AI Experience Design Director

At Edelman Financial Engines (EFE), our purpose is to guide people with the financial advice they need to thrive.    We believe that every dollar saved represents a lifetime of hard work and aspirations, and every dollar invested has a job to do for our clients. That’s why we are committed to managing our clients’ investments by truly understanding them as people first and then delivering advice, strategies and solutions to help them feel confident about the plans they are making, whether for today, tomorrow, or in the great unknown future. Our goal is to build long-term relationships based on respect, integrity, and a belief that our responsibility is to help people make smart investments decisions in every stage of their lives.   Our culture is grounded in our CORE values: Client First, One Team, Respectful Candor, and Endless Curiosity. These values guide everything we do, for our clients and each other. We are committed to moving forward together. If you are inspired by purpose-driven work and a collaborative, values-led culture, we invite you to explore a career with us.

As a Director of AI Experience Design within the AI Center of Excellence, you will play a pivotal role in shaping how AI transforms the advisor, client, and employee experience across Edelman Financial Engines. This role is responsible for defining and driving a human-centered AI experience strategy that combines behavioral science, design thinking, and data-driven decision making to create intuitive, trusted, and outcome-oriented AI solutions.  You will champion a deep understanding of user behavior, needs, motivations, and decision-making patterns to influence the design of AI-powered tools, workflows, recommendations, and agentic experiences that drive adoption, engagement, trust, productivity, and business impact.

In addition to being a highly collaborative and influential leader, we are seeking a candidate who brings a unique blend of UX leadership, behavioral design expertise, and AI product innovation. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of translating complex technologies into simple, intuitive experiences and using behavioral insights, user research, and data to drive measurable results. If you are passionate about designing the future of human-AI interaction, thrive in rapidly evolving environments, and believe exceptional experiences should be measured not only by usability but by the outcomes they create, this is an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the future of AI at Edelman Financial Engines.

Responsibilities:

• AI Integration & Design 
  • Define and champion experience principles for AI-powered products, tools, and workflows across the organization.
  • Design conversational, multimodal, and agent-assisted experiences that support natural and intuitive user interactions.
  • Create user journeys that effectively blend human expertise with AI-driven recommendations and automation.
  • Establish AI UX standards, interaction patterns, and design guidelines that promote consistency, accessibility, trust, and usability.
  • Conduct user research to understand customer behaviors, needs, mental models, and emerging expectations related to AI-driven experiences.
  • Drive the development of personas, journey maps, service blueprints, and experience frameworks for AI-enabled products.
  • Ensure AI experiences are transparent, explainable, and aligned with responsible AI principles.
• Product Design Execution & Collaboration
  • Partner closely with Product Managers, Engineers, Architects, and Data teams throughout the product lifecycle to deliver high-quality AI-centered experiences.
  • Translate user insights into wireframes, prototypes, workflows, and interaction designs that can be rapidly tested and validated.
  • Participate in product discovery, experimentation, and iterative design processes to continuously improve user outcomes.
  • Collaborate across multiple squads to drive experience consistency across products, channels, and business capabilities.
  • Advocate for user-centric decision-making throughout planning, prioritization, and execution activities.
  • Facilitate design reviews and experience assessments to ensure solutions meet usability and accessibility standards
• Continuous Optimization
  • Leverage analytics and user feedback to refine and improve human-led, AI-enabled experiences
  • Monitor performance of AI-enabled features and drive optimization
  • Ensure consistent and responsible utilization of AI across multiple execution teams 

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 5-10+ years of experience spanning UX design, product design  
• Experience deploying AI/ML solutions in regulated environments (financial services strongly preferred)
• Experience with Product development lifecycle from ideation to execution
• Experience working with Agile product teams
• Strong understanding of AI/ML ecosystems, LLMs, data platforms, and orchestration layers.
• Track record of balancing innovation, risk, and regulatory compliance.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders in different areas (ex: Data, Architecture, Compliance)
• Experience working with ADA Compliant design
• Strong understanding of AI (within the landscape of regulated industries preferred)
• Ability to design experiences that build user trust, transparency, and confidence in AI-driven interactions.
• Proficiency in journey mapping, prototyping, wireframing, design systems, and usability testing.
• Strong communication and storytelling skills with the ability to influence stakeholders across business and technology teams.
• Ability to understand interdependent ecosystems and proactively look for opportunities for scale and consistency.
• Ability to leverage data to drive optimization across tool sets

Edelman Financial Engines takes a market-based approach to pay. The expected base salary range for this role nationally is below. However, final base pay will be carefully determined based on several factors, including responsibilities, job-related skills, relevant experience, geographic location, and market conditions. Additionally, this role may be eligible for other forms of compensation and benefits, such as a discretionary bonus, health, dental and other wellness plans, and 401(k) contributions.

Pay Range$154,200—$205,600 USDAbout Edelman Financial Engines  Since 1986, Edelman Financial Engines has been committed to always acting in the best interests of our clients. We were founded on the belief that all investors – not just the wealthy – deserve access to personal, comprehensive financial planning and investment advice. Recognized by Barron’s as a top RIA firm for eight years in a row (awarded each September (2018-2025) based on prior 12-month data through June 30)1, we support more than 1.27 million clients across 140+ offices nationwide and manage over $324 billion in assets 2. Our unique approach to serving clients combines our advanced methodology and proprietary technology with the attention of a dedicated personal financial planner. Every client’s situation and goals are unique, and the powerful fusion of high-tech and high touch allows Edelman Financial Engines to deliver the personal plan and financial confidence that everyone deserves.     For more information, please visit EdelmanFinancialEngines.com.    © 2026 Edelman Financial Engines, LLC. Edelman Financial Engines® is a registered trademark of Edelman Financial Engines, LLC. All advisory services provided by Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C., a federally registered investment advisor. Certain services provided on an educational and guidance basis only. Results are not guaranteed.     For California residents, please see the link for the Privacy Notice for Candidates. California law requires that we provide you this notice about the collection and use of your personal information. Please read it carefully.    Edelman Financial Engines encourages success based on our individual merits and abilities without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy; marital, domestic partner or civil union status; national origin, citizenship, ancestry, ethnic heritage, genetic information, age, legally recognized disability, military service or veteran status.    Accommodations are modifications or adjustments to the hiring process that would enable you to fully participate in that process. If you need assistance to accommodate a disability, you may request one at any time by either contacting your recruiter or efetalentacquisition@edelmanfinancialengines.com.    1  The Barron’s Top 100 RIA Firms list, an annual ranking of independent advisory firms, is based on qualitative and quantitative criteria. Firms elect to participate but do not pay to be included in the ranking. The 2018 ranking refers to Edelman Financial Services, LLC, which combined its advisory business in its entirety with Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. (FEA) in November 2018. For the same survey, FEA received a precombination ranking of 12th.     2 Edelman Financial Engines data, as of September 30, 2025