Senior Creative Strategy & UX Designer, Energy Products

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Creative Strategy & UX Designer, Energy Products

Company: Woven by Toyota

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Job Type: Employee (Full-Time)

Category: Creative Strategy & UX Design (Mobility/Energy Products)

Date Posted: August 5, 2026

Experience Level: 7+ Years

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the creative strategy and user experience design for innovative energy products at the forefront of mobility transformation.

• Translate complex technological concepts (e.g., V2H, smart charging, home energy optimization) into intuitive, human-centered customer experiences and compelling narratives.

• Drive product and business narrative development, defining visual and experiential direction for internal alignment, customer understanding, and external partnerships.

• Collaborate closely with product management, engineering, business development, and brand teams to ensure desirability, understandability, and differentiation in a complex market.

• Design key UX/UI flows, create wireframes, prototypes, and communication assets to inform stakeholders and guide product development.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this role is not directly in Revenue or Sales Operations, it has significant downstream impact on GTM strategy, customer adoption, and revenue generation through effective product experience and clear value proposition communication. The "Creative Strategy" aspect is critical for defining market positioning and customer engagement, which directly influences sales enablement and market penetration.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the overarching creative strategy for the Energy Product, encompassing product, business, brand, and customer experience.

• Develop clear and compelling visual designs, narratives, and communication strategies for internal alignment, customer understanding, partner discussions, executive reviews, Proofs of Concept (PoCs), and launch activities.

• Design key User Experience (UX) and service experiences, ensuring complex functionality feels simple, intuitive, and valuable to customers.

• Create wireframes, prototypes, visual concepts, storyboards, presentation materials, and communication assets to drive stakeholder alignment across product managers, business teams, engineers, brand stakeholders, external agencies, and design partners.

• Translate complex concepts such as Vehicle-to-Home (V2H), smart charging, electricity plans, energy optimization, and Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) ownership into understandable visuals, UX flows, and customer-facing messages.

• Continuously improve the product experience based on customer research, field feedback, usage data, and stakeholder input, while building reusable creative processes such as narrative frameworks, visual guidelines, UX patterns, and presentation templates.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to connect creative direction with business strategy and brand value, ensuring the product is technically feasible, commercially viable, and desirable.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic thinking and hands-on execution, typical of senior design roles in innovative product development. The emphasis on translating complexity and driving alignment is crucial for a role that bridges technical product development with market-facing communication, impacting sales readiness and customer acquisition.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor Degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field (e.g., Design, HCI, Communications, Business Strategy). Experience:

• 7+ years of experience driving creative work for digital products, services, platforms, or new business initiatives.

• Proven track record of successfully translating complex business, technology, or product concepts into clear narratives, visuals, and customer experiences.

• Experience working cross-functionally with product managers, engineers, business teams, executives, and external partners.

• Ability to drive ambiguous projects forward without a fully defined brief, creating structure, direction, and momentum. Required Skills:

• Creative Strategy Development: Ability to define and articulate a cohesive creative vision for a product and its market positioning.

• UX/UI Design: Proficiency in designing intuitive user journeys, service experiences, wireframes, and prototypes.

• Visual Design & Communication: Skill in creating compelling visuals, storyboards, and presentation materials that simplify complex information.

• Narrative Development: Expertise in crafting clear, engaging narratives that explain complex products and business value.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with diverse teams, including product, engineering, business development, and brand.

• Stakeholder Management: Experience in presenting to and aligning with internal and external stakeholders, including executives.

• Problem-Solving & Ambiguity Navigation: Capacity to lead projects with incomplete information and establish clear direction.

• Portfolio Demonstration: A strong portfolio showcasing strategic thinking and high-quality creative execution across digital products and services.

• Language Proficiency: Conversational proficiency in Japanese and business-level proficiency in English.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with early-stage product development, PoCs, pilots, or new business launches.

• Experience collaborating with external agencies, design studios, or production partners.

• Familiarity with customer research methodologies, service blueprinting, journey mapping, and usability testing.

• Experience in premium or luxury brand environments where product experience and brand perception are deeply connected.

