Principal UX Designer, Amazon Ads Demand Tech UX at Amazon

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal UX Designer, Amazon Ads Demand Tech UX

Company: Amazon

Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: UX Design / Product Design

Date Posted: 2025-06-11T00:00:00

Experience Level: 10+ years

Remote Status: On-site

🎨 Role Summary

Lead end-to-end design innovation for complex advertising technology platforms, transforming intricate workflow challenges into intuitive and elegant user experiences.
Drive user-centered design decisions, leveraging market analysis, data, customer feedback, and user research to inform the strategic direction of demand-side advertising tools.
Create compelling design deliverables, including user flows, wireframes, mockups, and prototypes, to effectively conceptualize and communicate new product initiatives to cross-functional teams.
Serve as a strategic design leader, comfortable navigating fast-paced, large-scale technological environments while fostering cross-organizational collaboration and unifying experiences across the Amazon Ads platform.

📝 Enhancement Note: Based on the "Principal" title and 10+ years of experience requirement, this role involves significant strategic leadership, influence, and ownership of key design initiatives within a complex technical domain (advertising technology). The focus is on transforming complexity into clarity for sophisticated users (advertisers).

🖼️ Primary Responsibilities

Own and drive the user experience for emerging and high-impact features within the Amazon Ads Demand Technology platform, influencing product direction and strategy.
Collaborate deeply with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to define product requirements and translate complex technical constraints and opportunities into seamless, user-centric design solutions.
Conceptualize, iterate on, and deliver high-fidelity design mockups and interactive prototypes using industry-standard design tools like Figma, Sketch, and Adobe Creative Suite.
Establish and maintain detailed user interface patterns and specifications, ensuring consistency and scalability across the platform, and work closely with development teams through implementation and deployment.
Communicate complex design concepts, rationale, and user insights clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences, including leadership, engineering, and non-design teams.
Mentor and guide less experienced designers within the team and across the organization, contributing to the growth and development of design talent at Amazon.
Conduct and/or collaborate on user research activities, usability testing, and data analysis to validate design decisions and identify opportunities for improvement in the advertising campaign lifecycle (planning, management, reporting).

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight the need for a Principal designer to have significant ownership ("Own the UX of emerging experiences"), strong collaboration skills across disciplines, the ability to work with technical constraints, and a focus on mentorship, reflecting the seniority of the role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Graphic Design, or a related field is typically expected for a role at this level. Equivalent professional experience demonstrating a strong foundation in design principles, research methodologies, and technical understanding is also highly valued.

Experience: A minimum of 10 years of professional design experience is required. This experience should include a proven track record of leading end-to-end design projects for complex software applications, ideally in enterprise or technical domains. Experience designing for advertising technology, financial platforms, or other data-intensive systems is a strong asset. A strong portfolio showcasing strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, and impactful design solutions for complex workflows is essential.

Required Skills:

Extensive experience in User Experience Design (UXD), with a deep understanding of user-centered design principles and methodologies.
Proven expertise in Information Architecture (IA) and Interaction Design (IxD) for large-scale, complex systems.
Demonstrated ability to lead the full life cycle of design projects, from initial strategy and research through to detailed design, prototyping, and collaboration with development for execution.
Exceptional proficiency in creating design deliverables such as user flows, wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, and interactive prototypes.
Strong understanding of web technologies and their implications for design, enabling effective collaboration with engineers.
Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate design concepts and rationale clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Experience mentoring and guiding junior designers.

Preferred Skills:

Experience providing strategic and tactical recommendations based on quantitative data and qualitative insights derived from user research and market analysis.
Familiarity with designing for advertising platforms, complex enterprise software, or data visualization tools.
Experience leveraging AI or machine learning concepts to enhance user experiences.
Proficiency with specific design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator), Axure, Keynote, and InVision.
Experience working within an Agile development environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The qualifications are fleshed out based on standard expectations for a Principal-level design role at a large tech company. While education isn't explicitly listed, it's a common expectation or, alternatively, significant equivalent experience. The preferred skills are inferred based on the domain (advertising tech, large-scale systems) and the mention of AI.

🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

Your portfolio should prominently feature case studies of complex design projects where you led the end-to-end design process, from problem definition and research through to final execution and impact measurement.
Clearly articulate the business problem, user needs, your design process, key decisions, challenges faced, and the quantifiable impact of your design solutions.
Include examples of how you simplified complex workflows and transformed technical constraints into elegant, intuitive user interfaces.
Showcase your ability to create a range of design deliverables, including user flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups.

