Principal UX Designer , Fauna

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal UX Designer, Fauna

Company: Amazon (Fauna Robotics)

Location: New York, New York, United States

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / User Experience (UX)

Date Posted: June 23, 2026

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the definition and design of the user experience for Fauna robots, focusing on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) to create trusted, safe, and delightful companions for everyday life.

• Shape the robot's personality, identity, and communication vocabulary by establishing a north-star experience vision and guiding interaction design principles.

• Drive key design initiatives from concept through production, creating tangible artifacts such as storyboards, behavioral scripts, journey maps, and concept videos.

• Collaborate closely with research, science, and engineering teams to ensure design feasibility and influence technical direction, while also directing user research to uncover critical insights.

• Elevate the design craft within the team by establishing critique rituals, setting high standards for interaction quality, and mentoring designers as the team scales.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is deeply embedded within a cutting-edge robotics initiative at Amazon. The focus is on designing for the emotional and behavioral aspects of human-robot interaction, distinguishing it from typical software UX roles. The emphasis on "character," "emotion," and "behavior" suggests a need for designers with a strong understanding of psychology, narrative design, and embodied interaction principles. The "Principal" title indicates a leadership and strategic contribution expectation, requiring the ability to set design direction and mentor others.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define the robot's personality and identity by establishing a north-star experience vision for how people live with, interact with, and develop relationships with Fauna's robots.

• Establish interaction design principles that guide the team's approach to robot interactions, ensuring consistency and a unified user experience.

• Create and utilize narrative artifacts including storyboards, behavioral scripts, journey maps, interaction flows, motion/timing studies, and concept videos to make interaction concepts tangible and evaluable.

• Partner with science and engineering teams to ensure design intent is achievable within technical constraints, and proactively challenge or adapt constraints when necessary for optimal user experience.

• Direct user research initiatives focused on uncovering blind spots and gaining deep insights into user needs and perceptions of robotic companions.

• Mentor and elevate the design craft of the team by establishing critique rituals, raising the bar for interaction quality, and fostering the growth of the design practice as the team scales.

• Drive the end-to-end design process for key interaction features, from initial concept ideation through to final product launch.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic vision setting, hands-on design execution, and team leadership. The emphasis on "defining a north-star experience vision" and "establishing interaction design principles" points to a strategic design leadership role. The requirement to "direct user research" and "partner with science and engineering" emphasizes cross-functional collaboration and influence. The mention of "iterative and demo-led" process suggests a fast-paced, agile environment where rapid prototyping and feedback loops are crucial.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in UX Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Industrial Design, Psychology, or a related field is typically expected for a Principal-level role.

Experience: 10+ years of professional experience in UX design, interaction design, or experience design.

Required Skills:

• Portfolio demonstrating significant work on character-driven, embodied, conversational, or physically interactive systems.

• Proven ability to define experience strategy and interaction frameworks for novel or emerging product categories.

• Demonstrated experience in cross-disciplinary collaboration, influencing technical direction through design.

• Expertise in creating and communicating design vision through narrative artifacts such as storyboards, journey maps, concept videos, and behavioral prototypes.

• Strong understanding of user research methodologies and experience directing research efforts.

• Ability to mentor and elevate the design craft of other team members. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for physically embodied systems, such as robots, advanced smart home devices, or physical computing interfaces.

• Background in conversational or voice-first interaction design, including experience with voice assistants, dialogue systems, or AI companions.

• Experience with character design, animation direction, or personality-driven interaction design, potentially from gaming, entertainment, or social AI contexts.

• Familiarity with AI/ML-powered systems and the unique challenges of designing for non-deterministic or evolving behavior.

• Experience directing user research in domains where existing interaction patterns are scarce or non-existent.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Principal" title and the nature of designing for robots imply a need for advanced strategic thinking, strong leadership capabilities, and a deep understanding of user psychology and embodied interaction. The portfolio requirements are highly specific, emphasizing experience with complex, often non-traditional, interactive systems. The preferred qualifications suggest a strong lean towards AI, character development, and physical product design.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate a clear track record of defining and designing user experiences for complex, interactive systems, particularly those involving physical embodiment or character.

