Staff UX Researcher, AI

Adobe; San Francisco, San Jose (CA, CA); On-site; USD 184,000 - 266,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited vacation

401k matching

Educational reimbursement

Wellness dollars

Fertility benefits

Parental leave

Childcare assistance

Gender reassignment benefits

Job summary

Adobe is seeking a Staff UX Researcher on the Design Research & Strategy team to lead research guiding AI investments across Creative tools. You will frame decisions, run end-to-end studies, and translate insights into executive-ready narratives that shape product strategy and roadmaps.

You will build alliances across the company, advocate for customers, and mentor junior staff while collaborating with cross-functional leadership to align business goals with design decisions.

Qualifications

• Significant hands-on mixed-methods research experience (10+ years).
• Synthesize qualitative, quantitative and telemetry data into insights.
• Frame ambiguous problems and shape strategic directions.
• Communicate research-informed options and tradeoffs to leadership.

Responsibilities

• Frame decision problems and define key tradeoffs.
• Develop research plans, recruit participants, synthesize data.
• Lead studies end-to-end from exploration to launch.
• Collaborate with product, design and leadership partners.
• Present findings to group-wide audiences with actionable recommendations.
• Translate insights into executive-ready narratives.
• Mentor junior staff and supervise contractors.

Skills

Mixed-methods research

Synthesis of qualitative & quant data

Framing product/business problems

Research-informed strategy & decisions

GenAI tools for research

Tools

GenAI tools

Job description

The Opportunity

On the Design Research & Strategy team, our mission is to lay a user-centered foundation for Adobe product design and development. We are seeking a Staff UX Researcher to lead research that shapes Adobe’s future AI investments across our creative tools, bringing clarity to complex questions and guiding work from early exploration through product launch.

What you'll do

• Frame decision problems, not just research questions; clarify decisions, assumptions, and key tradeoffs.
• Assess project scope, form appropriate research questions, and identify appropriate research methods (developing new methods if/where needed and using GenAI tools to accelerate research workflows).
• Run research studies from start to finish, including developing a realistic research plan and materials, recruiting participants, and synthesizing data into actionable insights.
• Build alliances across the company to identify new partners, drive teamwork, and deeply understand the business context of research problems. We engage with different roles and product teams to understand and influence business goals, system architecture, and product designs.
• Advocate for the customer by articulating research findings and product ideas through clear and insightful presentations. We often present work in group-wide or company-wide forums.
• Translate insights into concise, executive-ready narratives that foster alignment across product, design, and cross‑functional leadership partners.
• Mentor junior staff and supervise contractors/vendors on more complicated programs of study.

What you need to succeed

Must-haves

• Significant hands‑on mixed‑methods research experience, with at least 10 years in an industry setting (e.g. UX/product research, market research, consulting, etc.).
• Ability to synthesize qualitative, quantitative, and behavioral (telemetry) data into clear, evidence‑based perspectives.
• Proven ability to frame ambiguous product and business problems, challenge assumptions, and shape strategic direction through research.
• Experience developing and communicating research-informed product and strategy recommendations, clearly articulating options, tradeoffs, and implications for leadership decisions.
• Demonstrated impact on product or business strategy, including influencing roadmaps, investment decisions, or organizational alignment.
• Experience researching new technologies, including Generative AI.
• Strong collaboration and influence skills across research and cross‑functional partners.
• Executive‑level communication skills, with experience delivering clear, concise narratives that drive decisions with directors, VPs, and above.

Nice‑to‑haves

• Interest & enthusiasm for exploring GenAI technology & understanding how people want to use GenAI.
• Experience researching agentic user experiences across text‑based and voice‑based input.
• Experience researching creative workflows across desktop apps, mobile, and web‑based tools.

Why you’ll love working here

• Collaborate with and learn from other researchers from a wide range of backgrounds; Psychology, Anthropology, HCI, Computer Science, Design and Management, Linguistics, and more.
• At Adobe, we value the differences in others’ stories and ideas— You’ll be able to bring your authentic self to work every day.
• We offer a competitive benefits package including unlimited vacation days, 401k matching, educational reimbursement, wellness dollars, fertility benefits, parental leave, childcare assistance, gender reassignment benefits, and more!

About Adobe Design

Adobe Design is the multidisciplinary, global organization behind Adobe experiences. Our full‑stack team includes design researchers, design engineers, experience designers, brand designers, content strategists, and program managers dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences for Adobe users.

About Adobe

Adobe empowers everyone to create through innovative platforms and tools that unleash creativity, productivity and personalized customer experiences. Adobe’s industry‑leading offerings including Adobe Acrobat Studio, Adobe Express, Adobe Firefly, Creative Cloud, Adobe Experience Platform, Adobe Experience Manager, and GenStudio enable people and businesses to turn ideas into impact, powered by AI and driven by human ingenuity.

Our 30,000+ employees worldwide are creating the future and raising the bar as we drive the next decade of growth. We’re on a mission to hire the very best and believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. At Adobe, we believe that great ideas can come from anywhere in the organization. The next big idea could be yours.

Let’s Adobe together

At Adobe, we believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. Learn more about Adobe life, including our values and culture, focus on people, purpose and community, Adobe for All, comprehensive benefits programs, the stories we tell, the customers we serve, and how you can help us advance our mission of empowering everyone to create.

Adobe is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Learn more.

Adobe aims to make our Careers website and recruiting process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, email [e-mail] or call +1 408‑536‑3015.

AI Use Guidelines for Interviews:
Our interviews are designed to reflect your own skills and thinking. The use of AI or recording tools during live interviews is not permitted unless explicitly invited by the interviewer or approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation. If these tools are used inappropriately or in a way that misrepresents your work, your application may not move forward in the process.

At Adobe, we empower employees to innovate with AI — and we look for candidates eager to do the same. As part of the hiring experience, we provide clear guidance on where AI is encouraged during the process and where it’s restricted during live interviews. See how we think about AI in the hiring experience.

Expected Pay Range

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this positionis $139,700 -- $265,800 annually. Paywithin this range varies by work locationand may also depend on job‑related knowledge, skills,and experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process.

In California, the pay range for this position is $183,600 - $265,800

At Adobe, for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC = base + commission), and short‑term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans. Non‑sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short‑term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).

In addition, certain roles may be eligible for long‑term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.

State‑Specific Notices

California

Fair Chance Ordinances

Adobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and “fair chance” ordinances.

Colorado

Application Window Notice

If this role is open to hiring in Colorado (as listed on the job posting), the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time, in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location, no specific application window applies, and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Legal Notice

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.