Process Documentation:

Detail your approach to the research and discovery phase, including methodologies used (e.g., user interviews, surveys, competitive analysis, data analysis) and how insights informed your design direction.
Illustrate your ideation and iteration methods, showing how you explored multiple solutions and refined your designs based on feedback and testing.
Explain your validation and testing approaches, including usability testing, A/B testing, or other methods used to gather user feedback and measure design effectiveness.

📝 Enhancement Note: Specific portfolio requirements are included based on the seniority and nature of the role, emphasizing the need to showcase strategic thinking, process documentation, and the ability to handle complex problems and demonstrate measurable impact, which are critical for a Principal designer.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The stated base pay for this position ranges from $147,600/year in the lowest geographic market to $244,000/year in the highest geographic market. This range is based on several factors including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Given Seattle's status as a major tech hub, compensation is likely to be towards the higher end of this range.

Benefits: Amazon offers a comprehensive total compensation package. Dependent on the position offered, this may include:

Medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
Financial benefits, which typically include a 401(k) plan with company match.
Equity compensation (Restricted Stock Units - RSUs) which vests over time.
Potential for sign-on payments.
Additional benefits such as paid time off, parental leave, and various employee assistance programs.

Working Hours: This is a full-time position, typically requiring approximately 40 hours per week. As a Principal role, the ability to manage time effectively and potentially work flexible hours to collaborate across different time zones or meet project deadlines may be required, while maintaining work-life balance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is directly from the job description, with an added note contextualizing it for the Seattle location. Benefits are based on the general information provided by Amazon careers, tailored to common offerings for full-time tech roles.

🎯Team & Company Context

🏢 Company & Design Culture

Industry: Amazon is a global leader in e-commerce, cloud computing (AWS), digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. This role is specifically within Amazon Ads, operating in the dynamic and rapidly evolving digital advertising technology industry. The design team's work directly impacts how advertisers interact with sophisticated platforms to manage their campaigns, influencing a significant revenue stream for the company.

Company Size: Amazon is a very large organization with over 10,001 employees globally (approximately 728,000+ LinkedIn employees). At this size, design professionals can expect to work within specialized teams focused on specific product areas, requiring strong collaboration skills to navigate a complex organizational structure and align on design standards and strategies.

Founded: Founded in 1994, Amazon has a long history of innovation and growth. The company culture is often described as fast-paced, data-driven, and focused on customer obsession and long-term thinking. This environment requires designers who are comfortable with ambiguity, can make quick decisions, and are not afraid to invent and iterate rapidly.

Team Structure:

The Demand Tech UX team is described as the "strategic design center for Amazon Ads," suggesting a central role in defining the user experience for advertising technology solutions.
You will likely work within a dedicated design team focused on specific aspects of the demand-side advertising platform, reporting to a design manager or director.
Collaboration with cross-functional teams (product management, engineering, research, marketing, sales) is a core component of the role, given the complex nature of the product.

Methodology:

The team emphasizes a "customer obsession" and "data-driven decisions," indicating a strong reliance on user research, usability testing, and analytics to inform the design process.
The mention of "intentional craftsmanship" and "continuous refinement" suggests an iterative design approach, likely incorporating elements of Agile or Lean UX methodologies.
"Transforming complexity into clarity" highlights a focus on simplifying sophisticated technical processes for users through thoughtful design and information architecture.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Company context is expanded based on publicly available information about Amazon and the specific details provided about the Amazon Ads Demand Tech UX team. The industry context, company size implications for design, founding history, and team methodology are inferred from the provided description and general knowledge about Amazon.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Design Career Level: This is a Principal-level UX Designer role, signifying a senior individual contributor position. Principal designers at Amazon are expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, influence strategic direction, mentor other designers, and take ownership of complex, ambiguous problem spaces with significant impact across the organization.

Reporting Structure: As a Principal designer, you will likely report to a Design Manager or Director within the Amazon Ads UX organization. This structure allows for strategic guidance while providing ample autonomy to lead design initiatives.

Design Impact: Design at this level has a direct and significant impact on the functionality, usability, and adoption of Amazon's advertising technology products. Your work will directly influence how advertisers interact with the platform, affecting their ability to plan, manage, and analyze campaigns effectively, which in turn impacts Amazon's advertising revenue and market position.

Growth Opportunities:

Further advancement could involve moving into a Design Manager or Director role, leading a team of designers.
Opportunities to specialize further within a specific area of advertising technology UX or explore related fields like Design Strategy or Design Operations.
Potential to become a subject matter expert and thought leader within the Amazon Ads design organization and the broader industry.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career analysis is based on the "Principal" title, which indicates a senior individual contributor path at many large tech companies like Amazon. Growth opportunities are standard for this level, including management paths or deeper specialization.

