Principal, Experience Architecture & AI Innovation Job at PayPal in San Jose

Principal, Experience Architecture & AI Innovation

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The Company PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years, providing innovative experiences that simplify moving money, selling, and shopping. As a global, two‑sided network, PayPal connects merchants and consumers in about 200 markets.

Job Description Summary: We’re looking for a systems‑minded design and technology leader to define how intelligence, automation, and data flow through PayPal’s design organization. This role will architect the connective tissue between people, tools, and platforms—shaping how Experience Design operates in an AI‑enabled product ecosystem.

Essential Responsibilities

• Establish overall business or technical strategy for user experience initiatives.
• Negotiate with and influence decision‑making at the senior executive level.
• Identify and resolve unique situations of substantial significance in user interface or interaction design.
• Allocate resources responsibly and apply creativity to enhancing user and customer experiences across digital and physical products and services.
• Lead the development of user experience strategies that resonate with target audiences.
• Support and mentor less‑experienced roles to provide an example of innovation, excellence, and day‑to‑day learning.

Expected Qualifications

• 10+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree OR any equivalent combination of education and experience.

Additional Responsibilities And Preferred Qualifications

Mission

To evolve PayPal’s design operating system into an intelligent, adaptive network that connects design data, customer intent, and product performance—enabling the organization to move from reactive delivery to predictive, insight‑driven creation.

Key Responsibilities

• AI‑Enabled Workflow Architecture
• Map and re‑design design‑to‑delivery workflows, identifying where automation and intelligence can remove friction or unlock new capability.
• Prototype AI‑assisted processes for design QA, accessibility, content creation, and portfolio planning.
• Partner with Design Ops and Finance to integrate data pipelines linking Asana, Jira, Figma, and Workday into the AI‑Planning system.
• Experience Intelligence Hub
• Lead the concept and technical prototype of the Experience Intelligence Hub—a central layer connecting customer intent data, product telemetry, and design decisions.
• Define taxonomy, metadata, and data flows between XD, Research, and Product Analytics.
• Partner with AI Platform teams to safely expose and visualise insights for design use.
• Systems Innovation
• Work with the VP Platforms & Tools and Senior Director, Experience Architecture to connect system design, service blueprints, and experience data models.
• Introduce intelligent pattern libraries that adapt based on usage and performance signals.
• Prototype AI copilots and plugins that bring intelligence into daily design workflows.
• Capability & Enablement
• Coach cross‑functional partners on AI‑native ways of working; create documentation and proof points that scale adoption.
• Collaborate with XD leadership on a roadmap for automation maturity and capability development.
• Partner with the CDO Office to quantify ROI and efficiency gains from automation pilots.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration
• Operate across Design, Product, Engineering, Data Science, and Finance.
• Translate technical possibilities into design outcomes—showing, not telling, what intelligence‑driven design looks like in practice.

Qualifications

• 10–15 years blending design, engineering, and systems work (e.g., design technologist, systems designer, creative technologist, or principal IC).
• Strong command of modern product toolchains: Figma, Replit, Cursor, Jira, Confluence, Workday, and APIs.
• Demonstrated experience integrating AI/ML models, building plugins or workflow automations.
• Fluency in JavaScript/TypeScript or Python; ability to prototype intelligent tools.
• Strategic thinker who can visualise systems and communicate them clearly to executives.
• Thrives in ambiguous environments and can independently identify leverage points for change.

PayPal is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The U.S. national annual pay range for this role is $188,000 to $323,950.

PayPal does not charge candidates any fees for courses, applications, resume reviews, interviews, background checks, or onboarding.

REQ ID R0133418

PayPal provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. In addition, PayPal will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at paypalglobaltalentacquisition@paypal.com.