tools to enhance research, synthesis, and concept development processes, while maintaining critical thinking and strategic rigor.

• Define and articulate product vision, roadmaps, and Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) for complex systems, focusing on user-centricity and measurable business outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as an "Experience Design Strategist," indicating a focus on the holistic user journey and strategic planning for digital products, with a strong emphasis on AI integration and innovation. The core function is to translate complex, undefined problems into clear product strategies and actionable design directions, requiring a blend of research, strategic thinking, and product development acumen.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead AI and product opportunity assessments: Frame ambiguous problems, identify high-value use cases, and define strategic focus areas across complex systems and workflows.

• Plan and execute research initiatives, including user research, workflow analysis, journey mapping, and ecosystem mapping, to uncover system-level insights and operational constraints.

• Design and facilitate impactful workshops with senior stakeholders to drive alignment, surface assumptions and trade-offs, and guide decision-making toward clear product strategies.

• Translate research insights and strategic findings into tangible product concepts, detailed experience flows, Minimum Viable Product (MVP) definitions, and strategic roadmaps.

• Create clear, compelling outputs such as user flows, journey maps, ecosystem diagrams, and light prototypes to visualize and communicate ideas effectively.

• Utilize AI tools to accelerate research synthesis, concept exploration, and content generation, while critically evaluating AI-generated outputs and ensuring strategic alignment.

• Collaborate closely with product managers, designers, and engineering teams to ensure a seamless transition from strategy and concept to design and development delivery.

• Support pre-sales activities and contribute to engagement shaping by defining project scope, objectives, and strategic approach for potential clients.

• Champion a data-driven approach to product development, ensuring that strategic decisions are informed by user insights and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strategic leadership role in the early stages of product development, emphasizing problem framing, research synthesis, and stakeholder influence. The integration of AI tools into core responsibilities signifies a forward-thinking approach to design and product strategy.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, Business, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 5–8+ years of progressive experience in experience strategy, product design, service design, UX research, or a closely related strategic role.

Required Skills:

• Strong T-shaped skillset: Deep expertise in experience strategy and/or research, complemented by robust product design and service design instincts.

• Proven ability to bridge strategic thinking between business objectives, user needs, and engineering capabilities.

• Demonstrated capacity to connect abstract strategic concepts to concrete product decisions, including user flows, feature sets, and interaction design.

• High standard for presentation quality, clarity of thought, and persuasive communication of complex ideas.

• Proven experience facilitating workshops and influencing senior stakeholders to achieve consensus and drive strategic alignment.

• Demonstrated practical application of AI tools or methodologies to enhance personal work or inform product strategy.

• High aptitude for effective cross-functional team collaboration and successful project delivery in a fast-paced environment.

• Ability to bring structure and clarity to ambiguous, evolving problem spaces without oversimplifying inherent complexities.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with specific AI tools for research synthesis, content generation, or ideation.

• Familiarity with Agile and Lean product development methodologies.

• Experience in a consulting environment or working with diverse client organizations.

• Knowledge of service blueprinting and ecosystem mapping techniques.

• Experience in crafting product roadmaps and defining MVP scope for complex digital products.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "T-shaped skillset" requirement emphasizes the need for deep strategic expertise combined with broad understanding across design and product disciplines. The emphasis on AI is a key differentiator, requiring practical experience rather than theoretical knowledge.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 3-5 distinct projects that demonstrate your experience in leading early-stage product strategy and innovation.

• Clearly articulate your role, the problem space, your strategic approach, and the tangible outcomes achieved for each project.

• For each project, detail how you framed ambiguous problems, conducted research (user, workflow, ecosystem), and translated insights into actionable product concepts and roadmaps.

• Include examples of workshop facilitation and how you influenced senior stakeholders to drive strategic decisions.

• Highlight instances where AI tools were leveraged to enhance your strategic process or inform product thinking, detailing the benefits and critical considerations.

Process Documentation:

• Provide documentation or case studies that illustrate your process for defining product strategy, from initial problem framing through to roadmap development.

• Detail your methodology for conducting and synthesizing research (e.g., user interviews, journey mapping, competitive analysis) to uncover strategic opportunities.

• Showcase examples of how you designed and facilitated workshops to achieve strategic alignment and decision-making among diverse stakeholder groups.

• Illustrate your approach to translating strategic insights into tangible product artifacts, such as concept mockups, user flows, or MVP specifications.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily focused on demonstrating strategic thinking, problem-framing capabilities, and the ability to translate complex research into actionable product strategies, with a specific emphasis on AI integration and stakeholder influence.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on Modus Create's typical compensation structure for experienced strategists in remote, international roles, and considering the Costa Rican market and cost of living, a competitive annual salary range is estimated between $70,000 - $100,000 USD. This range is subject to adjustment based on the candidate's specific experience, qualifications, and the final agreed-upon scope of work.

