Director, UX Design and Research, Customer Service

• Experience leading midsize UX teams (more than 25 UX professionals).
• Experience leading multi discipline UX teams, including UX managers.
• 15 + years of design experience with 10+ years leading design teams.

We’re Amazon’s Customer Engagement Technology Team and our mission is to design Earth's best customer service where every interaction is intuitive, effortless, seamless, and empathetic. When our customers have problems we make solutions effortless, and when they need additional help we ensure the best possible human support through industry leading tools. We innovate relentlessly, spending time in contact centers, with customers the field, in the UX research lab, and iterating on UX prototypes. Our work greatly impacts our customers’ experience and is critical for Amazon.

This role is for a hands-on UX Research and Design leader who establishes a vision and strategy that enables a team of talented UX designers, researchers, writers, and program managers to deliver bar-raising experiences for customers around the world. In this role you will drive UX strategy across multiple user experiences, creating roadmaps and determining priorities for your team. You partner closely with product and tech leaders, using quantitative and qualitative evidence to inform and guide UX direction. The right candidate will coach their team from a deep understanding of UX best practices, and embody a nimble, creative, and pragmatic approach that pushes the boundaries of agile UX. Your organizational savvy will position the team to have optimal impact and deliver strong, measurable results. You sincerely believe that design is more than surface level, but also how it feels and functions. You enjoy great design debates and thrive on iterating based on customer feedback.

Key job responsibilities

• You are a role model, mentor, and motivator for individual contributors and UX managers alike.
• You bring deep expertise in UX design across UX disciplines (frameworks, interaction models, prototypes, research, operations, language).
• You lead with deep empathy for our customers, our customer service associates, and your team.
• You think big, framing designs in the context of the broader customer experience, and are equally comfortable diving deep into the details.
• You ensure creative quality through the methods an mechanisms you set in motion.
• You are invested in growing people, developing talent, creating an inclusive and inspiring environment, and fostering collaboration.
• You have experience presenting design work to partners and executive leadership for review, feedback, and sign-off. You coach others to do the same.
• You prioritize effectively, use data to inform your decisions, weigh the impact and tradeoffs of decisions, and seek input where needed to drive alignment.
• You work closely with product and business partners to develop a shared vision and lead a process to define and design experiences that deliver on those shared objectives.
• You are comfortable navigating from ambiguity to clarity, drawing upon your expertise and design process to create structure. You proactively plan ahead, look around corners, and can see the next step (even when it doesn’t exist yet).
• You develop processes that drive quality and efficiency to help designers accomplish more than what they could otherwise.

A day in the life
You will inspire and mentor the entire team, and teach your managers to do the same through active coaching. You will represent the voice of UX to leadership across the wider organization and teach your UX leaders to do the same. You are expected to think like an owner, always raise the quality of the CX, and be a relentless advocate for customers. You will use your organization and communication skills to bring clarity to complexity, working strategically with other team leaders and team members across the organization.

About the team
The Customer Service UX team is made up of a diverse group of UX designers, researchers, writers, and program managers with a shared mission to make every experience we design intuitive, effortless, seamless, and empathetic. We trust each other, collaborate regularly, and work to ensure we all raise the bar on UX quality. We work hard, but also work hard to support each other, remain genuine, and create a positive culture of balance between work and the rest of life.

• Experience presenting to and effectively advising senior leaders outside of design.
• Experience managing teams and collaborating with partners across multiple groups and time zones.

Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $216,400/year in our lowest geographic market up to $322,000/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Amazon is a total compensation company. Dependent on the position offered, equity, sign-on payments, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. For more information, please visit https://www.aboutamazon.com/workplace/employee-benefits. This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our internal or external career site.