Associate Director, User Experience

AbbVie•Mettawa, IL

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas - immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tik Tok. The Associate Director, UX/UI Design leads and evolves the user experience and user interface design practice within AbbVie's internal advertising agency. This role is responsible for fostering a creative, user-centric, and design-thinking culture that delivers innovative and effective digital solutions across stakeholder groups. The Associate Director will collaborate with agency leadership, capability leads, and cross-functional teams to translate strategic business goals into impactful user experiences, ensuring all digital deliverables exceed expectations and align with regulatory standards. This is a hybrid position and requires the ability to commute to our Mettawa, IL office at least 3 days per week.

Requirements

Bachelor's or master's degree in design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, or a related field.
10+ years of progressive UX/UI experience in web, mobile, or software environments, with at least 5 years in a leadership or people management role; agency and healthcare experience preferred.
Demonstrated success building, leading, and mentoring diverse UX teams in matrixed organizations.
Deep knowledge of user-centered design process, with proven experience in research, prototyping, and creative direction.
Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, with strong storytelling and executive presentation abilities.
Expert in leading research and design tools (e.g., UserZoom, UserTesting.com, Optimal Workshop, Figma, Sketch, Adobe CC, InVision).
Experience establishing and overseeing a design system; deep knowledge of healthcare regulatory (MLR) requirements.
Portfolio demonstrating measurable user and business impact through design.
Strong business acumen and visible leadership in creative execution.

Responsibilities

Define and lead the UX/UI design vision and hands-on design practice for the agency, ensuring high-quality and innovative digital solutions.
Build and evolve UX and design best practices tailored for agency and healthcare environments, leveraging user-centered and design thinking methodologies.
Oversee and champion the design system to drive design quality, consistency, and efficiency across all projects and brands.
Direct and participate in creative strategy sessions, major business partner meetings, and agency capabilities presentations.
Collaborate with account, strategy, and creative leads to ensure digital deliverables align with business objectives and exceed expectations.
Review, critique, and provide guidance on research, wireframes, prototypes, and final designs to guarantee exceptional outcomes.
Contribute to hands-on work as needed, including presentation development and strategic storytelling for senior stakeholders.
Manage, mentor, and develop the UX/UI team, including people leaders and cross-functional practitioners in research and design.
Assign resources, oversee project pipelines, and optimize workflows to ensure timely, efficient project delivery.
Provide feedback, performance management, and professional development for team members.
Facilitate trust and candid development conversations among managers and team members.
Promote a culture of curiosity, collaboration, transparency, and continuous learning within the agency and broader AbbVie.
Build and maintain strong relationships with agency leadership, business partners, and stakeholders; represent UX/UI in executive forums.
Foster innovation by combining strategic vision, business insight, and persuasive communication.
Act as a role model of AbbVie's values, promoting an inclusive, supportive culture and upholding high standards of creative and operational excellence.