Benefits:

• Fully remote work environment, offering flexibility and work-life balance.

• Opportunity to work with world-class technologists and leading clients like AWS, GitHub, and Atlassian.

• Participation in a collaborative, innovative, and globally distributed team culture.

• Professional development opportunities, including continuous learning and exposure to cutting-edge technologies like AI.

• Access to a diverse and challenging project portfolio, including high-traffic consumer products and complex system design.

• Recognition as a top remote work company by FlexJobs, indicating a strong commitment to employee well-being and remote work infrastructure.

• Potential for growth within a company recognized as one of the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies for nine consecutive years.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours, likely aligning with a 40-hour work week. Given the global remote nature of the team, there might be flexibility in scheduling, with an expectation to overlap with key team members and client stakeholders during core business hours relevant to the Americas time zones.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is estimated based on typical remote roles in similar strategic positions and Modus Create's known client base and company profile, adjusted for the Costa Rican location's cost of living and market rates. Benefits focus on the advantages of a remote, globally distributed, and innovative tech company.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Digital Product Engineering, Technology Consulting, IT Services. Modus Create partners with forward-thinking businesses to design, build, and scale custom digital solutions. They have a strong focus on enterprise clients and industry leaders, including AWS, GitHub, and Atlassian. This positions them at the forefront of technological innovation and digital transformation.

Company Size: Modus Create is a global, fully remote team. While specific numbers fluctuate, their recognition on the Inc. 5000 list for nine years suggests sustained growth and a significant operational footprint, likely numbering in the hundreds of employees. This size allows for specialized teams while maintaining a collaborative, agile structure.

Founded: Founded in 2011, Modus Create has over a decade of experience in digital product engineering. This longevity indicates stability, a proven track record, and a deep understanding of market evolution, particularly in areas like remote work and digital product development.

Team Structure: As a fully remote, global organization, Modus Create likely employs a distributed team structure organized into project-based squads or specialized functional teams (e.g., design, engineering, strategy). Reporting structures are likely project-centric and matrixed, fostering collaboration across disciplines and geographies. The company emphasizes a "world-class team" approach, suggesting high standards for expertise and performance.

Methodology: Modus Create partners with clients, implying a consultative approach. Their work involves designing and building custom solutions, suggesting methodologies like Agile, Lean, and Design Thinking. The emphasis on "turning ambiguous problems into clear, actionable directions" points to a strong foundation in strategic planning, user-centered design, and iterative development. The integration of AI into their processes signals an adoption of modern technological approaches.

Company Website: https://moduscreate.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is characterized by its global, fully remote nature, a strong emphasis on technical excellence, client partnership, and a decade of experience in delivering digital products. The Inc. 5000 recognition underscores their growth and success.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role, "Experience Design Strategist," sits at a mid-to-senior level within the design and product strategy domain. It requires substantial experience (5-8+ years) and a strategic mindset, moving beyond execution to leadership in early-stage product definition and innovation. It's a critical role that influences the direction of product development and AI integration.

Reporting Structure: The Experience Design Strategist will likely report to a Design Director, Head of Strategy, or a similar senior leadership role within Modus Create's service delivery or product innovation practice. They will also work closely with Project Leads, Product Managers, and Engineering Leads on client engagements. The structure is designed to facilitate cross-functional collaboration.

Operations Impact: The Experience Design Strategist plays a pivotal role in ensuring that Modus Create's client engagements are strategically sound and deliver meaningful product outcomes. By framing opportunities, defining product direction, and ensuring a clear handoff to delivery teams, they directly impact project success, client satisfaction, and the adoption of new technologies like AI. Their work underpins the creation of scalable, impactful digital products.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI strategy, product innovation, or specific industry verticals.

• Leadership: Transition into roles managing teams of strategists, leading larger client engagements, or shaping Modus Create's service offerings.

• Client Relationship Management: Develop stronger client-facing skills and take on more responsibility in pre-sales and account management.

• Methodology Development: Contribute to evolving Modus Create's approach to experience strategy, service design, and AI integration.

• Technical Acumen: Continue to build knowledge in emerging technologies and their application in product development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers significant growth potential by allowing individuals to shape product strategy, influence client outcomes, and specialize in emerging areas like AI, within a company that values continuous learning and client partnership.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Modus Create operates as a fully remote company. This means there is no central physical office for this role. The work environment is entirely digital, relying on online collaboration tools and platforms.

