Senior Agentic UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Agentic UX Designer

Company: Daikin Applied Americas

Location: Plymouth, MN – Hybrid or Remote

Job Type: Full time

Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Product Design

Date Posted: November 03, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid or Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Design cutting-edge user experiences for AI agents that understand intent, make decisions, and collaborate seamlessly with human users, focusing on trust, control, and understandability.

• Translate complex human and agent capabilities into intuitive user journeys, adaptive interactions, and robust interaction patterns within a hybrid or remote work environment.

• Lead the definition of human-agent workflows, establishing appropriate levels of autonomy and human oversight to ensure efficient and safe operations.

• Drive the UX design process from discovery and ideation through visualization and iterative testing, ensuring a customer-centric approach that prioritizes user needs over technology.

• Leverage data analytics to understand the impact of designed experiences, continuously optimizing features and workflows for enhanced end-user satisfaction and operational efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is highly specialized, focusing on the emerging field of "Agentic UX," which involves designing interactions between humans and artificial intelligence agents. The responsibilities emphasize understanding AI capabilities, defining human-AI collaboration, and ensuring user trust and control in autonomous systems, which is a critical differentiator from traditional UX roles.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Spearhead the end-to-end UX design process within Daikin Applied's established framework, encompassing discovery, ideation, visualization, and rigorous user testing.

• Champion user advocacy by fostering a deep, shared understanding of customer needs at the intersection of design, content, business objectives, and brand identity.

• Facilitate comprehensive customer discovery sessions to uncover critical user needs, preferences, and pain points, informing design strategy and product development.

• Design intuitive, low-friction user solutions, validating concepts through iterative testing and refining them based on user feedback to ensure alignment with real-world expectations and business goals.

• Collaborate iteratively and effectively within a cross-disciplinary team, including product managers, software engineers, researchers, and fellow designers, employing lean and agile methodologies for rapid exploration, testing, and implementation.

• Guide end-users, development teams, and project partners with impactful design decisions, prioritizing a customer-focused approach over a technology-first mindset to drive user adoption and satisfaction.

• Develop comprehensive user journey maps and detailed task flows to visualize end-to-end user experiences, enhancing stakeholder understanding of customer behavior and interaction points.

• Create low-fidelity wireframes, build interactive prototypes, and utilize Daikin Applied's design system to deliver high-fidelity mockups that clearly communicate design intent.

• Lead and facilitate design reviews with the broader design team, product managers, engineering teams, and key business stakeholders to gather feedback and validate design direction.

• Proactively plan, perform, and advocate for validation techniques such as usability testing, user research, and the interpretation of analytic data to optimize the effectiveness of new and existing features.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic design leadership and hands-on execution. The emphasis on "customer discovery," "iterative testing," and "lean and agile methodologies" indicates a fast-paced, data-informed design environment. The requirement to "lead decision-making through a customer-focused approach rather than a ‘technology first’ mindset" is crucial for candidates to understand the company's design philosophy.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's Degree or equivalent practical experience in a relevant field such as Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design, Computer Science, or a related discipline.

Experience: 5+ years of progressive experience in designing user interfaces for mobile, web, and embedded systems, with a strong emphasis on complex, data-heavy applications.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience in leading discovery activities and conducting comprehensive user testing to inform design decisions.

• Significant expertise in customer discovery techniques, including in-depth user interviews, usability testing, and the creation of detailed user journey maps.

• Strong command of information architecture principles, established design patterns, and interaction design best practices, particularly for data-intensive applications.

• Exceptional communication, collaboration, and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale and influence stakeholders.

• Expertise in industry-standard design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or equivalent.

• Advanced knowledge of design systems, including their creation, application, and creative adaptation to solve unique design challenges.

• Foundational understanding of web technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to facilitate effective collaboration with engineering teams.

• Strong command of the English language, both written and verbal, for clear and concise communication. Preferred Skills:

• 8+ years of comprehensive experience in designing user interfaces for mobile, web, and embedded systems.

