Marco Maria Pedrazzo is a strategic designer at international design practice Carlo Ratti Associati. For the Dezeen Jobs careers guide he explains how he progressed from intern to design lead.
Pedrazzo's position as head of strategy and innovation sees him reviewing all projects the firm takes on at the beginning of the development process.
He works with prospective clients at the start of any new proposal, to negotiate and outline concept feasibility, framework legality and expectation management.
"Having a broad-spectrum designer on board from the first conversation with a potential client ensures we create the right design space to push the boundaries on every project," Pedrazzo explained.
When Pedrazzo first started working at Carlo Ratti Associati, he explains the team only consisted of 10 employees giving him the chance to, "see everything and do everything from the beginning to the end of the process". "Go where you can experience multiple sides of the process ? at the cost of having less famous names on your CV," he said. "You'll learn skills for life. Skills which will help you outcompete other candidates."

The rapid growth of the studio has seen Pedrazzo's role quickly evolve from design intern to becoming the head of the strategy and innovation department.
The opportunity to join the company arose whilst he attended the Alta Scuola Politecnica in Milan. Italian architect Carlo Ratti's MIT Senseable City Lab were partners ...