Studio+ Experience Design Director, Manager - UX/UI, Human + AI Experiences

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Studio+ Experience Design Director, Manager - UX/UI, Human + AI Experiences

Company: EY

Location: Portland, OR; Philadelphia, PA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Experience Design / UX/UI / Consulting

Date Posted: March 17, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (7+ years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the strategic direction and execution of experience design across multiple client engagements, encompassing digital products, services, and user journeys.

• Manage and mentor a team of designers, fostering craft excellence, professional development, and consistent quality across projects.

• Drive client value by translating complex user needs, business objectives, and technical requirements into innovative, scalable, and impactful human-centered and AI-enabled experiences.

• Act as a trusted design leader, collaborating closely with consulting teams, clients, and cross-functional partners to shape deliverables, build compelling narratives, and influence strategic decisions.

• Ensure the integration of accessibility, ethical AI principles, and design system standards to deliver high-quality, consistent, and responsible user experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role sits within EY's "Studio+" practice, a specialized unit focused on delivering exceptional customer and business experiences through design, technology, and human-centered approaches. The emphasis on "Human + AI Experiences" signifies a forward-thinking approach to integrating artificial intelligence into user interfaces and service design, requiring a strong understanding of ethical considerations and user trust. The "Director, Manager" title suggests a blend of strategic leadership and hands-on team management.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Strategic Design Leadership: Define and oversee the end-to-end experience design process from discovery and concept development through to delivery, iteration, and performance measurement for client projects.

• Team Management & Development: Lead, coach, and mentor a team of experience designers, providing regular feedback, quality oversight, and support for their professional growth and skill development.

• Client & Stakeholder Partnership: Collaborate effectively with consulting and engagement leads to define client deliverables, identify opportunities, and articulate the business value and impact of experience design solutions.

• Solution Design & Translation: Guide design teams in translating user research, data insights, and business requirements into cohesive user journeys, interaction flows, prototypes, and well-crafted digital experiences.

• AI & Ethical Design Integration: Provide leadership and set clear standards for designing both human-centered and AI-enabled experiences, emphasizing trust, transparency, ethics, and responsible AI practices.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Align researchers, strategists, product leads, and engineers around problem framing, project priorities, and key decisions, facilitating progress through ambiguity.

• Workshop & Facilitation: Lead and facilitate client and internal workshops, design critiques, and working sessions to drive alignment, build momentum, and foster trust among participants.

• Design System & Standards Oversight: Oversee contributions to design systems, accessibility standards, and other shared best practices, ensuring quality, scalability, and consistency across design teams and engagements.

• Client Relationship & Account Growth: Act as a trusted design advisor to clients, upholding high standards of quality and professionalism, and contributing to the development of long-term client relationships and account growth.

• Methodology Adaptation: Set direction for digital product, service, and journey-based design work, adapting methodologies and outputs to suit specific client contexts, constraints, and timelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus on strategic client impact and internal team leadership. The emphasis on translating "complexity into clear, scalable, and high-impact experiences" and "connecting experience design to business value and client impact" indicates a need for a candidate who can not only design but also articulate and demonstrate the ROI of design initiatives. The inclusion of AI-enabled experiences suggests a requirement for forward-thinking design leaders comfortable with emerging technologies.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• Approximately 7+ years of progressive experience in experience design, UX/UI design, digital product design, or service design.

• Proven experience leading or managing design work across multiple teams or client engagements, demonstrating ability to guide and oversee design quality and delivery.

Required Skills:

• Experience Design Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead and direct design initiatives, balancing hands-on design contributions with strategic oversight and decision-making for teams.

• Problem Simplification: Proven ability to translate complex systems, services, and business challenges into clear, actionable experience strategies and user-centered solutions.

• Ambiguity Navigation: Comfort and proficiency in leading teams through ambiguous situations, adapting design approaches to diverse client environments, constraints, and timelines.

• Collaboration & Communication: Strong interpersonal skills essential for influencing senior stakeholders, clients, and cross-functional teams; ability to build rapport and foster trust.

• Presentation & Storytelling: Excellent presentation and storytelling capabilities to effectively communicate design rationale, influence decisions, and gain alignment through compelling narratives and clear articulation of design recommendations.

