Senior Product/User Researcher (Contract)

At Tilt, we see a side of people that traditional lenders miss. Our mobile-first products and machine learning-powered credit models look beyond credit scores, using over 250 real-time financial signals to recognize real potential. With millions of customers worldwide, we're not just changing how people access financial products — we're creating a new credit system that backs the working, whatever they're working toward.

We are hiring a senior Product/User Researcher to establish and lead research practices that meaningfully inform product development. Research today is conducted inconsistently and without formal methodology, and this role will define the philosophy, standards, and operating model required to bring rigor, clarity, and insight into product decision-making.

This is a foundational hire reporting into product and design leadership, partnering closely with the Head of Design and the product design team. The role requires a highly autonomous researcher capable of building a research program from the ground up while operating as a hands-on practitioner.

This is a product research role, not a market or consumer marketing research position.

• Research program development

  • Establish research philosophy, standards, and best practices across the organization

  • Define frameworks, templates, and governance that improve rigor and mitigate bias in research execution

  • Educate product, design, and PM teams on research methodology, interpretation, and appropriate application

  • Build scalable research infrastructure including participant recruitment, insight synthesis, and knowledge management

• Continuous rolling research program

  • Own and operate a continuous rolling research program enabling ongoing user feedback across product development

  • Partner with teams to intake research needs and translate them into structured, methodologically sound test plans

  • Recruit and facilitate participant sessions on an ongoing basis, adjusting cadence based on product priorities and research complexity

  • Synthesize findings into actionable insights that inform product direction and design decisions

  • Maintain a sustainable research rhythm that balances responsiveness with depth and methodological rigor

• Mixed-methods research execution

  • Determine and apply appropriate qualitative and quantitative methodologies across discovery and evaluative research

  • Conduct interviews, usability testing, concept validation, surveys, diary studies, and experiments

  • Ensure research rigor, bias mitigation, and methodological clarity across studies

• Strategic research initiatives

  • Define and lead longer-term research programs to deepen understanding of users, behaviors, and mental models

  • Manage external research agencies for larger scoped studies (1–2 per quarter or half-year) with leadership approval

  • Drive synthesis across studies to develop durable user insights and profiles that guide product strategy

• Senior-level experience in product/UX research within digital product organizations

• Demonstrated ability to establish research practices in environments without mature research infrastructure

• Strong mixed-methods expertise with clear judgment on methodology selection

• Experience operating continuous or rolling research programs

• Deep understanding of research rigor, bias mitigation, and insight synthesis

• Ability to elevate organizational research literacy and coach non-researchers on best practices

• Strong partnership with design and product leadership

• Comfortable operating with high autonomy, ambiguity, and program ownership

Extra Plus If You Have:

• Experience managing research vendors or agencies

• Experience building research ops infrastructure or participant panels

• Background working in design-led product organizations

This role will directly shape how product decisions are made by establishing a reliable, insight-driven research practice where none currently exists. The researcher will play a critical role in improving product quality, reducing bias in decision-making, and enabling teams to learn from users continuously.

• Duration: Indefinite (potential for extension + conversion)

• Location: US (remote-friendly)

Don’t meet every qualification? We care about potential over your past. If you're bringing ambition and drive to what we're building, we want to hear from you.

• Virtual-first teamwork: The Tilt team is collaborating across 14 countries, 12 time zones, and counting. You’ll get started with a WFH office reimbursement.

• Competitive pay: We're big on potential, and it's reflected in our competitive compensation packages and generous equity.

• Complete support: Find flexible health plans at every premium level, and substantial subsidies that stand up to global standards.

• Visibility is yours: You can count on direct exposure to our leadership team — we’re a team where good ideas travel quickly.

• Paid global onsites: Magic happens IRL: we gather twice yearly to reconnect over shared meals or kayaking adventures. (We’ve visited Vail, San Diego, and Mexico City, to name a few.)

• Impact is recognized: Growth opportunities follow your contributions, not rigid promotion timelines.

We're looking for people who chase excellence and impact. Those who stand behind their work, celebrating the wins and learning from the missteps equally. We foster an environment where every voice is valued and mutual respect is non-negotiable — brilliant jerks need not apply. We're in this together, working to expand access to fair credit and prove that people are incredible. When you join us, it's not just another day at the [virtual] office, you're helping millions of hardworking people reach better financial futures.

You’re pushing ahead in your career? We can get behind that. Join us in building the credit system that people deserve.