About this role.
This Lead Research Advisor role is a mid-market Customer Success position that combines customer relationship management with qualitative UX research consulting. The hire will own a portfolio of accounts, increase platform adoption, manage retention risk, and identify expansion opportunities alongside Sales and Renewal partners. Core work includes training customers on Dscout’s platform and research methodology, advising on study design, and helping customers derive insights from research data. The role also acts as the voice of the customer internally, collaborating with product, engineering, sales, and research-advisor colleagues. It is best suited to an empathetic, organized consultant with research experience, SaaS customer-success capability, and strong executive-facing communication.
Role DNA
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Job Complexity
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4/5Autonomy Level
4/5Communication Load
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Core skills
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Sample interview questions
I would first review usage trends, stakeholder changes, open support issues, and the customer’s original goals. I would schedule a discovery conversation to identify barriers, then create a documented recovery plan with targeted training, a relevant research use case, ownership, milestones, and regular progress reviews with the account team.
I would begin by clarifying the business decision they need to make and the assumptions or uncertainties behind it. From there, I would help them narrow the audience, define learning objectives, select an appropriate Dscout methodology, and design a realistic study plan that produces actionable evidence.
I focus on customer outcomes first, because sustained value and adoption are the strongest drivers of retention. I communicate risks early, document mutual success plans, align internal stakeholders on next steps, and make recommendations that are candid, practical, and tied to the customer’s objectives.
I would include progress against agreed business and research goals, adoption and engagement trends, outcomes from completed studies, stakeholder feedback, risks, and recommended next steps. I would tailor the discussion to executive priorities and connect platform activity to strategic value rather than only reporting usage metrics.
I would synthesize feedback into clear themes supported by customer examples, frequency, impact, affected workflows, and any retention or expansion implications. I would distinguish urgent defects from broader product opportunities and close the loop with customers when their feedback informs a decision or improvement.
At Dscout, we’re building the most flexible and powerful UX research platform on the market—trusted by the world’s top brands in finance (JP Morgan Chase, Intuit, Charles Schwab, PayPal), healthcare (Aya, Headspace), consumer goods (Keen, Verizon, Target, Northface), and tech (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Meta, Spotify, AirBnB). Our tools help teams deeply understand the humans behind their products, so they can build better ones. We are expanding our smart and driven team and would love for you to join us.
Lead Research Advisor, Mid-Market (Austin or Chicago)
Job Description
We are looking for a Lead Research Advisor to join our growing Customer Success department. You will drive and grow important relationships by helping our customers find new ways to use our platform, ensuring they achieve maximum value from their investment. This role is a critical function that merges research expertise with a customer success motion, focusing on driving platform adoption and mitigating churn risk. You will also collaborate closely with a team of Research Advisors to design, recruit, and field research projects for our customers
You will have a chance to make a real difference for Dscout’s customers and build your career at the intersection of customer success and research. You are an incredible communicator and a genuine, creative problem-solver. You are our customer’s dedicated partner in success, helping them learn a new digital tool, execute powerful research, and maximize the return on their Dscout subscription. You collaborate closely with Account Directors to help to identify Dscout methodologies that best meet customer needs, build new use cases, identify growth opportunities, and ensure strong platform adoption across their organization. Internally, you are our customers’ champion, driving larger improvements to the platform and overall user experience.
The Lead Research Advisor position is among the most central to Dscout’s operations, so you’ll work with people from across the company on a regular basis, especially our product, engineering, and sales teams. If this sounds like you, apply today!
What you will do:
- Own a portfolio of mid-market accounts, driving adoption, retention, and expansion across the customer lifecycle.
- Act as a Dscout expert to train and educate customers on functionality and Dscout methodology, driving wide and deep platform adoption.
- Proactively identify account risk (e.g., low adoption, contact turnover) and own the risk mitigation plan, partnering with the account team and escalating to leadership as needed to protect renewal outcomes.
- Consult with customers to provide specific recommendations for their research designs on our software platform, ensuring successful outcomes and value realization.
