Director, UX & Research

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Director, UX & Research

Company: Accruent (a Fortive Company)

Location: Austin, Texas, USA

Job Type: Full-time

Category: User Experience (UX) & Design Leadership

Date Posted: 2026-06-02

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and mentor a multidisciplinary team of Product Designers and User Researchers to define and execute a compelling design vision for a diverse portfolio of B2B SaaS products.

• Drive the evolution and implementation of a mature global design system, ensuring seamless integration with engineering teams through advanced Design Engineering practices.

• Champion user-centered design principles and rigorous research methodologies, including qualitative discovery and quantitative experimentation (A/B testing), to inform product strategy and optimize user journeys.

• Strategically integrate cutting-edge AI tools into design workflows to accelerate prototyping, automate tasks, and enhance creative output, driving operational velocity and innovation.

• Serve as a key strategic partner to Product Management and Engineering leadership, balancing aesthetic excellence, technical feasibility, and business ROI to deliver category-leading user experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role bridges high-level design strategy with the practical execution of Design Engineering. It requires a leader who can not only inspire a team but also orchestrate complex, multi-product experiences and drive operational efficiency through technology and process. The emphasis on "Design Engineering" and "AI tools for design" indicates a focus on scalable, efficient, and technically integrated design processes common in mature B2B SaaS environments.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and evangelize an aspirational, long-term design strategy and vision that aligns with Accruent's company goals and elevates standards across its extensive product portfolio.

• Recruit, mentor, develop, and scale a high-performing team of Product Designers and User Researchers, fostering a culture of accountability, creativity, and continuous improvement.

• Oversee the strategic development and ongoing maintenance of a comprehensive global design system, ensuring consistency, reusability, and efficient handoffs to engineering.

• Lead deep-dive user research initiatives and customer empathy programs to uncover market opportunities, validate complex solutions, and identify user pain points.

• Establish and promote a robust experimentation culture, utilizing A/B testing, multivariate testing, and user research to continuously optimize user journeys and drive measurable business outcomes.

• Identify, evaluate, and integrate AI tools and technologies into the design team's workflow to enhance efficiency, accelerate prototyping, and improve creative output.

• Collaborate closely with Product Management and Engineering leadership to ensure design solutions are aesthetically excellent, technically feasible, and deliver significant business ROI.

• Drive experience coherence and consistency across Accruent's diverse multi-product portfolio, promoting simplification and unified interaction patterns while respecting individual product workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strategic leadership role focused on both team development and cross-functional influence. The emphasis on "Portfolio Experience Leadership" and "Design Engineering" suggests a need for a leader skilled in managing complexity and ensuring a unified, yet adaptable, user experience across multiple SaaS products.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, or a closely related field is required.

Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive experience in User Experience (UX) Design, Product Design, or a related field.

• Minimum of 5 years in a senior leadership role, specifically focused on scaling and managing B2B SaaS design teams.

Required Skills:

• UX Leadership & Strategy: Proven ability to define and articulate a strategic design vision for complex product ecosystems.

• Team Building & Mentorship: Expertise in recruiting, developing, and inspiring high-performing design and research teams.

• Design Systems Management: Deep proficiency in creating, evolving, and scaling robust design systems for B2B SaaS applications.

• Design Engineering Principles: Strong understanding and practical application of Design Engineering methodologies for efficient design-to-development handoffs.

• User-Centered Design (UCD): Comprehensive knowledge and application of UCD principles throughout the product development lifecycle.

• Qualitative & Quantitative Research: Fluency in leveraging user research, customer interviews, A/B testing, and usage metrics to drive design decisions.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Exceptional ability to partner effectively with Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, and other stakeholders.

• Stakeholder Management: Proven experience communicating the business value of design and influencing C-suite executives and senior leadership.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in Product-Led Growth (PLG) environments, understanding how design impacts acquisition, activation, and retention.

• Familiarity with modern analytics and experimentation platforms such as Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Pendo for data-driven optimization.

• Background in enterprise SaaS or complex, workflow-based data products, demonstrating experience with intricate user needs.

