Lead UX Researcher, AI Enablement

Target • Minneapolis, MN

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Global UX team at Target is seeking a Lead UX Researcher focused on AI Enablement. This role will set the research direction for understanding and improving AI-enabled and agentic experiences, primarily focusing on tools and workflows for technical and product practitioners, with flexibility for other enterprise team member experiences. The researcher will lead foundational and applied research across various products and platforms to clarify user needs, adoption barriers, and conditions for responsible AI use. The work involves translating research findings into decisions about product development and improvement, partnering with cross-functional teams (UX, Product, Technology, Data Science, business), influencing portfolio decisions, mentoring other researchers, and advancing AI experience research practices at Target.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in UX research, product research, applied research, human-computer interaction, behavioral science, or a related field.
• Proven ability to set research direction across complex products, platforms, services, and multiple workstreams.
• Deep qualitative and quantitative research expertise, including foundational research and durable frameworks.
• Ability to connect research, analytics, and operational data to actionable recommendations and measurable outcomes.
• Experience researching AI-enabled products, developer tools, or similarly complex technologies, including adoption and changes to ways of working.
• Experience with technical and enterprise audiences, plus fluency partnering with Engineering, Architecture, Data Science, Security, and platform teams.
• Strong systems thinking, facilitation, and storytelling, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, lead multiple initiatives, and influence senior leaders.
• Experience mentoring researchers and advancing inclusive, accessible, ethical, privacy-conscious, and high-quality research practices.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead the research strategy and learning agenda for AI Enablement, influencing portfolio priorities and investment decisions.
• Lead foundational and applied mixed-method research across technical, product, and enterprise team member experiences.
• Define audiences, journeys, and adoption needs through personas, journey mapping, service blueprints, and other durable research frameworks.
• Evaluate AI-enabled and agentic concepts, pilots, and live experiences for usefulness, confidence, transparency, human oversight, accessibility, and responsible adoption.
• Combine qualitative research with behavioral data, analytics, operational signals, system performance, and external benchmarks to identify opportunities and measure impact.
• Translate evidence into clear recommendations for product strategy, roadmaps, platforms, tooling, enablement, governance, and investment.
• Partner across UX, Product, Technology, Data Science, privacy, and business teams to shape high-value questions and emerging experiences.
• Activate insights through compelling storytelling, mentor researchers, and advance rigorous, inclusive, and responsible research practices.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health benefits and programs (medical, vision, dental, life insurance)
• 401(k)
• Employee discount
• Short term disability
• Long term disability
• Paid sick leave
• Paid national holidays
• Paid vacation

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed