Lead UX Researcher, AI Enablement

Target; Minneapolis (MN); Hybrid; USD 132,000 - 238,000; Full time

Job summary

Target’s Global UX team seeks a Lead UX Researcher - AI Enablement to set the research direction for AI-enabled and agentic experiences. Lead foundational and applied research across products, platforms, pilots, and live experiences, guiding decisions on what to build and how to scale.

You will partner with UX, Product, Technology, Data Science, and business teams to connect human-centered insights with data, mentor researchers, and influence portfolio decisions for high-value AI experiences.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in UX research or related fields.
• Proven ability to set research direction across complex products and teams.

Responsibilities

• Set research direction for AI Enablement across multiple teams.
• Lead mixed-method research for technical and enterprise experiences.
• Translate evidence into recommendations for product strategy and roadmaps.
• Mentor researchers and advance responsible, inclusive research practices.

Skills

UX research

Research leadership

Qual & Quant methods

Storytelling

Job description

The pay range is $132,000.00 - $238,000.00

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position.These include labor markets and in some instancesmay include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves.Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation.Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.

About Target:

Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.

Target's Global UX team is a group of design, content, research, and accessibility practitioners and experts, with a passion for improving and innovating our digital experiences for Target's guests, team members, and partners. Here, we pride ourselves on designing tangible, inspiring, and impactful solutions that serve all aspects of our business - and being a part of the team means you will play a critical role in Target's digital experience by increasing ease, simplicity, value, and delight for every touchpoint.

About the Role:

As a Lead UX Researcher - AI Enablement, you will set the research direction for how Target understands and improves AI-enabled and agentic experiences. This role focuses on tools and workflows used by technical and product practitioners, while flexing to other enterprise team member experiences as priorities evolve.

You will lead foundational and applied research across products, platforms, pilots, and live experiences. Your work will clarify user needs, adoption barriers, and the conditions that support confidence, human oversight, and responsible use. You will turn evidence into decisions about what to build, how to improve it, and how to scale it.

You will partner with UX, Product, Technology, Data Science, and business teams to connect human-centered insights with behavioral and operational data. You will influence portfolio decisions, mentor other researchers, and strengthen how Target learns about emerging AI experiences.

Responsibilities:

• Establish and lead the research strategy and learning agenda for AI Enablement, influencing portfolio priorities and investment decisions.
• Lead foundational and applied mixed-method research across technical, product, and enterprise team member experiences.
• Define audiences, journeys, and adoption needs through personas, journey mapping, service blueprints, and other durable research frameworks.
• Evaluate AI-enabled and agentic concepts, pilots, and live experiences for usefulness, confidence, transparency, human oversight, accessibility, and responsible adoption.
• Combine qualitative research with behavioral data, analytics, operational signals, system performance, and external benchmarks to identify opportunities and measure impact.
• Translate evidence into clear recommendations for product strategy, roadmaps, platforms, tooling, enablement, governance, and investment.
• Partner across UX, Product, Technology, Data Science, privacy, and business teams to shape high-value questions and emerging experiences.
• Activate insights through compelling storytelling, mentor researchers, and advance rigorous, inclusive, and responsible research practices.

Core responsibilities of this job are described within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.

About You:

• 7+ years of experience in UX research, product research, applied research, human-computer interaction, behavioral science, or a related field.
• Proven ability to set research direction across complex products, platforms, services, and multiple workstreams.
• Deep qualitative and quantitative research expertise, including foundational research and durable frameworks.
• Ability to connect research, analytics, and operational data to actionable recommendations and measurable outcomes.
• Experience researching AI-enabled products, developer tools, or similarly complex technologies, including adoption and changes to ways of working.
• Experience with technical and enterprise audiences, plus fluency partnering with Engineering, Architecture, Data Science, Security, and platform teams.
• Strong systems thinking, facilitation, and storytelling, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, lead multiple initiatives, and influence senior leaders.
• Experience mentoring researchers and advancing inclusive, accessible, ethical, privacy-conscious, and high-quality research practices.

This position will operate as a Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement based on Target’s needs. A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member’s core role will need to be performed both onsite at the Target HQ MN location the role is assigned to and virtually, depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target.

Benefits Eligibility

Please paste this url into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: https://tgt.biz/BenefitsForYou_E

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to [e-mail]. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.

Application deadline is : 09/17/2026