Lead HCD Strategist & Planner

Job Title: Lead HCD Strategist & Planner
Location: Sac, CA (Hybrid) OR will needed relocate prior to September start.
Duration: 12+ Months

Position Summary

The Lead HCD Strategist & Planner provides strategic leadership for Human-Centered Design (HCD), digital transformation, and enterprise modernization initiatives. This role develops and executes digital strategies, product roadmaps, and implementation plans that align business objectives with user-centered design principles. The Lead partners with executive leadership, business stakeholders, technical teams, and organizational change management teams to define modernization strategies, prioritize incremental delivery, and guide large-scale implementation planning while ensuring an exceptional customer experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise digital strategies and modernization roadmaps.
• Facilitate Human-Centered Design (HCD) activities.
• Develop implementation strategies using incremental, value-based releases.
• Collaborate with executives, business stakeholders, architects, developers, and product teams.
• Translate strategic vision into executable implementation plans.
• Lead roadmap planning, release planning, and portfolio prioritization.
• Apply SAFe principles to product planning and strategic delivery.
• Integrate Organizational Change Management (OCM) into product roadmaps.
• Support governance activities and executive planning.
• Identify modernization risks, dependencies, and mitigation strategies.
• Ensure operational readiness and adoption planning.
• Facilitate collaboration across multidisciplinary teams.
• Provide strategic guidance for large-scale modernization initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree required.

Required Experience

• Minimum ten (10) years of full-time experience in Digital Strategy and Roadmap Planning.
• Experience may be demonstrated using no more than five (5) projects.
• At least one successfully completed state-level Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or Transportation Agency modernization project leading Human-Centered Design (HCD) or Implementation Planning activities.
• At least one successfully completed project implementing an incremental modernization strategy that transitioned legacy systems into value-based releases while maintaining user experience continuity.
• At least one successfully completed project converting high-level pilot roadmaps into implementation plans for a large-scale modernization initiative supporting either 5,000 or more users or 2,000,000 or more daily transactions.

Required Certifications

• Certified SAFe Agilist (SA) or SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC).
• Prosci Change Management Certification or a minimum of three (3) years of experience integrating Organizational Change Management (OCM) principles into Product Roadmaps.

Preferred Knowledge and Skills

Human-Centered Design (HCD), Digital Transformation Strategy, Enterprise Modernization, Product Roadmapping, Strategic Planning, Implementation Planning, Organizational Change Management (OCM), SAFe Agile, Product Management, Legacy Modernization, Executive Facilitation, Stakeholder Engagement, Portfolio Planning, Customer Experience, Service Design, Governance, Cross-functional Leadership, Risk Management, Incremental Delivery.

Desired Attributes

• Strong executive communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to influence strategic direction across large organizations.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams through complex modernization initiatives.
• Ability to balance user-centered design with technical and operational constraints.
• Demonstrated success delivering enterprise transformation through phased implementations.
• Strong analytical, facilitation, and consensus-building skills.
• Experience working within public-sector environments, particularly DMV or transportation agencies.