Senior UX Designer Kiro CLI, Kiro

Amazon
Full-time$138k-186k/year (USD)Seattle, United States

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX Designer Kiro CLI, Kiro

Company: Amazon

Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: UX Design / Product Design

Date Posted: June 10, 2026

Experience Level: 7+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

  • Lead the end-to-end user experience (UX) design process for Kiro, a suite of products enabling agentic AI development, focusing on complex workflows and user-centered solutions.

  • Champion customer obsession by translating abstract concepts into tangible design deliverables, including detailed interaction models, user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes.

  • Drive product strategy and influence decision-making through robust design rationale, customer advocacy, and compelling data analysis.

  • Foster a collaborative environment by partnering effectively with product management, engineering teams, and senior leadership to ensure successful product delivery and adoption.

  • Contribute to the growth of the UX team by mentoring junior designers and establishing scalable design patterns that enhance consistency and quality across multiple products.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within AWS and focuses on "agentic AI development," indicating a need for deep understanding of complex technical workflows and potentially a developer-centric audience. The "Senior" title implies a leadership component, including mentorship and strategic influence.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

  • Own and drive the complete UX design lifecycle for key features and product areas within the Kiro platform, ensuring a cohesive and intuitive user experience.

  • Conduct comprehensive customer research, analyze usage data, and perform iterative testing to validate and refine design solutions, ensuring they meet evolving user needs.

  • Create detailed documentation, including interaction models, user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes, that clearly communicate design intent to stakeholders and development teams.

  • Collaborate closely with Product Management and Engineering teams to translate design concepts into technically feasible and high-quality product implementations, ensuring alignment with project goals.

  • Act as a strong customer advocate, using design expertise to influence product strategy and inform early strategic decision-making, thereby maximizing customer impact.

  • Mentor and guide junior UX designers, fostering their professional development and contributing to the overall design maturity and talent within the team.

  • Define, document, and maintain a library of scalable design patterns and best practices that can be applied consistently across the Kiro product suite and potentially other AWS offerings.

  • Balance the needs of end-users with technical constraints and business objectives, maintaining a high standard of design excellence throughout the development process.

  • Effectively present design work, rationale, and insights to senior stakeholders, actively incorporating feedback to drive consensus and refine design outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a need for end-to-end ownership, strong collaboration, and strategic influence, typical of senior-level operations and product design roles within large tech organizations. The emphasis on "complex workflows" and "agentic AI development" suggests a technical depth requirement.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Graphic Design, or a related field is typically expected for senior UX roles.

Experience: A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in User Experience (UX) design, with a proven track record of designing complex, end-to-end user-centered solutions.

Required Skills:

  • Demonstrated expertise in UX design, with a strong portfolio showcasing user-centered design solutions and patterns across desktop and mobile platforms.

  • Proven experience in designing and delivering complex user workflows, demonstrating an ability to map intricate processes intuitively.

  • Proficiency in creating detailed interaction models, user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes to articulate design concepts.

  • Solid understanding of information architecture best practices, ensuring logical organization and navigation of product features.

  • Experience with user research methodologies and data analysis to inform design decisions and validate solutions.

  • Familiarity with AI/ML technologies and their application in user interfaces.

  • Ability to present work effectively to senior stakeholders and incorporate feedback constructively.

  • Experience with cross-functional collaboration, working closely with product managers and engineers. Preferred Skills:

  • Experience designing products and tools specifically for developers, understanding their unique needs and workflows.

  • Experience working with stakeholders to plan and execute programs that are strategic in nature, demonstrating program management capabilities.

  • Familiarity with design systems and their application in maintaining consistency and scalability.

  • Experience in cloud computing environments, particularly within AWS.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Basic Qualifications" directly list 7+ years of design experience and experience with UX design of complex workflows, along with a portfolio requirement. The "Preferred Qualifications" specifically call out designing for developers and strategic program execution, which are key differentiators for this role.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

  • Showcase at least 2-3 detailed case studies that demonstrate your ability to tackle complex UX challenges, particularly those involving intricate workflows or technical domains.

  • Each case study should clearly outline the problem statement, your role and responsibilities, the design process followed (research, ideation, prototyping, testing), key design decisions, and the final outcomes.

  • Highlight your experience with user-centered design methodologies, emphasizing how you incorporated user research and data analysis to drive your design solutions.

  • Include examples of information architecture, user flows, and interaction models that showcase your ability to structure complex information and guide users through multi-step processes.

  • Demonstrate your proficiency in creating high-fidelity prototypes and visually polished UI designs. Process Documentation:

  • Prepare to discuss your approach to defining and documenting design patterns that can scale across multiple products, showcasing an understanding of design systems and their implementation.