• Showcase case studies that illustrate your ability to translate abstract concepts (like personality, trust, and emotion) into tangible design solutions.

• Include examples of how you've developed and applied interaction design principles and frameworks for new product categories.

• Present evidence of your influence on technical direction and cross-functional collaboration through design.

• Highlight your proficiency in creating compelling narrative artifacts (storyboards, journey maps, concept videos) to communicate design vision and user flows. Process Documentation:

• Examples of your process for defining and evolving the "character" and "identity" of a product or system.

• Documentation of how you establish and evangelize interaction design principles within a team.

• Case studies detailing your approach to user research in novel domains, focusing on uncovering unique user needs and insights.

• Demonstrations of how you've worked with engineering and research teams to balance design intent with technical feasibility, and how you've influenced technical roadmaps.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Principal UX Designer role, especially in a novel field like robotics, the portfolio should not just show final designs but the process and strategic thinking behind them. The emphasis on "character-driven" and "embodied" systems means candidates should be prepared to showcase how they've designed for non-traditional interfaces and user journeys, focusing on emotional connection and behavioral understanding.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The base salary range for this position in New York, NY is $180,300 - $244,000 USD annually.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health insurance including medical, dental, vision, and prescription coverage.

• Basic Life & AD&D Insurance with options for supplemental life plans.

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Mental Health Support.

• Medical Advice Line.

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs).

• Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage.

• 401(k) matching for retirement savings.

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO).

• Parental Leave.

• Sign-on payments.

• Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) as part of the overall compensation package.

Working Hours: The role is specified as full-time, typically aligning with a standard 40-hour work week. Given the "on-site" requirement and the nature of product development, flexibility may be expected around core working hours to accommodate project needs and team collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range is typical for a Principal UX Designer role in a high-cost-of-living area like New York City, especially within a large tech company like Amazon. The extensive benefits package reflects Amazon's standard offerings, which are quite comprehensive, particularly for a role that includes equity (RSUs) and sign-on bonuses. The mention of "on-site" work arrangement implies a structured schedule, though project demands may necessitate occasional extended hours.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology (Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Consumer Electronics, E-commerce). Fauna Robotics, as an Amazon company, operates at the intersection of advanced hardware development, AI/ML, and consumer-facing product design.

Company Size: Amazon is a global tech giant with hundreds of thousands of employees. Fauna Robotics, while a part of Amazon, likely operates with the agility and focus of a specialized R&D division or startup within the larger organization.

Founded: Fauna Robotics is an Amazon company. Amazon was founded in 1994. The specific founding date of Fauna Robotics is not provided, but its integration into Amazon suggests a recent or strategic acquisition/development initiative.

Team Structure:

• The Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) team at Fauna Robotics is multidisciplinary, encompassing researchers, scientists, and engineers specializing in areas like reasoning, perception, audio, and expressive robotics.

• The Principal UX Designer will likely report into a Design leadership role or potentially a Product Management lead, with close collaboration across all HRI disciplines.

• Cross-functional collaboration is fundamental, with the UX Designer acting as a bridge between user needs, research insights, scientific capabilities, and engineering execution. Methodology:

• The team employs an iterative, demo-led process: "build fast, evaluate honestly, and let each round of feedback sharpen the next." This indicates a strong emphasis on rapid prototyping, agile development, and continuous feedback loops.

• Data analysis and insights from user research are critical for informing design decisions and understanding user perceptions of robot behavior and interaction.

• Workflow planning and optimization strategies will be crucial for managing the complex design and development lifecycle of a novel hardware/software product.

• Automation and efficiency practices will be key in streamlining design processes, from prototyping to user testing.