• Experience designing for AI-driven applications or agent-based systems.

• Familiarity with cloud-based HVAC systems or industrial IoT platforms.

• Knowledge of front-end development frameworks (e.g., React, Angular, Vue.js).

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Agentic UX" specialization implies a need for candidates to demonstrate an understanding of AI principles, human-computer interaction with autonomous systems, and the ethical considerations involved. While not explicitly stated, a background in AI ethics or human-AI collaboration would be highly advantageous. The experience requirement is clearly defined, with a distinction between minimum and preferred years of experience.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 2-3 detailed case studies demonstrating end-to-end UX design projects, with a strong focus on complex applications or systems.

• Clearly articulate the problem statement, your role and contributions, the design process followed (discovery, ideation, prototyping, testing), and the final solution.

• Highlight specific examples of how user research, journey mapping, and usability testing informed your design decisions and led to measurable improvements.

• Demonstrate proficiency in designing for data-heavy interfaces, showcasing information architecture strategies and interaction patterns that enhance usability and comprehension.

• Include examples of how you've utilized or contributed to design systems, and how you've creatively solved design challenges within their constraints. Process Documentation:

• For each case study, include a section detailing the specific UX methodologies employed (e.g., Lean UX, Agile UX, Design Thinking) and the rationale behind their selection.

• Document the iterative nature of your design process, providing evidence of design evolution based on feedback from user testing, stakeholder reviews, and analytic data.

• Illustrate how you collaborated with product managers and engineers, providing examples of workflow design and handoff processes.

• Showcase how you interpreted analytic data or user feedback to drive design optimizations and measure the impact of your solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: For this specific role, the portfolio should ideally include examples of designing for systems with a degree of autonomy or AI integration, even if not explicitly "agentic" in the strictest sense. This could include intelligent dashboards, predictive analytics interfaces, or systems with automated decision-making components. Demonstrating an understanding of how to build user trust in such systems will be a significant advantage.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $90,000 - $153,300 annually (plus a potential 10% bonus).

Note: This range is specific to Minnesota. Individual base pay will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.

Benefits:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance: Comprehensive coverage options available.

• 401K Retirement Plan: Employer matching contributions: 100% of the first 3% of employee contributions and 50% on the next 2% of employee contributions.

• Life Insurance: Company-provided basic life insurance, with options for employee-paid voluntary life insurance, dependent life coverage, and voluntary accident coverage.

• Disability Insurance: Short-term and long-term disability coverage.

• Paid Time Off (PTO): 3 weeks of PTO for new employees, accruing monthly.

• Paid Holidays: 11 company-paid holidays.

• Paid Sick Time: In accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

• Paid Parental Leave: Available after 6 months of continuous service.

• Tuition Reimbursement: Available after 6 months of continuous service.

Working Hours: The standard working hours for this position are 40 hours per week. The hybrid and remote work arrangements offer flexibility in how these hours are structured, within team and project requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is specific to Minnesota. Candidates in other locations may see a different range based on regional cost of living and market rates for similar roles. The bonus structure and comprehensive benefits package are competitive and should be a key consideration for applicants.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) Manufacturing and Services. Daikin Applied is a global leader in providing advanced climate control solutions for commercial and industrial applications.

Company Size: Large enterprise (specific employee count not provided, but Daikin is a global conglomerate). This indicates a structured environment with established processes, but also opportunities for impact within a significant organization.

Founded: Daikin Industries, Ltd. was founded in 1924, with Daikin Applied operating as a key division. This long history suggests stability, deep industry knowledge, and a commitment to innovation and quality.

Team Structure:

• The UX team likely operates within a product development or engineering division, collaborating closely with product managers, software engineers, and researchers.

• Reporting lines will likely involve a UX Lead or Manager, with the Senior Agentic UX Designer taking a leadership role in specific projects.

