Who We Are
At Kyndryl, we design, build, manage and modernize the mission-critical technology systems that the world depends on every day. So why work at Kyndryl? We are always moving forward – always pushing ourselves to go further in our efforts to build a more equitable, inclusive world for our employees, our customers and our communities.
The Role
As the Associate Director, Human/AI Creative Technologist at Kyndryl we’re seeking creative, curious, empathic systems thinkers who want to tackle complex problems with some of the best technical colleagues in the world. You'll be a part of Kyndryl Vital, which is a global network of designers, engineers, writers, researchers, and strategists. We are bound together by a desire to help our customers make sense of complexity and co-create intelligent and adaptive experience ecosystems that resonate with their users and transform their businesses.
You’ll be responsible for driving strategic initiatives and creating impactful experiences for the world’s critical systems? You will combine technical expertise with human-centered design to prototype and implement innovative solutions. Creative technologists blend expertise in code, hardware, and emerging technologies to bring ideas to life.
*This Role is based in our Dallas, TX office. Candidates must reside in the area or be willing to move there.
Specifically you will be responsible for:
- Human-Centered Design: You will guide large teams in user-centered practices and ensure that complex, multi-touchpoint solutions still address fundamental user needs. You likely have experience creating or approving user experience guidelines and frameworks that others follow.
- Cross-disciplinary Collaboration: You have an exceptional ability to lead cross-disciplinary teams. You’ll collaborate with engineering and other departments – you orchestrate them. Under your leadership, design, engineering, business, and operations folks co-create effectively. You can resolve conflicts or misalignments between disciplines by refocusing everyone on common goals.
- Innovation: You’ll be a thought leader in applying emerging technology to solve design and business problems. You have a forward-looking perspective, anticipating what technologies or trends (like agentic AI, edge computing, blockchain, etc.) might be relevant, and you incorporate that into strategic planning. You encourage a culture of continuous innovation in your team, perhaps by establishing innovation sprints or research initiatives within projects.
- Rapid Prototyping: Using your deep knowledge of prototyping at scale; and while you may not build every prototype yourself, you know what high-fidelity prototyping entails and can set expectations and processes for your teams to prototype efficiently. You ensure that rapid experimentation remains a core part of the project approach, even at large scales or later stages of development, to validate assumptions.
- Human-in-the-Loop Patterns: You will design interaction patterns for approvals, escalation, rollbacks, and exception handling so agents act safely and users stay in control.
- Feasibility Analysis: You will assess not only if a design is technically feasible, but also operationally and financially feasible for a client. This comprehensive feasibility perspective means you guide teams toward solutions that are innovative yet realistic given the client’s context (budget, tech infrastructure, talent available, etc.).
- Storytelling: You will craft vision narratives, white papers, or executive presentations that frame an innovative concept in terms of business value and strategic necessity. Your storytelling convinces organizations to take bold steps.
- AI and Data Ethics: You might be establishing guidelines or principles for ethical AI and data usage within the design practice. You ensure that any solution we propose has been vetted for ethical implications, and you can speak to how we mitigate risks related to bias, privacy, and security in front of executive stakeholders or in governance reviews. This includes responsible agentic AI patterns (tool permissioning, human-in-the-loop controls, auditability).
- Tool Ecosystem Strategy: You will define cross-team standards for agent tool ecosystems (API patterns, permission models/RBAC inputs, audit evidence needs, lifecycle/versioning) enabling AI engineers to build and reuse tools safely at scale.
- Front-End Platform Enablement: You influence reusable UI patterns and reference implementations for agentic experiences (design system alignment, interaction standards, observability touchpoints) so delivery teams build consistently.
- Practice Standards: You will establish evaluation standards and reusable QA patterns for agentic engagements (what “good” looks like, how it’s measured, how teams report it).
- Experience Observability Standards: You will define what teams must log/measure for agentic experiences so quality can be managed across programs.
Your Future at Kyndryl
Every position at Kyndryl offers a way forward to grow your career, from Junior Administrator to Architect. We have training and upskilling programs that you find anywhere else, including hands-on experience, learning opportunities, and the change to certify in all four major platforms. One of the benefits of Kyndryl is that we work with customers in a variety of industries, from banking to retail. Whether you want to broaden your knowledge base or narrow your scope and specialize in a specific sector, you can find your opportunity here.
