Sr. Design Researcher

What We Do / Project

The Senior Design Researcher will champion user-centered research and design practices for internal, web-based applications and platforms used by business stakeholders. This role focuses on uncovering user needs, synthesizing insights, and guiding the design of intuitive, data-driven experiences that simplify complex workflows and enable faster, more informed decision-making.

Job Responsibilities / Typical Day

Strategy & Leadership

• Define and drive a clear research vision aligned with product and business goals
• Prioritize research initiatives to maximize impact and inform product strategy
• Foster a research-driven culture by promoting best practices and deep understanding of user needs
• Mentor and coach team members to strengthen research capabilities and elevate overall impact

Research Planning & Execution

• Plan and conduct user interviews, workshops, and usability testing to uncover explicit and latent user pain points
• Partner closely with UX Designers, Technical Product Owners, and Business Analysts to execute research initiatives
• Apply appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods to inform design decisions

Analysis & Communication

• Synthesize research findings into actionable insights
• Create impactful research artifacts such as personas, archetypes, user journey maps, and experience maps
• Present findings clearly and persuasively to diverse stakeholder groups
• Collaborate with design teams to translate complex business rules and data into intuitive, user-friendly solutions

Facilitation, Collaboration & Advocacy

• Advocate for end users throughout the design and development lifecycle
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including UX, product, engineering, and delivery teams, to ensure insights are incorporated into designs, user stories, and final solutions
• Support iterative product development through ongoing research and validation

Must-Have Skills / Requirements

• User Research Expertise: 8+ years of experience conducting user interviews and eliciting pain points and requirements
• Quantitative Research & Measurement: 8+ years of experience analyzing user behavior data to inform system and product design
• Mentorship & Coaching: 5+ years of experience mentoring team members and promoting user-centric thinking

Nice-to-Have / Preferred Qualifications

• Design Thinking certification
• Experience designing enterprise-level products or internal tools
• Background in software design and development
• Experience in media and entertainment environments
• Familiarity with sales planning and execution workflows
• Branding experience

Soft Skills & Core Competencies

• Deep theoretical and practical knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
• Experience working on moderate to highly complex projects
• Strong portfolio demonstrating research process and impact, including:
• Research roadmaps
• Personas / archetypes
• User journey maps
• Experience maps
• Mental model diagrams
• Research reports and presentations
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills
• Strong ability to empathize with users and uncover motivations
• Proven ability to mentor and collaborate across disciplines
• Experience working in agile, cross-functional teams
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Comfortable in fast-paced, evolving environments and resilient in the face of change

Technology Requirements

• Prototyping tools: Figma or Adobe Creative Suite
• Survey tools: M365 Forms, SurveyMonkey
• Collaboration tools: Miro
• Documentation and reporting tools: Jira, Confluence, M365

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Sociology, Psychology, or a related field