🌐 Work Environment

Studio Type: This role is listed as on-site in Seattle, Washington. Amazon's offices typically feature modern workspaces designed to facilitate collaboration and individual work. Specific details about the Amazon Ads team's physical space are not provided, but generally, expect a professional office environment.

Office Location(s): The primary location is Seattle, Washington. Amazon has multiple office buildings in the Seattle area, particularly in the South Lake Union neighborhood. The specific building for the Amazon Ads team would be provided during the interview process. Seattle is a major tech hub with accessible public transportation options.

Design Workspace Context:

Expect dedicated desk space, access to meeting rooms for collaboration, and potentially specialized spaces for design critiques or prototyping.
The environment is likely optimized for digital design work, with appropriate hardware and software resources.
Opportunities for informal interaction and collaboration with design team members and cross-functional partners are readily available in an on-site setting.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time. While standard business hours are typical, the fast-paced nature of Amazon may occasionally require flexibility to meet project deadlines or collaborate with teams in different time zones. However, emphasis is placed on delivering results rather than strict adherence to a rigid schedule, especially at a senior level.

📝 Enhancement Note: The work environment description is based on the on-site location in Seattle and general knowledge of large tech company office settings. Specific details about the Amazon Ads workspace are not available, so a general description of a modern, collaborative office environment is provided.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Design Interview Process:

The Amazon interview process is known for its structured approach, often including multiple rounds focusing on leadership principles, behavioral questions, technical design skills, and portfolio review.
Expect an initial recruiter screen, followed by one or more interviews with design managers, peers, and cross-functional partners (e.g., product managers, engineers).
A significant portion of the interview will likely involve a detailed portfolio presentation and discussion, where you will walk through selected case studies, explaining your design process, decisions, and impact.
You may also be given a design challenge or asked to discuss hypothetical design problems to assess your problem-solving skills and design thinking approach under pressure.

Portfolio Review Tips:

Select 2-3 case studies that best demonstrate your experience leading complex design projects, particularly those involving technical or data-intensive platforms like advertising technology.
For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your design process (research, ideation, iteration, testing), key design decisions, challenges, and the measurable outcomes or impact of your work.
Focus on storytelling – guide the interviewer through your process and highlight your strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
Be prepared to discuss your rationale for design choices and how you addressed user needs and business goals.
Showcase a range of deliverables, from early sketches and wireframes to high-fidelity mockups and prototypes, to illustrate your iterative process.

Challenge Preparation:

If a design challenge is part of the process, understand the format (e.g., take-home assignment, whiteboard challenge, live design session).
Practice articulating your design process and rationale while working through a problem.
Focus on understanding the user and the problem space before jumping to solutions.
Be prepared to ask clarifying questions and justify your design decisions based on user needs, technical constraints, and business objectives.

ATS Keywords: User Experience Design, UX Design, Product Design, Interaction Design, Information Architecture, UI Design, Design Strategy, User Research, Usability Testing, Prototyping, Wireframing, Mockups, Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, Axure, InVision, Design Systems, Agile, Collaboration, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Communication, Leadership Principles, Technical Requirements, Advertising Technology, AdTech, Data Analysis, Metrics, Case Studies, Portfolio, Mentoring, Design Leadership, Cross-functional Collaboration, Simplification, Iterative Design, Data-Driven Design, Customer Obsession, Enterprise Software, Complex Systems, Workflow Design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The application and interview process details are based on common practices for senior design roles at large tech companies, particularly Amazon's known emphasis on leadership principles and structured interviews. Specific tips for portfolio review and design challenge preparation are tailored to the Principal UX Designer role and the likely focus on complex problem-solving.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design Tools:

Proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools is essential. The job description specifically mentions Figma, Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, Axure, Keynote, and InVision. Expect Figma and Sketch to be primary tools for UI design and prototyping, while others might be used for specific tasks like image editing or presentation.
Experience with advanced features for collaboration, component libraries, and design system management within these tools is highly valuable for a Principal role.

Collaboration & Handoff:

Tools for collaboration with cross-functional teams are critical. This may include tools like Slack, Chime (Amazon's internal communication tool), Jira for task management, and Confluence for documentation.
Handoff to engineering teams likely involves tools like Zeplin, Abstract, or direct sharing of design specifications and assets from design tools.
Experience with design system documentation platforms is beneficial for maintaining consistency and enabling efficient collaboration.

Research & Testing:

Tools for user research such as user interview platforms (e.g., Zoom, Qualtrics), survey tools, and usability testing platforms (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback) may be used.
Familiarity with analytics platforms (e.g., Amplitude, Google Analytics, internal Amazon tools) for understanding user behavior and measuring design impact is valuable.

