Director-UX Researcher

At American Express, UX Research shapes experiences grounded in deep customer understanding. As artificial intelligence transforms how people discover, decide, and take action, we are advancing our research capabilities to understand the evolving relationships between people and intelligent systems.
We are seeking a Principal UX Researcher who combines exceptional qualitative research expertise, strategic thinking, and methodological innovation to shape how American Express understands, designs, and evaluates AI-powered and agentic experiences. As a senior individual contributor, this person will lead complex research initiatives, influence consequential product and experience decisions, and advance research practices and capabilities across the organization.
The ideal candidate is an accomplished strategic researcher with deep mastery of generative and exploratory qualitative research, exceptional synthesis and storytelling skills, and demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders. They bring intellectual curiosity, original thinking, and the judgment to navigate complex, ambiguous research challenges. They will elevate research excellence across teams through thought leadership, mentorship, and the development of innovative methods and frameworks that advance the practice.
10+ years of UX research or applied research experience, with a substantial track record leading complex, strategically significant generative research programs.
Recognized expertise in qualitative research, including advanced interviewing, contextual inquiry, research design, and interpretive synthesis, with demonstrated ability to develop original insights and conceptual frameworks.
Demonstrated experience researching AI-powered, conversational, adaptive, or similarly complex emerging technologies, with a strong understanding of the methodological challenges associated with intelligent systems.
Proven ability to develop or substantially advance research methodologies, evaluation frameworks, or approaches that have influenced research practice beyond individual projects.
Exceptional strategic judgment and demonstrated ability to influence director-, VP-, or executive-level stakeholders through compelling evidence, original thinking, and sophisticated storytelling.
Experience providing research thought leadership across teams or complex programs, including guiding research direction, advising on methodological decisions, mentoring researchers, and elevating research standards.
Strong quantitative literacy and ability to integrate qualitative research, behavioral analytics, survey data, customer feedback, and other evidence into strategically meaningful insights.
Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity, challenge established assumptions, and connect customer understanding with business strategy, emerging technologies, and experience opportunities.
Preferred Qualifications
Direct experience researching generative AI, LLM-based experiences, autonomous agents, or human-AI collaboration.
Experience evaluating trust, delegation, comprehension, customer control, and error recovery in AI-powered experiences.
Experience developing reusable research methods or evaluation frameworks adopted across multiple product teams.
Experience in financial services or other complex, highly regulated environments.
Skills
Strategic UX Research & Experience Strategy
Expert Generative & Exploratory Qualitative Research
Research Strategy & Intellectual Leadership
Advanced Research Methodology & Innovation
Human-AI Interaction & Agentic Experience Research
AI Experience Evaluation & Measurement
Advanced Research Synthesis & Evidence Triangulation
Customer Mental Models & Behavioral Research
Conceptual Framework Development & Strategic Insight
Executive Influence & Strategic Storytelling
Research Craft Leadership & Mentorship
Enterprise Research Capability Development
Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.
Shape AI experience strategy: Provide research leadership for complex, high-impact AI initiatives, independently framing critical customer questions and establishing forward-looking research agendas. Partner with senior Product, Design, Engineering, and business leaders to identify emerging opportunities, challenge assumptions, and influence experience strategy and investment decisions.
Deliver exceptional generative and exploratory research: Lead sophisticated qualitative research to uncover customer motivations, behaviors, unmet needs, and mental models. Apply expert methodological judgment to select, combine, and adapt established and innovative approaches—including contextual inquiry, longitudinal studies, behavioral simulations, and research in live or simulated AI environments.
Pioneer AI research methods and evaluation: Develop and validate innovative approaches to investigating human-AI interaction, including trust, transparency, delegation, decision-making, and customer control. Establish reusable frameworks and measures for evaluating comprehension, usefulness, task effectiveness, and error recovery in agentic experiences.
Advance strategic understanding through synthesis: Integrate qualitative and quantitative evidence, behavioral data, and emerging customer signals to develop original insights and conceptual frameworks. Identify patterns, tensions, and opportunities that inform experience principles, product direction, and strategic decisions.
Influence through exceptional storytelling: Transform complex research into compelling narratives, conceptual models, and executive-ready recommendations. Make emerging customer behaviors and AI experience challenges understandable, memorable, and actionable for senior leaders.
Serve as a trusted strategic advisor: Partner with senior Product, Design, Technology, and Business leaders to connect customer understanding with business objectives, technical possibilities, and emerging opportunities. Constructively challenge assumptions and ensure customer evidence informs consequential decisions.

Skills
Artificial Intelligence, LLM, Generative AI

Work arrangement
Hybrid