Customer Care AI Program Lead

Discover the possibilities of our progressive, omnichannel approach to beauty retail. At Ulta Beauty, our E-commerce associates sit at the cutting edge of our efforts to reimagine the future of retail. Through a full suite of new and emerging technologies, this team is creating an enhanced buying experience for guests who crave simplicity, choice, personal insights and the joy of discovery. With greater interactivity. Inspired applications of big data, AI and UI/UX. And creative that persuades and delights. All of this, with the opportunity to experience smart ideas come to life.

At Ulta Beauty, we’re forever imagining. Forever striving. Forever investing in next-gen—with deep and rich opportunities for ongoing learning, growth and advancement. We encourage you to take control of your career and set your own ceiling. For curious and big-picture thinkers who can flex to the need and who want to stretch themselves through courage and conviction, Ulta Beauty provides an environment perfectly suited to your ambitions. Let’s build brilliant together.

THE IMPACT YOU CAN HAVE 

Guest Services (Customer Care) supports millions of guest interactions each year across phone, chat, text, email, and social media. Our front‑line Service Specialists are at the heart of this work, delivering care and expertise to every customer. We continue to evolve the function by leading with data, using AI responsibly, and innovating to create better guest experiences.

We are seeking a strategic and execution-focused operator to support the next phase of Customer Care’s evolution through AI. This is not a hands-on engineering role. Instead, it focuses on applying AI within a contact center environment – identifying where it can improve the customer experience, reduce friction, and scale operations.

This role will partner closely with product, engineering, and operations teams to prioritize and implement AI-enabled workflows across the customer support journey. It requires strong judgment across both operations and technology, with the ability to translate customer needs and contact drivers into practical, scalable solutions. In parallel, this role will own how AI performs in production. This includes defining success metrics, establishing a quality and performance management approach, and working with internal teams and BPO partners to continuously improve outcomes.

Success in this role comes from a strong foundation in contact center operations, with an understanding of how different parts of the support ecosystem work together to deliver and improve the customer experience. This is paired with comfort working with technology – such as CRM platforms, QA programs, or support tooling. Direct AI experience is a plus but not required. We are looking for someone who is naturally curious, self-directed, and able to quickly build working knowledge in a rapidly evolving space.

YOU'LL ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS BY

• Analyze AI interaction data to identify performance gaps, experience friction, and automation opportunities: translate performance insights into prioritized improvement initiatives.
• Execute AI performance improvements based on performance insights and business objectives.
• Partner with engineering, product, and Customer Care operations to identify and prioritize guest and agent journeys that should be automated: support the design, launch, and optimization of new AI workflows across digital support channels ensuring to ensure new AI
• Partner with Knowledge Management teams to ensure AI systems leverage accurate, structured knowledge sources. Collaborate on Guest Services launches and AI updates needed to support the business.
• Assist in design and development of the performance management framework for guest-facing AI experiences: metrics definitions, measurement methodologies, reporting, and performance insights.
• Drive design and implementation of a scalable AI quality program to evaluate interaction accuracy, experience quality, and resolution effectiveness: QA frameworks, audit methodologies, and scoring models for AI interactions.
• Operationalize AI quality monitoring through internal teams and BPO partners responsible for executing audit programs and establish audit-the-auditor practices and calibration processes to ensure scoring consistency and continuous improvement.
• Maintain strong awareness of emerging AI capabilities and best practices in customer support automation

ESSENTIALS FOR SUCCESS

• 5+ years of experience in customer support, contact center operations, or digital support environments, with a strong understanding of customer experience, service metrics, and operational workflows.
• 2+ years of experience working with AI, automation, or conversational platforms (e.g., chatbots, virtual assistants, agent assist), with direct involvement in improving performance or scaling use cases a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and prioritize customer journeys for automation, balancing customer experience, complexity, and business impact.
• Experience working cross-functionally with product, engineering, and operations teams to launch or improve support workflows (human or AI).
• Experience designing and implementing performance frameworks, KPIs, or quality programs for support operations (AI or human).
• Experience operationalizing QA or performance programs through BPO/vendor partners, including calibration, audit-the-auditor practices, and continuous improvement loops.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate interaction data into actionable insights and measurable improvements.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to present performance insights and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Familiarity with conversational AI platforms (e.g., Gladly, Sierra, Ada, LivePerson, Dialogflow, etc.) a plus.
• #LI-HYBRID

At Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA), the possibilities are beautiful. Ulta Beauty is the largest North American beauty retailer and the premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, hair care products and salon services. We bring possibilities to life through the power of beauty each and every day in our stores and online with more than 25,000 products from approximately 500 well-established and emerging beauty brands across all categories and price points, including Ulta Beauty’s own private label. Ulta Beauty also offers a full-service salon in every store featuring—hair, skin, brow, and make-up services.

We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest records, conviction records, or other criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of any applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the New York City Fair Chance Act.