Qualitative Researcher

Company Description

Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale - tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world. Join Visa and do work that matters - to you, to your community, and to the world.

Progress starts with you.

Job Description

The Product Experience Design & Digital (PxD D) team is the innovation arm of Visa Consulting & Analytics. We partner with Fortune 500 clients to apply human-centered research and design thinking to uncover unmet customer needs and translate them into stronger product, digital, and experience strategies. Our work informs both client-facing solutions and internal product and consulting roadmaps across Visa.

The Role

We are seeking a qualitative researcher to support user-centered research across client engagements. This role is ideal for a researcher who excels at uncovering human insights through qualitative methods, can synthesize complexity into clear stories, and is comfortable operating in fast-moving, client-facing consulting environments.

What You'll Do

Lead and Support Qualitative Research

• Support all phases of design and user research, including scoping, research strategy, hypothesis development, fieldwork, synthesis, and insight storytelling
• Plan and conduct qualitative research using methods such as in-depth interviews, diary studies, concept evaluations, co-creation sessions, and usability testing
• Frame complex research problems and help determine the most appropriate qualitative (and mixed-methods) approaches across different product and experience phases
  
  

Synthesis, Insight Development & Storytelling

• Translate research findings into clear, compelling insights that reframe client problems and surface opportunity areas
• Create research artifacts such as in personas, journey maps, user flows, mental models, and opportunity frameworks
• Develop client-ready deliverables and presentations that clearly communicate the voice of the user and inspire action
  
  

Design Thinking & Facilitation

• Support and co-facilitate design thinking workshops with clients and internal stakeholders to identify pain points, test ideas, and align on opportunities
• Collaborate with designers, consultants, and product partners to ensure research insights are embedded into solution development
  
  

Project & Stakeholder Management

• Support research scoping, timelines, documentation, and deliverable preparation across multiple concurrent projects
• Coordinate with external research vendors and internal partners, including participant recruitment, logistics, and data/privacy considerations
• Build strong working relationships with cross-functional partners across Design, Research, Product, and Consulting teams
  
  

Practice Building

• Contribute to the development of internal research tools, templates, and best practices
• Act as a change agent by introducing fresh ideas that elevate the research craft and culture within PxD D
  
  

The Ideal Candidate Will

• Be deeply curious about consumer motivations and how people interact with products, services, and experiences
• Excel at qualitative research and insight synthesis, with the ability to confidently explain why certain methods were chosen and how insights were derived
• Be comfortable working through ambiguity and translating messy inputs into clear, human-centered narratives
• Enjoy collaborating in fast-paced consulting environments with shifting priorities
• Demonstrate strong storytelling skills, especially through PowerPoint and visual frameworks
  
  

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your hiring manager.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• 2 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD, or PhD)
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• 3 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or more than 2 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD)
• 5 years of experience in user research, design research, market research, insights, consulting, or related fields
• Strong qualitative research expertise (quantitative experience is a plus)
• Experience conducting and synthesizing qualitative research such as interviews, diary studies, or concept testing
• Excellent verbal, written, and visual communication skills
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams and deliver high-quality work under tight timelines
• Collaborative mindset with strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills
• Bachelor's degree in a research-oriented discipline such as Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Human-Computer Interaction, Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Economics, or similar
• Experience facilitating or co-leading client workshops
• Familiarity with research platforms such as dScout, UserTesting, Miro/FigJam, or similar
• Knowledge of accessibility best practices
• Experience in payments, financial services, or regulated industries
  
  

Additional Information

Work Hours: Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements: This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements: This position will be performed in an office setting. The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.

Visa is an EEO Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.

Visa will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.

U.S. APPLICANTS ONLY: The estimated salary range for this position is 104,600 to 190,900 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401 (k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.