• Experience creating design systems, visual identity systems, narrative frameworks, or brand guidelines.

• Proficiency with Figma and other industry-standard design and prototyping tools.

• Experience with motion design, video production, spatial experience design, or campaign planning.

• Experience navigating large Japanese organizations, including internal approval processes, governance, and multi-stakeholder alignment.

• Interest in using creativity to make complex social infrastructure feel simple, human, and desirable.

• Experience in mobility, automotive, energy, smart home, sustainability, or infrastructure-related services.

• Experience designing or communicating products related to EVs, charging, V2H, HEMS, electricity plans, or energy data.

📝 Enhancement Note: The language requirements (conversational Japanese, business English) are critical for this role, indicating a need for seamless communication within a Japanese corporate environment and with international teams/partners. The portfolio requirement is paramount, as it serves as the primary evidence of strategic and executional capabilities.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Strategic Frameworks: Demonstrate the ability to develop strategic frameworks for creative direction, narrative development, and user experience design.

• Problem/Solution Case Studies: Showcase detailed case studies of how you translated complex problems into elegant, user-centered solutions, highlighting your process from concept to execution.

• Cross-Functional Impact: Provide examples of projects where your creative strategy and design work directly influenced business objectives, stakeholder alignment, or product adoption.

• Visual & Experiential Design: Include examples of wireframes, prototypes, visual concepts, and final communication assets that exemplify high-quality execution and strategic intent.

• Process Documentation: Showcase examples of reusable creative processes, such as narrative frameworks, visual guidelines, or UX patterns developed for previous projects.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design: Present examples of how you’ve designed and optimized workflows for creative projects, ensuring efficiency and effective collaboration.

• Implementation & Automation: Illustrate how your creative output has been implemented and, where applicable, how it leveraged or informed automation strategies.

• Measurement & Analysis: Show how you’ve approached measuring the effectiveness of creative strategies and designs, using data and feedback to iterate and improve.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role focused on creative strategy and UX design, the portfolio is not just a collection of work but a demonstration of a structured, strategic, and impactful design process. Candidates should be prepared to articulate the "why" behind their design decisions and their contribution to business outcomes, especially in the context of new product launches and complex service offerings.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Estimated Range: ¥10,000,000 - ¥15,000,000 JPY per year.

• Explanation: This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for Senior Creative Strategist/UX Designer roles in Tokyo, Japan, with 7+ years of experience, particularly within large, innovative technology or automotive companies. The specific salary will depend on the candidate's experience, skills, and negotiation. Cost of living in Tokyo is high, supporting this range.

Benefits:

• Competitive Salary: Based on experience and performance.

• Flexible Working Time: Offers flexibility in daily work schedules.

• Paid Holiday: 20 days per year (prorated), providing ample time for rest and personal pursuits.

• Sick Leave: 6 days per year (prorated), for health and well-being.

• Japanese Social Insurance: Comprehensive coverage including Health Insurance, Pension, Workers’ Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, and Long-term Care Insurance.

• Housing Allowance: Support for living expenses in Tokyo.

• Retirement Benefits: Financial planning support for the future.

• Rental Cars Support: Potential benefit for transportation needs.

• In-house Training Program: Opportunities for continuous learning in software, language (English/Japanese), and professional development. Working Hours:

• Standard 40 hours per week, with flexible working time options.

📝 Enhancement Note: The estimated salary range is a critical piece of information for operations professionals who often analyze compensation structures and market competitiveness. The benefits package, especially the in-house training and flexible hours, aligns with offerings attractive to skilled professionals in the tech and mobility sectors.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Mobility, Automotive Technology, Energy Services, Software Development. Woven by Toyota is a key enabler of Toyota's transformation into a mobility company, operating at the intersection of traditional automotive, cutting-edge software, and new energy solutions.

Company Size: Part of the larger Toyota Group, but Woven by Toyota operates as a distinct, innovation-focused entity. The specific team size for the Energy Product is likely a dedicated, cross-functional unit within the broader Woven organization.

