Director, UX Research, AI/ML

It all started in sunny San Diego, California in 2004 when a visionary engineer, Fred Luddy, saw the potential to transform how we work. Fast forward to today — ServiceNow stands as a global market leader, bringing innovative AI-enhanced technology to over 8,100 customers, including 85% of the Fortune 500®. Our intelligent cloud-based platform seamlessly connects people, systems, and processes to empower organizations to find smarter, faster, and better ways to work. But this is just the beginning of our journey. Join us as we pursue our purpose to make the world work better for everyone.

We are seeking a Director of Research who is passionate about creating empowering and supportive experiences for people at work. You will lead a research organization that is building innovative employee experiences, advanced technology products and revolutionizing digital workflows across the enterprise. 

This is the perfect role for a research executive who is fascinated with the changing world of work, and the evolving needs of businesses digitizing the way they work, while supporting distributed, global teams. Businesses know that the employee experience is everything, and they must provide experiences that foster loyalty, collaboration, productivity, and support the employee through their career. As a leader you will have a massive impact on how businesses evolve to provide predictive, empowering and productivity-boosting experiences for their employees and technology teams. 

This role leads a research team that uses research, user empathy and understanding to create product experiences that our customers love. Our researchers come from a diverse set of skills and backgrounds – HCI, Human Factors, Cognitive and Experimental Psychology, Product Market Research, and Behavioral Sciences. At ServiceNow, research has a leadership seat at the table, so our team collaborates closely with both product management, engineering, and design from the get-go. We embrace representation in and from all professional and personal backgrounds and cultures. This diversity inspires passion and creativity among our teams and propels innovation in our products. 

This role leads a UX research team that focuses on delivering AI-driven product experiences that resonate with our customers. The individual will own the research program and strategy for this broad and varied product portfolio, partnering with cross-functional leaders and stakeholders. As an integral member of our research leadership team, you will grow and mentor an extended research team that is responsible for executing on all aspects of user research (i.e., planning, execution, analysis, reporting) across the product lifecycle, and communicate research findings in business consumable ways that inform and drive key decisions. 

What you get to do in this role:  

• Build and develop a high performing team of researchers and managers, with a strong culture and user-centric approach, acting as a mentor & manager, ensuring high impact delivery for the team 

• Contribute to shaping culture, operations, talent and strategy across the research org, for a rapidly scaling team and business 

• Partner closely with cross functional leadership in Product, UX and Engineering to influence the strategy and roadmap with user research findings from your team 

• Guide researchers on the design and execution of generative and evaluative, formative, and summative research to support product design and development (including but not limited to ethnography, interviews, surveys, concept testing, and usability studies) 

• Collaborate with research leadership and product stakeholders to set strategic and high impact priorities 

• Partner with Research Operations in resource planning, budget, hiring process and pipeline, research vendor management, process standardization, and tool selection and usage 

• Contribute to team communications; finding creative and compelling ways to present and evangelize research insights throughout the company, to help cultivate a highly informed, more effective, and more empathetic organization 

• Create architectural definitions such as user profiles, business workflows, information architecture and foundational concepts to shape the broader ServiceNow product strategy 

What you need to be successful in this role:  

Basic Qualifications: 

• Experience with enterprise software, technology products, and systems design 

• Experience building digital products that leverage advanced technologies (such as AI, ML, NLU) across varied engagement surfaces including web, mobile, and conversational experiences 

• 5+ years' experience managing a team of managers and/or researchers of varying levels 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Preferred advanced degree (or equivalent experience) in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology, or other related degrees 

• Expertise in user interface design, usability evaluation techniques, perception, cognition, task analysis, experimental design and statistics 

• Consistent delivery of actionable research insights that shape business and product strategy, and produce successful experiences for global, accessible products 

• Exceptional people and talent skills, with an inspirational leadership style that motivates the team and connects their work to positive impact 

• Strong executive presence, able to evangelize the value of research, present important findings, influence stakeholders, and serve as an ambassador of the ServiceNow brand to external audiences 

• Experience leading with a hybrid (in-office and remote), distributed, global team, and finding creative ways to bring the team together to drive collaboration, relationship building and a strong culture 

• Experience in creating and executing new and innovative research programs, strategies and approaches that help the team scale and have greater impact 

• Experience in evaluating conversational AI designs and/or AI voice assistant technologies

#UXR

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $181,100 - $316,900, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work. Learn more here.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or nationality, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements. 

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [email protected] for assistance. 

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities. 

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