Lead UX Researcher

At Zendesk, we know that delivering great customer service experiences is the key to running a successful business.  Our goal is to make customer service better by building software that brings companies and their customers closer together, sets companies up for success, and keeps businesses in sync.

We believe in collaborative working relationships, curiosity about our customers, insight-informed design, and delivering solutions that solve real problems for our customers.

UX Researchers are an integral part of our Product Development organization! In this role, you will craft and execute sophisticated research projects which require an in-depth evaluation of variable factors.  Your research will contribute to designs for Zendesk products that are powerful and easy to use.

As a Lead User Experience Researcher, you will use a variety of research methodologies to help define the vision for the user experience of our software.  You will lead end-to-end research critical to the success of Zendesk by ensuring we meet our customers’ needs, set our customers up for success, and keep our customers’ businesses in sync.

This role will be based remotely in the US.

Who we’re looking for:

This opportunity is for a Lead User Experience Researcher with demonstrated ability partnering with cross-functional teams (e.g., design, product, data analytics, marketing)   to build strategic research plans that deliver insights that help them make decisions.   Successful candidates will have expertise with a variety of remote and face-to-face research methods, a gift for mentoring colleagues, a drive to lead department and org-wide initiatives, and a passion for the user experience.

What our researchers get to do every week:

• Work collaboratively with designers, product managers, marketing and engineering teams to provide customer insights that fuel our product development efforts.
• Participate in and lead weekly huddles and standup meetings with product, design, and research teams.
• Select appropriate research methods to turn open questions and curiosities into formal research plans, and execute those plans to inform product and design strategy.
• Partner with product management, data analysts and other UX Researchers to craft coordinated research strategies and insights, triangulating data from different sources and methods to find opportunities for improving the customer journey.
• Use workflows, scenarios, profiles and reports to document customer behavior, and articulate the goals, behavior and preferences of Zendesk customers.
• Translate insights into meaningful recommendations for design and product partners.
• Assist in the creation and evolution of user personas, our research training materials, and our Research & Insight Center.
• Share research insights across the organization to generate empathy and inspire action on behalf of Zendesk’s users, customers and prospects.

What you bring to the role:

• A portfolio of work samples demonstrating expertise in a broad palette of research methods (e.g. moderated and unmoderated testing, ethnographic research, group facilitation, survey design, sampling methods and validity in research design) and how your research has impacted the customer experience or business strategy
• A proven record of proactively seeking opportunities to share expertise and build knowledge amongst the rest of the UX Research team and Product Development organization
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to deliver crisp presentations, appropriate tone, and clear insights that allow for quick and accurate decision making
• Leadership skills to proactively stand up research programs (i.e., benchmarking research, UX measurements/tracking  programs, creating guides/tools to scale research) and the foresight to ensure research programs are aligned with the product strategy
• Strong collaboration skills to build team level relationships between the UX Research team, their own product team, and other XFN team members
• Ability to conceptualize and implement original solutions to impactful business problems, requiring creative and outside-the-box thinking
• The flexibility to meet remotely with teammates and customers in different time zones, and occasionally travel (when safe to do so) to meet them in person
• University degree in interaction design, psychology, human factors or a related subject area

Preferred requirements:

• At least eight years of professional experience in applied product research, preferably supporting a design team for a commercial B2B, B2C, SaaS or mobile product experience.
• An advanced degree in interaction design, psychology, human factors, or a related subject area.

In this role, you’ll work primarily remotely with the support of a dynamic and caring team. We’ll provide you with the digital tools and experiences to be together–even when we’re apart. Being digital first doesn’t mean we’re digital only. You’ll also have the flexibility to join us at a Zendesk workspace, in one of our Zendesk offices or our flex office spaces. We will bring our people together on occasion to connect, collaborate, learn, or celebrate in person.

The US annualized base salary range for this position is $154,000.00-$232,000.00. This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives.

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