The Design Researcher will execute a variety of design research programs, with methodologies ranging from contextual inquiry, to in-depth interviews, to interface evaluations and usability testing. This position will either work independently on medium-complexity products or work within a team on larger products or product areas by contributing to the planning, recruiting, execution, analysis, synthesis, and communication of research. This role with collaborate with Product Owners, Marketing, Data Science, Engineering, Designers, and Researchers. This role requires qualitative and mixed methods skills.

Design Research lives within the Arity Experience Design (AXD) team. The AXD team is a multi-disciplinary group who designs user interactions and experiences of systems and services that provide a positive, engaging, and productive experience. The team is made up of Design Leads, Experience Designers, Content Designers, Design Researchers, UI Engineers, and Visual Designers who work together to design delightful experiences.

The AXD team is responsible for applying knowledge of user-centered design methods, human-computer interaction and industry best practices to drive useful and usable interface design solutions.

 The Experience Designer will focus on framing problems and providing innovative design solutions that meet user needs, while fulfilling key business objectives for a diverse range of products and experiences. They are comfortable working on concepts and early discovery work, as well as iterating on a mature product while embedded within a product team. On their product team, they are constantly communicating and collaborating with Product Managers, Engineers, Data Scientists, and Marketing, as well as members of the Arity Experience Design team. 

• Uses human-centered design approaches to frame problems, uncover patterns, discover opportunities, and visualize possibilities

• Understands and interprets brand, user, and business needs to develop innovative, creative, and results-oriented solutions

• Creates rapid iterations of designs that can be tested and validated quickly

• Helps conduct quick feedback loops through frequent and appropriate user research, testing, and metrics analysis

• Helps product team assess and prioritize opportunities, constraints, and features

• Articulates ideas clearly and effectively

• Partners with XD team specialists when appropriate for the product

We think you will come to this role with:

• Demonstrated competence with usability testing, cognitive walkthroughs, heuristic reviews, and gathering qualitative and quantitative measures using design artifacts at any level of fidelity
• Facility with generating and applying frameworks to organize research findings and provide decision framing for different stakeholder audiences
• Reliable test-plan management, skillful session facilitation, and clarity in communicating research methods and outcomes
• Proclivity for balancing “lean” philosophy with the need for concise documentation of user insights and design recommendations for design backlog and team reference
• Excellent communication skills, including storytelling, writing, and presentation
• At least a year of relevant experience within a behavioral research function
• 4-year degree (Master’s preferred)–or equivalent years of work experience–in Human Factors/Human Computer Interaction, Cognitive or Experimental/Social Psychology, Cognitive Science, Sociology, or related field
• Ability to meet and serve design teams where they are, and set them up for success
• Experience/familiarity with Adobe analytics, Tableau, UserZoom, Validately, WebEx, InVision, Sketch, JIRA, Trello, Confluence, Slack, Smaply, Typeform, SurveyMonkey, and other usability and analytical software tools a plus
• Comfortable acting and moving activities forward despite uncertainty

• 4 year Bachelor’s Degree (Preferred)

• 3 or more years of experience (Preferred)

• In lieu of the above education requirements, an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

• Collaborates and thinks flexibly, partnering with product, engineering, data science, marketing, and each other

• Handles and enjoys projects from huge initiatives to simple requests, always giving the highest effort to our work

• Works within a variety of methodologies and processes, and helps to improve upon them

• Is organized and able to manage personal and project timetables

• Is engaging and effective communicators of ideas

• Keeps up-to-date in respective fields by monitoring trends, attending workshops and conferences, joining professional groups, and sharing craft and successes

• Has curiosity about each other s disciplines and has the opportunity to learn outside of our specialties

• Inspires others with our enthusiasm and work ethic

• 1+ years of qualitative or mixed methods research, or equivalent transferable skills
• Experience in product research, or equivalent transferable skills