Company Website: https://www.amazon.com (Fauna Robotics specific information may be limited externally)

📝 Enhancement Note: Working within Amazon offers the resources and scale of a major tech player, but Fauna Robotics is likely fostering an innovative, potentially more startup-like environment focused on groundbreaking product development. The "demo-led" methodology suggests a culture that values rapid iteration and tangible results over lengthy theoretical discussions. The HRI team's multidisciplinary nature means collaboration is paramount, and the Principal UX Designer will be central to aligning diverse technical expertise with user-centric design.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Principal-level position, signifying a senior individual contributor role with significant strategic influence and leadership responsibilities. It is a key step for experienced designers aiming to shape product direction and mentor others in a highly innovative domain.

Reporting Structure: The Principal UX Designer will likely report to a Director or Senior Manager of Design or Product, with direct collaboration with leads in Research, Science, and Engineering. The role involves influencing and guiding the work of other designers as the team grows.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is immense, as it directly defines the user experience of a potentially revolutionary product category – robots in everyday life. Success will be measured by the adoption, trust, and perceived delight users experience with Fauna robots, directly contributing to the commercial viability and societal acceptance of this technology. This role is integral to translating complex technology into emotionally resonant and practical consumer products.

Growth Opportunities:

• Deep Specialization: Become a world-class expert in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and embodied AI design, a rapidly growing and critical field.

• Leadership Development: Transition into management roles, leading design teams or entire product design functions within Amazon's robotics division.

• Strategic Influence: Play a pivotal role in shaping Amazon's long-term strategy for robotics and AI in consumer spaces.

• Skill Expansion: Develop expertise in areas like character animation, AI-driven interaction, and advanced prototyping for physical products.

• Cross-Functional Mastery: Gain deep experience working at the forefront of AI, robotics, and UX, bridging complex technical domains.

📝 Enhancement Note: A Principal role at Amazon is a significant career milestone. It offers the chance to be at the forefront of a new technology category, with the potential for substantial impact and career advancement within Amazon's vast ecosystem. The growth opportunities are geared towards both deep technical/design specialization and leadership progression.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is on-site in New York City, suggesting a dedicated office space for the Fauna Robotics team. This environment is likely designed to foster collaboration and innovation, with access to prototyping labs or specialized equipment.

Office Location(s): New York, New York, United States. This location offers a vibrant tech ecosystem and access to talent.

Workspace Context:

• The workspace will be highly collaborative, emphasizing close interaction with researchers, scientists, and engineers. Expect a dynamic environment where ideas are shared freely and quickly.

• Access to cutting-edge tools and technologies for prototyping, simulation, and potentially physical testing of robot interactions will be available.

• Opportunities for frequent interaction with the core HRI team will be integral to the design process, facilitating rapid feedback and iteration.

Work Schedule: While a standard 40-hour work week is implied for full-time employment, the nature of product development, especially in a fast-paced, iterative environment, may require flexibility and dedication to meet project milestones. The on-site requirement ensures consistent team presence and collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in New York City suggests a commitment to a collaborative, in-person work culture. For a Principal UX Designer, this environment is ideal for hands-on work, team brainstorming, and direct interaction with the physical product and its development team, which is crucial for designing embodied systems.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter will likely conduct an initial call to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

• Portfolio Review & Presentation: Candidates will be asked to present their portfolio, focusing on case studies relevant to character-driven, embodied, or conversational systems. This is a critical step to assess design thinking, process, and communication skills.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: A practical design exercise or case study may be given, either take-home or in-person, to evaluate problem-solving skills, design approach, and ability to apply principles to a new domain.

• On-site/Virtual Interviews: Multiple rounds of interviews with peers, design leadership, and cross-functional partners (research, engineering, science) to assess technical depth, strategic thinking, collaboration skills, and leadership potential.

• Final Interview: Typically with senior leadership to confirm strategic alignment and overall fit for the Principal role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your strongest projects that best showcase your experience with character-driven, embodied, conversational, or physically interactive systems.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your design process, the challenges faced, your solutions, and the impact. Focus on the "why" behind your decisions.

