Director of Research & Strategy, Adobe Express

The opportunity 

Adobe is looking for Director of Research & Strategy for Adobe Express. You will lead a group of passionate and hard-working researchers and strategists shaping experiences across web, mobile, and desktop applications to develop a rich Adobe Express ecosystem, while using AI/ML technologies to enable individual and business creativity and productivity across enterprise users and teams.

Partnering closely with Design, Product and Engineering executives, you will provide strategic design and product direction, feedback to the design and engineering teams to uplevel craft, and find resolution to ambiguous problem spaces across the entire Express ecosystem.

What you’ll do

• Build and lead a high-performing research and strategy team; coaching senior talent, attracting top-tier leaders, and fostering a culture of rigor, growth, and impact.

• Build a collaborative environment and encourage deep partnership with cross-functional teams, setting a high bar for research craft and embedding research into strategic planning and execution. 

• Define and execute research strategy for redesigns, new audiences and product directions, and lead all aspects of research execution across releases on multiple platforms.

• Contribute to product strategy discussions through deep customer research and design partnerships to bring visions to life.

• Influence cross-functional leaders to act on insights, driving measurable improvements in user and business outcomes.

What you need to succeed 

• 10+ years of equivalent practical experience of managing researchers, strategists, and research leaders.

• Lead empathetically, fostering an inclusive and empowering environment for the research team to do innovative and impactful work.

• Experience working directly with executives on ambiguous problems and crafting big picture strategies grounded in deep user understanding.

• Exceptional oral and written communication skills are a pre-requisite; able to tailor narratives and presentations for executive, product and design audiences. 

• Have leveraged AI solutions as part of an overall research program

• Connect research to business strategy, framing insights as actionable recommendations that resonate with executive audiences.

• Be an effective facilitator across product-design-research-engineering teams in early stages of key projects and initiatives.

• Deep expertise in strategic problem framing and solving problems.

• Embody a learner and mentor mentality; actively grow senior researchers and emerging leaders.

• Champion for customer-centric and holistic design at all levels in the organization.  

About Adobe Design

Adobe Design creates tools that amplify the world’s ability to create and communicate. We’re a global team of designers, researchers, prototypers, content strategists, program managers, and more who work across Adobe’s three product lines: Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and Experience Cloud.
 

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 accommodations@adobe.com 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 position is $169,700 -- $323,350 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and 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 $223,300 - $323,350
In New York, the pay range for this position is $223,300 - $323,350
In Washington, the pay range for this position is $203,000 - $293,900


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.