Principal / Lead Designer, Design Practice

What the role is: GovTech is the lead agency driving Singapore’s Smart Nation initiatives and public sector digital transformation. As the Centre of Excellence for Infocomm Technology and Smart Systems (ICT & SS), GovTech develops the Singapore Government’s capabilities in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Application Development, Smart City Technology, Digital Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity. At GovTech, we offer you a purposeful career to make lives better where we empower our people to master their craft through robust learning and development opportunities all year round. Play a part in Singapore’s vision to build a Smart Nation and embark on your meaningful journey to build tech for public good. Join us to advance our mission and shape your future with us today What you will be working on: About the Design Practice at GovTech The Design Practice is on a mission to make lives better for citizens, businesses, and the public sector by activating human‑centred design as a core organisational capability in GovTech. We believe that technology can be a force for public good by putting people at the heart of what we do. We set high design standards, promote best practices, and support GovTech teams in applying human‑centred design across the product development lifecycle. Our focus is not just on doing design well, but on making sure design actively shapes what gets built—and why. By embedding design from the core of decision‑making to development, we aim to deliver better public services—and to grow a practice that shapes not only what government builds, but how it builds it. What you will do as a Principal Designer, Design Practice You work to influence and lead design direction at the highest level in the organisation. You work with program leadership and cross‑functionally with peers to help achieve the overall objectives of the Design Practice. Work with senior leaders, program leaders, agency leaders, and agency product owners on the complex problem of introducing or ensuring the continuous and valuable presence of design across product phases, from discovery through delivery, and into measurement and iteration. Contribute to a body of work on measuring design impact. This includes writing white papers, developing frameworks for measurement, working with teams and designers to test and implement methods and metrics, and building case studies that highlight how design impact metrics differ from traditional product metrics. Interface with peers in engineering and product practices as well as with teams on the ground to build and integrate best practices for collaboration in product development. Work with consulting and/or product teams as needed to help deconstruct and re‑design system complexity into usable, inclusive and coherent experiences that align with policy, tech and operational realities. Lead work in setting standards for design processes, methodology and outputs, and to develop successful strategies for implementing these standards and processes to improve the quality of GovTech’s design work. Evangelise and lead in systems thinking and design‑led problem‑solving in GovTech to expand the sphere of influence of design across GovTech and across the WoG. Coach and mentor designers. Actively investigate new tools, methods and processes to improve designer engagement and output. What we are looking for: Required qualifications, skills and mindset: Diploma, bachelor’s degree or higher in industrial design, interaction design, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), visual arts or similar. 12 - 15 years experience working in design across multiple industries, 6 of which in a position of influence or leadership. Strong empathy for people and a desire to advocate for their needs. Passion for making sense of complex, ambiguous challenges. Strong initiative and follow through for positive outcomes and long‑term value. Strategic thinker and a proven ability to drive strategic initiatives in your work. Proven ability to work seamlessly with senior leaders and ability to influence through trust, clarity, and collaboration. Experience working in cross‑functional delivery teams with a track record of leading cross‑functional discovery and shaping product direction based on insight and iteration. Strong evidence of partnership with fellow functional leaders and/or stakeholders in driving products towards common goals. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present findings clearly and persuasively. Initiative to help designers learn, adapt and grow in the UX field. Expert in design methodology and a keen eye for detail. Deep understanding of methods to elicit insights from users. Deep understanding of how people engage with (digital) systems. About Government Technology Agency The Government Technology Agency (GovTech) is the lead agency driving Singapore’s Smart Nation initiatives and public sector digital transformation. As the Centre of Excellence for Infocomm Technology and Smart Systems (ICT & SS), GovTech develops the Singapore Government’s capabilities in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Application Development, Smart City Technology, Digital Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity. At GovTech, we offer you a purposeful career to make lives better. We empower our people to master their craft through continuous and robust learning and development opportunities all year round. Our GovTechies embody our Agile, Bold and Collaborative values to deliver impactful solutions. Learn more about GovTech at tech.gov.sg. #J-18808-Ljbffr