• Team Coaching & Mentorship: Ability to coach, mentor, and motivate designers with diverse strengths, experience levels, and working styles to foster team growth and high performance.

• Accessibility & Inclusive Design: Solid understanding and practical application of accessibility (WCAG) and inclusive design principles, with the ability to embed them into team standards and design practice.

Preferred Skills:

• Portfolio Ownership: Experience owning design direction and delivery across a broader portfolio of work, programs, or critical client journeys, rather than focusing on a single workstream.

• Strategic Framing: Ability to shape upstream strategy by identifying and framing experience opportunities, guiding problem definition, and clearly connecting design decisions to user needs, business value, and measurable outcomes.

• Consulting Experience: Experience leading, coaching, and developing designers within consulting, enterprise, or other complex stakeholder environments.

• Stakeholder Management: Proficiency in managing stakeholder alignment, navigating competing priorities, and managing resources across multidisciplinary and distributed teams.

• AI Design Familiarity: Familiarity with AI-enabled design tools and workflows, and experience guiding teams in designing experiences that effectively integrate both human users and intelligent systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The required experience level of 7+ years, coupled with the "Director, Manager" title, suggests a need for candidates who have moved beyond individual contributor roles and possess leadership capabilities. The emphasis on "simplifying complex systems" and "leading through ambiguity" are critical for a consulting environment. The inclusion of both "human-centered" and "AI-enabled" experiences highlights the evolving landscape of UX/UI design and the need for candidates to be adaptable and forward-thinking.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Case Studies Demonstrating Impact: A portfolio showcasing detailed case studies that illustrate significant contributions to client projects, highlighting the end-to-end design process from problem identification to solution implementation and measurable outcomes.

• Leadership & Team Impact: Examples demonstrating leadership in guiding design teams, mentoring junior designers, and fostering a collaborative and high-performing design environment.

• Strategic Thinking: Evidence of strategic thinking, including how design decisions were informed by user research, business goals, and technical constraints, and how these decisions drove desired business value.

• Process Innovation: Showcase of how you adapted or innovated design processes to meet specific project needs, overcome challenges, or improve efficiency and quality.

• AI & Complex Systems: Examples of designing for complex systems or integrating AI-driven features, demonstrating an understanding of user trust, ethics, and transparency in these contexts.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Ability to document and articulate clear, scalable design workflows, including user research methodologies, ideation techniques, prototyping strategies, and user testing protocols.

• System Integration & Scalability: Documentation of how design solutions integrate with broader technology stacks and business systems, with considerations for scalability, maintainability, and future iteration.

• Performance Measurement & Iteration: Examples of how design outcomes were measured post-launch (e.g., user engagement, conversion rates, satisfaction scores) and how these insights informed subsequent design iterations.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role at this level, particularly within a consulting firm like EY, a portfolio is crucial. It needs to go beyond just showcasing final designs; it must demonstrate strategic thinking, leadership, process management, and the ability to drive tangible business results. The emphasis on AI and complex systems suggests that case studies involving these areas will be highly valued.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• National US Range: $128,400 to $235,300 annually.

• Higher Cost of Living Areas (NYC Metro, CA, WA): $154,000 to $267,400 annually.

• Determination Factors: Actual salary within these ranges will be determined by a combination of factors including education, experience, knowledge, skills, and geographic location.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health: Medical and dental coverage provided.

• Retirement Planning: Access to pension and 401(k) plans.

• Work-Life Balance: A wide range of paid time off options, including flexible vacation policy, designated EY Paid Holidays, Winter/Summer breaks, and Personal/Family Care leave.

Working Hours:

• Hybrid Model: Expectation for most client-serving roles to work in person 40-60% of the time over the course of an engagement, project, or year.

• Standard: While specific hours aren't detailed, a typical full-time role in consulting often involves approximately 40 hours per week, with potential for extended hours depending on project demands.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary ranges are competitive for a Director/Manager level UX/UI role in a major consulting firm. The differentiation for higher cost of living areas is standard practice. The benefits package is comprehensive, emphasizing health, retirement, and work-life balance, which are key considerations for senior-level professionals. The mention of a flexible vacation policy is also a significant perk.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Professional Services / Consulting / Technology Services

Company Size: EY is a global leader with a vast network of over 400,000 professionals across 150+ countries, indicating a large-scale, matrixed organizational structure. Studio+ specifically comprises 7,000 design, marketing, sales, service, and technology professionals.