Office Location(s): While Modus Create is a global company with teams in various regions, this specific role is based in Costa Rica, operating remotely. This implies adherence to local regulations and potentially tax structures relevant to Costa Rica, while the team's overall operations span multiple continents.

Workspace Context:

• Digital Collaboration Hubs: The primary workspace will be digital, utilizing platforms like Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, and potentially project management tools like Jira or Confluence for team communication and collaboration.

• Independent Work Environment: Employees are expected to have a dedicated, professional home office setup conducive to focused work, research, and virtual meetings.

• Cross-functional Interaction: Opportunities for interaction will be through scheduled video calls, virtual workshops, and asynchronous communication channels with colleagues and clients worldwide. The focus is on effective virtual collaboration.

Work Schedule: As a fully remote role, there is likely a degree of flexibility in daily scheduling, provided core responsibilities are met and collaboration with teams and clients across relevant time zones is maintained. The expectation is a full-time commitment, likely around 40 hours per week, with the ability to balance work with personal life.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully remote nature of Modus Create defines the work environment. Success hinges on strong self-management, effective digital communication, and the ability to collaborate seamlessly across geographical boundaries.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application and portfolio to assess alignment with the role's requirements and experience level.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A deeper dive into your experience, strategic approach, and understanding of product design, service design, and AI innovation. This may include scenario-based questions.

• Portfolio Presentation & Challenge: You will likely be asked to present a portfolio piece or work through a simulated strategic challenge. This assesses your ability to frame problems, conduct research, articulate strategy, and communicate effectively with stakeholders. Expect to discuss how you'd approach a hypothetical client problem.

• Cross-functional Interview: An interview with team members from design, engineering, or product to assess your collaboration style, technical acumen, and ability to work within a distributed team.

• Final Interview/Offer: A final discussion with senior leadership to confirm fit and extend an offer.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Strategic Narrative: For each project, clearly articulate the "why" – the business problem, user need, or strategic opportunity.

• Process Clarity: Detail your methodology: how you framed the problem, conducted research, synthesized findings, and iterated on solutions.

• AI Integration: Specifically highlight how you've used AI to inform strategy, accelerate research, or develop concepts. Be critical about its application and limitations.

• Stakeholder Influence: Showcase examples of how you've presented to and influenced senior leaders, demonstrating your facilitation and communication skills.

• Tangible Outcomes: Quantify impact where possible (e.g., "identified X key user needs that informed Y product feature," "streamlined Z workflow resulting in estimated efficiency gains").

• Conciseness: Focus on quality over quantity. Select your strongest, most relevant projects.

Challenge Preparation:

• Problem Framing: Practice dissecting ambiguous prompts, identifying key stakeholders, and defining the core problem to be solved.

• Research Strategy: Outline how you would approach research for a given challenge, considering user needs, market landscape, and technical feasibility.

• Strategic Synthesis: Be prepared to synthesize hypothetical research findings into strategic recommendations and actionable product directions.

• AI Application: Think about how AI could be applied to solve the challenge, considering both opportunities and ethical implications.

• Presentation Skills: Practice presenting your ideas clearly, concisely, and persuasively, anticipating questions and potential pushback.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes strategic thinking, practical application of design and research methodologies, AI integration, and strong communication skills, particularly through portfolio presentation and potential case studies.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD (for creating flows, wireframes, and light prototypes).

• Research & Synthesis Tools: Miro, Mural (for virtual whiteboarding, workshop facilitation, journey mapping, affinity diagramming), Dovetail,

Condens (for research repository and synthesis).

• AI & Machine Learning Tools: Candidates are expected to be familiar with and utilize various AI tools for tasks such as:
  • Research Assistance: AI-powered summarization tools, generative AI for brainstorming prompts.
  • Content Generation: AI writing assistants for initial drafts of strategy documents or user stories.
  • Concept Exploration: AI tools for generating initial design concepts or exploring use cases.
  • Data Analysis: AI-driven analytics platforms for identifying trends and insights.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web/App Analytics: Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude (for understanding user behavior and product performance).

• BI & Dashboarding Tools: Tableau, Power BI, Looker (for visualizing data and presenting insights).

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: Salesforce, HubSpot (understanding CRM data and its impact on customer journeys is beneficial).

• Project Management: Jira, Asana, Trello (for managing project workflows and tasks within client engagements).

• Collaboration Platforms: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom (essential for daily communication and virtual meetings).

📝 Enhancement Note: Emphasis on AI tools for research and ideation is a key differentiator for this role, alongside standard design and collaboration platforms. Familiarity with analytics and project management tools is also crucial for understanding product performance and delivery.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Client-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and solving client challenges, delivering tangible value, and building long-term partnerships.