Founded: Woven Planet Holdings, Inc. (now Woven by Toyota) was established in 2021, signifying a relatively new and agile organizational structure focused on rapid innovation.

Team Structure:

• Cross-Functional Unit: The Energy Product team is composed of individuals from product management, software development, energy operations, dealer operations, UX/UI design, brand strategy, and business development.

• Reporting Structure: The Senior Creative Strategy & UX Designer will likely report to a Design Lead, Product Lead, or Head of Product for the Energy Product team, with close collaboration and frequent interaction with senior leadership and executive stakeholders.

• Collaboration: Emphasis on close, collaborative partnerships with engineering, product management, and business development teams to ensure alignment between technical feasibility, business viability, and customer desirability.

Methodology:

• Human-Centered Design: A core philosophy, evident in the focus on customer experience, understanding user needs, and making complex technology accessible.

• Agile Development: Likely employed for software and product development, allowing for iterative progress, rapid feedback, and adaptation to evolving market needs.

• Data-Driven Insights: Utilization of customer research, field feedback, and usage data to inform design decisions and product improvements.

• Strategic Storytelling: A key approach for aligning internal teams and external partners around the product's vision and value proposition.

Company Website: https://woven.toyota/en

📝 Enhancement Note: Understanding Woven by Toyota's mission ("challenge the current state of mobility through human-centric innovation") and its focus areas (AD/ADAS, Arene, Woven City, Cloud & AI) provides essential context for the role. The Energy Product team's specific goal of transforming the parked vehicle into a meaningful part of everyday life through intelligent energy management is a critical differentiator.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level individual contributor role, focused on strategic creative direction and hands-on UX/UI design. It requires seasoned professionals capable of leading creative efforts, navigating ambiguity, and influencing product direction.

Reporting Structure: The role reports into the Energy Product team, likely under a design or product leadership position. This structure allows for direct impact on product strategy and execution.

Operations Impact: While not a direct operations role, this position has a profound impact on:

• Customer Adoption: A clear, compelling, and intuitive user experience is crucial for driving adoption of new energy products, directly influencing sales and revenue.

• Brand Perception: The creative strategy and design directly shape how customers and partners perceive Woven by Toyota's innovation and commitment to user-centricity.

• Market Differentiation: Strong creative strategy and UX can set the product apart in a competitive landscape, influencing market share and customer loyalty.

• Internal Alignment: Effective communication and narrative development are vital for aligning internal stakeholders and securing buy-in for product strategies.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Design: Potential to grow into a Design Lead or Manager role within the Energy Product team or other Woven by Toyota initiatives.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in mobility, energy systems, or sustainable technology design.

• Cross-Functional Mobility: Opportunities to contribute to other Woven by Toyota product lines or strategic initiatives.

• Strategic Influence: As a senior member, influence the broader product vision, business model, and brand strategy for energy products.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor junior designers and contribute to the development of a strong design culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth potential here is significant, moving beyond pure design execution into strategic product leadership, especially within a rapidly evolving and high-impact area like energy solutions for mobility.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid work environment, with a significant presence required at the Tokyo office for collaboration, team meetings, and hands-on design work.

Office Location(s): Tokyo, Japan. Specific office details would be provided during the interview process, but it's situated within a major global innovation hub.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The office environment is expected to foster collaboration, with dedicated spaces for team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and design critiques.

• Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design software (like Figma, mentioned in Nice-to-Haves) and prototyping tools is anticipated.

• Cross-Functional Interaction: Frequent interaction with product managers, engineers, business strategists, and brand specialists, fostering a dynamic and integrated work environment.

• Innovation Hub: Being part of Woven by Toyota means working in an environment dedicated to pushing the boundaries of mobility technology.

Work Schedule:

• Standard 40-hour work week with flexible working hours, allowing for a balance between focused design work and personal commitments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature and emphasis on in-office collaboration suggest a culture that values both focused individual work and spontaneous, in-person ideation and problem-solving, especially critical for complex creative strategy and design challenges.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Resume and portfolio review to assess qualifications, experience, and alignment with role requirements.

