16 October 2020                                                                                                             via electronic submission

EPAM

Boston, MA

RE: Senior Design Strategist Position

Hello,

A great design strategist combines exceptional listening skills with a deep toolbox of experience to bring actionable insights to a client’s needs. They have an entrepreneurial mindset that always finds a way, especially if it’s via an unorthodox path. And they are expert at synthesizing the contributions of a team to push the effort towards an elegant and efficient solution. I would be an exellent candidate for this position.

I visited Continuum a few years ago with my strategy and innovation professor at BU, Sioban O’Mahony.  You have a culture and environment that immediately felt familiar. My career has been a series of small scale EPAM/ Continuum style ventures. Innovation and design was a consistent theme in opportunities that ranged from launching new lighting technologies to experiential marketing; wholesale manufacturing to retail sales.  During those efforts I supported many clients in the Fortune 100 as well as several startups.

My resume has many entrepreneurial ventures. However, these not born of a typical desire to own a business; instead, they were vehicles to solving problems or meeting market needs. After my most recent start-up was strategically acquired by a large customer, I’ve been seeking an opportunity to help others build value in their enterprises. For example, I’ve been working with an engineer to re-imagine the restaurant dining experience in the COVID world. This project has been an excellent example of how to successfully utilize tech to preserve and enhance the best parts of eating out, while mitigating safety and operational pressures. Using MVPs and mock-ups we are testing the efficacy with customers, service staff and other stakeholders as both the product and business model naturally evolve.

I have been exposed to an exceptional spectrum of design philosophies. My early undergraduate studies as an architecture major with studio taught by a disciple of Lazlo Moholy-Nagy gave me a Bauhaus perspective. Simultaneously I freelanced as a draftsman to pay for university, keeping me grounded with the realities of actual client demands and construction specifications. I’ve worked closely with renown theatrical designers from Yale and Broadway, collaborated with Pilobolus on dance pieces, and provided technical support for dozens of accomplished performing artists, designers and sculptors.

A colleague recently told me that my greatest skill lies in helping define, refine and communicate a venture’s value proposition. That’s what I want to do. I think EPAM would be an ideal place for that to happen, and that I could bring unique and valuable insight to the needs of your clients.

Best regards,

Michael Oliveras