• Experience scaling global design teams across multiple time zones and product lines, showcasing adaptability and distributed team management skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: The qualifications emphasize a blend of strategic leadership, technical design acumen (especially Design Engineering and AI), and a strong data-driven approach. The preference for PLG experience and specific analytics tools suggests a focus on measurable user engagement and growth loops within the SaaS product.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing successful product outcomes where you led the journey from abstract vision to high-impact, measurable market wins. This should demonstrate strategic thinking and tangible results.

• Evidence of leading and scaling B2B SaaS design teams, with examples of team structure, growth, and operational improvements.

• Detailed case studies of complex design systems at scale, illustrating their evolution, governance, and impact on development velocity and user consistency.

• Examples of how you've applied Design Engineering principles to bridge the gap between design and development, including shared component libraries and streamlined handoffs.

• Demonstrations of user-centered discovery processes, highlighting how deep-dive user research informed product strategy and validated complex solutions.

• Case studies detailing the implementation and impact of AI tools within design workflows, showcasing efficiency gains, accelerated prototyping, or enhanced creative output.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow designs and optimization strategies for the entire product development lifecycle, with a focus on the design phase.

• Implementation and automation methods for design systems and AI-augmented design processes.

• Measurement and performance analysis frameworks for assessing the impact of design initiatives, user research findings, and experimentation results on key business metrics.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily focused on demonstrating strategic leadership, execution capability, and measurable impact. For this role, candidates should prepare to showcase how they've led teams, managed complex design systems, integrated new technologies like AI, and driven outcome-oriented design within a B2B SaaS context.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Benefits:

• Personal Development Resources: Access to tools, training, and educational materials to support continuous learning and skill enhancement.

• Coaching: Opportunities for professional coaching to foster career growth and leadership development.

• Professional Support: Comprehensive support systems designed to aid in career progression and personal well-being.

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.

• Retirement savings plan with company match.

• Paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, and holidays.

• Opportunities for professional development and continuing education.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time work week, typically 40 hours per week.

• While on-site, there may be flexibility in daily start and end times, subject to team and business needs. Occasional extended hours may be required to meet project deadlines or address critical business issues.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on current market data for senior UX leadership roles in major tech hubs like Austin, TX, considering the B2B SaaS industry and the scope of responsibilities. The listed benefits are extrapolated from the "Grow Without Limits" initiative and typical offerings for senior roles at established tech companies.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software - Asset, Facilities, and Real Estate Management (SaaS)

Company Size: Accruent, as part of Fortive, operates within a large enterprise structure. Accruent itself serves thousands of customers globally, indicating a significant operational scale. Fortive is a global industrial technology innovator with over 18,000 employees worldwide. This provides a blend of established corporate discipline with the agility of a SaaS innovator.

Founded: Accruent's founding information is not explicitly detailed, but its acquisition by Fortive (NYSE: FTV) in 2017 signifies its integration into a larger, publicly traded corporation with a strong focus on operational excellence through the Fortive Business System (FBS).

Team Structure:

• The Director of UX & Research reports to the Sr. Director of Strategy & Product Operations, indicating that UX and Research are viewed as integral components of the broader product strategy and operational execution.

• The team led by this Director will consist of Product Designers and User Researchers, forming a core functional unit within the product development organization.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasizes leveraging qualitative research and quantitative data (A/B testing, usage metrics) to inform design decisions and optimize user experiences.

• Design Engineering: Focuses on robust design systems and seamless handoffs between Design and Engineering, ensuring efficiency and technical feasibility.

• User-Centered Approach: Prioritizes understanding user needs and market whitespace through deep-dive research to build impactful solutions.

• Experimentation Culture: Promotes a "test-and-learn" philosophy to continuously refine products and achieve business outcomes.

• Fortive Business System (FBS): As a Fortive company, Accruent likely adheres to FBS principles, which emphasize continuous improvement, data-driven decision-making, and operational excellence across all functions.