• Cross-functional collaboration is emphasized, requiring strong partnerships with business stakeholders, marketing, and potentially even sales to understand market needs and customer pain points. Methodology:

• Data Analysis and Insights: A strong emphasis on using analytics, user research, and testing data to inform design decisions and measure impact.

• Workflow Planning and Optimization: Designing efficient and intuitive user journeys and task flows, particularly for complex systems involving AI agents.

• Automation and Efficiency Practices: Leveraging technology and design to streamline processes and enhance user productivity, especially in the context of AI-driven interactions.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Daikin Applied's position as a global leader in HVAC suggests a focus on industrial and commercial applications, meaning the UX design will likely cater to professional users operating complex systems. The company's long history implies a culture that values reliability and innovation, and the integration of AI agents points to a forward-thinking approach within a traditionally robust industry.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is classified as "Senior," indicating a level of expertise and autonomy. As a Senior Agentic UX Designer, you are expected to lead design initiatives, mentor junior designers, and influence product strategy. The "Agentic UX" specialization suggests this is a high-impact, forward-looking role within the company's innovation pipeline.

Reporting Structure: You will likely report to a UX Manager or Director, with direct collaboration across product management and engineering teams. This structure allows for both strategic input and hands-on execution.

Operations Impact: The work directly impacts the usability, efficiency, and trustworthiness of Daikin Applied's AI-powered solutions. Successful designs will enhance customer adoption, reduce operational errors, improve decision-making for users, and ultimately contribute to customer satisfaction and business growth in a competitive market.

Growth Opportunities:

• Operations Skill Advancement: Deepen expertise in the specialized field of Agentic UX, becoming a subject matter expert in human-AI interaction design. Opportunities to explore advanced AI concepts and their application in UX.

• Industry-Specific Learning: Gain in-depth knowledge of the HVAC industry and its operational challenges, understanding how technology and AI can solve real-world problems for commercial and industrial clients.

• Leadership Potential: Develop leadership skills by mentoring junior designers, leading design sprints, and influencing product roadmaps. Potential to move into lead or management roles within the UX team or product organizations.

• Cross-Functional Exposure: Work closely with diverse teams, expanding your understanding of product development lifecycles, engineering constraints, and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" level combined with the cutting-edge "Agentic UX" specialization suggests this role is pivotal for Daikin Applied's future product strategy. Growth opportunities are likely tied to becoming a go-to expert in this emerging field and contributing to the company's innovation roadmap.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid or Remote. This offers flexibility, allowing candidates to choose a work arrangement that best suits their needs, balancing in-office collaboration with remote work autonomy.

Office Location(s): Plymouth, MN. For those opting for hybrid work, the Plymouth office will serve as a primary location for team meetings, collaborative sessions, and in-person strategic discussions.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Expect a dynamic workspace that encourages cross-functional collaboration. The hybrid model means leveraging digital tools for seamless communication and teamwork, alongside in-person interactions.

• Operations Tools and Technology: Access to industry-standard design software (Figma, Sketch), prototyping tools, and potentially specialized AI development platforms or simulators. The company likely provides robust IT infrastructure to support remote and hybrid work.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for regular interaction with design peers, product managers, and engineers through scheduled meetings, design critiques, and informal check-ins, both virtually and in person.

Work Schedule: While the standard is 40 hours per week, the hybrid/remote nature of the role likely allows for some flexibility in daily scheduling, provided project deadlines and team collaboration needs are met. This is typical for senior design roles where focus time is critical.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid/remote flexibility is a significant perk. Candidates should be prepared to articulate how they maintain productivity and collaboration in such an environment, emphasizing self-management and effective use of communication tools.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or HR representative will likely conduct an initial phone screen to assess basic qualifications, interest, and cultural fit.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion with the hiring manager to delve deeper into your experience, approach to Agentic UX design, and understanding of the role's responsibilities.

• Portfolio Review & Design Challenge: This is a critical stage. You will present your portfolio, highlighting relevant case studies. A design challenge, possibly focused on an AI agent interaction scenario, may be given to assess your problem-solving skills, design process, and ability to articulate your thinking.

