About the position
At Axon, we're on a mission to Protect Life. We're explorers, pursuing society's most critical safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. Like our products, we work better together. We connect with candor and care, seeking out diverse perspectives from our customers, communities and each other. Life at Axon is fast-paced, challenging and meaningful. Here, you'll take ownership and drive real change. Constantly grow as you work hard for a mission that matters at a company where you matter. As a Principal Product Designer, AI Features, you will lead the charge in designing Axon's cutting-edge AI-driven solutions. Your work will not only shape how public safety professionals interact with generative AI but also set the vision for Axon's products for years to come. By aligning advanced AI capabilities with human-centered design principles, you will help officers work smarter, investigators uncover truth faster, and communities experience safer interactions. Our Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) team is solving difficult cloud and local storage challenges. Axon manages massive amounts of digital files - tens of petabytes from thousands of first responders worldwide. The DEMS team works on improving workflows for the ingestion, playback, management & access control, searching, and sharing of case related files, increasing efficiency within the justice system. If you're looking for ownership and autonomy while collaborating across product teams, this role is for you. You will own the holistic, end-to-end user experience for Axon's Gen AI products across multiple subject domains, driving strategy, influencing senior leadership, and contributing to Axon's overall UX vision. Your leadership will ensure Axon remains a global leader in public safety innovation.
Responsibilities
- Set and Drive Long-Term Vision: Define and execute a 3-5 year UX vision for AI-driven solutions, identifying opportunities and ensuring scalability, adaptability, and alignment across Axon's product pillars and ecosystem.
- Own End-to-End Product Design: Lead the entire design process-from research and ideation to prototyping and implementation-for complex, AI-enhanced workflows, delivering cohesive and impactful user experiences.
- Shape Product Strategy: Collaborate with senior leaders in Product, Engineering, and AI/ML teams to influence strategic decisions, ensuring design goals align with Axon's objectives and maximize AI's value for users.
- Engage with Customers: Conduct field research, including ride-alongs and usability testing, to deeply understand public safety professionals' needs, validate designs, and refine solutions based on real-world feedback.
- Promote Transparency and Trust in AI: Design intuitive, human-centered AI interfaces that build user confidence through explainability, ethical considerations, and culturally aware solutions.
- Advance Ethical AI Development: Champion responsible AI practices by being mindful of downstream impacts, societal outcomes, and unintended consequences.
- Evolve Design Systems at Scale: Guide the evolution of Axon's design systems to support AI-driven products, fostering consistency and scalability across platforms.
- Champion Innovation and Best Practices: Experiment with new tools, methodologies, and technologies to push the boundaries of design while defining and evangelizing UX guidelines and best practices across Axon's products.
- Foster Collaboration and Alignment: Facilitate cross-functional workshops and design critiques, aligning teams around user-centered goals and strategies.
- Mentor and Develop Talent: Act as a mentor to designers, raise the team's skill level, and contribute to Axon's recruiting efforts to attract and retain top design talent.
- Prototype Advanced AI Interactions: Rapidly prototype and iterate on AI-driven interactions to simulate behaviors, gather feedback, and align with evolving technologies.
- Analytical Skills: Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot and optimize AI models for specific business needs.
- Data Management Skills: Experience managing large datasets, data preprocessing, and feature engineering, for training effective AI models is a bonus skillset for the ideal candidate.
Requirements
- 12+ years of product design experience, including significant leadership in designing for complex AI, ML, or enterprise-level systems.
- Proven expertise in owning end-to-end user experiences for multiple products, with an emphasis on driving long-term UX strategy.
- Demonstrated ability to set and execute a UX vision that aligns with organizational strategy, balancing user needs and business goals.
- Deep experience working directly with customers to gather feedback and validate designs, especially in high-stakes or regulated industries.
- Strong knowledge of generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and advanced front-end technologies.
- Comfortable integrating AI/ML capabilities into user-friendly designs.
- Thrives in environments with high ambiguity, identifying opportunities and leading teams to deliver scalable solutions.
- Expert knowledge of UX standards and best practices, with contributions to advancing the field through publications, conferences, or community engagement.
- Exceptional ability to articulate design concepts, lead workshops, and advocate for user needs with senior leaders and cross-functional teams.
- Proven success in mentoring designers and elevating the overall skill set of a design organization.
Benefits
- Competitive salary and 401k with employer match
- Discretionary paid time off
- Robust parental leave policy
- Medical, Dental, Vision plans
- An award-winning office/working environment
- Fitness Programs
- Emotional & Mental Wellness support
- Learning & Development programs
- And yes, we have snacks in our offices
