User Experience Researcher

Role Overview

We are seeking a seasoned, Senior User Experience Researcher (UXR) for a high-impact, temporary assignment within the team. This role is ideal for a dedicated research professional who thrives on navigating complex ecosystems, engaging with challenging user populations, and translating deep insights into strategic direction for executive leadership.

The upcoming project pipeline leans heavily into foundational and qualitative research, balanced with sophisticated survey design. Because this role covers a temporary leave, we are looking for a self-starting expert who can hit the ground running with minimal ramp-up time.

Core Responsibilities & Scope of Work

• Executive Presentation & Influence: Navigate both ends of the research spectrum—engaging comfortably with highly technical/challenging user populations and presenting synthesized, strategic, data-driven insights to executives and leadership.
• Mixed-Methods Execution: Lead mixed-methods research initiatives with a heavy focus on qualitative methodologies, including deep-dive interviews, ethnographies, and foundational studies.
• Survey Design & Deployment: End-to-end ownership of large-scale user surveys, from initial experimental design and deployment to interpretation and reporting.
• Data Handling Boundaries:
• Responsible For: Analyzing rich qualitative data from interviews and synthesizing trends from large-scale survey responses.
• Not Responsible For: Heavy data engineering, log analysis, or deep data science. Dedicated internal quantitative researchers and data scientists are available to assist with data cleaning and advanced statistical processing.

Candidate Profile: Requirements & Screening Signals

Critical Requirements (Must-Haves)

• Dedicated UXR Focus: Minimum 5 years of formal, dedicated UX Research experience. Note: This is not a hybrid role. Candidates from a UX/Product Design background who "happen to do research" will not be considered.
• Seniority & Autonomy: There is no upper limit on experience. We highly welcome senior hands-on practitioners (10–12 years) who possess the autonomy to lead complex studies from day one.
• Survey Fluency: Complete comfort and proven expertise in designing, deploying, and interpreting large-scale user surveys.

Preferred Experience & Differentiators (Nice-to-Haves)

• Domain Expertise (Highly Valued): Deep familiarity researching IT infrastructure and enterprise security suites. Specific project experience in the following areas is a massive plus:
• Identity & Access Management (IAM)
• Cybersecurity & Audit Logging Tools
• SIEM (Security Information and Event Management)
• CASB (Cloud Access Security Brokers)
• AI Security: Sourcing or research experience in the emerging domain of AI security. Given the novelty of this field, extensive longevity is not expected, but active project experience is a premier differentiator.
• Academic Background: Advanced degree preferred. Educational backgrounds in Anthropology or Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) are favored over pure statistics due to the qualitative nature of the upcoming roadmap.
• The Alumnus Advantage: Prior experience within our ecosystem or internal networks is highly preferred to ensure immediate familiarity with internal culture, tooling, and cross-functional alignment.