Sr. Director, UX Research - AI

Company Description

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.

Join us to put AI to work for people.

Job Description

We are seeking a Senior Director of UX Research who is passionate about leveraging AI technologies to create empowering and supportive experiences for people at work. You will be joining our 130+ UX Research & Insights (UXRI) Organization, in our rapidly scaling global Experience Team (EX) of over 1000 UX Professionals (Research, Design, Product Content, and Ops). Together we are working to create product experiences that people love.

This is the perfect role for a research executive who is passionate about changing the world of work, and the evolving needs of businesses digitizing the way they work, while supporting distributed, global teams. Businesses know that the employee experience is everything, and they must provide experiences that foster loyalty, collaboration, productivity, and support the employee through their career. As a leader you will have a massive impact on how businesses evolve to provide predictive, empowering and productivity-boosting experiences for their employees and technology teams by putting AI to work. This leader must bring an AI-native mindset — not just familiarity with AI concepts, but hands-on fluency with modern AI practices such as evaluation frameworks, prompt engineering, and human-in-the-loop workflows — and the executive gravitas to influence decision-making at the highest levels of a complex, matrixed organization.

This role leads a UX research team that focuses on delivering AI-driven product experiences that resonate with our customers. Our researchers, spanning diverse backgrounds such as HCI, Human Factors, Cognitive and Experimental Psychology, Product Market Research, and Behavioral Sciences, collaborate seamlessly with product management, engineering, and design teams across the product development lifecycle. At ServiceNow, UX research has an integral role, driving innovation and propelling our products forward. We value diversity and inclusion, recognizing that varied perspectives foster creativity and innovation. Success in this role hinges not only on empathy and understanding but also on a profound grasp of how cross-functional collaboration drives delivery success and enhances end-user outcomes. Our unwavering commitment to research and development fuels ServiceNow's success, shaping the future of AI-driven enterprise solutions.
 

What you get to do in this role:

• Build and develop a high performing team of UX researchers and managers focused on UX for AI technologies, fostering a culture of innovation and user-centricity.
• Bring a strong, well-articulated point of view on the role of UX research in shaping AI-driven products, and champion that perspective with senior leaders across Product, Engineering, and Design.
• Directly lead and manage managers and individual contributors.
• Drive strategic initiatives to shape research programs and strategies specifically tailored to AI-driven product experiences, with a heavy focus on Generative AI.
• Model and embed AI-native ways of working across the research organization — including modern evaluation methodologies, rapid prototyping with AI tools, and research-informed guardrails for generative AI experiences.
• Navigate a large, matrixed organization to build alignment and influence product direction at the VP and C-suite level, partnering cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Design, and Marketing leadership.
• Partner with stakeholders to define and prioritize research initiatives that align with business objectives and user needs.
• Mentor and develop a diverse team of researchers, ensuring high-quality execution of all aspects of user research throughout the product lifecycle.
• Communicate research findings effectively, translating complex insights into actionable recommendations for key decision-makers. Should be able to clearly communicate and rationalize strategy and product solutions to stakeholders based on tested and rationalized user-centered insights and data.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies in AI (especially Generative AI), continuously evolving our research methodologies and approaches.

Qualifications

Basic Qualificatio