📝 Enhancement Note: The tools and technology stack are based on the specific tools mentioned in the job description and common tools used in large tech company design environments for collaboration, handoff, and research. The emphasis is placed on the context of usage for a Principal designer.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Design Values:

Customer Obsession: A core Amazon principle, this translates in design to a deep focus on understanding advertiser needs, pain points, and goals to create solutions that genuinely solve their problems and provide value.
Data-Driven Decisions: Designs should be informed by data, including user research insights, usability testing results, and product analytics. The ability to interpret data and use it to justify design choices is crucial.
Simplifying Complexity: A key value for the Demand Tech UX team is transforming the inherent complexity of advertising technology into intuitive and elegant user interfaces that are easy to use and understand.
Invent and Simplify: Another Amazon principle, encouraging designers to think creatively to find innovative solutions and continuously seek ways to simplify processes and experiences.

Collaboration Style:

The team emphasizes cross-organizational collaboration, requiring strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with product managers, engineers, researchers, and other design teams.
A culture of constructive feedback and iterative design is likely, where designers share their work early and often for critique and refinement.
Contributing to and leveraging design systems and shared patterns is likely important for maintaining consistency across the platform.

📝 Enhancement Note: The team culture and values are derived from Amazon's stated principles and the specific language used in the job description about the Demand Tech UX team's mission and approach. The focus is on translating these general principles into specific behaviors and expectations for a designer in this role.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Design Challenges:

Navigating the complexity of the advertising technology domain, which involves intricate workflows, data streams, and technical constraints.
Designing for a diverse user base with varying levels of technical expertise and business objectives.
Influencing product strategy and aligning design initiatives across a large, matrixed organization.
Staying ahead of rapidly evolving industry trends and technological advancements, including the increasing role of AI in advertising.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

Opportunity to deepen expertise in advertising technology and the unique challenges of designing for this domain.
Exposure to cutting-edge technologies, including AI and machine learning, and the chance to explore how they can enhance user experiences.
Opportunities to mentor and lead other designers, developing leadership and management skills.
Access to internal training resources, conferences, and potential for participation in industry events to stay current with design trends and best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: Design challenges are identified based on the nature of the domain (advertising technology), the seniority of the role (influencing strategy in a large organization), and industry trends (AI). Growth opportunities are linked to the challenges and the Principal-level responsibilities.

💡 Interview Preparation

Design Process Questions:

Be prepared to walk through your design process for a complex project, detailing your approach to research, ideation, iteration, and validation. Focus on how you navigated ambiguity and technical constraints.
Discuss how you incorporate user feedback and data into your design decisions. Provide specific examples of how data influenced your design outcomes.
Explain your approach to collaborating with product managers and engineers throughout the design lifecycle.

Company Culture Questions:

Research Amazon's Leadership Principles and be prepared to discuss how you have demonstrated principles such as "Customer Obsession," "Invent and Simplify," "Are Right, A Lot," and "Earn Trust" in your past design work.
Discuss your experience working in fast-paced, data-driven environments and how you adapt to change and ambiguity.
Be prepared to talk about a time you received constructive feedback and how you incorporated it into your design process.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

Structure your portfolio presentation around 2-3 key case studies that highlight your ability to solve complex problems in technical or enterprise domains.
For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process, and the impact of your design solution. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) where appropriate.
Focus on demonstrating your strategic thinking, problem-solving approach, and ability to simplify complex workflows.
Be ready to discuss the technical considerations and constraints you faced and how you collaborated with engineering to implement your designs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation advice is tailored to Amazon's known interview style (Leadership Principles, behavioral questions) and the specific requirements of a Principal UX Designer role, emphasizing the need to showcase strategic thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills through portfolio case studies and behavioral examples.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this design position:

Submit your application through this link
Tailor your resume to highlight your experience leading complex design projects, your expertise in UX, IA, and IxD, and your experience with the required design tools. Use keywords from the ATS Keywords list relevant to your experience.
Carefully curate your online portfolio to showcase 2-3 in-depth case studies that demonstrate your strategic thinking, end-to-end design process, and ability to solve complex problems in technical domains. Ensure your case studies clearly articulate the problem, your process, and the impact of your work.
Prepare for behavioral questions by reflecting on your past experiences and identifying examples that demonstrate Amazon's Leadership Principles, particularly those related to customer obsession, innovation, and ownership.
Practice presenting your portfolio case studies, focusing on clear storytelling, articulating your design rationale, and highlighting your impact.
Research Amazon Ads and the digital advertising industry to understand the business context and challenges relevant to this role.

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

Principal UX Designer, Amazon Ads Demand Tech UX