Associate Director UX/CX Designer

Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together. Strategic Focus: 20% Strategic, 40% Managerial, 40% Tactical. The Enterprise Digital Product Office (EDPO) at Optum is a centralized organization focused on accelerating digital transformation across the enterprise. The team partners across business, technology, and operations to design, build, and scale product-centric solutions that improve customer experiences, optimize operational workflows, and deliver measurable business outcomes. The team drives consistency in product strategy, agile delivery, and design practices, enabling teams to operate with greater speed, clarity, and impact. By aligning cross-functional stakeholders and leveraging modern technologies, including cloud platforms, data, and AI, the organization supports the development of scalable, user-centered solutions that help advance Optum's mission to build a more effective and equitable health care system. As an Associate Director, Product Design, you will lead a team of Product Designers while owning end-to-end customer experiences, product journeys, or strategic initiatives. You will partner closely with Product, Engineering, Research, Content Strategy, and Business leaders to translate product strategy into a compelling experience vision and drive delivery of high-quality, user-centered solutions. This is a player-coach leadership role that combines people leadership, design strategy, and hands-on execution. You will guide and develop designers, influence product direction, foster a culture of design excellence, and remain actively involved in solving complex experience challenges.

Design Leadership & Delivery Own the design strategy, experience vision, and execution for a broad set of features, customer journeys, products, or strategic initiatives Translate business objectives, customer needs, and product strategy into clear design opportunities, experience principles, and actionable design solutions Lead teams in transforming complex and ambiguous problems into simple, elegant, and innovative experiences across web, mobile, conversational, and AI-enabled channels Guide designers in creating user journeys, workflows, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity experiences that bring product vision to life Partner with Product, Engineering, Research, Content Strategy, Analytics, Accessibility, and Legal teams to ensure experiences are desirable, feasible, viable, and compliant Provide design direction informed by user research, analytics, accessibility standards, health literacy considerations, legal requirements, technical constraints, and best practices Drive quality and consistency across multiple concurrent initiatives while balancing customer needs, business priorities, and delivery timelines Collaborate with Design System teams to contribute reusable components, patterns, and standards that improve scalability and efficiency across products Champion accessibility, inclusive design, and health equity considerations throughout the product design process Support teams in identifying opportunities that improve healthcare access, health outcomes, member engagement, and clinical quality measures such as HEDIS and STARS Leverage AI-enabled tools and emerging design methodologies to accelerate workflows, improve team effectiveness, and enhance product experiences Design Strategy & Thought Leadership Help define and evolve experience strategy across key