• First Interview (Hiring Manager/Team Lead): Discussion on experience, creative process, strategic thinking, and cultural fit. This stage often includes a high-level overview of past projects.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: A more in-depth session where candidates present their portfolio, highlighting key case studies. This may be followed by a specific design challenge or problem-solving exercise related to the energy product.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders from product management, engineering, and business development to assess collaboration skills and ability to translate complex ideas.

• Executive Interview: A final discussion with senior leadership to assess strategic alignment, leadership potential, and overall fit with the company's vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Strategic Narrative: Clearly articulate the strategic intent behind each project, not just the visual outcome. Explain the "why" and the business objectives.

• Process Emphasis: Detail your design process, including research, ideation, iteration, stakeholder feedback integration, and final execution.

• Quantifiable Impact: Where possible, highlight the impact of your work – e.g., improved user engagement, increased adoption, successful stakeholder alignment, contribution to business goals.

• Complexity Translation: Showcase examples where you successfully translated complex technical or business concepts into simple, user-friendly experiences and clear communications.

• Role Relevance: Tailor your portfolio presentation to highlight skills most relevant to this role: creative strategy, UX for complex digital products, narrative development, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Visual & Prototyping Skills: Ensure your portfolio includes high-quality visual examples and interactive prototypes that demonstrate your hands-on design capabilities.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with BEV charging, V2H, home energy systems, electricity plans, and the general landscape of smart energy solutions for consumers.

• Think Strategically: Be prepared to discuss how to position and communicate a complex, multi-faceted product.

• Focus on User Value: Demonstrate an ability to identify user needs and translate them into tangible product features and experiences.

• Articulate Trade-offs: Be ready to discuss design decisions and the trade-offs considered (e.g., simplicity vs. feature richness, technical feasibility vs. ideal user experience).

• Practice Presentation: Rehearse presenting your portfolio and any potential design challenge responses concisely and clearly.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on portfolio presentation and potential design challenges underscores the practical, execution-oriented nature of this role, even at a senior, strategic level. Candidates must be prepared to show their strategic thinking and design skills, not just talk about them.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Explicitly mentioned as a preferred tool for UX/UI design, wireframing, and prototyping. Candidates are expected to be proficient.

• Prototyping Tools: Proficiency in tools beyond Figma for creating interactive prototypes (e.g., InVision, Adobe XD, Sketch).

• Presentation Software: Advanced skills in tools like PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides for creating executive-level presentations and communication materials.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as a primary responsibility, familiarity with using user analytics and feedback data to inform design decisions is a strong plus. Tools may include:
  • User Analytics Platforms: (e.g., Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel) for understanding user behavior.
  • Customer Feedback Tools: (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Typeform) for gathering qualitative insights.

CRM & Automation:

• Understanding of how design and user experience integrate with CRM systems and automation workflows to ensure a seamless customer journey.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is a key technical requirement. The role also implies a need for strong skills in presentation tools, as a significant part of the job involves communicating complex ideas to various stakeholders. Familiarity with user research and analytics tools is highly beneficial for data-informed design.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Human-Centered Innovation: A fundamental value driving the creation of products and services that enhance well-being and serve society.

• Challenging the Status Quo: Encouraging a mindset of continuous improvement and pushing boundaries in mobility and energy solutions.

• Collaboration & Co-Creation: Fostering an environment where diverse perspectives are valued, and teams work together to achieve bold goals.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing insights from research, feedback, and usage data to guide strategy and design.

• Simplicity & Clarity: Striving to make complex technologies and services understandable and valuable for everyday users.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: High degree of collaboration across diverse teams (product, engineering, business, brand) to ensure holistic product development.

• Open Communication: Encouraging direct and transparent communication to align on strategy, resolve issues, and share feedback.

• Iterative Design Process: Embracing feedback loops and iterative development to refine designs and product experiences.