• Team Interviews: Interviews with cross-functional team members (e.g., product managers, engineers, fellow designers) to evaluate collaboration skills, technical understanding, and fit within the team dynamic.

• Final Interview: Potentially a meeting with a senior leader or executive to discuss strategic alignment and overall fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best demonstrate your experience with complex interfaces, user research, and ideally, any work involving intelligent systems or data-driven design.

• Focus on Agentic UX: If possible, include projects that touch upon AI, autonomy, or complex decision-making processes. Frame your contributions in terms of understanding user intent, managing complexity, and building trust.

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your specific role and contributions, the process (discovery, ideation, testing), key decisions made, and the impact/outcomes. Use visuals effectively.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improvements in task completion time, user satisfaction scores, reduction in errors).

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design choices, how you handled trade-offs, your collaboration style, and your understanding of AI ethics and user control.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: If given a design challenge, ensure you fully understand the problem statement, the target user, and the constraints. Ask clarifying questions.

• Think Aloud: Articulate your thought process clearly as you work through the challenge. Explain your assumptions, the methods you're considering, and the rationale behind your decisions.

• Focus on Process: Demonstrate a structured approach to problem-solving, even if you don't reach a fully polished solution within the allotted time.

• Consider AI Implications: For an Agentic UX challenge, think about how the AI agent's behavior, user control, transparency, and error handling would be designed.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "Agentic UX," "customer discovery," and "lean and agile methodologies" suggests the interview process will be rigorous and focused on practical application. Candidates should prepare to discuss their experience with AI concepts and their ability to translate them into user-friendly designs.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch (or equivalent industry-standard tools). Expertise in one is essential, familiarity with others is a plus.

• Design Systems: Experience in utilizing, contributing to, or creating design systems is crucial for maintaining consistency and efficiency across products.

• User Research & Testing Platforms: Familiarity with tools for conducting usability tests, user interviews, and surveys (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback, Qualtrics).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Analysis Tools: Ability to interpret data from analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Mixpanel) to understand user behavior and measure design impact.

• Dashboarding Tools: Experience with tools like Tableau, Power BI, or similar for visualizing data and presenting insights to stakeholders.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not a direct CRM role, understanding how UX designs integrate with CRM data (e.g., Salesforce) can be beneficial for context.

• Collaboration & Project Management: Tools like Jira, Confluence, Asana, or Trello for managing design tasks, tracking progress, and collaborating with engineering teams.

• Web Technologies: Understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to facilitate effective communication and collaboration with front-end developers.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and/or Sketch is a non-negotiable requirement. The role also implies a need to work with data, so familiarity with analytics interpretation is important. Understanding how UX designs integrate into the broader software development lifecycle, including agile workflows and potential CRM interactions, is also key.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer-Centricity: A deep-seated commitment to understanding and advocating for the user's needs, ensuring that designs solve real problems and provide genuine value.

• Innovation & Forward-Thinking: Embracing new technologies like AI agents and pushing the boundaries of user experience design to create cutting-edge solutions.

• Collaboration & Teamwork: Valuing diverse perspectives and working effectively within cross-functional teams to achieve shared goals. Open communication and constructive feedback are encouraged.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Relying on user research, analytics, and testing data to inform design choices and measure the effectiveness of solutions, rather than relying solely on intuition.

• Excellence & Quality: A dedication to producing high-quality, polished designs that are intuitive, reliable, and meet rigorous standards.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Proactively engaging with product management, engineering, and other stakeholders throughout the design lifecycle to ensure alignment and gather diverse input.

• Process Improvement Culture: Openness to refining and optimizing the UX design process itself, incorporating feedback and adopting best practices from lean and agile methodologies.

