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

AI Jobs in Hawthorn East

Incubation Designer - Hawthorn East