Director of UX Research for AI-Driven Partner Tools

Traveltechessentialist; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 224,000 - 314,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellness reimbursement

Travel discounts

IATAN membership

Job summary

Expedia Group's Experience Design Research team seeks a Research Director to define and drive strategy across Partner Tools, from hotels to advertising, while guiding a senior team hands-on in research execution.

The role blends depth in qualitative and AI-enabled methods with practical collaboration across engineering, design, product, and data science to deliver business-impactful insights.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of relevant professional experience without an advanced degree, or 5–10 years with a suitable advanced degree; or equivalent related professional experience.
• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Anthropology, Cognitive Science, or a related field; or equivalent related professional experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in qualitative research methodologies and integrating AI into research planning, execution, or delivery.
• Proven experience leading and developing high-performing research teams across multiple locations and career levels.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and translate research insights into strategic, business-impactful decisions.
• Experience building and scaling research programs across complex, multidisciplinary organizations and diverse product domains, ideally including specific experience in B2B.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the research strategy across our Partner Tools portfolio.
• Operate as a player/coach for a small, senior research team — setting strategy and craft standards while remaining directly involved in research execution.
• Partner closely with engineering, design, product, and data science teams, to translate partner insights into strategic, business-impactful decisions.
• Champion rigorous, AI-informed research methodologies, and bring direct, hands-on examples of how you've integrated AI tools into your own research workflow, from planning through synthesis.
• Build scalable research frameworks and reusable insight systems that create durable value across a complex, multidisciplinary organization.
• Integrate qualitative and quantitative research to combine behavioral data with human-centered depth and deliver complete partner insights.

Skills

Experience leadership

Qualitative research

AI in research

Stakeholder influence

B2B research

Research strategy

Education

Bachelor’s or advanced degree in HCI, psychology, anthropology, cognitive science or related field

Master’s or PhD in HCI/CS/Statistics/psychology or related field

Job description

Expedia Group's Experience Design Research team seeks a Research Director to define and drive strategy across Partner Tools, from hotels to advertising, while guiding a senior team hands-on in research execution.

The role blends depth in qualitative and AI-enabled methods with practical collaboration across engineering, design, product, and data science to deliver business-impactful insights.