Sr Director, Head of UX

About Us
CDK Global is a leading provider of cloud-based software to dealerships and Original Equipment Manufacturers ("OEMs") across automotive and related industries. The Company's cloud-based, software as a service ("SaaS") platform enables dealerships to manage their end-to-end business operations including the acquisition, sale, financing, insuring, repair, and maintenance of vehicles. By automating and streamlining critical workflows, the integrated platform of modern solutions enables dealers to sell and service more vehicles by creating simple and convenient experiences for customers and improves their financial and operational performance.

The Role

We are seeking a dynamic and visionary Sr Dir, Head of User Experience (UX) with a unique combination of product management and UX leadership expertise to lead our UX team and drive the design and optimization of user interfaces across our entire product portfolio. This role requires someone who has evolved from product management into UX leadership, bringing a holistic understanding of both product strategy and user experience design.

The ideal leader will provide exceptional customer experience while unifying the product experience across all CDK's offerings, with a particular focus on integrating AI capabilities to streamline workflows, eliminate unnecessary steps, and provide intelligent insights. This individual will be responsible for shaping the overall UX vision through an enterprise-wide lens, leading a team of UX professionals, and working collaboratively with cross-functional teams to ensure that our software products are user-friendly, AI-enhanced, and meet our clients' evolving needs.

Responsibilities and Essential Functions:

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• UX Strategy with Product Management Perspective: Develop and maintain a comprehensive UX strategy that aligns with the company's overall goals and vision, leveraging product management principles to ensure market-driven design decisions. Continuously refine and adapt the strategy to respond to market trends and user feedback.
• AI Integration Strategy: Lead the integration of AI capabilities across the user experience, focusing on workflow optimization, step elimination, and intelligent insights delivery. Define how AI can enhance user productivity and decision-making within our enterprise product suite.
• Holistic Enterprise View: Take a comprehensive, enterprise-wide approach to UX design, ensuring consistency and synergy across all CDK products while identifying opportunities for AI-driven improvements.

Team Leadership & Development

• Team Leadership: Coach and mentor, a team of UX designers, researchers, and other professionals, cultivating a creative and collaborative work environment while fostering a culture of innovation and excellence. Manage MSP team members and drive accountability to goals and KPIs. Ensure the team is well-prepared to deliver high-quality UX solutions.
• AI-UX Capability Building: Develop team expertise in AI-enhanced UX design, ensuring the team stays current with AI/ML capabilities and their application to user experience optimization.

Research & User-Centered Design

• User Research: Oversee user research initiatives to gain a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences. Use this data to inform product design, development decisions, and overall strategic roadmap, with particular attention to opportunities where AI can address user pain points.
• User-Centered Design with AI Enhancement: Promote user-centered design principles throughout the product development lifecycle, ensuring designs are rooted in user feedback, usability best practices, and data-driven insights. Focus on creating unified experiences that leverage AI to anticipate user needs and streamline interactions.
• Workflow Optimization: Identify and eliminate unnecessary steps in user workflows through intelligent AI integration, creating more efficient and intuitive user experiences.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Product-Engineering Collaboration: Collaborate closely with product managers and engineering teams to translate user requirements into tangible product features and enhancements, leveraging product management background to bridge strategic and tactical execution. Strive for seamless integration of UX and AI capabilities into the development process.
• AI Implementation Partnership: Work with data science and AI/ML teams to identify opportunities for intelligent automation, predictive insights, and enhanced user experiences across the product portfolio.

Measurement & Optimization

• Metrics and Measurement: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of UX initiatives and track improvements in user satisfaction and engagement. Analyze user data, feedback, and usability testing results to inform design decisions and prioritize enhancements, including AI effectiveness metrics.
• AI Insights Integration: Implement systems to gather and analyze user behavior data, using AI to generate actionable insights that inform continuous UX improvements and workflow optimizations.

Design & Development Excellence

• Prototyping and Testing: Create prototypes and conduct usability testing to validate design concepts and iterate on solutions, including AI-enhanced features. Use feedback to improve the user experience and AI integration effectiveness.
• UX Guidelines and Standards: Establish and maintain design guidelines and standards to ensure consistency and coherence across products, including standards for AI integration and intelligent user assistance.
• User Engagement and Feedback Loops: Implement strategies to gather and analyze user feedback, ensuring that customer insights are integrated into product improvements and AI enhancement opportunities.

Inclusive Design & Operations

• Accessibility and Inclusivity: Ensure that products are designed to be accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, and promote inclusivity in design practices, including AI-driven accessibility features.
• Budget and Resource Management: Manage the UX budget and resources efficiently, aligning them with business priorities and project timelines.
• Continuous Improvement: Implement best practices and industry trends to stay at the forefront of UX design and AI integration. Promote a culture of continuous improvement within the UX team.

Required Qualifications and Skills:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., Human-Computer Interaction, UX Design, Psychology, Design, Product Management, Business)
• 12-15 years of related experience, with significant background in product management that evolved into UX leadership
• 8-10 years of managerial experience, with demonstrated success transitioning from product management to UX leadership roles
• Must be willing to travel as required

Core Competencies

• Product Management Foundation: Proven background in product management with deep understanding of product strategy, roadmap development, and market-driven decision making
• Enterprise-Wide UX Leadership: Extensive experience in Enterprise-Wide, Product Lead UX design and strategy, with a proven track record of delivering successful user experiences across complex product portfolios
• AI Integration Expertise: Experience with AI/ML integration in user experiences, including workflow automation, intelligent insights, and predictive user assistance
• Strong leadership and team management skills - Must demonstrate the ability to drive accountability and high engagement

Technical & Design Skills

• Proficiency in UX design tools, such as Adobe XD, Sketch, Figma, or similar
• Understanding of AI/ML capabilities and their application to user experience design
• In-depth knowledge of user research methodologies and usability testing
• Experience with data analytics and AI-driven insights platforms
• Familiarity with web and mobile application development processes

Collaboration & Communication

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Proven ability to work with AI/ML teams and data scientists to integrate intelligent capabilities into user experiences
• Experience working in cross-functional teams and collaborating with product management and development teams
• Demonstrated success in holistic, enterprise-wide product thinking and execution

Preferred Qualifications and Attributes:

• Masters or advanced degree in UX, Product Management, or related field
• Pragmatic Institute Experience or similar product management certification
• Experience with AI/ML platforms and workflow automation tools
• Background in enterprise software and complex product ecosystems
• Demonstrated success in leading digital transformation initiatives

Salary Range: $230,000 - $270,000

CDK Global is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. Compensation packages are based on several factors, including but not limited to skills, experience, certifications, and work location. The total compensation package for this position may also include annual performance bonus, benefits and/or other applicable incentive compensation plans.We offer Medical, dental, and vision benefits in addition to:

• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 401K Matching Program
• Tuition Reimbursement

At CDK, we believe inclusion and diversity are essential in inspiring meaningful connections to our people, customers and communities. We are open, curious and encourage different views, so that everyone can be their best selves and make an impact.

CDK is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating an inclusive workforce where everyone is valued. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, creed or religion, age, disability (including pregnancy), results of genetic testing, service in the military, veteran status or any other category protected by law.

Applicants for employment in the US must be authorized to work in the US. CDK may offer employer visa sponsorship to applicants.