Senior UX Architect
Senior UX Architect
VML
Department: Experience Design
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Last Updated: ${ new Date('2025-08-19T16:59:50-04:00').toLocaleDateString() }
Requisition ID: 11481
Who We Are:
At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse.
Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences. Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work.
We’re looking for a strategic Senior UX Architect to join our growing Customer Experience team. This is a role for someone who thrives on solving complex problems for enterprise-level clients and shaping experiences that span multiple channels, touchpoints, and audiences.
You’ll spend your time defining, not decorating, leading research, mapping journeys, structuring information, and framing the strategic direction for experiences that have real-world impact. You’ll collaborate closely with a multi-disciplinary team of designers, developers, analysts, copywriters, and project managers, but your focus will be on understanding users, aligning stakeholders, and setting the blueprint for exceptional experiences.
Part of your time will be dedicated to a high-profile, globally significant project, the kind of opportunity that comes along rarely, where you’ll help shape experiences that will be seen and used by millions. Alongside this, you’ll work across a variety of other client engagements, so adaptability and the ability to juggle multiple priorities are essential.
This is not a visual design role, we have an exceptional design team already. Instead, we’re looking for someone who can lead the thinking, inspire others, and bring a depth of UX expertise that will elevate the whole team.
What You’ll Do
- Lead the research, strategy, and definition phases of projects, from discovery through to experience architecture.
- Plan and facilitate workshops with clients and internal teams to uncover insights, align on goals, and define experience strategies.
- Conduct and oversee user research using a range of qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Create journey maps, service blueprints, IA diagrams, wireframes, and flows that clearly communicate experience intent.
- Collaborate with visual designers, developers, and other specialists to ensure strategic intent is carried through to delivery.
- Work on multi-channel and omnichannel experiences, ensuring consistency and cohesion across touchpoints.
- Mentor and support other UX team members, sharing your expertise and helping to grow their skills.
- Manage your time effectively across multiple concurrent projects.
You will have
- 7+ years of agency-side experience working with enterprise-level clients.
- A portfolio that demonstrates research, strategy, and definition work, not UI design, including sketches, experience maps, and wireframes.
- Proven experience leading large-scale, complex projects in a collaborative environment.
- Strong knowledge of UX methodologies and the ability to apply them appropriately to different contexts.
- A solid understanding of the true discipline of Information Architecture, structuring and organising information and content - not just navigation design.
- Experience planning and facilitating workshops with senior stakeholders.
- Hands-on experience with a wide range of user research methods.
- A track record of mentoring and developing other UX professionals.
- The ability to balance detail-oriented problem solving with big-picture strategic thinking.
- Experience designing multi-channel digital experiences.
- It would also be a bonus if you:
- have experience researching and mapping omnichannel experiences
- have any experience with conversion rate optimisation projects
- have any comprehension of cognitive science or behavioural economics
About the Team
You’ll be joining a 20-strong CX department spread across three countries, made up of visual designers (UI specialists, branding experts, motion designers), researchers, and architects. We’re a collaborative, supportive group who share knowledge freely and are committed to progression, both individually and as a team.
We have clear skills progression frameworks and agency-wide initiatives to help you grow, and we’ll give you the space and support to make a big impact on our clients, on our work, and on the team around you.
Why This Role is Different
Most UX roles in agencies today ask for hybrids who can do strategy and visual design. This isn’t one of them. We value deep expertise in UX strategy, research, and definition and we’re looking for someone who wants to focus on those areas and become a leader in them.
If you want to work on high-profile, globally significant projects, influence the direction of experiences seen by millions, and help shape the future of a talented, multi-disciplinary team we’d love to hear from you.
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We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office an average of four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.
WPP (VML) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.
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