  • Be ready to articulate how you balance customer needs with technical constraints and business objectives, providing specific examples of trade-offs made and their justifications.

  • Have examples of how you have validated design solutions through customer research, data analysis, and iterative testing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for a portfolio with "end-to-end, user-centered design solutions and patterns" and "UX design of complex workflows" is critical. Candidates should prepare case studies that explicitly detail their process, decision-making, and impact, especially in technical or developer-focused contexts.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The base salary range for this position in Seattle, WA is $137,800 - $186,400 USD annually.

Benefits:

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

  • Prescription drug coverage.

  • Basic Life & Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, with options for supplemental life plans.

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

  • Medical Advice Line to assist with healthcare queries.

  • Flexible Spending Accounts for healthcare and dependent care.

  • Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage.

  • 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching.

  • Paid Time Off (PTO) for vacation, sick leave, and holidays.

  • Generous Parental Leave benefits.

  • Additional compensation components include sign-on payments and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week. While specific flexibility is not detailed, Amazon's culture often supports efficient work practices that can accommodate focused deep work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range ($137,800 - $186,400 USD annually) is specific to Seattle, WA. This is a competitive range for a Senior UX Designer role at a major tech company. The extensive benefits package, including sign-on bonuses and RSUs, is typical for this level and company.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: E-commerce, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Consumer Electronics, Digital Streaming, and more. Amazon operates across a vast spectrum of industries, with this specific role falling under the AWS (Amazon Web Services) umbrella, focusing on developer tools and AI.

Company Size: Amazon is a massive global corporation with over 1.5 million employees worldwide (as of early 2024), placing this role within an organization of immense scale and complexity.

Founded: Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. The company's history is marked by relentless innovation, customer obsession, and a drive to expand into new markets and technologies.

Team Structure:

  • The UX team is part of the AWS Agentic organization, supporting the Kiro product suite.

  • This team comprises experienced designers and researchers dedicated to creating exceptional developer experiences.

  • It operates within a dynamic, growing environment that emphasizes mutual development and collaboration.

  • Designers typically work in cross-functional pods alongside Product Managers and Engineers, contributing to specific product areas or features. Methodology:

  • Customer Obsession: A core Amazon leadership principle, driving all product and design decisions.

  • Data-Driven Decisions: Utilizing metrics, A/B testing, and user research to inform strategy and product development.

  • Iterative Design: Employing agile methodologies to rapidly prototype, test, and refine solutions.

  • Scale and Automation: Designing for massive scale and leveraging automation where possible to improve efficiency and user experience.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Amazon's culture is heavily influenced by its Leadership Principles. For this role, "Customer Obsession," "Invent and Simplify," "Dive Deep," and "Bias for Action" are particularly relevant. The AWS context implies a focus on enterprise-grade solutions and developer tools.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior UX Designer role, indicating a mid-to-senior career stage. It requires significant autonomy, the ability to lead design initiatives for complex product areas, and influence product strategy. The role also involves mentoring junior team members, suggesting potential for leadership growth.

Reporting Structure: The Senior UX Designer will report to a UX Manager or Lead within the AWS Agentic organization. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads within their cross-functional team.

Operations Impact: The work directly impacts the developer experience for users building agentic AI solutions on AWS. Successful UX design will lead to increased adoption of Kiro, improved developer productivity, and ultimately, greater success for customers leveraging AWS for AI development.

Growth Opportunities:

  • Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing for AI/ML, agentic systems, and developer tools, becoming a subject matter expert within AWS.

  • Leadership Development: Progress into a Principal UX Designer role, leading larger initiatives, or transition into UX Management by taking on more direct reports and team leadership responsibilities.

  • Cross-Functional Mobility: Opportunities to move between different AWS product teams or explore design roles in other Amazon business units.

  • Mentorship and Training: Access to Amazon's extensive internal training resources, mentorship programs, and potentially external conferences to enhance design skills and industry knowledge.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" designation suggests that candidates should be prepared to discuss leadership in design, mentorship, and strategic contributions beyond individual design execution. Growth within Amazon is often tied to demonstrating impact and leadership, with clear pathways to Principal or Management roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is an on-site role, implying a traditional office environment with dedicated workspaces. Amazon offices are typically modern and equipped with collaborative spaces.

Office Location(s): Seattle, Washington. Amazon has a significant presence in Seattle, with multiple office campuses offering various amenities and services.

Workspace Context:

  • Collaborative Spaces: The office will likely feature meeting rooms, huddle spaces, and common areas designed to facilitate teamwork and brainstorming sessions with product and engineering counterparts.

  • Tools and Technology: Access to standard office equipment, high-speed internet, and potentially specialized hardware or software relevant to UX design and AI development.