Founded: Ernst & Young was founded in 1989 through the merger of Ernst & Whinney and Arthur Young, with a history rooted in accounting and professional services dating back much further.

Team Structure:

• Studio+ Focus: The Studio+ team is a specialized unit within EY Consulting, dedicated to delivering exceptional customer and business experiences. It operates as a multidisciplinary group, bringing together diverse expertise in design, marketing, sales, service, and technology.

• Reporting: As an Experience Design Director, Manager, you would likely report to a senior leader within the Studio+ or EY Consulting practice, potentially a Senior Manager, Director, or Partner. You will be responsible for leading and developing a team of designers.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: This role inherently requires extensive collaboration with other EY consulting service lines (e.g., strategy, technology, operations), engagement managers, and client teams. The hybrid model emphasizes in-person collaboration for project sprints and client engagements.

Methodology:

• Human-Centered Design: Studio+ strongly emphasizes a human-centered design approach, focusing on understanding user needs, behaviors, and motivations to create impactful solutions.

• AI Integration: The team is actively exploring and implementing AI-enabled experiences, requiring a methodology that balances innovation with ethical considerations, trust, and transparency.

• Data-Driven Insights: Leveraging data, research, and analytics to inform design decisions, measure impact, and drive continuous improvement is a core aspect of EY's consulting approach.

• Agile & Iterative: While not explicitly stated, consulting environments often adopt agile and iterative methodologies to deliver value incrementally and adapt to evolving client needs.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: EY's scale and global presence offer significant opportunities for diverse project work and international collaboration. The Studio+ initiative positions the company as a forward-thinking player in the experience economy, emphasizing design thinking and digital transformation. Understanding EY's core values of integrity, respect, and teamwork will be crucial for cultural fit.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a mid-to-senior management level within the experience design and consulting domain. It requires a blend of deep design expertise, leadership acumen, and client-facing consulting skills. It's a stepping stone towards more senior leadership roles within Studio+ and EY Consulting.

Reporting Structure: The Experience Design Director, Manager will report to a higher-level leader within EY Consulting or Studio+, likely a Senior Manager, Director, or Partner. They will, in turn, manage and mentor a team of experience designers. This structure facilitates both strategic direction from above and team development from below.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is substantial, directly influencing the success of client engagements by shaping digital products, services, and customer journeys. By focusing on exceptional experiences, the role contributes to client loyalty, business growth, and brand reputation. The integration of AI and advanced technologies further amplifies this impact, positioning clients for future success.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Advancement: Progression to Senior Director, Partner, or other senior leadership roles within EY Consulting or Studio+, with increased responsibility for business development, account management, and practice leadership.

• Specialization Development: Opportunity to deepen expertise in specific areas such as AI-driven design, service design, global design strategy, or leading large-scale digital transformation initiatives.

• Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Exposure to a wide range of EY's service lines (e.g., strategy, technology, operations, tax) provides opportunities to develop a more holistic understanding of business challenges and solutions.

• Mentorship & Training: Access to EY's extensive learning and development programs, mentorship opportunities, and global network for continuous skill enhancement and career growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear career path within a large, established professional services firm. The emphasis on client impact and leadership development means that successful candidates can expect significant opportunities for advancement and skill expansion, particularly in the burgeoning field of AI-integrated user experiences.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This role is based in a hybrid work environment. While specific office details are not provided, EY typically operates modern, professional office spaces designed to foster collaboration and client meetings. These are likely open-plan environments with dedicated meeting rooms and flexible workspaces.

Office Location(s): The role is available in multiple major US cities: Portland (OR), Philadelphia (PA), Chicago (IL), Los Angeles (CA), and New York (NY). This offers geographical flexibility for candidates.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hubs: EY offices are designed to encourage interaction, with common areas, project rooms, and flexible seating arrangements supporting team-based work and knowledge sharing.

• Technology-Enabled: Expect access to robust IT infrastructure, high-speed internet, and the necessary tools and software for design, collaboration, and communication, supporting both in-office and remote team members.

• Client-Centric: The workspace will support client meetings, workshops, and presentations, reflecting EY's client-facing nature.

