Director, AI Innovation Lab, Vital Studio Lead

Your role

As leader of the Kyndryl Studio in the Dallas AI Innovation Lab, you inherit the proven, differentiated co-creation methodology our global Labs network already runs, and draw on Kyndryl’s growing community of AI designers to evolve it. You run that methodology in Dallas from day one and mature the practice quickly as you learn what works. You also enjoy a flagship lab, executive visibility, and a clear mandate to advance the most contemporary AI design practice in the industry.

This is one of several leadership roles on the Lab leader’s team. You keep the operation running, make decisions, and delegate on the leader’s behalf.

What you will do

AI design practice

• Run the global Labs co-creation methodology in Dallas and evolve it based on results.
• Set Kyndryl’s US standards for designing AI systems. These standards cover human-in-the-loop design (when people approve, review, or override), how much autonomy an agent gets, how a system shows its reasoning and confidence, what happens when it fails, how it hands work back to people, and how it learns from feedback.
• Build the playbooks, toolkits, templates, and training that keep every Studio team at the same standard.
• Use AI in your own design process for research, synthesis, prototyping, and agentic workflow design.
• Lead the communications and enablement that spread the practice across Kyndryl.

Partnership with engineering

• Work with engineering leaders as an equal partner, from first concept through production.
• Design the transition from design to code so ideas reach working software with their intent intact. Define the shared artifacts, code-based prototypes, handoff points, and joint working rhythms with the Engineering Zone and delivery teams.

Studio team

• Lead and develop the Studio team, including early-career professionals who start when you do. Set a high bar for craft.
• Work with Kyndryl leadership to assign dedicated designers to the Studio, replacing per-visit staffing.
• Give the team clear roles, routines, and quality standards so it runs without depending on any one person.

Customer engagements

• Design Studio sessions for customer visits, executive workshops, and innovation engagements, in partnership with the Lab Customer Experience Lead, who owns visit operations.
• Lead C-suite co-creation sessions that turn open questions into a shared vision, validated concepts, and a roadmap.
• Direct concept experiences, future-state workflows, prototypes, and proof points.

Growth and influence

• Turn proven session formats into scalable offerings and accelerators.
• Originate and shape revenue opportunities with sales and delivery teams.
• Act as a key voice for Kyndryl on human-AI systems and agentic transformation with customers, analysts, and executives.

Your First 12 Months

• First 90 days: You run the global Labs methodology in Dallas, deliver consistent, high-quality customer sessions, and set clear team roles.
• By month 6: You publish AI design standards that the team uses, agree on a design-to-code process with engineering leaders, and secure dedicated designer capacity.
• By month 12: You launch playbooks and training, package reusable offerings, connect Studio work to named revenue opportunities, and feed improvements back into the global Labs methodology. You run the Studio independently and delegate on the Lab leader’s behalf.

Additional information

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.

Required skills and experience

• A clear record of leading cross-functional teams of designers, engineers, and business partners to measurable results in contemporary AI design. You deliver, influence senior leaders, and run a team without close supervision.
• Recent, proven work designing AI products, services, or workflows as your primary focus, shown in a portfolio of shipped work with measurable results.
• Deep skill in designing for AI, including human-in-the-loop systems, autonomy and control, trust and transparency, uncertainty and failure, evaluation, and agent orchestration.
• Hands-on mastery of the end-to-end design process, from research through prototyping and handoff.
• Strong working relationships with engineers. You’re comfortable with prompts, models, agents, and data, and you prototype close to code.
• Executive presence to lead C-level customers through high-stakes decisions.
• Business sense that links design work to commercial results.
• Ability to work on-site in Dallas, TX.

Preferred skills and experience

• Experience at a consultancy, agency, in-house product team, or AI-native company. Proven AI design success matters more than the path.
• Experience leading creative technologists or prototyping in code yourself.
• Experience in enterprise technology, infrastructure, or managed services.
• Thought leadership through speaking, publishing, or analyst engagement.

Pay and benefits

The compensation range for the position in the U.S. is - $179,760 to $341,520 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.

There is a different applicable compensation range for the following work locations:

• California (San Francisco Bay Area): $215,640 to $409,800
• California (All Other): $197,640 to $375,600
• Colorado: $179,760 to $341,520
• Massachusetts $179,760 to $375,600
• New York City: $215,640 to $409,800
• Washington:$197,640 to $375,600
• Washington DC:$197,640 to $375,600

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.