Senior AI Research Developer

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.

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.

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.

• 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.

• 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.

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…