Lead Design Researcher

Position Title: Lead Design Researcher

Engagement Type: Consultancy (Fixed-Term, Part-Time)

Number of Openings: 1

Start Date: 01st February 2026

Duration: 3 Months (spread across 12 months)

Geography of Work: Remote

About Us Athena Infonomics

Celebrating over fifteen years of innovative and collaborative work, Athena Infonomics is an established best-in-class global solutions group offering integrated social science research, data, and technology services for social impact to provide user-centric, context-specific advisory and implementation support to decision makers. Our multidisciplinary and multi-cultural team of 75+ professionals across Asia, Africa, USA and UK bring extensive experience in designing and applying research methods to co-design and co-produce useful research that is inclusive and relevant. At Athena, we've always believed that real impact comes from building solutions that last. We go beyond traditional project-based engagements, immersing in sectors, understanding real challenges, and driving innovations that truly make a difference.

• Background & Context
  
  

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of the Indian economy, with approximately 6.3 million enterprises contributing nearly 30% of India's GDP. Despite this significant contribution, the adoption of Artificial Intelligence among MSMEs, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises remains limited and uneven. AI usage is largely concentrated among large enterprises, while most MSMEs continue to face barriers in understanding, adopting, and deriving value from AI-driven solutions.

Although many MSMEs recognise the potential benefits of AI in improving productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness, they often lack clarity on where to begin. Only a small subset of enterprises have identified high-value, sector-relevant AI use cases, and even fewer have assessed implementation pathways, technology partners, or financing options. Furthermore, uncertainty around the value proposition and return on investment of AI solutions continues to impede adoption.

In this context, Athena Infonomics seeks to support evidence-based AI adoption among MSMEs by generating rigorous insights on high-impact and solvable AI use cases, developing practical implementation and financing strategies, and strengthening institutional support mechanisms to enable scale and sustainability.

• Project Objectives
  
  

The overarching objective of this engagement is to support increased and effective adoption of AI among MSMEs by generating actionable, sector-specific evidence and translating it into practical operational guidance.

The Specific Objectives Of The Project Are To

• Identify high-impact, feasible, and solvable AI use cases across selected manufacturing sectors, including textiles, electronics, and pharmaceuticals (including MedTech).
• Develop a clear understanding of data, instrumentation, cost-benefit profiles, and deployment strategies for priority AI use cases.
• Enable cross-learning and matchmaking between MSMEs and AI service providers through evidence generation and synthesis.
• Support the design of operational roadmaps and governance frameworks to guide ethical, responsible, and scalable AI adoption.
• Scope of Work
  
  

The Lead Design Researcher will provide strategic, methodological, and quality leadership to the design research component of the project. The role is focused on setting standards, strengthening team capability, ensuring rigor and coherence of outputs, and integrating research insights into strategic and policy-oriented discussions.

• Roles & Responsibilities
  
  

Consultant (Lead Design Researcher)

• Research Frameworks, Standards & Templates
• Lead the design and finalization of research frameworks, methodologies, and quality standards for the project.
• Develop and standardize research templates and tools, including interview guides, immersion protocols, synthesis formats, and reporting structures.
• Ensure consistency, rigor, and comparability of research outputs across sectors and geographies.
• Capacity Building & Team Enablement
• Train and onboard Design Researchers on research methods, field protocols, documentation standards, and ethical considerations.
• Provide ongoing mentorship and handholding to Design Researchers to improve research depth, synthesis quality, and storytelling.
• Support the team in translating field insights into clear, actionable research outputs.
• Oversight of Field Research & Outputs
• Oversee research being conducted in the field by design researchers and review field outputs on an ongoing basis, including notes, transcripts, synthesis documents, and design artefacts.
• Identify gaps, inconsistencies, or quality issues and guide Design Researchers on corrective actions.
• Critical Review & Quality Assurance
• Lead critical review of research outputs at key milestones, ensuring analytical rigor, clarity, and relevance.
• Ensure insights are grounded in evidence and aligned with project objectives and sectoral priorities.
• Support refinement of outputs to meet industry standards.
• Strategic Integration & Leadership Engagement
• Engage with product specialists, sector experts, and project leadership to integrate research insights into use case identification and strategic discussions.
• Contribute design and research perspectives to leadership-level conversations on AI adoption pathways, feasibility, and impact.
• Support alignment between design research findings and implementation-oriented outputs.
• Milestone Reviews & Governance Participation
• Participate in structured project reviews at key milestones to assess progress, validate findings, and guide course correction.
• Support the study team in synthesizing interim and final outputs for internal and external review.
• Workshops, Roundtables & External Engagement
• Participate in final workshops, roundtables, and consultations with line ministries and other institutional stakeholders.
• Support presentation of research insights in a clear, credible, and policy-relevant manner.
• Contribute to refinement of materials for high-level stakeholder engagement.
• Documentation & Knowledge Transfer
• Support documentation of research approaches, learnings, and best practices emerging throughout the project.
• Ensure smooth knowledge transfer to Athena Infonomics internal teams and project stakeholders at the end of the engagement.
• Qualifications
• 812 years of professional experience in design research, human-centered design, or applied research roles.
• Demonstrated experience leading and overseeing large or multi-location research studies, including setting research frameworks and standards.
• Strong track record of conducting and guiding immersive field research, stakeholder interviews, and contextual inquiries.
• Experience mentoring or managing researchers or multidisciplinary teams, with a focus on improving quality and rigor of outputs.
• Prior experience working with MSMEs, small businesses, or development/economic research initiatives is highly desirable.
• Experience engaging with senior stakeholders, including policymakers, institutional partners, or industry leaders.
• Duration & Level of Effort
• Total Duration: 3 months (Spread over 12 months)
• Start Date: 01 February 2026
• Engagement Type: Part-time consultancy
• Reporting & Communication
• The consultant will report to the Director Products and Innovation, Athena Infonomics.
• Provide regular updates on progress, challenges, and field activities as requested by the reporting manager.
• Payment Terms
  
  

The consultancy offers a competitive and market-aligned package, designed to attract and reward experienced professionals. The package includes full coverage of approved field-related expenses, ensuring you can focus on immersive research without operational concerns. Payment will be made monthly, based on submission of deliverables and timesheets, and in accordance with Athena Infonomics standard payment procedures.

• Confidentiality & Intellectual Property
  
  

Confidentiality

The consultant shall maintain strict confidentiality of all information, documents, data, and insights obtained during the engagement with Athena Infonomics or its stakeholders. The consultant shall not disclose any confidential information to third parties, use it for personal gain, or share it outside the scope of the engagement, without prior written consent from Athena Infonomics. Confidentiality obligations shall remain in force during and after the consultancy period.

Intellectual Property (IP)

All outputs, deliverables, research data, reports, analyses, and other materials produced during the consultancy shall be the exclusive property of Athena Infonomics. The consultant is expected to submit all original copies of work delivered as part of this engagement and comply with Athena Infonomics data destruction policy. The consultant is not permitted to use, reproduce, or publish any materials derived from the engagement without Athena Infonomics prior written approval.

Data Protection & Security

The consultant is expected to handle data (either collected during field research or provided by Athena Infonomics) securely, with appropriate safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, loss, or misuse. Upon completion of the consultancy, the consultant shall return or securely delete all confidential and project-related materials as directed by Athena Infonomics.

If you love solving problems, designing thoughtfully, and seeing your work come to life, we'd love to hear from you.

Athena Infonomics is an Equal Opportunities Employer

Athena Infonomics is an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.