Senior AI Research Developer

Job Description

We help the world run better
At SAP, we keep it simple: you bring your best to us, and we'll bring out the best in you. We're builders touching over 20 industries and 80% of global commerce, and we need your unique talents to help shape what's next. The work is challenging – but it matters. You'll find a place where you can be yourself, prioritize your wellbeing, and truly belong. What's in it for you? Constant learning, skill growth, great benefits, and a team that wants you to grow and succeed.

We are seeking a talented Senior AI Research Developer to join the Application AI team within the Product Engineering board area.

What you’ll do:

You'll bridge applied AI research with practical design and engineering execution. You will study how users interact with intelligent systems, identify new behaviors and pain points introduced by AI, and translate those findings into system-level requirements. You will partner with the full gamut of product teams to move from ideation into production in an accelerated fashion. You will facilitate workshops to align teams on user needs, technical feasibility, and enduring solutions. Your work will guide how AI supports, augments, and accelerates users across our products.

What you bring:

You bring a strong foundation in user research and a natural ability to understand people, their contexts, and the friction points in their work. You move quickly from insight to application, using generative AI tools to prototype ideas, explore design directions and test system behaviors hands on. You translate findings into actionable guidance for design and engineering; you help teams align what users need and how AI can support them. With working knowledge of AI concepts, you can evaluate how generative AI affects accuracy, autonomy, trust and workflow dynamics, ensuring the solutions we build are grounded, usable, and genuinely effective.

Expectations and tasks:

• Use generative AI tools to synthesize findings, explore design directions, build lightweight prototypes, and accelerate research and hypothesis development.
• Use generative AI tools to support synthesis, pattern identification, hypothesis development, and accelerated research operations.
• Help teams evaluate AI-enhanced experiences, including expectations around reliability, explainability, and responsible use.
• Plan, moderate, and synthesize interviews, field studies, workshops, and discovery sessions with customers.
• Translate research insights into clear narratives, frameworks, and recommendations that influence design and product strategy.
• Partner closely with Product, Design, Engineering, Data Science, and AI-focused teams to ensure solutions are grounded in real user needs and responsible practices.
• Present work in accessible, inspiring ways to both technical and non-technical audiences.

About You:

• 7+ years of experience in UX research, UX engineering and/or related fields with a portfolio demonstrating depth in discovery and evaluative research.
• Experience studying complex behaviors, decision-making patterns, and workflows.
• Experience building prototypes, in particular using Gen AI tools
• Familiarity with generative AI, automation, and intelligent assistants impact user expectations, trust, and mental models.
• Ability to design research that evaluates AI-driven experiences, including guidance, transparency, reliability, and responsible use.
• Comfort using generative AI tools for analysis, synthesis, data exploration, and workshop preparation.
• Strong facilitation skills across interviews, workshops, and collaborative sessions.
• Ability to translate complex findings into simple, compelling stories that influence decisions.
• Skilled at working across disciplines and geographies, building strong relationships with stakeholders.
• Comfort navigating ambiguity, adapting to shifting priorities, and maintaining momentum toward outcomes.
• Commitment to designing solutions and research practices that are accessible, inclusive, and responsible.

#SAPAICareers #SAPAIAPP

Bring out your best
SAP innovations help more than four hundred thousand customers worldwide work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively. Originally known for leadership in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, SAP has evolved to become a market leader in end-to-end business application software and related services for database, analytics, intelligent technologies, and experience management. As a cloud company with two hundred million users and more than one hundred thousand employees worldwide, we are purpose-driven and future-focused, with a highly collaborative team ethic and commitment to personal development. Whether connecting global industries, people, or platforms, we help ensure every challenge gets the solution it deserves. At SAP, you can bring out your best.

We win with inclusion
SAP’s culture of inclusion, focus on health and well-being, and flexible working models help ensure that everyone – regardless of background – feels included and can run at their best. At SAP, we believe we are made stronger by the unique capabilities and qualities that each person brings to our company, and we invest in our employees to inspire confidence and help everyone realize their full potential. We ultimately believe in unleashing all talent and creating a better world.

SAP is committed to the values of Equal Employment Opportunity and provides accessibility accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you are interested in applying for employment with SAP and are in need of accommodation or special assistance to navigate our website or to complete your application, please send an e-mail with your request to Recruiting Operations Team: Careers@sap.com.

For SAP employees: Only permanent roles are eligible for the SAP Employee Referral Program, according to the eligibility rules set in the SAP Referral Policy. Specific conditions may apply for roles in Vocational Training.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their age, race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, et al), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, or disability.

Compensation Range Transparency: SAP believes the value of pay transparency contributes towards an honest and supportive culture and is a significant step toward demonstrating SAP’s commitment to pay equity. SAP provides the annualized compensation range inclusive of base salary and variable incentive target for the career level applicable to the posted role. The targeted combined range for this position is 141,700 - 294,700 (USD) USD. The actual amount to be offered to the successful candidate will be within that range, dependent upon the key aspects of each case which may include education, skills, experience, scope of the role, location, etc. as determined through the selection process. Any SAP variable incentive includes a targeted dollar amount and any actual payout amount is dependent on company and personal performance. Please reference this link for a summary of SAP benefits and eligibility requirements: SAP North America Benefits.

AI Usage in the Recruitment Process

For information on the responsible use of AI in our recruitment process, please refer to our Guidelines for Ethical Usage of AI in the Recruiting Process.

Please note that any violation of these guidelines may result in disqualification from the hiring process.

Requisition ID: 434851 | Work Area: Software-Design and Development | Expected Travel: 0 - 10% | Career Status: Professional | Employment Type: Regular Full Time | Additional Locations: #LI-Hybrid