• Highlight Process: Emphasize your methodologies for research, ideation, prototyping, and iteration. Show how you navigate ambiguity and technical constraints.

• Demonstrate Impact: Quantify results where possible (e.g., user satisfaction improvements, task completion rates, adoption metrics). For this role, qualitative impact related to trust, delight, and relationship-building is also key.

• Prepare for Deep Dives: Be ready to discuss your design decisions in detail, defend your choices, and articulate how your work addresses the unique challenges of Human-Robot Interaction.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with current trends in robotics, HRI, AI companions, and the challenges of designing for physical, embodied agents.

• Focus on Principles: Even if the challenge is hypothetical, demonstrate sound design principles, user-centered thinking, and strategic problem-solving.

• Embrace Ambiguity: Recognize that challenges may involve incomplete information. Show how you approach ambiguity by making reasoned assumptions and identifying key questions to explore.

• Practice Articulation: Be prepared to clearly articulate your thought process, assumptions, proposed solutions, and potential trade-offs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a Principal role at Amazon is rigorous and multi-faceted. The portfolio review is paramount, and candidates must be prepared to demonstrate not just design execution but strategic thinking, leadership potential, and a deep understanding of the unique challenges of designing for robots. The emphasis on "character" and "embodiment" means projects showcasing emotional design and physical interaction will be highly relevant.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Prototyping & Design: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, After Effects for motion studies). Advanced prototyping tools for physical interactions or simulations might be utilized.

• User Research Platforms: Tools for survey creation, usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze), and qualitative data analysis.

• Collaboration Tools: Confluence, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams for project management and team communication.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Visualization: Tableau, Power BI, or custom dashboards for presenting research findings and interaction metrics.

• Analytics Platforms: Depending on the product's software component, tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or Amplitude might be relevant for tracking user engagement.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a CRM role, understanding how user data is managed and how interactions are logged within the robot's system will be important. Familiarity with data structures and API integrations for user feedback loops is beneficial.

• Tools for creating and managing behavioral scripts and interaction flows.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools may vary, the emphasis will be on industry-standard design and prototyping software, robust user research platforms, and collaborative tools. For this role, proficiency in tools that can simulate or visualize physical interaction, motion, and conversational flow will be highly advantageous.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Obsession: A core Amazon principle, translating to understanding and prioritizing the user's experience and emotional connection with the robot.

• Bias for Action: Evidenced by the "demo-led" process; a culture that values rapid iteration, experimentation, and delivering tangible progress.

• Invent and Simplify: Encouraging innovative solutions to complex problems in HRI and robotics, while striving for elegant and user-friendly designs.

• Dive Deep: A commitment to thorough research, critical analysis, and understanding the nuances of human-robot relationships.

• Ownership & Accountability: Taking responsibility for design decisions and outcomes, driving projects to completion.

• High Standards: A dedication to excellence in design craft, interaction quality, and user experience.

Collaboration Style:

• Highly cross-functional, with designers working hand-in-hand with scientists, engineers, and researchers. Expect frequent, informal design critiques and collaborative problem-solving sessions.

• Emphasis on open communication and constructive feedback to foster continuous improvement in design and product development.

• Knowledge sharing is encouraged, particularly around best practices in HRI, AI interaction, and character design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture at Fauna Robotics, influenced by Amazon's core leadership principles, likely prioritizes innovation, rapid execution, and a deep commitment to understanding and delighting the end-user. For a Principal UX Designer, this means being comfortable in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where pushing boundaries and embracing new approaches is the norm.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Defining Novel Interactions: Designing for a new product category like home robots involves significant ambiguity and a lack of established patterns. The challenge lies in creating intuitive, trustworthy, and emotionally resonant interactions from scratch.

• Balancing Technical Constraints with User Desires: Working with cutting-edge robotics and AI means navigating complex technical limitations while still achieving a delightful and functional user experience.

