Experience Designer Lead

Position Overview

At PNC, our people are our greatest differentiator and competitive advantage in the markets we serve. We are all united in delivering the best experience for our customers. We work together each day to foster an inclusive workplace culture where all of our employees feel respected, valued and have an opportunity to contribute to the company’s success. As an Experience Design Lead within PNC's Experience Integration & Strategy Team, you will be based in Pittsburgh, PA, Strongsville, OH, Dallas, TX, or Denver, CO.

We are a diverse group of researchers, designers, strategists, and technologists who are passionate about understanding our customers/employees and crafting experiences that truly meet their needs. We value progress over perfection and action over motion. You will thrive in as part of this team ultimately because you have a passion for helping people live their best financial life.

We are seeking a creative, inquisitive, and thoughtful Experience Design Lead who is passionate about understanding users and shaping meaningful, engaging customer experiences. This role blends strategic thinking with hands-on design and research, offering the opportunity to lead consulting projects, collaborate with clients and stakeholders, and mentor junior team members. The ideal candidate thrives in ambiguity, believes deeply in human-centered design, and is motivated to imagine and build experiences that don’t yet exist.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end consulting projects, including scoping, execution, and delivery for internal clients
• Manage small cross-disciplinary project teams to quality outcomes
• Mentor staff, sharing expertise and perspective to contribute to team maturity overall.
• Partner closely with stakeholders to understand business objectives and translate them into user-centered solutions
• Conduct and apply user research and fieldwork to inform insights, concepts, and iterative design solutions
• Contribute to the development of team practice areas, methodologies, and internal operations
• Facilitate workshops, design sessions, and collaborative working sessions with diverse audiences
• Synthesize complex information into clear, actionable narratives and recommendations
• Understand and balance feasibility, viability, and desirability to determine best product and service design recommendations.

We are interested in you if you:
• Have a background in service design, UX design, graphic design, product management, or social sciences, and believe strongly in the principles of human-centered design
• Are an exceptional communicator and collaborator, able to work effectively across disciplines and levels
• Are driven by empathy and a genuine passion for understanding people and their experiences
• Have hands-on experience conducting user research and fieldwork, and applying insights within an iterative design process
• Enjoy imagining “what if” scenarios and exploring future-focused experiences and solutions
• Are comfortable working with a high degree of ambiguity, and can guide teams and stakeholders toward clarity, focus, and definition
• Have experience working in consulting and/or product design environments
• Experience facilitating design thinking or co-creation workshops
• Familiarity with service blueprints, journey mapping, or systems thinking
• Exposure to cross-functional teams including strategy, technology, and operations

PNC is an in-office company that fosters a supportive culture where employees can thrive and achieve balance. We encourage candidates to connect with their recruiter and hiring manager to understand workplace expectations and ensure the role aligns with their goals.

PNC will not provide sponsorship for employment visas or participate in STEM OPT for this position.

Job Description

• Transforms complex tasks into intuitive, accessible and easy-to-use designs through the entire experience lifecycle, from the first-time user to the expert.
• Leads and guides the discovery of customer and business needs through contextual inquiries, generative and quantitative research. Uncovers customer latent needs and creates vision to meet those needs.
• Sets the design direction and strategy. Leads others to execute visual, information, interaction and service design elements of the initiative that meets business and customer needs and delights customers. Communicates the initiative and product to others, including senior management, through user journeys, storyboards, prototypes, wireframes and other materials.
• Sets the direction for usability of new and existing products, makes adjustments to align with shifting customer expectations.
• Establish research methods and strategies, conduct studies, and present findings that will inform improvements in the customer experience.
• Coaches and mentors junior staff; Assists management team in training new staff.

PNC Employees take pride in our reputation and to continue building upon that we expect our employees to be:

• Customer Focused - Knowledgeable of the values and practices that align customer needs and satisfaction as primary considerations in all business decisions and able to leverage that information in creating customized customer solutions.
• Managing Risk - Assessing and effectively managing all of the risks associated with their business objectives and activities to ensure they adhere to and support PNC's Enterprise Risk Management Framework.

Qualifications

Successful candidates must demonstrate appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities for a role. Listed below are skills, competencies, work experience, education, and required certifications/licensures needed to be successful in this position.

Preferred Skills

Agile Web Development, Business Requirements Documentation (BRD), Data Visualization, Digital User Experience, Employee Engagement, Graphic Design, IT Architecture, JavaScript, Product Management, Project Management, User Experience (UX) Design, Wireframing

Competencies

Business Analytics, Creativity, Design Thinking, Effective Communications, Graphic Visualization, Group Facilitation, Product Development Life Cycle, Requirements Analysis, Solutions Development, User Experience Design, User Interface Design

Work Experience

Roles at this level typically require a university / college degree, with 5+ years of industry-relevant experience. Specific certifications are often required. In lieu of a degree, a comparable combination of education, job specific certification(s), and experience (including military service) may be considered.

Education

Bachelors

Certifications

No Required Certification(s)

Licenses

No Required License(s)

Pay Transparency

Base Salary: $65,000.00 – $149,500.00

Salaries may vary based on geographic location, market data and on individual skills, experience, and education. This role is incentive eligible with the payment based upon company, business and/or individual performance.

Application Window

Generally, this opening is expected to be posted for two business days from 05/01/2026, although it may be longer with business discretion.

Benefits

PNC offers a comprehensive range of benefits to help meet your needs now and in the future. Depending on your eligibility, options for full-time employees include: medical/prescription drug coverage (with a Health Savings Account feature), dental and vision options; employee and spouse/child life insurance; short and long-term disability protection; 401(k) with PNC match, pension and stock purchase plans; dependent care reimbursement account; back-up child/elder care; adoption, surrogacy, and doula reimbursement; educational assistance, including select programs fully paid; a robust wellness program with financial incentives.

In addition, PNC generally provides the following paid time off, depending on your eligibility: maternity and/or parental leave; up to 11 paid holidays each year; 9 occasional absence days each year, unless otherwise required by law; between 15 to 25 vacation days each year, depending on career level; and years of service.

To learn more about these and other programs, including benefits for full time and part-time employees, visitpncthrive.com.

Disability Accommodations Statement

If an accommodation is required to participate in the application process, please contact us via email at AccommodationRequest@pnc.com. Please include “accommodation request” in the subject line title and be sure to include your name, the job ID, and your preferred method of contact in the body of the email. Emails not related to accommodation requests will not receive responses. Applicants may also call 877-968-7762 and say "Workday" for accommodation assistance. All information provided will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.

At PNC we foster an inclusive and accessible workplace. We provide reasonable accommodations to employment applicants and qualified individuals with a disability who need an accommodation to perform the essential functions of their positions.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

PNC provides equal employment opportunity to qualified persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or other categories protected by law.

This position is subject to the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) and, for any registered role, the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) and/or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which prohibit the hiring of individuals with certain criminal history.

California Residents

Refer to the California Consumer Privacy Act Privacy Notice to gain understanding of how PNC may use or disclose your personal information in our hiring practices.