Kyndryl currently does not require employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, however, if you are hired to work at a client, customer, or partner location, you may be required to show proof of vaccination to align with their respective COVID-19 vaccination policies. Those who believe they are eligible may apply for a medical or religious accommodation prior to the start of employment.
Who You Are
You’re good at what you do and possess the required experience to prove it. However, equally as important – you have a growth mindset; keen to drive your own personal and professional development. You are customer-focused – someone who prioritizes customer success in their work. And finally, you’re open and borderless – naturally inclusive in how you work with othe
Preferred Professional and Technical Expertise
- 10+ years of proven work in experience design, creative technology, or innovation roles, with at least several years in a leadership capacity, leading interdisciplinary teams and managing senior-level client relationships.
- Experience in multiple industries or a deep focus in one, enabling you to bring a wealth of knowledge to strategy discussions. You might be known for expertise in a field (e.g., smart cities, healthcare innovation, financial tech) which adds credibility when advising clients in that space.
- Proven track record of delivering large-scale design and technology programs in enterprise environments. You understand enterprise requirements (compliance, scalability, global deployment, etc.) and have led projects that navigated these successfully while still innovating.
- Experience in consulting or agency leadership, including responsibilities for account growth or business development. You know how to identify client needs and propose creative solutions, often leading to follow-on work or expanded engagements (this business acumen supports strategic initiative driving).
- Strong familiarity with IT governance, security standards, and system integration at a high level – ensuring that any cutting-edge solution proposed can pass enterprise scrutiny and be integrated into the client’s ecosystem.
- Experience building or scaling a team or practice. Perhaps you have hired talent, defined team roles, or instituted training programs.
- Hands-on background in technology (software development, data science, etc.) earlier in your career is a plus. While now you operate at a strategic level, having that hands-on foundation helps you guide technical conversations credibly and mentor technical staff effectively.
- Collaboration with Open-Source Agent Stacks: You can partner with AI engineers working in open-source agent runtimes and translate experience requirements into tool contracts, UI behaviors, and evaluation criteria without blocking engineering velocity.
Required Education
- Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field (or equivalent demonstrable portfolio of work).
Preferred Education
- Advanced degree or certification in design, HCI, computer science, or related (e.g., MDM, MDes, MFA, d.MBA or equivalent) is a plus.
The compensation range for this position in the US is $143,640 to $273,000 based on a full-time schedule. Your actual compensation may vary depending on your geography, job-related skills, and experience. For part time roles, the compensation will be adjusted appropriately. The pay or salary range will not be below any applicable state, city, or local minimum wage requirement.
This position will be eligible for Kyndryl's discretionary annual bonus program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Kyndryl's applicable plans. You may also receive a comprehensive benefits package which includes medical and dental coverage, disability, retirement benefits, paid leave and paid time off. Note: if this is a sales commission eligible role, you will be eligible to participate in a sales commission plan in lieu of the annual discretionary bonus program. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.
Being You
Diversity is a whole lot more than what we look like or where we come from, it’s how we think and who we are. We welcome people of all cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. But we’re not doing it single-handily: Our Kyndryl Inclusion Networks are only one of many ways we create a workplace where all Kyndryls can find and provide support and advice. This dedication to welcoming everyone into our company means that Kyndryl gives you – and everyone next to you – the ability to bring your whole self to work, individually and collectively, and support the activation of our equitable culture. That’s the Kyndryl Way.
What You Can Expect
With state-of-the-art resources and Fortune 100 clients, every day is an opportunity to innovate, build new capabilities, new relationships, new processes, and new value. Kyndryl cares about your well-being and prides itself on offering benefits that give you choice, reflect the diversity of our employees and support you and your family through the moments that matter – wherever you are in your life journey. Our employee learning programs give you access to the best learning in the industry to receive certifications, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Skillsoft, and many more. Through our company-wide volunteering and giving platform, you can donate, start fundraisers, volunteer, and search over 2 million non-profit organizations. At Kyndryl, we invest heavily in you, we want you to succeed so that together, we will all succeed.
Get Referred!
If you know someone that works at Kyndryl, when asked ‘How Did You Hear About Us’ during the application process, select ‘Employee Referral’ and enter your contact's Kyndryl email address.