- Equip customers to derive insights from data using Dscout’s analysis tools.
- Collaborate with Research Advisors to deliver and execute customer research studies.
- Partner with our Sales & Renewal team to identify expansion opportunities and proactively mitigate risk of churn. This role carries a retention target but does not own commercial transactions.
- Travel (up to 10%) for onsite customer visits where you will build relationships, train and share best practices, and gather feedback to bring directly back to our Product team.
- Act as a customer advocate by sharing feedback internally to continuously improve Dscout’s product offerings.
- Success in this role is measured by KPI targets for renewal rate, customer check-ins, Executive Business Reviews (EBRs), and Renewal Manager (RM) handoffs.
What you need to have:
- 2+ years experience in research or product design, ideally with exposure to a Customer Success, agency, or consulting model.
- Proven ability to consult with clients/customers to drive product adoption and maximize customer lifetime value.
- BA/BS degree in anthropology, sociology, market research, design research, HCI related field, or equivalent work experience.
- Experience leading complex, high-impact research engagements for in-house or for clients across all phases of qualitative research, especially scoping/planning, design, recruiting, fielding, and analysis a plus.
- Excellent communication skills, both oral and written. Naturally able to strike a balance between friendly and professional in all communications.
- Able to work both collaboratively and independently, proven experience collaborating with and mentoring team members.
- Strong critical thinking skills; excited by the prospect of creative problem solving in the research and SaaS space alongside colleagues and customers.
- Experience with CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce) for activity, and account tracking.
- Flexible and eager to learn new things each and every day.
- Empathetic to others’ needs and circumstances.
- Highly organized, efficient, and detail-oriented.
- An innate curiosity about how and why people behave the way they do, and a desire to better understand complex behavioral problems and find solutions to those problems.
Of course, what is outlined above is an ideal set of expectations; however, business needs and other projects and tasks may shift, and additional tasks could be assigned at the discretion of your manager.
About Dscout
Dscout is a team of passionate, empathetic, and curious professionals. As a recognized leader in the Forrester Wave, we’re at the cutting edge of experience research technology. The power of research drives us – how in-context insights from real people can build more enjoyable products and services.
We prioritize learning, sharing, and building. We also deeply value being a diverse and inclusive team and company and look for team members who align with that belief. Join our dynamic team and help shape product roadmaps and business strategies for the world’s most loved brands.
It doesn’t stop there. When you join the Dscout team, you will get:
- A strong and competitive compensation package with a built-in bonus and equity program.
- An incredible and progressive benefits package (for both you and your dependents) to support work/life balance, including flexible PTO, 15 company holidays, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, 401k match, and much more.
- An education stipend to support your growth & development, and a remote work stipend.
- A company that is open and transparent with our team. You will know what is happening and why it matters.
Dscout is an equal-opportunity employer that values diversity. We do not discriminate based on identity, including race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender identity and expression, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged or sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.
If you need reasonable accommodations for any part of the employment process, please email us at accommodations@dscout.com with the nature of your request and your contact information. We’ll do everything possible to ensure you’re well-prepared for success during our interview process, while also upholding your privacy, including accommodating any special requests. Please note that only inquiries regarding requests for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.
When you apply at Dscout, we will process your job applicant data, including your employment and education history, transcript, writing samples, and references, as necessary to consider your job application for open positions. For more information about our privacy practices, please visit our Privacy Policy.
Dscout participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law.
Location Flexibility: Dscout is proud to support a remote-first workforce and enable employees to work from almost anywhere. At this time, however, we are unable to hire in the following locations: Montana, Hawaii, Alaska, and Washington DC.
NOTE: DSCOUT NEVER CONTACTS JOB APPLICANTS VIA TEXT, MESSENGER, OR OTHER SIMILAR APPLICATIONS. BE AWARE OF PHISHING AND SPOOFING SCAMS, BOTH VIA TEXT AND EMAIL. ONLY RESPOND TO EMAILS FROM DSCOUT.COM
Annual salary information is not provided for this position. Explore salary ranges for similar roles in our Salary Directory ›
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