  • Team Interaction: Opportunities for daily interaction with team members, fostering a sense of camaraderie and enabling swift communication and problem-solving. The culture encourages spontaneous collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Work Schedule: While the standard work week is typically 40 hours, Amazon often promotes a results-oriented work environment where employees are empowered to manage their time effectively to meet project deadlines and deliver high-quality work. Flexibility may be available, but core hours are generally expected for team collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: As an on-site role in Seattle, candidates should consider the commute and the general work environment of a large tech campus. The emphasis on collaboration suggests an expectation of active participation in team meetings and discussions.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

  • Initial Screening: A recruiter will likely review your application and resume, focusing on experience relevant to UX design, complex workflows, and AI/ML.

  • Portfolio Review: You will be asked to present your portfolio, showcasing 2-3 detailed case studies. Be prepared to walk through your process, design decisions, and the impact of your work. Expect questions about your role in each project, challenges faced, and how you collaborated with teams.

  • Technical/Design Interviews: Expect interviews with other UX designers and potentially Product Managers. These will involve deep dives into your design thinking, problem-solving skills, and understanding of UX principles. You might be asked to critique existing designs or solve a hypothetical design problem.

  • Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with Engineering and Product Management leads will assess your ability to collaborate effectively, understand technical constraints, and communicate your design vision.

  • Leadership Principles Interview: A significant portion of the interview process will assess your alignment with Amazon's Leadership Principles. Prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for each relevant principle.

  • Final Round/Hiring Manager Interview: This interview typically focuses on overall fit, career aspirations, and strategic thinking.

Portfolio Review Tips:

  • Focus on Impact: Clearly articulate the business and customer impact of your design solutions. Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time, increased user satisfaction scores).

  • Showcase Process: Detail your design process for each case study, highlighting research methodologies, ideation techniques, and user testing strategies. Explain why you made certain decisions.

  • Highlight Collaboration: Describe how you worked with cross-functional teams (PM, Engineering) and how you incorporated their feedback.

  • Address Complexity: For this role, emphasize projects involving complex workflows, technical domains, or developer tools.

  • Be Concise and Clear: Present your work in a structured, easy-to-follow manner. Aim for clarity over quantity.

Challenge Preparation:

  • Design Exercise: You may be given a design challenge to complete within a set timeframe. Focus on understanding the problem deeply, defining user needs, and outlining a clear, logical solution with supporting rationale.

  • Leadership Principles: Prepare STAR-method stories for key Amazon Leadership Principles, especially Customer Obsession, Invent and Simplify, Dive Deep, and Bias for Action.

📝 Enhancement Note: Amazon's interview process is rigorous and heavily focused on Leadership Principles. Candidates must prepare thoroughly, with a strong emphasis on demonstrating their design process, ability to handle complexity, and alignment with Amazon's culture.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

  • Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator), InVision, Axure RP (or similar for complex workflow prototyping).

  • User Research Tools: UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey.

  • Collaboration & Project Management: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Trello.

Analytics & Reporting:

  • Data Analysis: SQL (for querying databases), Tableau, Looker, Amazon QuickSight.

  • A/B Testing Tools: Optimizely, internal Amazon A/B testing platforms.

CRM & Automation:

  • While not directly a CRM role, understanding how user data is managed and flows through systems is beneficial. Familiarity with how design tools integrate with development pipelines is also key.

  • Version Control: Git (understanding its role in code deployment and how design assets might be managed).

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools like Figma or Sketch is essential. Experience with data analysis tools (SQL, Tableau, QuickSight) and project management software (Jira, Confluence) is highly advantageous for a senior role involving data-driven design decisions and cross-functional collaboration within AWS.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

  • Customer Obsession: This is paramount. All design decisions should stem from a deep understanding of customer needs and a desire to solve their problems effectively.

  • Invent and Simplify: Drive innovation by finding elegant and straightforward solutions to complex problems, aiming for simplicity in design.

  • Dive Deep: Thoroughly analyze problems, understand underlying issues, and make decisions based on comprehensive data and insights rather than superficial understanding.

  • Bias for Action: Act decisively and with a sense of urgency, understanding that speed and iteration are critical in a fast-paced environment.

  • Ownership: Take responsibility for outcomes, demonstrating accountability for projects from conception to delivery.

Collaboration Style:

  • Cross-Functional Integration: Expect to work very closely with Product Management and Engineering on a daily basis. Design is seen as an integral part of the product development process, not an afterthought.

  • Data-Informed Discourse: Discussions are often backed by data, user research findings, and logical arguments. Healthy debate is encouraged to arrive at the best solutions.