• Earning User Trust: Robots entering personal living spaces require a high degree of trust. Designing interactions that foster this trust and ensure safety is a significant challenge.

• Expressing Character and Emotion: Translating abstract concepts like personality, intent, and emotion into physical and behavioral expressions for a robot is a complex design problem.

• Scaling Design Practice: As the team grows, establishing and maintaining high design standards and effective collaboration processes will be an ongoing challenge.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Cutting-Edge HRI Expertise: Become a leader in the rapidly evolving field of Human-Robot Interaction.

• Advanced Prototyping: Develop skills in creating sophisticated prototypes for physical and AI-driven interactions.

• Cross-Disciplinary Mastery: Gain deep insights into robotics, AI/ML, perception, and reasoning from world-class experts.

• Product Strategy: Influence the strategic direction of a groundbreaking product category within a major technology company.

• Leadership & Mentorship: Grow as a design leader, mentoring junior designers and shaping the future of design at Fauna Robotics.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges in this role are significant due to the pioneering nature of the product. However, these challenges also present immense growth opportunities for a designer passionate about shaping the future of human-technology interaction. The company's investment in this area suggests strong support for learning and development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach defining the 'personality' of a robot that needs to be both helpful and non-intrusive in a home environment?" - Preparation: Think about character archetypes, emotional expression through movement/sound, and user control over robot behavior.

• "Describe a time you had to influence technical direction through design for a novel or complex system. What was the outcome?" - Preparation: Prepare a STAR method story focusing on persuasion, compromise, and collaboration with engineering.

• "Imagine a user is frustrated because the robot misunderstood a command. How would you design the interaction to de-escalate the situation and build trust?" - Preparation: Focus on error handling, clear communication of intent, user feedback mechanisms, and graceful recovery. Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in designing for robots specifically, and what excites you about Fauna Robotics' mission at Amazon?" - Preparation: Research Amazon's robotics initiatives, HRI trends, and articulate your passion for this specific domain.

• "How do you approach working in a multidisciplinary team with engineers and scientists who may have different priorities?" - Preparation: Emphasize collaboration, active listening, finding common ground, and translating user needs into technical requirements.

• "How do you ensure your designs are not only functional but also emotionally resonant and build genuine connection with users?" - Preparation: Discuss your methods for understanding user emotion, designing for non-verbal cues, and creating a sense of presence. Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Start with the Vision: For each project, begin by articulating the overarching experience vision and the core user problem you aimed to solve.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (storyboards, videos, prototypes) effectively to convey the interaction. Explain the "why" behind design choices.

• Highlight Your Role: Clearly delineate your specific contributions, especially in team settings.

• Discuss Trade-offs: Be ready to talk about design decisions you made based on constraints, research, or team input, and the trade-offs involved.

• Connect to HRI: For this role, explicitly link your past experiences and design decisions to the principles of Human-Robot Interaction, character design, and embodied systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, deep understanding of user psychology, and the ability to navigate ambiguity in a cutting-edge field. Be ready to articulate your design philosophy, your process for dealing with novel interaction paradigms, and your ability to collaborate effectively across diverse technical disciplines.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Amazon Jobs portal using the provided link.

• Customize your resume: Highlight your experience with character-driven, embodied, conversational, or physically interactive systems. Quantify achievements and use keywords such as "Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)," "UX Strategy," "Interaction Design," "Embodied Systems," and "Character Design."

• Prepare your portfolio: Select your most relevant projects, focusing on those that showcase your ability to design for complex, novel interactive experiences. Ensure it clearly articulates your process, your role, and the impact of your work, with a strong emphasis on narrative and behavioral design.

• Research Fauna Robotics and Amazon's HRI efforts: Understand their mission, the challenges of designing for robots in everyday life, and Amazon's leadership principles. This will help tailor your application and prepare for interview discussions.

• Practice your portfolio presentation: Be ready to walk through your selected projects, explaining your design rationale, process, and outcomes in detail, connecting them to the requirements of this specific role.

⚠️ 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.