Senior Lead Creative Technologist

Who We Are At Kyndryl, we run and reimagine the mission-critical technology systems that drive advantage for the world’s leading businesses. We are at the heart of progress; with proven expertise and a continuous flow of AI-powered insight, enabling smarter decisions, faster innovation, and a lasting competitive edge. For our people—Kyndryls—that means doing purposeful work that powers human progress. Join us and experience a flexible, supportive environment where your well-being is prioritized and your potential can thrive. The Role A Creative Technologist is a cross-disciplinary person that bridge between a design vision and engineering execution, using experimentation to solve problems in new and novel ways. They Combines 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. As a Creative Technologist at Kyndryl Vital you will lead design initiatives across a variety of complex projects, ensuring that solutions are innovative, intuitive, and aligned with client objectives. You’ll act as both a hands-on expert and a team leader—driving the use of emerging technologies, setting prototyping standards, and overseeing the end-to-end design process from early discovery through user testing and delivery. You’ll build strong relationships with senior client stakeholders, serving as a trusted advisor on how technologies like agentic AI, IoT, or AR can unlock value and elevate experiences. Internally, you’ll mentor teams across design and engineering—bridging creative vision and technical feasibility while fostering a culture of experimentation and collaboration. You’ll partner with delivery leads to ensure creative technology workstreams align with timelines and goals, influencing implementation decisions and ensuring the final product reflects the intended experience. By balancing big ideas with practical constraints, you’ll deliver solutions that are both groundbreaking and scalable. Who You Are Required Technical and Professional Expertise · Human-Centered Design : You have an expertise in applying human-centered design at a strategic level. You can not only execute design thinking techniques but also guide others in the team to ensure the end product genuinely resonates with users on a functional and emotional level. · Cross-disciplinary Collaboration : You lead cross-functional collaboration. You often act as the “glue” between different disciplines – facilitating communication between design, engineering, business, and even between our team and the client’s technical teams. Everyone stays aligned thanks to your ability to speak everyone’s language. · Innovation : You have a portfolio of projects that introduced new technology or novel interactions. You proactively explore the tech landscape for opportunities. For example, you might have implemented an industry-first use of a technology at a previous job, or you regularly prototype with experimental tech to assess its potential. · Rapid Prototyping : You can swiftly create everything from visual simulations to fully interactive prototypes that are nearly indistinguishable from a real product. Equally important, you can set up an environment for the team to prototype efficiently, possibly by establishing libraries, frameworks, or processes that accelerate prototyping cycles. · Human-in-the-Loop Patterns: You can design interaction patterns for approvals, escalation, rollbacks, and exception handling so agents act safely and users stay in control. · Feasibility Analysis : You have a deep skill in technical feasibility and risk assessment. You can map out the technical requirements of a visionary idea and identify what it would take to implement (time, resources, new skill sets, etc.). You anticipate challenges (scalability, performance, integration issues) and address them early · Storytelling : You craft presentations and narratives that not only explain a concept but inspire and rally support around a vision. As a result, stakeholders (from end-users in testing sessions to C-suite executives in readouts) are engaged and excited about the possibilities you present. · AI and Data Ethics : You lead by example in considering the ethical implications of design decisions, especially when they involve AI or user data. For instance, you ensure any AI features are transparent and fair, and you educate clients and team members about responsible AI and data practices. This includes responsible agentic AI patterns (tool permissioning, human-in-the-loop controls, auditability). · Tooling Standards & Governance (Scale): You can establish standards for agent tools (schema conventions, versioning, security review inputs, documentation) and align with AI engineers so open-source agent development integrates consistently across projects. · Experience Integration at Scale: You can set front-end integration patterns for agentic workflows (events/telemetry hooks, streaming, audit trails, and human-in-the-loop checkpoints) and ensure shipped experiences match intended design quality. · Quality at Scale: You can define team standards for evaluation, observability signals, and release readiness for agentic experiences moving from pilot to production. Preferred Professional and Technical Expertise · 8+ years of experience in roles involving creative technology, user experience, or digital innovation. You have led significant portions of projects and possibly managed other technologists or designers. · Demonstrated depth in one or more industry verticals or technology domains, which allows you to quickly contextualize solutions for specific business problems (e.g., you deeply understand healthcare tech and regulations, or you have expertise in automotive manufacturing user experience, etc.). · Experience in both enterprise-scale project delivery and design consulting. You can navigate corporate governance, security reviews, and large program structures, but you also know how to drive lean project delivery. · Strong knowledge of enterprise IT and architecture (e.g., cloud platforms, databases, APIs, security considerations) enabling you to design solutions that integrate well with clients’ ecosystems or to advise on technical architecture for prototypes. · Familiarity with organizational change management or DesignOps. At this level, you may be influencing not just the product but how the client organization adopts new tools or processes. Experience here helps ensure your solutions are actually embraced and implemented by the customer’s teams. · Advanced background in data science, AI/ML, or computational design is a plus. This could mean you’ve worked closely with data scientists, developed AI-driven prototypes, or otherwise can conceptually design and even build features that leverage data and ML. · 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. You may specialize more deeply in ( at this level, you might be an expert for a specialization while still maintaining a broad skill set) : o AI/ML/GenAI o Phygital Design o Connected Product/IoT o Mobile and Web + Front-End Architecture for Experience Required Education · Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field (or equivalent demonstrable portfolio of work). Preferred Education · Advanced degree in a relevant field (e.g., MDM, MDes, MFA, or equivalent MS in HCI, MBA with tech focus, PhD in a design or tech field) or equivalent continued education is a plus. The compensation range for the position in the U.S. is $115,080 to $218,520 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):$138,120to$262,320 California (All Other):$126,600to$240,480 Colorado: $115,080to$218,520 Massachusetts$115,080to$240,480 New York City: $138,120to$262,320 Washington: $126,600to$240,480 Washington DC:$126,600to$240,480 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. Being You The “Kyn” in Kyndryl means kinship, which represents the strong bonds we have with each other, our customers and our communities. We focus on ensuring all Kyndryls feel included and we welcome people of all cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. Even if you don’t meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply. We believe in growth, and we’re excited to see what you can bring. At Kyndryl, employee feedback has told us that our number one driver of employee engagement is belonging. That sense of belonging — being a valued, respected, trusted member of the team — is fundamental to our culture and fueling great experiences for our customers. This dedication to welcoming everyone into our company means that Kyndryl gives you the ability to thrive and contribute to our culture of empathy and shared success. That’s The Kyndryl Way. What You Can Expect Your career with us isn’t just a job—it’s an adventure with purpose. We offer a dynamic, hybrid-friendly culture that supports your well-being and empowers you to grow. Our Be Well programs are thoughtfully designed to support your financial, mental, physical, and social health—because we know that when you feel your best, you do your best. From your very first day, you’ll dive into impactful work that powers the systems our customers rely on every day. You won’t just contribute—you’ll make a difference, tackling meaningful projects that sharpen your skills and fuel your growth. We’re here to champion your journey. With powerful tools to chart your career path, personalized development goals aligned with your ambitions, and continuous feedback to keep you inspired and on track, you’ll have everything you need to thrive and evolve. You’ll develop in-demand skills to grow your career and achieve your ambitions with access to cutting-edge learning opportunities—from certifications with Microsoft, Google, and Amazon to coaching and hands-on experiences. And through it all, you’ll be part of a culture that values empathy, restless learning, and a devotion to shared success. We want you to thrive here—and we’re committed to helping you do just that. Ready to make an impact? Join us and help shape what’s next. 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.