Company Website: https://www.accruent.com/

Fortive Website: https://www.fortive.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Understanding Accruent's position within Fortive is key. Fortive's emphasis on FBS suggests a culture of rigorous process, data analysis, and continuous improvement, which will likely permeate the UX & Research function. The "Grow Without Limits" initiative points to a company culture that values employee development and career growth.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a senior leadership position within the User Experience and Product Design domain. It is a Director-level role, indicating significant responsibility for team management, strategic direction, and cross-functional influence. The focus on "Design Engineering" and "Product Operations" integration suggests this role is critical to the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the product development lifecycle.

Reporting Structure: The Director of UX & Research reports to the Sr. Director of Strategy & Product Operations. This reporting line places UX and Research directly within the strategic planning and operational execution arm of the product organization, emphasizing its role as a strategic partner rather than a purely creative support function.

Operations Impact: The UX & Research team, under this Director's leadership, is expected to have a direct impact on:

• Product Adoption & Engagement: By ensuring a frictionless, category-leading user experience.

• Revenue Growth: Through delivering "must-have" solutions and optimizing user journeys that drive conversion and retention.

• Operational Velocity: By streamlining the design-to-development pipeline with mature design systems and AI-augmented workflows.

• Organizational Trust: By positioning Design as a strategic partner to Engineering and Go-To-Market teams, fostering alignment and shared goals.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Expansion: Potential to grow into a VP-level role overseeing a larger design organization or expanding responsibilities within Product Operations.

• Strategic Influence: Opportunity to shape the strategic direction of Accruent's product portfolio through user insights and design vision.

• Innovation Leadership: Driving the adoption of cutting-edge technologies like AI within design, positioning the individual as an innovator.

• Cross-Functional Mastery: Deepening expertise in collaborating with and influencing Product Management, Engineering, and Go-To-Market functions within a large, established enterprise.

• Industry Recognition: Contributing to category-leading UX can lead to industry recognition and thought leadership opportunities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career path for this role is clearly defined as a senior leadership track, with significant potential for strategic impact and organizational influence. The reporting line to Product Operations highlights the importance of operationalizing design and research.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is an on-site role based in Austin, Texas, at 11501 Domain Drive, Suite 160. The location in the Domain area suggests a modern, collaborative office environment often found in tech hubs.

Office Location(s):

• Primary Location: Austin, Texas, USA (11501 Domain Drive, Suite 160).

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The Domain Drive address in Austin suggests a professional office space designed to foster collaboration among teams. Expect a mix of individual workspaces, meeting rooms, and common areas.

• Operations Tools & Technology: The role will leverage various design, research, and collaboration tools. Integrated AI tools are specifically mentioned, alongside analytics and experimentation platforms. Access to robust IT infrastructure and software licenses is expected.

• Team Interaction: Daily interaction with direct reports (Designers, Researchers), peers (Product Managers, Engineering Leads), and senior leadership is anticipated. This will involve formal meetings, design critiques, and informal discussions.

Work Schedule:

• The role is full-time, with standard working hours typically around 40 hours per week.

• As an on-site position, adherence to office hours is expected, though flexibility may be available. The demanding nature of a Director-level role in a fast-paced SaaS environment may necessitate occasional work outside standard hours to meet project deadlines or address critical issues.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in a prominent Austin tech hub indicates a preference for in-person collaboration and team synergy, common in leadership roles that require significant cross-functional alignment and team mentorship.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: HR or Recruiter call to assess basic qualifications, alignment with company culture, and logistical details.

2. Hiring Manager Interview: Conversation with the Sr. Director of Strategy & Product Operations to discuss role expectations, team dynamics, and strategic alignment.

3. Team/Peer Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders, including Product Management leads, Engineering Directors, and potentially senior designers/researchers from the team. This assesses collaboration fit and technical depth.

4. Portfolio Review & Presentation: A dedicated session where candidates present their portfolio, focusing on key case studies that demonstrate leadership, strategic thinking, design engineering expertise, research impact, and AI integration. This is a critical stage.

5. Executive Interview: Meeting with senior leadership (e.g., VP of Product, CTO) to discuss high-level strategy, vision, and cultural fit.

6. Final Decision: Offer extended to the selected candidate.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: Select 3-4 strong case studies that clearly demonstrate your leadership, strategic vision, and measurable impact on product outcomes and business metrics.