• Global Mindset: Working within a global organization requires sensitivity to different cultural perspectives and communication styles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values emphasize innovation, user-centricity, and collaboration, which are crucial for a role that bridges technical development with market-facing communication. Understanding these values is key for cultural fit.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Translating Complexity: The primary challenge is simplifying highly complex technical and business concepts (energy, V2H, BEV charging, electricity markets) into intuitive and desirable customer experiences.

• Ambiguity & New Markets: Working on early-stage products in a rapidly evolving market requires navigating significant ambiguity and defining new customer expectations.

• Cross-Cultural Collaboration: Effectively collaborating with teams across different functions, potentially different geographies, and within a large Japanese corporate structure requires strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Balancing Strategy & Execution: The role demands both high-level strategic thinking and hands-on design execution, requiring efficient time management and prioritization.

• Defining a New Category: Creating a compelling narrative and user experience for a nascent product category that integrates mobility, home energy, and software.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into Energy & Mobility: Gaining expertise in the BEV, smart home, and energy management sectors.

• Strategic Product Development: Contributing to the core strategy and definition of new mobility services.

• Executive Communication: Honing skills in presenting to and influencing senior leadership.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Developing leadership capabilities through close collaboration with diverse teams.

• Advanced Design Tools & Methodologies: Exposure to cutting-edge design tools and innovation processes within a leading automotive company.

• Industry Conferences & Training: Potential for participation in relevant industry events and internal training programs (e.g., language, software).

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for senior roles in innovative product development, offering significant opportunities for professional growth and skill development in a high-impact area.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you translated a highly complex technical or business concept into a simple, compelling user experience. What was your process?" (Focus on your strategic approach, design methodology, and outcome.)

• "How would you approach defining the core value proposition and narrative for an energy product that connects EVs, homes, and electricity plans for consumers?" (Think about target audiences, key benefits, and differentiation.)

• "Imagine we need to communicate the benefits of V2H technology to potential customers who have never heard of it. How would you approach this communication strategy and what visual/experiential elements would you prioritize?" (Demonstrate your ability to simplify and create desire.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Woven by Toyota's mission and its approach to mobility innovation?" (Research their mission, values, and specific initiatives like Woven City.)

• "How do you envision your role contributing to the 'human-centered innovation' philosophy at Woven by Toyota?" (Connect your design philosophy to their core values.)

• "How would you navigate a situation where there are conflicting priorities between product management, engineering, and business development regarding the user experience?" (Highlight your collaboration, negotiation, and strategic alignment skills.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Frame each case study as a narrative: the challenge, your strategic approach, the creative solutions, and the impact.

• Process Visualization: Use diagrams or flowcharts to illustrate your design process, showing how you moved from problem to solution.

• Stakeholder Alignment: Explain how you involved and aligned stakeholders throughout the project.

• Highlight Ambiguity Navigation: For early-stage projects, emphasize how you brought structure and clarity to ambiguous situations.

• Visual Clarity: Ensure your slides are clean, visually appealing, and easy to understand. Use mockups and prototypes effectively.

• Conciseness: Be prepared to present key projects within a given timeframe, focusing on the most relevant aspects for this role.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating both strategic foresight and practical design execution. Candidates should be ready to articulate their thought process, showcase their ability to simplify complexity, and demonstrate how their work drives business value.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Creative Strategy & UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on jobs.lever.co.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects demonstrating creative strategy, UX/UI design for complex digital products, narrative development, and experience in mobility or energy sectors. Ensure it includes case studies showcasing your process and impact.

• Resume Optimization: Craft your resume to emphasize your 7+ years of experience, focus on your strategic contributions, and clearly list your skills in UX/UI design, creative strategy, and cross-functional collaboration. Ensure both English and Japanese language proficiency are noted.

• Interview Preparation: Thoroughly research Woven by Toyota, its mission, and the Energy Product team's goals. Prepare to discuss your portfolio in detail, focusing on how you translate complex concepts into user-centered experiences and business value. Practice articulating your strategic thinking and design process.

• Company & Role Research: Understand the competitive landscape for EV charging and home energy management solutions. Consider how Woven by Toyota's unique approach differentiates them. Prepare thoughtful questions about the team, product roadmap, and company culture.

⚠️ 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.