  • Feedback Culture: Openness to giving and receiving constructive feedback is crucial for continuous improvement and maintaining a high bar for design quality.

  • Knowledge Sharing: The team values sharing best practices, insights, and learnings to elevate the collective expertise within the UX organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: Amazon's Leadership Principles are deeply ingrained in its culture. Candidates must demonstrate these values through their work and interview responses. The emphasis on data and collaboration means that effective communication and a willingness to engage in rigorous discussion are key.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

  • Designing for AI/Agentic Systems: This is a cutting-edge field. Understanding the nuances of agentic AI development and translating these complex concepts into intuitive user experiences will be a primary challenge.

  • Balancing Innovation with Scalability: Creating novel solutions while ensuring they are robust, scalable, and maintainable within a large enterprise cloud environment like AWS.

  • Influencing Senior Stakeholders: Effectively communicating design vision and rationale to diverse senior leadership to gain buy-in and secure resources for design initiatives.

  • Navigating Ambiguity: Working in a rapidly evolving technological landscape where requirements may be fluid, requiring adaptability and strong problem-solving skills.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

  • Deep Dive into AI/ML: Gain unparalleled experience in designing for advanced AI technologies and agentic systems, becoming a leader in this domain.

  • Scale and Impact: Work on products used by a massive global customer base, offering the satisfaction of seeing your designs have a significant impact.

  • Mentorship Programs: Benefit from Amazon's structured mentorship opportunities, both as a mentee and potentially as a mentor to junior designers.

  • Continuous Learning: Access to a wealth of internal training resources, workshops, and opportunities to attend industry conferences related to UX, AI, and cloud technology.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to working at the forefront of AI and cloud technology within a company of Amazon's scale. Embracing these challenges as learning opportunities is key to growth in this role.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

  • "Describe a time you had to design a complex workflow for a technical audience. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on process, user research, and impact.)

  • "How do you balance customer needs with technical constraints and business objectives? Provide an example." (Highlighting your problem-solving and decision-making process.)

  • "Walk me through your process for influencing product strategy with design insights. What data or research did you use?" (Demonstrate strategic thinking and advocacy.)

  • "How do you define and advocate for a design system or scalable design patterns? What are the benefits?" (Showcase understanding of consistency and efficiency.) Company & Culture Questions:

  • "How have you demonstrated Customer Obsession in your previous UX roles?" (Prepare a specific STAR example.)

  • "Tell me about a time you had to 'Invent and Simplify' to solve a complex problem." (Focus on innovation and elegant solutions.)

  • "Describe a situation where you had to 'Dive Deep' to understand a problem before proposing a solution." (Highlight analytical skills.)

  • "How do you handle ambiguity and make decisions with incomplete information?" (Assess adaptability and bias for action.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

  • Structure: Begin with the challenge, then your role, followed by your process (research, ideation, solutions), key decisions, and finally, the impact/results.

  • Storytelling: Weave a narrative around each case study, emphasizing the user's journey and how your design addressed their pain points.

  • Visuals: Use clear, high-quality visuals of your wireframes, user flows, prototypes, and final UI. Annotate key elements to explain your thinking.

  • Interaction: Be prepared for questions throughout your presentation and engage in a dialogue, rather than just delivering a monologue.

📝 Enhancement Note: Amazon interviews are behavioral and competency-based. Prepare specific, quantifiable examples using the STAR method for each relevant Amazon Leadership Principle. Your portfolio should be a visual aid to support your narrative about your process and impact.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UX Designer position:

  • Submit your application through the Amazon Jobs portal, ensuring your resume highlights your 7+ years of experience, complex workflow design, and any AI/ML or developer tool experience.

  • Customize Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best represent your ability to design complex, user-centered solutions, particularly for technical audiences or developer tools. Ensure these demonstrate your end-to-end process and quantifiable impact.

  • Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to include keywords such as "UX Design," "Interaction Design," "Wireframing," "Prototyping," "User Research," "Information Architecture," "AI/ML," and "Developer Experience." Quantify achievements wherever possible.

  • Prepare for Leadership Principles: Develop detailed STAR method stories for key Amazon Leadership Principles (Customer Obsession, Invent and Simplify, Dive Deep, Bias for Action, Ownership, etc.) that are relevant to your UX design experience.

  • Research Kiro and AWS: Familiarize yourself with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the concept of "agentic AI development." Understand the potential user base and the types of problems Kiro aims to solve. This will allow you to tailor your portfolio presentation and interview responses.

⚠️ 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.

Application Requirements

Requires over 7 years of design experience with a strong portfolio demonstrating user-centered solutions for complex workflows. Experience with AI/ML technologies and designing tools for developers is highly preferred.