• Showcase Leadership: Highlight instances where you led teams, mentored individuals, and influenced product strategy.

• Detail Design Engineering: Clearly articulate your approach to Design Systems and Design Engineering, showing how you facilitated efficient collaboration with engineering.

• Illustrate Research Rigor: Provide examples of how user research and data analysis (including A/B testing) directly influenced design decisions and led to positive outcomes.

• Demonstrate AI Integration: If possible, include a case study where you or your team leveraged AI tools to improve the design process or user experience.

• Structure: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role and approach, the solutions developed, the process followed (including research and design engineering), the challenges faced, and the measurable results.

• Presentation: Be prepared to present your portfolio virtually or in person with clarity, conciseness, and enthusiasm. Anticipate questions about your strategic thinking, team management, and problem-solving abilities.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared for potential design challenges or scenario-based questions. These might involve:

  • How you would approach defining a design vision for a new product.
  • How you would resolve a conflict between design aesthetic and technical feasibility.
  • How you would integrate AI into a specific design workflow.
  • How you would measure the success of a UX initiative.

• Practice articulating your thought process clearly and logically, demonstrating your strategic approach and problem-solving skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a structured approach, with a significant focus on the candidate's portfolio and their ability to articulate strategic impact and leadership. Preparing specific examples related to Design Engineering and AI integration will be crucial.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop), InVision, Axure RP.

• User Research: UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, Optimal Workshop, Dovetail, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey.

• Design Systems: Figma (for component libraries and collaboration), Storybook (for documenting components for developers).

• AI Tools for Design: Expect familiarity with generative AI tools for ideation, content creation, image generation, or workflow automation (e.g., Midjourney, DALL-E, AI-powered design assistants, or specialized tools for code generation from design).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Amplitude, Mixpanel, Pendo (preferred).

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics.

• Data Visualization & BI: Tableau, Power BI, Looker.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM: Salesforce (likely used by GTM teams, awareness is beneficial).

• Workflow Automation: Tools used for task management and process automation, potentially within project management suites or specialized platforms used by Product Operations.

• Integration Tools: Understanding of how design tools integrate with development pipelines and project management systems (e.g., Jira, Asana).

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack is comprehensive, reflecting a mature B2B SaaS organization. Proficiency in modern design tools, robust analytics platforms (especially Amplitude, Mixpanel, Pendo), and an awareness of AI's role in design are critical. Understanding how design integrates with engineering through design systems and tools like Storybook is also key.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Growth Mindset: Embracing continuous learning, experimentation, and improvement, aligned with Fortive's "For growth" philosophy and Accruent's "Grow Without Limits."

• Radical Accountability: Taking ownership of outcomes, delivering on commitments, and fostering a culture where team members are empowered and held responsible for their contributions.

• User-Centricity: Deep commitment to understanding and advocating for the user, ensuring that design decisions are grounded in empathy and evidence.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Fostering strong, trust-based relationships with Product Management, Engineering, and Go-To-Market teams to achieve shared objectives.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing insights from research and analytics to guide strategy, validate hypotheses, and measure impact.

• Design Excellence: Upholding a high standard for craft, interaction design, information architecture, and overall user experience quality.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Expect a highly collaborative environment where UX and Research are deeply embedded within product squads and strategic planning processes.

• Process Review & Feedback: A culture that encourages open dialogue, constructive critique, and continuous feedback loops to refine processes and product quality.

• Knowledge Sharing: Emphasis on sharing best practices, research findings, and design patterns across the team and the broader organization to foster collective learning and efficiency.

• Strategic Partnership: Design is positioned as a strategic partner, not just an execution function, working hand-in-hand with other departments to define product direction and business strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture emphasizes growth, accountability, and data-driven decision-making, reflecting both Fortive's corporate values and the demands of a modern B2B SaaS product organization. The "Grow Without Limits" initiative highlights a strong focus on employee development.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Portfolio Complexity: Managing and ensuring coherence across a diverse and potentially fragmented multi-product portfolio requires strong strategic vision and organizational skills.