• Knowledge Sharing: A culture that encourages sharing insights, learnings, and best practices within the design team and across departments, fostering continuous learning and collective growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "Agentic UX" suggests a culture that is comfortable with ambiguity and rapid technological evolution. Expect a team that values experimentation, learning from failure, and adapting quickly to new challenges in the AI space.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for AI Ambiguity: Navigating the inherent complexities and potential unpredictability of AI agents, and designing interfaces that manage user expectations and build trust.

• Balancing Autonomy and Control: Determining the optimal level of AI autonomy versus human oversight in critical workflows to ensure safety, efficiency, and user confidence.

• Translating Complex Concepts: Effectively communicating intricate AI capabilities and their implications to users through intuitive and understandable design patterns.

• Rapid Technological Evolution: Keeping pace with advancements in AI and UX design methodologies, and continuously adapting skills and approaches.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Agentic UX Specialization: Deep dive into the principles and practices of designing for AI agents, potentially through workshops, courses, or internal knowledge sharing sessions.

• Industry Conferences & Certifications: Opportunities to attend relevant UX, AI, or industry-specific conferences (e.g., CHI, IA Summit, AI-focused events) and pursue certifications.

• Mentorship & Leadership: Benefit from mentorship from senior team members and gain leadership experience by guiding projects and potentially mentoring junior designers.

• Cross-Disciplinary Projects: Engage in projects that require deep collaboration with AI researchers and engineers, fostering a holistic understanding of AI product development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenge and growth opportunity lie in the pioneering nature of Agentic UX. Candidates who are proactive learners, comfortable with complex technical challenges, and adept at translating abstract concepts into tangible user experiences will thrive.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you designed an experience for a system with a degree of autonomy or intelligence. What were the key challenges, and how did you ensure user trust and control?"

• "How would you approach designing the interaction flow for an AI agent that needs to collaborate with a human user on a complex task, such as diagnosing an HVAC system issue?"

• "Walk me through your process for defining user journeys and task flows when designing for novel technology like AI agents. How do you ensure all potential user touchpoints and edge cases are considered?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your understanding of Daikin Applied and the HVAC industry, what are some key user pain points or opportunities where AI-driven UX could provide significant value?"

• "How do you typically collaborate with product managers and engineers on agile teams? Provide an example of a successful cross-functional collaboration."

• "How do you measure the success of your UX designs, particularly in the context of complex systems or AI applications? What metrics are most important to you?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Frame your case studies as narratives, highlighting the problem, your journey, and the resolution. Emphasize your thought process and decision-making.

• Focus on Relevance: For each case study, explicitly connect your work to the requirements of the Senior Agentic UX Designer role, especially regarding complex systems, user control, and intelligent interactions.

• Visual Clarity: Use high-quality visuals (wireframes, mockups, prototypes, journey maps) to support your presentation. Ensure they are clean and easy to understand.

• Interactive Elements: If possible, include interactive prototypes to demonstrate the user flow and interaction design.

• Address AI Concepts: Be prepared to discuss how your past work, even if not directly AI-related, demonstrates skills transferable to designing for AI agents (e.g., handling uncertainty, managing complex information, designing for user control).

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to articulate their understanding of Agentic UX principles and demonstrate how their existing design experience, even if not directly with AI agents, has equipped them with the necessary skills. The ability to think critically about AI ethics, user trust, and the human-AI partnership will be highly valued.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Agentic UX Designer position:

• Submit Your Application: Complete and submit your application through the provided Workday portal link.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight experience in complex UI design, user research, journey mapping, and ideally, any exposure to intelligent systems, data-driven design, or AI concepts. Showcase your proficiency with Figma or Sketch.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 5+ years of relevant experience, emphasizing achievements and quantifiable results where possible. Use keywords from the job description naturally.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, specifically how you approach discovery, user research, iterative design, and collaboration. Prepare to discuss your approach to designing for AI agents and user trust.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Daikin Applied's products, services, and their broader mission. Understand the HVAC industry and identify potential areas where Agentic UX can create significant value.

⚠️ 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.