Director-UX Researcher at American Express

At American Express, UX Research shapes experiences grounded in deep customer understanding. As artificial intelligence transforms how people discover, decide, and take action, we are advancing our research capabilities to understand the evolving relationships between people and intelligent systems.We are seeking a Principal UX Researcher who combines exceptional qualitative research expertise, strategic thinking, and methodological innovation to shape how American Express understands, designs, and evaluates AI-powered and agentic experiences. As a senior individual contributor, this person will lead complex research initiatives, influence consequential product and experience decisions, and advance research practices and capabilities across the organization.The ideal candidate is an accomplished strategic researcher with deep mastery of generative and exploratory qualitative research, exceptional synthesis and storytelling skills, and demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders. They bring intellectual curiosity, original thinking, and the judgment to navigate complex, ambiguous research challenges. They will elevate research excellence across teams through thought leadership, mentorship, and the development of innovative methods and frameworks that advance the practice.  <h3>Responsibilities</h3><ul style="list-style-type: disc;"><li>Shape AI experience strategy: Provide research leadership for complex, high-impact AI initiatives, independently framing critical customer questions and establishing forward-looking research agendas. Partner with senior Product, Design, Engineering, and business leaders to identify emerging opportunities, challenge assumptions, and influence experience strategy and investment decisions.</li><li>Deliver exceptional generative and exploratory research: Lead sophisticated qualitative research to uncover customer motivations, behaviors, unmet needs, and mental models. Apply expert methodological judgment to select, combine, and adapt established and innovative approaches—including contextual inquiry, longitudinal studies, behavioral simulations, and research in live or simulated AI environments.</li><li>Pioneer AI research methods and evaluation: Develop and validate innovative approaches to investigating human-AI interaction, including trust, transparency, delegation, decision-making, and customer control. Establish reusable frameworks and measures for evaluating comprehension, usefulness, task effectiveness, and error recovery in agentic experiences.</li><li>Advance strategic understanding through synthesis: Integrate qualitative and quantitative evidence, behavioral data, and emerging customer signals to develop original insights and conceptual frameworks. Identify patterns, tensions, and opportunities that inform experience principles, product direction, and strategic decisions.</li><li>Influence through exceptional storytelling: Transform complex research into compelling narratives, conceptual models, and executive-ready recommendations. Make emerging customer behaviors and AI experience challenges understandable, memorable, and actionable for senior leaders.</li><li>Serve as a trusted strategic advisor: Partner with senior Product, Design, Technology, and Business leaders to connect customer understanding with business objectives, technical possibilities, and emerging opportunities. Constructively challenge assumptions and ensure customer evidence informs consequential decisions.</li><li>Provide research thought leadership and mentorship: Serve as an expert research partner across multidisciplinary teams, guiding complex methodological decisions, elevating research quality, and coaching researchers through challenging problems. Foster intellectual rigor, creativity, and excellence without relying on formal people-management authority.</li><li>Build scalable research capabilities: Advance the organization's ability to research intelligent experiences through reusable methodologies, evaluation frameworks, and practice standards. Explore emerging AI-enabled research tools and workflows, ensuring innovation strengthens research quality, effectiveness, and responsible practice.  </li></ul> <h3>Qualifications</h3><ul style="list-style-type: disc;"><li>10+ years of UX research or applied research experience, with a substantial track record leading complex, strategically significant generative research programs.</li><li>Recognized expertise in qualitative research, including advanced interviewing, contextual inquiry, research design, and interpretive synthesis, with demonstrated ability to develop original insights and conceptual frameworks.</li><li>Demonstrated experience researching AI-powered, conversational, adaptive, or similarly complex emerging technologies, with a strong understanding of the methodological challenges associated with intelligent systems.</li><li>Proven ability to develop or substantially advance research methodologies, evaluation frameworks, or approaches that have influenced research practice beyond individual projects.</li><li>Exceptional strategic judgment and demonstrated ability to influence director-, VP-, or executive-level stakeholders through compelling evidence, original thinking, and sophisticated storytelling.</li><li>Experience providing research thought leadership across teams or complex programs, including guiding research direction, advising on methodological decisions, mentoring researchers, and elevating research standards.</li><li>Strong quantitative literacy and ability to integrate qualitative research, behavioral analytics, survey data, customer feedback, and other evidence into strategically meaningful insights.</li><li>Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity, challenge established assumptions, and connect customer understanding with business strategy, emerging technologies, and experience opportunities.Preferred Qualifications</li><li>Direct experience researching generative AI, LLM-based experiences, autonomous agents, or human-AI collaboration.</li><li>Experience evaluating trust, delegation, comprehension, customer control, and error recovery in AI-powered experiences.</li><li>Experience developing reusable research methods or evaluation frameworks adopted across multiple product teams.</li><li>Experience in financial services or other complex, highly regulated environments.Skills</li><li>Strategic UX Research & Experience Strategy</li><li>Expert Generative & Exploratory Qualitative Research</li><li>Research Strategy & Intellectual Leadership</li><li>Advanced Research Methodology & Innovation</li><li>Human-AI Interaction & Agentic Experience Research</li><li>AI Experience Evaluation & Measurement</li><li>Advanced Research Synthesis & Evidence Triangulation</li><li>Customer Mental Models & Behavioral Research</li><li>Conceptual Framework Development & Strategic Insight</li><li>Executive Influence & Strategic Storytelling</li><li>Research Craft Leadership & Mentorship</li><li>Enterprise Research Capability Development Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions. </li></ul>

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, <a href="https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/company/who-we-are/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">shared values </a>and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.

As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience our powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

<ul> <li>Competitive base salaries</li> <li>Bonus incentives</li> <li>6% Company Match on retirement savings plan</li> <li>Free financial coaching and financial well-being support</li> <li>Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits</li> <li>Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need</li> <li>20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy</li> <li>Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)</li> <li>Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program</li> <li>Career development and training opportunities</li> </ul> For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our <a href="https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/colleagues/benefits" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Colleague Benefits Site</a>. <div>

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

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We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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The below represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

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Director-UX Researcher

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