Program Manager Digital Health Design

HPI is recognized as one of the leading university institutes for computer science (www.hpi.de). Our goal is to strengthen Europe's digital sovereignty with excellent research and practice-oriented teaching in computer science. At HPI, we are convinced that excellence is created when knowledge from different disciplines is collaboratively combined to create responsible and pioneering solutions for the future.
In our research clusters "Systems," "Data and AI," "Foundations," "Digital Health," "Security," and "Business and Society" researchers from various disciplines work together on topics relevant to solving the challenges facing society. The Digital Engineering Faculty of the University of Potsdam and HPI offers a computer science engineering degree program that is unique in Germany. 

In the course of its strong growth, the Hasso Plattner Institute is looking for the earliest possible start date for

Program Manager Digital Health Design (m/f/x) 

The position is full-time and can be combined with a PhD. It is initially limited to two years.

About the HPI d—school

Founded in 2007, the HPI d—school has become the European Center for Design Thinking Education. Interdisciplinary students develop human-centered solutions to complex problems, working with partners from corporations, startups, NGOs, and public institutions. Today the d—school builds on that foundation. Beyond the question of how something can be built, it puts at the center the question of what should be built, and for whom.

About the Digital Health cluster

The Digital Health Cluster (DHC) at the HPI  works at the intersection of technology, medicine, and the health system, translating digital innovation into real improvements for patients and care.

About this role

This role is offered jointly by the HPI d—school and the Chair for Digital Health, Economics and Policy, led by Prof. Ariel Dora Stern. It brings together two kinds of expertise: the d—school’s practice of designing for consequence, teaching people to judge what is worth building and for whom, and the chair’s command of the digital-health domain, its economics, its regulation, digital health innovation & entrepreneurship, and its networks across the healthcare system. Digital health is where some of the most fundamental questions in healthcare innovation and design meet--a field where the question of what can and what should be built carries real weight for patients and the system.

You work across both. The d—school is where the design and teaching craft lives; the DHC is where the domain, the partners, and the research originate. Your formal reporting line sits with [the d—school], with a close working line to [the DHC].

Your future tasks

• Design, lead, and coordinate a Design Studio in Digital Health for BA and MA students, in which interdisciplinary teams work on real decisions that partners across the healthcare system.


• Design and run a Teaching Stream, going deep on human-centred design for Digital Health for IT and interdisciplinary Bachelor students


• Co-lead Design Thinking Workshops planned for an upcoming multi-year health innovation project with a focus on patients and family caregivers, convening real-world stakeholders and working closely with both practitioners and academic researchers


• Build these formats on the d—school’s established Design Thinking practice and its ongoing evolution, bringing an intrapreneurial mindset into the work


• Help build and maintain relationships with partners across the healthcare system, including providers, payers, clinics, public health bodies, regulators, and technology partners, including supporting the annual Digital Health Innovation Summit, one of the HPI’s flagship conferences


• Coordinate the studio’s projects, prototyping, and coaching, with documentation and reflection at the close of each cycle


• Support the continuous content and professional development of the program


• Support short seminars and teaching at the Chair for Digital Health, Economics and Policy, including co-developing new curricular elements


• Contribute to the further development of the HPI d—school

Your skills

• Completed university studies, preferably with an innovation-oriented combination of subjects


• Content and method knowledge of Design Thinking and related approaches, with experience running design-based project


• Interest or experience in digita health, healthcare, health enterpreneruship, or the healthcare system is a strong advantage


• Comfort coordinating projects and diverse stakeholders, including public-sector and clinical partners in a regulated domain


• Familiarity and comfort with AI applications are an advantage


• Enthusiasm for working with a diverse group of students


• Excellent communication and presentation skills with diverse stakeholders


• Professional fluency in English and German

The PhD option

This role can be combined with a PhD, which the successful candidate arranges independently and may pursue with a supervisor of their choosing, within the DHC or elsewhere. In that case, the position is held part-time (minimum 70%).

What we offer

• A multifaceted job, embedded in an international and dynamic working environment


• An exciting, responsible position in which you can make a difference


• Regular training opportunities; insight into scientific research


• Regular team events and workshops 


• For problems of any kind (including those in your private life), you can use our external employee counseling service free of charge


• Attractive employee offers (corporate benefits)


• Company-subsidized public transportation ticket/ Deutschlandticket


• Possibility to work remotely (up to 2 days a week)


• 30 days of vacation plus two additional days off on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve


• Numerous sports facilities (tennis and basketball courts, beach volleyball court, calisthenics park, and participation in running events)


• Workplace on the HPI campus in Potsdam-Babelsberg (Griebnitzsee S-Bahn station), with fast transportation connections to Berlin

We look forward to receiving your application documents including salary requirements. Please apply exclusively via our career page.

We kindly ask for your understanding that email applications or résumés sent via email for preliminary review will not be considered.

Contact person HR-Recruiting

Tobias Pröchtel/ Nicola Mertens 
+49 331 5509-425/ 428

Hasso-Plattner-Institut für Digital Engineering gGmbH
Prof.-Dr.-Helmert-Str. 2-3
14482 Potsdam