Lead UX Researcher

About the role

In this Lead position, you will drive the end-to-end UX research practice for a complex, high-impact product portfolio. You will be expected to lead both strategic generative research and evaluative studies, shaping how the team uncovers and acts on deep user insights. As a Lead, you will go beyond execution - you will form key partnerships with product, engineering, and design to surface deeply impactful research opportunities, advocate for user-centered decisions in product roadmaps, and provide strategic and thought leadership on UX research practices and methods. You will support less experienced researchers on the team through coaching, peer review, and by continuously raising the bar for research quality and influence. About You: You are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the end-to-end product development process, with a special emphasis on demonstrating the business impact of UX research and insights. You think beyond the click and ask: Why would anyone want to push this button in the first place? You are an experienced leader with experience working side by side with Product, Design, and Engineering leaders to solve the right problems at scale. You can write about research findings in a way that does not require voice-over - clear, compelling, and self-contained You can sketch in a collaborative way to illustrate a flow or make a point You bring deep knowledge and experience with a wide variety of research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, including:[GU2] Qualitative analysis and reporting; interviewing and group facilitation techniques Contextual Inquiries, Remote Usability Testing, Parallel Prototyping, Persona Development Un-moderated feedback tools (e.g., UserZoom) Ability to triangulate data from many sources Other User-Centered Design (UCD) methods to develop user insights You have deep knowledge and practical experience structuring user needs through fundamental UX frameworks such as Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) and Customer Experience Outcomes (CXOs). You use these frameworks not just to describe user behavior, but to connect research insights directly to business and product decisions. You can keep pace with agile testing while maintaining the strategic perspective needed to give design teams long-term goals for hitting user objectives. You influence decisions and next steps with product and design partners, are comfortable navigating trade-offs, and advocate for user-centered outcomes in roadmap prioritization. AI & Research Acceleration Experience building, using, or experimenting with AI tools (e.g., Claude and other AI platforms) Practical experience applying AI to accelerate Experience building prototypes with AI tools that pull directly from a body of insights to illustrate recommendations. A mindset focused on responsible, thoughtful adoption of AI to raise the efficiency and impact of UX research Lead Expectations in an Embedded Model Proactive and self-directed - identifies opportunities and acts without waiting for direction Provides strategic and thought leadership on UX research practices, methods, and the team's overall research approach Partner with other customer insight functions, including Product Marketing and Customer Experience teams to create a more wholistic research roadmap and triangulate data Takes initiative to shape research strategy, not just execute studies Forms key partnerships with product, engineering, and design to unearth deeply impactful research opportunities Advocates for user-centered decisions in roadmaps and influences next steps with product and design partners Navigates trade-offs thoughtfully and helps teams make informed, user-grounded decisions under constraints Supports less experienced UX researchers through coaching, peer review, and mentorship Continuously raises the bar for what "Lead level" research looks like in quality, influence, and outcomes A strong team player who collaborates naturally while operating autonomously and owning results end to end