Innovation Strategist

Country: USA

State: Michigan

City: Grand Rapids

Office Location: 901 44th Street SE - - - Grand Rapids -Michigan -

Date posted: 02-Jun-2026

Business Function: Research

Position Type: Full-Time/Regular

Steelcase is hiring an Innovation Strategist to define, pilot/test, and de-risk new business model or service concepts. You will help to drive down uncertainty by testing value creation potential while understanding markets, developing business models, and discovering channels to market, utilizing lean and service design methodologies to transform ambiguity into viable opportunities for strategic go-to-market success.

Helping Our People Thrive:

• Offering competitive wages and benefits, that support your life both in and out of work
• Providing a flexible hybrid work schedule, meaning we expect the office to be your primary place of work, balanced with choice and control.
• Creating continuous learning opportunities to help you grow and upskill.
• Fostering a culture of inclusion where employees feel seen, heard and valued - and living it out every day.
• Empowering you to make a meaningful impact on people and the planet through your work and Steelcase's ongoing commitment.

Supporting Meaningful Work:

The New Business Innovation team focus on providing practical real-world answers to complex problems by identifying, piloting and testing exciting new concepts and ideas with customers, and delivering the learnings back to the company to inform future strategies.

As a valued contributor to this work, you will be expected to:

• Oversee projects with multiple workstreams, including internal and external market scans, and customer assessments to guide strategic decisions.
• Assess the desirability and viability of various options through rigorous piloting, testing, and financial modeling, along with qualitative and quantitative research.
• Effectively manage and engage diverse stakeholders and prioritize tasks to align with project goals and showcasing work and progress.
• Clearly communicate recommendations to drive commercial success and stakeholder buy-in.

Your Future Team:

You will be part of a close-knit team of highly curious and data-driven innovators in the Grand Rapids, Michigan - Steelcase Learning + Innovation Center, who challenge and encourage each other to do our best work to provide meaningful impact at a global scale. You will join agile project teams to research, prototype, and pilot new business models and work with other teams across the company including strategy, IT and channel. You will have the chance to impact the company at the highest-level working with our executive team, while also getting into the details with specific project teams.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 4-year college or university degree in business, finance, economics, business analytics, design or social sciences
• Experience using data and financial modeling to drive innovation and strategic decisions
• An entrepreneurial mindset familiar with lean start-up thinking and methodologies

Desired Skills and Experience:

• Strong business acumen with a solid understanding of business processes/strategies and financial modeling
• Strong understanding of commercial realties with the analytical abilities to address complex issues
• Ability to demonstrate systems thinking and excel in ambiguity
• Proficiency in applying design thinking and service design principles to drive innovation
• Ability to deliver effective presentations to clearly and succinctly summarize quantities of information that can be tailored to different functions or leadership levels
• Meticulous approach to ensuring accuracy and quality in meeting deliverable deadlines

Doing Better for People and Planet:

Steelcase is a global design and thought leader in the world of work. Along with our expansive community of brands, we design and manufacture innovative furnishings and solutions to help people do their best work in the many places where work happens.

Why People Choose to Work with Us:
At Steelcase, we put people at the center of everything we do. We understand the role of work and believe that it can bring meaning and purpose to the lives of our customers and our employees. We prioritize supporting our employees both in and out of work, in all aspects of their lives. When we bring our talents together, we make a positive lasting impact through our work and communities.

Steelcase provides employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants without regard to race, color, creed, genetic information, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, or veteran status and bases all employment decisions only on valid job requirements.