Principal UX Researcher, AWS Experience Analytics (EXA)

We are seeking a Principal Researcher who will shape how AWS understands, measures, and acts on the health of customer journeys at scale. AWS customers are shifting from console-based building toward AI-augmented, agent-primary, and autonomous workflows. With the wide adoption of agentic AI, customer journeys are changing fundamentally. You will set the strategic direction for how journey data becomes meaningful insight for stakeholders and partner teams, and establish EXA as the trusted voice on customer experience across AWS. This is an individual contributor role. You will conduct research and operate at the intersection of customer stories, metrics, and strategy — translating complex journey signals into actionable intelligence that informs roadmaps across AWS service teams to improve customer experiences. You will mentor and develop researchers across levels, raise the bar for research quality and rigor across the organization, and contribute directly to scaling the team's capacity, methodologies, and mechanisms. You will bring creativity and a Learn and Be Curious mindset, lead through ambiguity, and drive alignment across engineering, science, and product teams with competing priorities. The problems are genuinely interesting. With the wide adoption of agentic AI, customer needs and expectations are changing fundamentally — and there are many new problems we do not yet have answers to. We have far more questions than we can research, and that is where you come in. Key job responsibilities • Define and own the research strategy to inform how AWS measures, interprets, and acts on customer journey health — including what signals matter, how they stitch together to tell compelling stories, and what "meaningful insight" looks like. • Convert complex journey signals into clear, actionable intelligence that shapes roadmaps and priorities across AWS service teams. • Drive alignment and shared understanding across engineering, science, and product teams — navigating competing priorities and leading through ambiguity. • Establish and elevate EXA as the trusted perspective on customer experience across AWS, ensuring journey insights reach the right stakeholders at the right time. • Raise the bar for research quality, methodology, and storytelling across the organization — ensuring that every insight is grounded in evidence and designed to drive action. • Mentor and develop researchers across levels, building the team's capacity to take on increasingly complex and ambiguous problems. • Design and implement repeatable methodologies and mechanisms that allow the team to scale its impact beyond individual studies and projects. • Develop prototypes and proof-of-concept tools using generative AI technologies to explore new ways of surfacing and communicating customer insights, or to scale research. About the team AWS Experience Analytics (EXA) turns customer understanding into products and intelligence that teams across AWS can use. We are building a unified customer lifecycle data platform and customer intelligence system that delivers deep customer understanding at scale. Our team approaches data both qualitatively and quantitatively, fusing customer insights with telemetry to tell actionable customer stories — insight is the critical layer that makes data meaningful. Minimum qualifications • PhD in HCI, Social Science, or a related field • 12+ years of experience conducting qualitative and quantitative research in a corporate setting, with demonstrated cross-organizational impact • Proven track record of defining research strategy that has influenced product direction across multiple teams or organizations • Experience working with data scientists and engineers to develop models and metrics • Experience mentoring and developing researchers across multiple levels • Experience conducting B2B research at scale • Strong writing and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior leadership • Fluency in triangulating customer insights with telemetry data Preferred qualifications • Experience building and scaling research practices and methodologies • Experience working with large-scale technology platforms and complex system architectures • Experience working with agent-supported, non-deterministic experiences • Experience with customer journey analytics, metrics development, behavioral segmentation, or experimentation design • Proficiency in Python, SQL, or equivalent tools for working with behavioral and telemetry data • Experience presenting to and influencing VP-level or above leadership The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits . USA, VA, Arlington - 181,100.00 - 245,000.00 USD annually USA, WA, Seattle - 181,100.00 - 245,000.00 USD annually