• Balancing Innovation & Execution: Navigating the need to innovate with cutting-edge design and AI while maintaining the operational discipline required for a large B2B SaaS company and adhering to the Fortive Business System.

• Scaling Design Systems: Evolving and maintaining a global design system that serves multiple product lines and development teams effectively, ensuring adoption and adherence.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Achieving and maintaining strong alignment with Product Management and Engineering, especially when balancing user needs, business goals, and technical constraints.

• Demonstrating ROI: Quantifying the impact of UX and research efforts in a way that clearly demonstrates return on investment to senior leadership.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Operations Skill Advancement: Deepening expertise in Product Operations, Design Engineering, and process optimization within a large enterprise context.

• AI in Design: Leading the charge in integrating and leveraging advanced AI tools, becoming a thought leader in this emerging area within the company.

• Strategic Leadership: Developing broader strategic influence within the company, potentially contributing to market strategy and long-term product roadmapping.

• Industry Conferences & Certifications: Opportunities to attend leading UX, product management, and AI conferences, and pursue relevant certifications.

• Mentorship: Access to senior leadership for mentorship, and the opportunity to mentor and develop junior designers and researchers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are typical for a senior leadership role in a complex SaaS environment, requiring strategic thinking, strong execution, and adept stakeholder management. The growth opportunities are significant, offering paths for deeper operational integration and technological innovation.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you define and evangelize a unified design vision for a diverse B2B SaaS portfolio like Accruent's?" - Prepare to discuss your process for understanding existing products, identifying strategic themes, and communicating a compelling vision.

• "Describe your experience in leading and scaling B2B SaaS design teams. What are the key challenges and how did you address them?" - Focus on team structure, hiring, mentorship, performance management, and fostering a productive culture.

• "How do you approach the integration of AI tools into design workflows? Can you provide a specific example of how you've used AI to improve design efficiency or outcomes?" - Be ready to discuss specific tools, workflows, and quantifiable results.

• "Walk us through a complex design system you've managed. What was its architecture, how did you ensure adoption by engineering, and what was its impact on velocity and consistency?" - Prepare to detail governance, contribution models, and adoption strategies.

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about Accruent and Fortive, and how does our 'Grow Without Limits' philosophy resonate with your leadership style?" - Research the company's mission, products, and the Fortive Business System. Connect your personal values and leadership approach to their stated values.

• "How would you foster a culture of 'radical accountability' and 'creative excellence' within your team?" - Discuss team empowerment, clear goal setting, feedback mechanisms, and recognition.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Arc: Structure your presentation around a clear narrative for each case study: the problem, your strategic approach, the solution, the process (emphasizing design engineering and research), and the measurable impact.

• Quantify Everything: Whenever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your initiatives (e.g., % increase in conversion, % reduction in support tickets, % improvement in task completion time, adoption rates of design system components).

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals – mockups, prototypes, user journey maps, system diagrams – to illustrate your points effectively.

• Highlight Leadership: Explicitly call out your role, decisions made, and how you led your team or cross-functional partners.

• Address AI & Design Engineering: Ensure your most impactful examples showcase your experience with Design Engineering practices and the integration of AI tools.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, leadership capabilities, and a deep understanding of modern B2B SaaS design practices, including Design Engineering and AI. Specific, data-backed examples are crucial for success.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Director, UX & Research position:

• Submit your application through the provided Oracle Cloud application link.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight your experience in B2B SaaS, leadership of design/research teams, Design Engineering, design systems, and AI integration in design. Select case studies that best showcase your strategic impact and leadership.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 10+ years of experience, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role, and uses keywords relevant to UX, Product Design, Design Engineering, B2B SaaS, AI in Design, and team leadership. Quantify achievements wherever possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your leadership philosophy, strategic approach to UX, and specific examples of your work, especially those involving Design Engineering, AI integration, and cross-functional collaboration. Prepare to present your portfolio with confidence.

• Company Research: Deeply research Accruent and Fortive, focusing on their product offerings, company values ("Grow Without Limits"), and the Fortive Business System. Understand their market position and customer challenges to better align your responses with their strategic goals.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.