Incubation Designer - Hawthorn East

We’ve been proudly serving Australian communities since 1914 and have grown to become a top 30-listed company on the ASX with a portfolio of iconic homegrown brands. At the heart of our continued success is over 115,000 team members working across the country, all contributing to bringing our customers smiles. You’ll not only get to see your work make a difference, you’ll be part of a team working together to help Australians eat and live better every day.

About the team

As the way Australians shop continues to evolve, our Data and AI Team keep Coles at the forefront of modern retail. We combine data, artificial intelligence, and applied engineering to reimagine how our stores, supply chain, and digital channels operate — creating smarter, more connected, and seamless experiences for our customers and team members.

About the role

We are currently recruiting for an Incubation Designer to manage the end-to-end delivery of specific early-stage AI and data products utilising emerging technology, ensuring business value is realised.

The Incubation Designer shapes and communicates cutting edge Data & AI products through clear user experiences, prototypes and data stories that inform strategy and investments at Coles, enabling confident decisions by senior leaders (informing processes like corporate planning).

Pivotal to this role will be your ability to lead senior-facing showcases and forums to explain options, risks and trade-offs, and to secure direction for pilots and scale-up.

About you

Whether or not you have deep technical experience, you should demonstrate a strong product and design skill set. Key capabilities include early‑stage scoping, prototyping, and the ability to translate ideas into visual concepts. Familiarity with technologies such as Python or React is preferred, particularly for building prototypes and showcasing design solutions. Candidates should also be adept at using modern tools to present and communicate their concepts effectively. You will also be adept at navigating ambiguity and unstructured environments, establishing networks across business and external ecosystems, and shaping design standards to support incubation pipelines and emerging technologies.

Key responsibilities:

Product Innovation and Prototyping

• Design user experiences, interfaces and interactive prototypes that demonstrate new Data & AI product concepts
• Define the product vision, strategy and roadmap for emerging Data and AI products, prioritising features and delivery
• Create user flows, wireframes and mock-ups using tools such as Figma, Adobe XD or similar. Design data visualisations and dashboards (e.g. Power BI, Tableau or equivalent) that communicate insights clearly and effectively. Support design of both customer-facing and team-facing tools across mobile and desktop contexts

Strategic Impact

• Partner with Group Product Managers and General Managers to frame incubation roadmaps, success measures and decision gates
• Co-author options papers and investment materials for senior executives, linking concepts to commercial outcomes, risk and benefits
• Shape intake and prioritisation using user evidence and business impact, ensuring alignment to domain roadmaps and enterprise standards

Thought Leadership and Experimentation

• Scan trends in design tooling, data visualisation and AI-assisted experiences; bring practical ideas into experiments
• Lead executive-ready demos that show how Data & AI can change processes or customer experiences

Collaboration & Delivery

• Work with Product Managers and Engineering to plan and run discovery, prototyping and pilot activities
• Collaborate with Digital Design to keep alignment with design systems, accessibility and brand standards

Your skills

• Proven commercial experience across digital design, product design, UX/UI or data visualisation, with a record of delivering prototypes and pilots in technology-led settings
• Evidence of working directly with senior stakeholders, including GMs or ELT delegates, to shape roadmaps, present options and gain approvals
• Proven ability to design interfaces and dashboards for data-rich or AI-enabled applications, and to link designs to measurable outcomes
• Hands-on experience running discovery activities, usability testing and iteration with cross-functional squads
• Familiarity with design systems and component-based design; contribution to shared libraries or patterns
• Experience collaborating with external partners or vendors to co-design and deliver pilots
• Exposure to enterprise settings with accessibility, privacy and security considerations

Skills & Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in Design, Product Management, Human-Computer Interaction, Information Systems or a related discipline preferred (or equivalent experience)
• Advanced capability in Figma or equivalent for flows, wireframes, prototypes and design specifications
• Proficiency creating analytical dashboards and data stories in Power BI or similar platforms
• Strong visual design, interaction design and data visualisation skills, with the ability to simplify complex ideas
• Confident facilitator and presenter with senior executives; clear written comms for options papers and investment materials
• Practical understanding of agile ways of working, hypothesis-led testing and benefits tracking
• Working knowledge of front-end concepts and data basics that supports close collaboration with engineering and analytics teams
• Commitment to accessibility, inclusive design and responsible AI principles

What’s in it for you?

• Flexible working options: We know that work is only one part of your life, so we actively encourage a positive work-life balance and provide hybrid working options to help you achieve it.
• Office perks: Take advantage of our gym facility and fitness classes, free parking, BBQ area, mini-Coles supermarket, fooderie hub where you can sample new products before they hit the shelves, school holiday program and so much more when you come in.
• Discounts: Eligible team members receive 5% discount all year round on your Supermarket and Liquor online and in-store purchases. We also offer additional periods of double discount (10%) at various times throughout the year. As well as hotdeals exclusive to team members that translate into additional savings.
• Reward through recognition: Give and receive recognition, linked to our Coles values, through our digital recognition platform ‘mythanks’. You can accumulate points to redeem in the online shop for exciting gifts and electronic gift cards from an extensive range of retailers.
• Opportunities for learning and development: No matter where you start within our diverse business, you’ll have experiences, exposure, and education to satisfy you. Discover and explore a variety of career development programs and job-specific training.
• Paid parental leave: We understand how important your life outside work is and offer permanent team members paid parental leave to support you in balancing work and family.
• Investment in your future: Our annual team member share plan offer allows eligible team members to make regular pre-tax salary sacrifice deductions to purchase Coles Group shares.

About the recruitment process

We’re continuing to build a gender equitable team, and a culture that is just as diverse, inclusive and welcoming as the communities we serve. We are committed to creating a workplace that is safe and respectful for our team. We encourage applications from people of all ages, cultures (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples), abilities, sexual orientation and gender identities.

We’re happy to adjust our recruitment process to support candidates with disability. For further information and additional contact details visit the ‘Our Recruitment Process’ section of our careers site or email inclusionrecruitment@coles.com.au

Job ID: 174608

Employment Type: Full time

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