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I build design teams that ship strategy and software in the same week.

I'm a design leader who codes, a strategist who prototypes, and an AI-native operator. I help organisations build design functions that can move from strategy to working software without losing the thread.

Currently Associate Director of Service Experience & Design at the University of Melbourne — where I've built AI agent infrastructure, journey management systems, and a design governance framework that operates at institutional scale.

See how I can help LinkedIn
David Mulholland

Most design teams weren't built for this

AI is changing what design teams can do — but most operating models were designed for a world where design produced artefacts, not infrastructure.

  • Your best designers spend more time managing production than shaping strategy.
  • AI tools arrive faster than your team can evaluate, adopt, or govern them.
  • When senior people leave, they take decades of implicit knowledge with them — and there's no system to capture it.

I help design leaders fix this — not with theory, with an operating model that's been deployed at institutional scale.

Ways to work together

How I can help

Several ways an organisation can work with me — from a single conversation to an embedded engagement.

Available now

Coaching

A focused 60-minute conversation on the topics you need most — AI-native operations, design leadership, or building your design capability.

Ideal for

  • Design leaders navigating AI adoption
  • Senior ICs building strategic influence
  • Teams designing their AI operating model
60 minutes · $500 AUD
Come with a specific challenge. Leave with a framework, a tool, or a decision.
Book a coaching call

Speaking

Keynotes, workshops, and panels on AI-native operations, design leadership, and building capability at scale.

Topics

  • AI-native operations — what changes when your team can ship strategy and code
  • Design leadership at institutional scale
  • Building AI capability inside a real organisation
Scoped per engagement · By arrangement
Enquire on LinkedIn

Advisory

Fractional design and AI leadership for organisations building internal capability — strategic direction, team development, and governance.

Covers

  • Design maturity assessment and roadmapping
  • Operating model and governance design
  • AI operating model — strategy through implementation
Scoped per engagement · By arrangement
Enquire on LinkedIn

Build

Strategy documents, AI infrastructure, journey mapping — delivered, not advised. Scoped and priced per engagement.

Deliverables

  • AI agent infrastructure and knowledge systems
  • Journey management and service blueprinting
  • Design strategy and operating model documents
Scoped per engagement · By arrangement
Enquire on LinkedIn

Capabilities

What I bring

Design leadership across service design, AI-native operations, strategy, and engineering — applied at scale inside one of Australia's largest institutions.

Service Design

Journey Management Experience Strategy Governance Design Capability Building Maturity Assessment Service Blueprinting

AI-Native Operations

Agent Infrastructure Claude Code Hermes Agent Meeting Intelligence Knowledge Systems AI Op Model Design

Design Leadership

Team Strategy Stakeholder Navigation Capability Frameworks Design Reviews

Strategy

Operating Models Roadmapping Business Cases Policy Design

Engineering

Prototyping AI-Assisted Development Full-Stack Awareness Prisma / PostgreSQL Wasp

Research & Evidence

User Research Data Analysis Evidence-Based Design Competitive Analysis

Experience

16 years of outcomes

Design leadership across universities, government, loyalty, superannuation, and consulting — organised by what I delivered, not where I worked.

Design Leadership

  • Built a unified 20-person design function from three separate teams at the University of Melbourne — governance, career pathways, quality standards.
  • Led enterprise-wide IA redesign across unimelb.edu.au, serving millions of annual users.
  • Created the 5-year product and CX vision for Flybuys across Coles, Kmart, Target, Bunnings, Officeworks, Velocity, and OnePass.

AI & Technical

  • Built production AI agent infrastructure — automated meeting intelligence, knowledge capture, and agent-assisted development — deployed inside a real institution.
  • Developed the AI-native operations methodology — from strategy document through working infrastructure.
  • Shipped full-stack applications across 8+ active projects while leading a design function.
Read the case study

Strategy & Governance

  • Developed a design operating model covering governance, experience, technology, and capability for a top-tier university.
  • Delivered design maturity assessment and multi-year improvement roadmap for institutional adoption.
  • Established journey management practice tracking student experiences end-to-end.

Regulated-Scale Delivery

  • Product managed WorkSafe Victoria's $5M Digital Portal — regulated identity verification, multi-vendor coordination, accessible service delivery.
  • Led 2-year product transformation at AustralianSuper — enabled member self-service and measurably reduced call volume.

Consulting & Advisory

  • Senior Manager, Experience Design & Product at Deloitte Digital — led design strategy and delivery across government and enterprise clients.
  • Built design capability inside client organisations — not just delivering artefacts but transferring practice.

Where I've done this: University of Melbourne (2025–Present) · Flybuys / Coles-Wesfarmers (Senior Manager UX & Product Design) · Deloitte Digital (Senior Manager Experience Design & Product) · WorkSafe Victoria · AustralianSuper

Coaching

Why book a coaching call

"The best design leaders don't just make things look good. They build the systems that make good design inevitable."

What you get

  • Direct, no-fluff advice. Short sentences, evidence-backed claims, observations stated as facts. No cheerleading.
  • Real infrastructure experience. I've built AI agent systems that handle meeting intelligence, knowledge capture, and automated workflows at scale — inside a real institution, not a side project.
  • Spanning design, code, and strategy. I operate across all three — not a specialist in one who guesses at the others.
  • Applied at scale. Everything I teach has been deployed at the University of Melbourne — 50,000+ students, 10,000+ staff.
  • Leave with something usable. A framework, a tool, a decision. Not a list of book recommendations.

Not the right fit

  • Looking for a freelancer. I'm full-time. I can't take on your project, do your Figma files, or run your design sprints.
  • Wanting quick UX fixes. I work on operating models, not button placements. Tactical UI feedback isn't my focus.
  • Expecting consulting deliverables. Coaching is a conversation, not a deck. You get frameworks and decisions, not 60-page reports.
  • AI hype without application. I talk about AI that ships. If you want futurism without implementation, we won't be a fit.
Book a coaching call

Speaking & Writing

Sharing what I learn

Featured Speaker, 2025

Design Futures

"The Rise of the Generalist Designer: Why Versatility is a Superpower"

Speaker, 2023

CustomerConnect Conference

"The Interplay Between AI and Human Strengths"

Request me to speak

I speak on AI-native operations, design leadership, and building capability at scale. If you're running a conference or event, send me a DM on LinkedIn with the date, audience, and topic.

Send a DM on LinkedIn

Contact

Let's talk

Book a 60-minute coaching call. Come with a specific challenge — AI, design leadership, or capability building. Leave with something you can use.

Book a coaching call LinkedIn

Full-time at University of Melbourne · Coaching, speaking, and advisory engagements available