Director of UX Strategy & Research

Vuori, Inc

Carlsbad (CA)

On-site

USD 181,000 - 220,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Savings and Retirement Plan

Employee Assistance Program

Paid Time Off

Wellness & Fitness benefits

Job summary

Vuori, Inc. seeks a Director of UX Design & Research to lead strategy, design, and research across ecommerce, omnichannel, and retail experiences. You will champion customer insights, unify UX directions, and scale a growing team while shaping design systems and AI-enabled workflows.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Digital Product and Experience, you will collaborate with Product, Engineering, Brand & Creative, and Site Experience to deliver a cohesive customer journey across channels.

Qualifications

8+ years of experience in UX/UI design and/or UX research, including 3+ years managing or mentoring designers and/or researchers
Bachelor's degree in UX Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field, or equivalent years of experience preferred
Experience leading both design and research functions, with fluency across generative and evaluative research methods
Experience maintainingor governing a design system in a production environment, with strong documentation, adoption, and consistency practices
Proficiencyin Figma; familiarity with AI-assisted design tools (e.g., Claude Design) is a plus
Comfortoperatingat the intersection of design and code; you understand, or are eager to learn, how components, tokens, and documentation translate into a dev environment
Interest and some fluency in how AI tools are changing design and design-to-code workflows
Ecommerce, omnichannel, or retail experience strongly preferred
Experience managing outside vendors or agency partners, including scoping, budgeting, and quality control
A track recordof coaching and developing design and research talent, and building team capability over time
Strong portfolio or body of workdemonstratingboth hands-on UX/UI and research craft and systems thinking
Demonstrated ability to present and defend design and research decisions to senior stakeholders
Comfortable in a fast-paced, resource-lean, high-autonomy environment; you build process rather than wait for it
Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Responsibilities

Serve as Vuori's internal voice of the customer, championing customer insight and helping the organization understand and prioritize customer problems
Set and unify UX strategy across Vuori's ecommerce, omnichannel, and retail store experiences, ensuring a consistent, connected journey across channels
Lead and grow both generative and evaluative research practices — partnering with Consumer Insights,mentoringand developing Vuori's researcher(s), and raising the rigor of insights that inform design and product decisions
Build, manage, coach, and develop a growing team of UX/UI designers and UX researchers, including regular 1:1s, feedback, and career-growth planning
Lead UX for major cross-channel initiatives, ensuring connectivity across the broader ecommerce and omnichannel experience
Evolve and govern Vuori's design system, ensuring consistency and adoption as it matures across channels and teams
Define and evangelize Vuori's evolving ways of working with AI — from design-to-code workflows to how the team incorporates AI tools into everyday practice
Present design rationale, research findings, and strategic recommendations to senior stakeholders, defending decisions with clear logic and evidence
Flex team capacity with outside agency and contractor support —sourcing, scoping, and managing vendor partners, budgets, and timelines as needed
Establish and evangelize UX design and research best practices across the organization