Sr. Design Researcher

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This range is provided by Lead Stack Inc. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

$100.00/hr - $106.00/hr

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.
• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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

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

• Mid‑Senior level

• Contract

• Product Management, Research, and Analyst
• Industries:
  Entertainment Providers, Software Development, and Technology, Information and Media