Director, Experience Development

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd•Miami, FL

41d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Experience Development is accountable for the end-to-end development and delivery of guest experience portfolios across Celebrity Cruises’ ships and destinations. The Directors scope may include ship specific venues, experiences and programming and / or destination experiences. This role owns experiences from strategic intent through launch and continuous optimization, ensuring that products are guest-centric, operationally scalable, financially viable, and delivered flawlessly at scale. The Director operates as a portfolio guest experiences and products, sitting at the intersection of strategy, design, and execution, with full accountability for experience outcomes, readiness, and performance. Based in Miami, Florida, reporting to an Associate Vice President or Vice President of Product Development, this Director is responsible for translating the product vision into a seamless, thoughtful, and intuitive guest journey, while driving cross-functional workstreams to execute every sensory touchpoint flawlessly — considering everything a guest needs, sees, tastes, hears, smells, and touches. This Director must champion the guest experience in all they do, ensuring that products are operationally, technically, and financially feasible. They will lead effective workshops, craft detailed presentations, and develop compelling cases to influence critical decisions, align stakeholders, and foster collaboration with partners. The Director is also responsible in coaching the team, developing processes and leading with collaboration to ensure all stakeholders are part of the guest experience development process. The ideal candidate combines creative thinking with critical analysis and problem-solving skills, demonstrating strong leadership and relationship management abilities. They are comfortable navigating complex topics, even those in which they may have limited prior experience and thrive in an iterative environment where flexibility and resilience are essential to success.

Requirements

10 to 15+ years of experience in product development, hospitality, operations, or experience design.
Proven track record owning complex experience portfolios (ships, hotels, destinations, large-scale activations).
Strong executive presence with experience operating in senior leadership forums.
Deep understanding of operational readiness, service design, and go-to-market execution.
Exceptional cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management skills.
Willingness to travel up to 20% globally.
Ability to effectively communicate across a large ecosystem of partners and builders, that spans product definition, design and construction.
Exceptional verbal and written communication and project/program leadership skills, including the ability to communicate effectively to the executive levels of the company.
Ability to craft and tell a compelling and influential story for partners and collaborators.
Ability to document and package detailed operational requirements and experiences.
Obsessive attention to detail and follow-through – every detail matters.
Ability to find answers and propose initiative and solutions on your own – a self-starter.
Proven ability to collaborate with and achieve actionable results through others, plus the ability to build strong and sustainable relationships.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with Architects/Designers/Creative & Innovation Consultants a plus.
Experience in the travel industry a plus.

Responsibilities

Portfolio Ownership & Experience Strategy
Own a multi-year portfolio of guest experiences across ships, destinations, and programs.
Translate brand strategy and guest insights into clear experience roadmaps.
Set the experience vision, success criteria, and strategic priorities for the portfolio.
Ensure experiences are differentiated, scalable, and aligned with the brand promise.
Act as the executive owner of the guest journey across assigned experience domains.
Experience Development & Product Definition
Lead end-to-end experience development from ideation through launch.
Oversee creation of experience playbooks, guest journey maps, and experience briefs.
Serve as the primary executive source of truth for experience intent, scope, and requirements.
Lead cross-functional experience forums and decision workshops.
Ensure experience concepts are operationally, technically, and financially feasible.
Delivery & Launch Excellence
Own experience delivery from design freeze through operational handover.
Lead readiness across operations, staffing, training, vendors, and systems.
Own standardized launch frameworks, playbooks, and readiness checklists.
Identify and resolve portfolio-level risks across cost, schedule, and experience quality.
Lead final validations, onboard activations, and post-launch closures.
Operating Model, Process & Governance
Design and evolve the Experience Development operating model.
Own portfolio governance, milestones, risk management, and executive reporting.
Standardize tools, templates, and ways of working across experience teams.
Drive clarity on decision rights, accountability, and escalation paths.
Act as the integrator across Product, Operations, Newbuild, Marketing, Revenue, and Finance.
Performance & Continuous Improvement
Define success metrics and KPIs for all experience portfolios.
Lead post-delivery audits, guest feedback loops, and performance reviews.
Drive experience optimization and iteration based on real-world performance.
Ensure experience standards and brand design principles are upheld at scale.
Operational Excellence
Support the process and governance for guest facing product changes in line with the Operational Excellence standard assigned to Product Development.
People & Culture Leadership
Lead and develop a team of Managers, Senior Managers, and Leads.
Set the vision, structure, and capability roadmap for the Experience Development function.
Build a culture of structured execution, creativity, accountability, and trust.
Coach leaders on portfolio thinking, cross-functional leadership, and executive communication.