Work Schedule: The role operates under a hybrid model, with an expectation for 40-60% in-office presence for client-serving roles. This allows for a balance between focused individual work and collaborative team activities, with flexibility for personal needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature of the work environment is a key aspect for candidates to consider, requiring adaptability and strong self-management skills. The multiple office locations provide significant flexibility in choosing a base city.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio by a recruiter to assess basic qualifications and fit.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion with the hiring manager to delve deeper into your experience, leadership style, and approach to design challenges. This is where your portfolio will be a key discussion point.

• Team/Peer Interviews: Interviews with other designers, consultants, or potential team members to evaluate collaboration skills, technical expertise, and cultural fit.

• Case Study/Presentation: You may be asked to present a portfolio case study or complete a design exercise to demonstrate your problem-solving skills, strategic thinking, and ability to articulate design rationale.

• Senior Leadership Interview: A final interview with a senior leader (e.g., Partner) to assess strategic alignment, business acumen, and long-term potential within EY.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Impact: Select 3-5 of your strongest projects that best represent your leadership experience, strategic thinking, and ability to drive results in complex environments. Prioritize projects that show your impact on business outcomes.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed (discovery, ideation, design, testing, implementation), the challenges you faced, and the measurable outcomes achieved.

• Highlight Leadership: Specifically call out instances where you led teams, mentored designers, influenced stakeholders, or managed project delivery.

• Showcase AI/Complex Systems: If you have relevant experience, prominently feature projects involving AI, complex data, or intricate systems to align with the role's focus.

• Be Prepared to Discuss: Be ready to walk through your portfolio with confidence, answer detailed questions about your decisions, and articulate the "why" behind your design choices.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand EY's Context: Research EY's consulting services, Studio+ offerings, and recent work. Understand their client base and the types of challenges they solve.

• Practice Articulation: Prepare to clearly articulate your design philosophy, your approach to leading teams, and how you measure design success.

• Scenario-Based Questions: Anticipate questions about how you would handle specific team dynamics, client objections, or project roadblocks. Focus on your problem-solving and leadership approach.

• AI Ethics: Be ready to discuss your perspective on ethical AI design, user trust, and responsible innovation in user experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a Director-level role in consulting is rigorous. A strong, well-articulated portfolio that demonstrates leadership and business impact is paramount. Candidates should prepare to discuss strategic thinking, stakeholder management, and their approach to leading design teams in complex, client-facing scenarios.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping Software: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, XD), InVision, Axure RP. Proficiency in at least one major design tool is essential, with experience in collaborative platforms like Figma being highly advantageous.

• User Research Platforms: Tools for conducting user interviews, usability testing, and surveys (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze).

• Design System Management: Experience with or contribution to design systems, potentially using tools like Zeroheight or Storybook.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics for understanding user behavior and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs).

• Data Visualization: Tableau, Power BI, or similar tools to create dashboards and reports that communicate design impact and user insights.

• A/B Testing Tools: Optimizely, VWO, or similar for testing design variations and optimizing user flows.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not primary for a UX/UI role, familiarity with how CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) interact with user interfaces can be beneficial for understanding business context.

• Project Management: Jira, Asana, Trello, Monday.com for managing design tasks, workflows, and team collaboration.

• Collaboration & Communication: Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoom for daily communication and virtual meetings.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the core requirement is design expertise, familiarity with the broader technology stack that supports digital products and client engagements is expected. This includes tools for analytics, project management, and communication, reflecting the integrated nature of consulting work.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Integrity: Upholding the highest ethical standards in all interactions with clients, colleagues, and in the design of experiences.

• Respect: Valuing diverse perspectives, fostering an inclusive environment, and treating all individuals with dignity.

• Collaboration: Working effectively across multidisciplinary teams and with clients to achieve shared goals, emphasizing teamwork and collective problem-solving.

• Excellence: Striving for the highest quality in all deliverables, pushing creative boundaries, and continuously seeking opportunities for improvement and innovation.

• Empathy: Deeply understanding user needs and perspectives to design solutions that are truly helpful, usable, and desirable.

Collaboration Style:

• Team-Led & Leader-Enabled: EY promotes a collaborative environment where teams are empowered, and leaders provide guidance and support. This involves open communication, shared ownership, and mutual accountability.

