Principal Design & Research Head

Microsoft Corp.; Chicago (IL); Vor Ort; USD 143.000 - 304.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

Microsoft’s Employee Experience UX Studio seeks a Principal Design & Research Head in Redmond, WA. You will lead researchers, designers and writers to envision and deliver innovative employee experiences across digital and physical spaces.

You’ll collaborate with design, engineering, product and business leadership, shaping strategy, mentoring teams, and driving inclusive practices while advancing a future-focused workplace culture.

Qualifikationen

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field with 8+ years in product or service design
• Master's Degree in a related field with 6+ years in product or service design
• Equivalent experience in product/service design or using design thinking
• 3+ years people management experience
• 5+ years people management experience (preferred)
• 6+ years shipping products/services or delivering end-to-end design
• Well-established portfolio of research and design techniques
• Ability to translate insights into product and design strategy

Aufgaben

• Lead a team of researchers, designers and content writers across research and end-to-end design processes.
• Foster agile research and design practices and methodologies.
• Drive AI-enabled improvements for UX research, design and content across the lifecycle.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Product, and Business Partners to align research and design goals.
• Partner with other Research and Design Leads to plan, execute, synthesize insights and deliver design solutions.
• Understand competitive landscape and innovations in research and design.
• Provide mentorship and career growth to a diverse multi-disciplinary team.
• Foster an inclusive team environment that enables best work.

Kenntnisse

People management

Design leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

UX research leadership

Ausbildung

Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, HCI, UX, Interaction Design, or related field

Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, HCI, UX, Interaction Design, or related field

equivalent experience in product/service design or design thinking

Jobbeschreibung

Principal Design & Research Head

United States, Washington, Redmond

Job number: 200044829

Date posted: Nov 06, 2026

Work site: 3 days / week in-office

Travel: Less than 25%

Profession: Design & Creative

Discipline: Product Design

Role type: People Manager

Employment type: Full-Time

Overview

Do you want to be at the heart of Microsoft’s digital and cultural transformation? Are you passionate about envisioning the future workplace and being an industry leader? As part of Microsoft’s Employee Experience organization, our UX Studio is responsible for many of the experiences that our internal Microsoft Employees use each day. We are a vibrant community of talented and passionate UXers that are customer-obsessed with diverse expertise in UX design, UX research, and content management. We share core values around curiosity, humility, inclusion, and creativity.

We are seeking to hire a Principal Design & Research Head. This role will lead a team of researchers and designers within the Employee Experience space, working closely with Design, Engineering, Product, and Business Leadership to envision and deliver a future Microsoft workplace that enables innovative, creative, and intelligent employee experiences across both digital and physical environments.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of researchers, designers and content writers who conduct diverse product research and design activities, spanning generative to evaluative research, and end-to-end design processes.
• Foster and facilitate agile research and design practices and methodologies.
• Drive role acceleration with AI for user experience research, design and content across the product development lifecycle.
• Work closely with key stakeholders across Engineering, Product, and Business Partners to establish trust and alignment for maximum research and design influence.
• Partner with other Research and Design Leads to enhance the team’s ability to plan, execute, analyze, synthesize insights, and deliver high-quality design solutions.
• Understand the competitive landscape and innovations in both research and design.
• Provide mentorship and career growth to a diverse set of multi-disciplinary user researchers and designers.
• Foster a diverse and inclusive team environment that empowers team members to do their best work.

Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 8+ years experience working in product or service design
• Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 6+ years experience working in product or service design
• equivalent experience (e.g., demonstrated experience working in product or service design or using design thinking to solve problems).
• 3+ years people management experience.

Additional or preferred qualifications

• Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 8+ years experience working in product or service design
• Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 12+ years experience working in product or service design
• equivalent experience (e.g., demonstrated experience working in product or service design or using design thinking to solve problems).
• Drive role acceleration with AI for user experience research, design and content across the product development lifecycle.
• Work closely with key stakeholders across Engineering, Product, and Business Partners to establish trust and alignment for maximum research and design influence.
• 5+ years people management experience.
• 6+ years experience shipping products, services, or games and/or delivering to customers as a result of an end-to-end design process.
• Well-established portfolio of research and design techniques, including ethnography, field studies, interviews, usability studies, concept validation, user journey mapping, surveys, scorecards, competitive analysis, wireframing, prototyping, and visual design.
• Deep knowledge of designing experiences across endpoints ad informing the development of V1 platforms and products.
• Influential leader who can develop key partnerships with stakeholders and deliver a strategic research and design roadmap across multiple business areas.
• Proven track record of translating insights into product and design strategy, and the ability to define success outcomes for those experiences which are tracked and measured by research and design metrics.

Company and benefits

Product Design M5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: