Principal UX Researcher

This hybrid position requires two days per week in our XXX office.About you 

You're an analytical problem-solver ready to put your skills toward purposeful work that has a global impact. You want to lead the way in innovation, exploring the latest technologies and finding new solutions. You thrive in a collaborative environment and are eager to work with and learn alongside the best in Product, Design, and Engineering.

About this role 

As our Principal Strategic User Researcher, you will provide insights that drive the strategy and execution for Udemy's global consumer and B2B learning products. You will be integral in uncovering the mental models, mindsets and behaviors of our customers and communicating that to our partners so that we can create the best learning products for our learners. You will also play a critical role in guiding and mentoring fellow researchers in applying a strategic lens across all research efforts. You will be responsible for pioneering processes and programs for advancing strategic UX research methods and the impact the team has in defining our product strategy. You will work closely with other researchers to socialize a strategic approach for delivering impactful and actionable insights. Most importantly, you will serve as a bridge between product, product design and business-focused partners to ensure that user goals and needs are at the forefront of the organization's business decisions. As a user advocate, you will play a critical role in guiding and influencing the short and long-term product strategy. You have a deep passion for uncovering user needs and jobs and use them to create user empathy within the organization. As a staff strategic user researcher you are comfortable defining and conducting rigorous research efforts that translate into impactful insights and strategic solutions for the organization. Working within a product design organization you will determine the best approach for translating research findings into actionable outputs.

Our ideal researcher will...

• Lead, manage and coach other researchers how to deliver impactful and actionable insights beyond just summarizing findings
• Put users first and partner closely with cross-functional partners so that they can deeply learn to empathize and solve for user needs and wants
• Build alliances with Design & Product teams to be the tip of the spear in understanding and quantifying the behavior, needs and goals of our viewers.
• Collaborate and partner with the Inclusive Design team to stay current on the latest inclusive practices and apply them into the strategic research process. Inversely, you will also diffuse cutting edge strategic practices to be embedded into the inclusive design process.
• Create to a process for creating frameworks so that other researchers and partners can easily learn strategic methods of synthesis and story-telling 
• Create a coaching program to scale strategic thinking across the research team, as well as within Product Design and beyond. Your goal is to teach strategic UX research processes across various levels so that others can simultaneously learn how to teach others in the organization (e.g. Train the Trainer, White Glove coaching, etc.)
• Design and execute a wide variety of research projects ranging from early discovery and ideation to design validation
• Generate insights, recommendations and presentations to influence and inspire product decisions and designs.
• Mentor colleagues across the company in conducting effective user research, from guerrilla to formalized.
• Pioneer, perfect and codify the use of innovative new research methods for the team.
• Design engaging workshops with internal teams to create cross-functional alignment and ideate solutions based on known user needs
• Run co-creation workshops with users to further develop future concepts and solutions
• Develop impactful presentation decks that help visualize user stories while increasing research understanding (and impact) within the organization
• Build trust and effective relationships with cross-functional teams

Our ideal researcher is…

• A strong storyteller, able to clearly articulate research insights in unique ways that meet the needs of different audiences
• A relentless user advocate on a mission to create deep user empathy across the organization
• Expert in a wide range of strategic and generative design research methods, including but not limited to ethnographic field studies, contextual inquiries, diary studies, survey design, and qualitative concept testing
• Familiar with quantitative concept testing, card sorting, A/B testing, usability, benchmarking, competitive analysis, etc.
• Adept at creating compelling mixed methods frameworks that describe qualitative and quantitative research findings.
• Proven success communicating research findings and insights effectively to peers, managers, directors and above to drive consensus, alignment and strategy.
• Passionate about your craft and adopting (where it makes sense) industry innovations.
• Excellent at communicating research findings, insights, recommendations and methodology.
• A collaborator and partner with peers in product, design and engineering, but also a leader - adept at driving the right research at the right time and ensuring our product design process results in the right product & product experience for our viewers.
• Self motivated, can work independently in defining their process and delivery milestones.
• Excellent English oral and written communication skills, including the ability to articulate and present rationale behind your design decisions
• An ambassador for design who brings diverse stakeholders together to align and work together to solve problems.

Our ideal researcher has...

• 7+years experience in applied product/design research, design strategy, or equivalent education.
• You have a demonstrable track record of a variety of generative and/or evaluative research methods.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Human Factors, HCI, Psychology, Sociology, Cognitive Science, Research & Strategy, Anthropology or related field. Ph.D. or Master's degree a plus.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, and drive clarity that brings the user, technology, and business together

We understand that not everyone will match each of the above qualifications. However, we also realize that everyone has unique experiences that can add value to our company. Even if you think your background might not perfectly align, we'd love to hear from you!

Life at Udemy

We aspire to be as vibrant and dynamic as the communities we serve, as inquisitive as those who use our platform, and as revolutionary as the future we strive to open for everyone. Here are some of the things we love about life at Udemy:

• We're invested in creating an inclusive environment that welcomes a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences. From creating employee resource groups, ensuring we're a Fair Pay Workplace, and building a flexible work culture, our belonging, equity, diversity, and inclusion (BEDI) initiatives always put our people first. We want you to be able to bring your authentic self to work because when we all do, we're better for it.

• Learning is what we do – inside and out. Our Learning & Development team is second to none, helping ensure your journey is one of continuous progression. You'll also have unlimited access to Udemy courses, monthly UDays (meeting-free professional development days), and a generous annual professional development stipend.

• Our reason to exist is to revolutionize learning – that calls for taking risks and learning from failures. Whether it's our hackathons (a company-wide effort to envision new possibilities for our product) or sharing our prototypes, we see experimentation as a crucial step on the path to success.

• We're committed to creating world-class employee experiences and are proud of the recognition of this by Great Place to Work. 

Of course, the best thing about being part of Udemy is knowing your work makes a difference for people and organizations around the world. You've got the skills; why not use them to help others develop theirs?

At Udemy, we value diversity and inclusion and consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status, veteran status, medical condition, or disability. We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Our Benefits Start With U

Our benefits package at Udemy "starts with U" and is grounded in mission-driven benefits that intentionally align with our core values. Here's a sneak peek at just a few highlighted benefits if you're a full-time Udemate based in the United States:

• Core Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life/AD&D, and disability coverage

• HSA/FSA/Commuter: Pre-tax savings/spending plans, including HSA employer contributions

• Transgender Benefits: Expanded medical coverage for gender-affirming care

• Parental Benefits: Financial assistance for fertility (including egg-freezing), adoption, and surrogacy expenses; twelve weeks of paid family bonding for birth, surrogacy, adoption, and foster placement (plus up to six to ten weeks of paid disability leave for birthing parents) as well as a two-week "ease-back" program that enables parents to return part-time at full pay

• Whole U: Fully paid memberships for meditation/mindfulness, therapy/coaching visits, financial planning, fertility and family building, maternity and newborn care, parenting and pediatrics, menopause care, breastmilk shipping, and caregiving support

• Learning: Free access to Udemy and Udemy Business plus a yearly stipend to spend on professional development

• Retirement: Pre-tax and Roth 401(k) plan with an employer contribution

• Vacation: Flexible vacation for salaried Udemates and fifteen days per year for hourly

• Holidays: Twelve paid holidays throughout the year

Information regarding data privacy is available within the Udemy Careers Privacy Notice.