• Cross-Functional Integration: Expect close collaboration with consultants from various disciplines (strategy, technology, operations, etc.), requiring clear communication and a shared understanding of project objectives.

• Client-Centric Partnership: The approach involves working closely with clients as partners, building trust through transparency, active listening, and delivering tangible value.

• Feedback Culture: A culture that encourages constructive feedback, design critiques, and continuous learning to refine processes and elevate the quality of work.

📝 Enhancement Note: EY's stated values (integrity, respect, teaming, energy, courage, and ideas) are foundational. For this role, the emphasis on "teaming" and "ideas" (innovation) will be particularly relevant. The "Human + AI Experiences" focus also suggests a value placed on responsible innovation and forward-thinking.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Client Complexity: Managing diverse client expectations, varying levels of design maturity, and complex business/technical landscapes.

• Balancing Design Craft with Delivery: Ensuring high-quality design execution while meeting demanding project timelines and consulting engagement constraints.

• Leading Through Ambiguity: Guiding design teams and clients through uncertain project phases, defining problems, and charting a clear path forward.

• Integrating AI Responsibly: Developing frameworks and best practices for designing AI-enabled experiences that are ethical, trustworthy, and user-centric, avoiding potential pitfalls of AI.

• Managing Distributed Teams: Effectively leading and motivating hybrid or remote design teams across different geographies and time zones.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Methodologies: Access to training and workshops on cutting-edge design techniques, including AI-driven design, ethical AI, service design, and advanced UX research.

• Leadership & Consulting Skills: Development programs focused on client management, business development, strategic thinking, and advanced leadership capabilities.

• Industry Exposure: Opportunities to work across a wide range of industries, gaining deep insights into different business models and user contexts.

• Global Network & Knowledge Sharing: Engaging with EY's global network of design professionals to share best practices, learn from peers, and contribute to the collective knowledge base.

• Certifications & Formal Training: Support for obtaining relevant professional certifications or participating in specialized training programs.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant opportunities for professional growth by tackling complex challenges inherent in consulting work and leveraging EY's extensive development resources. The rapidly evolving field of AI in design offers a particularly exciting area for specialization and leadership.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you led a design team through a complex, ambiguous project. How did you provide direction and ensure successful delivery?" (Focus on your leadership, problem-framing, and process adaptation.)

• "How do you balance the need for strategic design thinking with the practical demands of client timelines and deliverables in a consulting environment?" (Highlight your ability to manage scope, prioritize, and communicate trade-offs.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about EY and specifically the Studio+ practice?" (Research EY's mission, values, and Studio+'s focus on human + AI experiences.)

• "How do you approach building trust and fostering collaboration within a multidisciplinary, potentially distributed team?" (Align your response with EY's emphasis on teaming and collaboration.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: For your chosen case study, follow a clear narrative: Problem/Opportunity -> Your Role & Responsibilities -> Process & Methodology -> Key Decisions & Challenges -> Solution & Outcomes (quantified where possible) -> Learnings.

• Focus on Leadership: Explicitly highlight instances where you led, mentored, or influenced others.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use metrics (e.g., increased engagement by X%, reduced task completion time by Y%, improved customer satisfaction scores) to demonstrate the business value of your design work.

• Visual Clarity: Ensure your presentation visuals are clean, professional, and effectively communicate the design solutions and process.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about specific design choices, user research findings, or trade-offs made during the project.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating not just design skills, but also leadership, strategic thinking, and the ability to thrive in a client-facing consulting role. Articulating your process and impact clearly and confidently through case studies will be critical.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the EY careers portal via the provided URL.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects demonstrating leadership in experience design, experience with complex systems (especially AI-related), and a clear impact on business outcomes. Select 3-5 strong case studies that align with the role's requirements.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to emphasize leadership experience, client-facing consulting skills, and proficiency in human-centered and AI-enabled design principles. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Practice: Prepare to discuss your portfolio in detail, articulate your design philosophy, and practice answering strategy and behavioral questions related to leadership, collaboration, and problem-solving in consulting.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research EY, its Studio+ practice, and its approach to human + AI experiences. Understand their values and recent work to demonstrate genuine interest and cultural alignment.

⚠️ 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.

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