User Experience Researcher
What this job does:
Plans and runs user studies to learn how people experience a product, analyzes qualitative and quantitative data, and turns insights into clear recommendations for product, design, and engineering.
This job is similar to these lab/research tasks:
Write detailed study protocols; create sample tracking and chain-of-custody plans; coordinate multi-week experiments across multiple operators; document deviations and preventive actions; write formal study reports under review
Typical starting salary range
$129,544 to $211,382
Salary estimate represented as 25th to 75th percentile. Gathered from recent job postings, Glassdoor.com, and Salary.com
Daily task breakdown
- Design and run user studies (interviews, usability tests, surveys, diary studies) (30%)
- Analyze data and synthesize insights (qual coding, metrics, triangulation) (25%)
- Partner with product/design/engineering to shape decisions and iterate solutions (20%)
- Communicate findings (reports, workshops, presentations, storytelling) (15%)
- Other: recruiting, research operations, tooling, stakeholder management (10%)
Skills you'll use in this job:
Mixed-methods research design; qualitative interviewing and analysis; quantitative reasoning; synthesis and storytelling; stakeholder management; clear communication; comfort iterating quickly and prioritizing high-impact questions
Talk about these PhD skills in your resume and interview:
Translate experimental design into user study design. Use examples of designing protocols, collecting messy human data, coding/analysis, and presenting a clear narrative with tradeoffs and recommendations.
Alternative job titles to search:
UX Researcher; User Researcher; Product Researcher; Human-Centered Researcher; Design Researcher; UX/UR Scientist
*Note:
-Job titles are inconsistent between companies. Try various keywords.
-PhDs tend to undershoot seniority level. Target higher than you think.
