As a VUI & Benchmarking Designer at Cerence AI, you will be instrumental in developing next-generation in-car voice experiences. Your role involves evaluating and benchmarking voice assistants, supporting user studies, analyzing user behavior, and contributing to the design of intuitive, multimodal interactions for both automotive and non-automotive environments. This position is ideal for individuals passionate about voice interaction, user-centered design, and emerging mobility technologies, shaping the future of AI-driven experiences.

Must Have

• Contribute to the design and refinement of voice interactions and conversational flows
• Support VUI and HMI teams with voice persona development, system responses, and multimodal interaction design
• Provide VUI and UX design support for cross-domain and non-automotive product initiatives
• Evaluate competitor and internal voice assistants, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and innovation gaps
• Create comprehensive benchmark reports, including behavioral analysis, quality evaluations, and design implications
• Plan, support, and conduct user studies and usability tests to validate conversational experiences
• Collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to uncover patterns in user behavior and system performance
• Translate findings into actionable insights for UX, VUI, product, and engineering teams
• Produce structured reports and presentations summarizing evaluation outcomes
• Work closely with product managers, UX designers, conversation designers, and engineers
• Participate in design reviews and syncs to advocate for voice-first and multimodal design quality
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) in UX Design, HCI, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Linguistics, or a related field
• Foundational knowledge in UX principles, usability testing, and user research
• Ability to analyze conversational interactions and identify usability or design issues
• Basic proficiency with design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or similar
• Strong analytical, communication, and organizational skills

Good to Have

• Experience or coursework in voice interaction design, conversation design, or multimodal HMI
• Prior experience in the automotive or mobility industry

A Moving Experience.

Role Overview

As a VUI & Benchmarking Designer at Cerence AI, you will play a central role in shaping the next generation of in-car voice experiences. You will evaluate and benchmark voice assistants, support user studies, analyze user behavior, and contribute to the design of intuitive, multimodal interactions for automotive and non-automotive environments. This position is ideal for someone passionate about voice interaction, user-centered design, and emerging mobility technologies.

Key Responsibilities

• VUI Design Support (CA & xUI):
• Contribute to the design and refinement of voice interactions and conversational flows.
• Support VUI and HMI teams with voice persona development, system responses, and multimodal interaction design.

• Non-Automotive Product Support:
• Provide VUI and UX design support for cross-domain and non-automotive product initiatives.
• Ensure design consistency across product families.

• Benchmarking & Competitive Analysis:
• Evaluate competitor and internal voice assistants, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and innovation gaps.
• Create comprehensive benchmark reports, including behavioral analysis, quality evaluations, and design implications.

• User Testing & Research Execution:
• Plan, support, and conduct user studies and usability tests to validate conversational experiences.
• Collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to uncover patterns in user behavior and system performance.

• Data Analysis & Reporting:
• Translate findings into actionable insights for UX, VUI, product, and engineering teams.
• Produce structured reports and presentations summarizing evaluation outcomes.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
• Work closely with product managers, UX designers, conversation designers, and engineers to ensure a user-centered design process.
• Participate in design reviews and syncs to advocate for voice-first and multimodal design quality.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) in UX Design, HCI, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Linguistics, or a related field.
• Foundational knowledge in UX principles, usability testing, and user research.
• Experience or coursework in voice interaction design, conversation design, or multimodal HMI is a strong plus.
• Ability to analyze conversational interactions and identify usability or design issues.
• Basic proficiency with design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or similar.
• Strong analytical, communication, and organizational skills.
• Curiosity and motivation to learn about automotive systems, multimodal UX, and AI-driven interactions.
• Prior experience in the automotive or mobility industry is beneficial but not required.

Cerence Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNC and www.cerence.com) is the global industry leader in creating unique, moving experiences for the automotive world. Spun out from Nuance in October 2019, Cerence is a new, independent company that has quickly gained traction as a leader in the automotive voice assistant space, working with all of the world’s leading automakers – from Ford and Fiat Chrysler to Daimler, Audi and BMW to Geely and SAIC – to transform how a car feels, responds and learns. Its track record is built on more than 20 years of industry experience and leadership and more than 500 million cars on the road today across more than 70 languages.

As Cerence looks to the future and continues an ambitious growth agenda, we need someone to join the team and help build the future of voice and AI in cars. This is an exciting opportunity to join Cerence’s passionate, dedicated, global team and be a part of meaningful innovation in a rapidly growing industry.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Cerence is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, protected military or veteran status, genetic information and other protected classifications. Cerence Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

All prospective and current Employees need to remain vigilant when it comes to executing security policies in the workplace. This includes:

• Following workplace security protocols and training programs to familiarize with the ways to maintain a safe workplace.
• Following security procedures to report any suspicious activity.
• Having respect for corporate security procedures to allow those procedures to be effective.
• Adhering to company's compliance and regulations.
• Encouraging to follow a zero tolerance for workplace violence.
• Basic knowledge of information security and data privacy requirements (e.g., how to protect data & how to be handling this data).
• Demonstrative knowledge of information security through internal training programs.

About Us

At Cerence AI, we help the world's leading automotive and technology brands leverage AI to create safer, more productive and more joy-filled brand and user experiences. We're looking for motivated, collaborative individuals who come alive with big challenges and are excited about AI's potential to shape the future of how people experience the world.

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