JOB LEVEL
M60/P60
EMPLOYEE ROLE
Individual Contributor
The opportunity
We are seeking a Principal Designer to define the future of human–AI collaboration across Adobe’s ecosystem. This role focuses on agentic systems operating across complex creative and enterprise workflows. You will shape the interaction paradigms that govern delegation, control, evaluation, and trust.
This is a systems design role focused on AI behavior, orchestration, and adaptive interfaces. We are looking for a designer who works directly with models, prototypes in code, and treats AI systems as a design material.
What you’ll do
This role demands a systems thinker operating across strategy and implementation. You will define interaction paradigms, prototype AI behaviors, and align research, engineering, and design around a coherent vision.
Define New Interaction Paradigms for Agentic Systems
Establish mental models for delegation, collaboration, and control between humans and AI agents.
Design interaction frameworks for multi-step workflows and tool-using systems.
Define how users inspect reasoning, guide autonomous behavior, and balance prompt-based and structured interaction.
Design for Trust, Transparency & Evaluation
Create mechanisms that make AI reasoning legible, including confidence indicators, provenance, and evaluation UX.
Design failure recovery and escalation models.
Contribute to guardrails that balance capability with safety.
Prototype AI-Native Experiences
Work directly with large language models and agent frameworks.
Write and refine prompts, skills, system instructions, and behavioral constraints to shape system behavior.
Prototype using code, scripting, or AI tooling.
Rapidly iterate through build → test → refine cycles in close partnership with research and engineering.
Shape Context-Aware & Brand-Aware Systems
Design systems that understand creative context, enterprise constraints, memory, and personalization.
Contribute to the evolution of AI-native components within Adobe’s design system.
Drive Strategic & Org-Level Impact
Influence senior leadership through compelling system visions and working prototypes.
Align cross-functional teams around AI interaction strategy.
Mentor designers working in emerging AI spaces and elevate the craft of behavior design across the organization.
What you'll bring
We are redefining what it means to be a designer at the Principal level in the age of AI.
Core Experience
10+ years of experience in product, systems, or interaction design.
Demonstrated experience defining and shipping AI-native or agent-based systems.
Experience designing for creative tools or deep familiarity with creative workflows and processes.
Deep systems thinking with experience designing platforms or complex workflows.
Hands-on experience working with large language models and designing adaptive or generative interfaces, including dynamic UI, tool selection, and orchestration layers.
Comfort prototyping in code and contributing production-quality implementations alongside engineering teams.
Experience driving cross-functional alignment on ambiguous, emerging technology initiatives.
Additional Depth
Experience designing enterprise AI workflows.
Familiarity with multi-agent orchestration patterns.
Experience integrating first- and third-party AI systems.
Background in automation design, developer tooling, or platform ecosystems.
Accessibility expertise in AI-driven interfaces.
Preferred Accessibility Design Skills:
Experience designing accessible and inclusive interfaces for people with disabilities.
Understanding of applying WCAG conformance criteria in design, specifically testing comps, wireframes, and prototypes for accessibility standards.
Accessibility certifications CPACC, WAS, CPWA, or ADS from the IAAP preferred.
You think in behaviors, systems, and capabilities, not just screens, flows, and features.
You treat AI systems as a design material. You’ve built AI workflows or agent prototypes and understand how model behavior shifts under constraint, how tools are invoked, and how memory and guardrails shape outcomes.
You are energized by ambiguity. Designing agentic systems means working with emergent behavior and evolving systems. Rather than waiting for clarity, you create it through prototypes and collaboration with research and engineering.
You are opinionated about the future of AI-native workflows and excited to help shape new ways of working. Most importantly, you believe AI should expand human creativity and capability. You design systems that empower people, not replace them.
How to apply
To be considered for this role, please submit your resume and portfolio. We’re especially interested in systems you’ve defined, AI workflows you’ve built, and evidence of working directly with intelligent systems.
About Adobe Design
Adobe Design creates tools that amplify the world’s ability to create and communicate. We’re a global team of designers, researchers, prototypers, content strategists, program managers, and more who work across Adobe’s three product lines: Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and Experience Cloud.
Expected Pay Range:
Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this position is $175,600 -- $334,500 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process.
In California, the pay range for this position is $231,000 - $334,500
At Adobe, for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC = base + commission), and short-term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans. Non-sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short-term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).
In addition, certain roles may be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.
State-Specific Notices:
California:
Fair Chance Ordinances
Adobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and “fair chance” ordinances.
Colorado:
Application Window Notice
If this role is open to hiring in Colorado (as listed on the job posting), the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time, in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location, no specific application window applies, and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.
Massachusetts:
Massachusetts Legal Notice
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Internal Opportunities
Creativity, curiosity, and constant learning are celebrated aspects of your career growth journey. We’re glad that you’re pursuing a new opportunity at Adobe!
Put your best foot forward:
1. Update your Resume/CV and Workday profile – don’t forget to include your uniquely ‘Adobe’ experiences and volunteer work.
2. Visit the Internal Mobility page on Inside Adobe to learn more about the process and set up a job alert for roles you’re interested in.
3. Check out these tips to help you prep for interviews.
4. If you are applying for a role outside of your current country, ensure you review the International Resources for Relocating Employees on Inside Adobe, including the impacts to your Benefits, AIP, Equity & Payroll.
Once you apply for a role via Workday, the Talent Team will reach out to you within 2 weeks. If you move into the official interview process with the hiring team, make sure you inform your manager so they can champion your career growth.
At Adobe, you will be immersed in an exceptional work environment that is recognized around the world. You will also be surrounded by colleagues who are committed to helping each other grow through our unique Check-In approach where ongoing feedback flows freely. If you’re looking to make an impact, Adobe's the place for you. Discover what our employees are saying about their career experiences on the Adobe Life blog and explore the meaningful benefits we offer.
Let’s Adobe together
At Adobe, we believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. Learn more about Adobe life, including our values and culture, focus on people, purpose and community, Adobe for All, comprehensive benefits programs, the stories we tell, the customers we serve, and how you can help us advance our mission of empowering everyone to create.
Adobe is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Learn more.
Adobe aims to make our Careers website and recruiting process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, email accommodations@adobe.com or call +1 408-536-3015.
AI Use Guidelines for Interviews:
Our interviews are designed to reflect your own skills and thinking. The use of AI or recording tools during live interviews is not permitted unless explicitly invited by the interviewer or approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation. If these tools are used inappropriately or in a way that misrepresents your work, your application may not move forward in the process.
At Adobe, we empower employees to innovate with AI — and we look for candidates eager to do the same. As part of the hiring experience, we provide clear guidance on where AI is encouraged during the process and where it’s restricted during live interviews. See how we think about AI in the hiring experience.