• Excellence & Innovation: Striving for world-class quality in all aspects of work, embracing new technologies like AI, and pushing the boundaries of digital product design.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Fostering an open, communicative, and supportive environment where team members share knowledge, provide constructive feedback, and work together towards common goals.

• Impact & Results: Focusing on delivering measurable outcomes that drive business success for clients and create meaningful user experiences.

• Continuous Learning: Encouraging curiosity, professional development, and adaptation to the rapidly evolving technology landscape.

Collaboration Style:

• Distributed & Asynchronous: Highly adept at collaborating effectively across different time zones and geographical locations, utilizing digital tools for seamless communication and knowledge sharing.

• Cross-functional Synergy: Actively seeking collaboration with design, engineering, product, and business stakeholders to ensure a holistic approach to product development and strategy.

• Workshop-Driven Alignment: Utilizing structured workshops and facilitated sessions to drive consensus, explore ideas, and make critical decisions collaboratively.

• Opinionated but Open: Encouraging team members to be confident in their expertise and opinions while remaining open to diverse perspectives and constructive feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture values technical expertise, client success, and innovation, with a strong emphasis on collaboration within a distributed, remote-first environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Ambiguity: The core challenge is to bring structure and clarity to ill-defined problems and innovative AI opportunities, requiring strong analytical and framing skills.

• Bridging Technical and Business Divides: Effectively translating between complex technical concepts (especially AI) and clear business value propositions for diverse stakeholders.

• Remote Collaboration Dynamics: Maintaining high levels of engagement, communication, and alignment within a fully remote, globally distributed team.

• Rapidly Evolving AI Landscape: Staying abreast of the fast-paced advancements in AI and effectively integrating them into product strategies and client solutions.

• Influencing Senior Stakeholders: Gaining buy-in and driving decisions with diverse, often senior, client stakeholders who may have varying levels of understanding or buy-in for new technologies.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Strategy Specialization: Opportunities to deepen expertise in applying AI to product development, exploring ethical considerations, and developing AI-driven product roadmaps.

• Client Engagement Leadership: Developing skills in pre-sales, proposal development, and leading client strategy sessions.

• Cross-Disciplinary Skill Enhancement: Gaining exposure to and deepening understanding of engineering practices, product management frameworks, and advanced research methodologies.

• Industry Trends & Conferences: Access to industry events, webinars, and internal knowledge-sharing sessions to stay current on design, technology, and AI trends.

• Mentorship: Opportunities to learn from and mentor colleagues, fostering a culture of continuous knowledge transfer within the Modus Create team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role presents challenges related to navigating complexity and rapid technological change, offset by significant growth opportunities in emerging fields like AI strategy and client leadership.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to frame a highly ambiguous problem for a client or team. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Preparation: Focus on problem framing, stakeholder alignment, and tangible results.)

• "How have you leveraged AI tools in your work, either to improve your own process or to inform product strategy? What were the benefits and limitations?" (Preparation: Be ready to discuss specific AI tools and practical applications, showing critical thinking.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in Modus Create, and what attracts you to our fully remote, client-focused model?" (Preparation: Research Modus Create's values, client work, and remote culture; connect it to your career goals.)

• "How do you approach collaboration within a distributed, cross-functional team?" (Preparation: Highlight experience with virtual collaboration tools and strategies for effective remote teamwork.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tell a Story: Structure your presentation around a compelling narrative for each project, detailing the challenge, your approach, and the impact.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (flows, maps, concepts) to illustrate your strategic thinking and deliverables.

• Highlight AI Integration: Clearly mark and explain where and how AI tools were used, focusing on the value they added.

• Focus on Strategic Impact: Emphasize how your strategic contributions led to tangible product outcomes or business value.

• Be Prepared for Q&A: Anticipate questions about your process, decisions, and how you'd handle specific scenarios.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic leadership, practical application of AI, strong communication skills, and the ability to thrive in a remote, client-focused environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Experience Design Strategist position:

• Submit your application through the Modus Create careers portal via the provided URL.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight your experience in experience strategy, product design, service design, AI innovation, and stakeholder management. Showcase projects that demonstrate your ability to frame ambiguous problems and translate them into actionable product directions.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 5-8+ years of relevant experience, emphasizing achievements and quantifiable results. Use keywords from the job description, such as "Experience Strategy," "AI Innovation," "Product Design," "Service Design," "Stakeholder Influence," and "Cross-functional Collaboration."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your strategic process, detailing your experience with AI tools, and preparing a compelling presentation of a relevant portfolio piece. Be ready to discuss how you would approach hypothetical client challenges.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Modus Create's approach to product engineering, their client portfolio, and their fully remote culture. Understand their values and how your expertise aligns with their mission.

⚠️ 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.