Senior UX Researcher

We want people who are passionate about creating products that you and your peers would love.

We are in search of a keen observer and experienced user researcher to guide the strategic planning of key features for our cloud products aimed at SMBs and agencies. Reporting to the Director of Product Design, as a Senior User Researcher, you'll be a vital cog of a closely-knit, collaborative, and jovial team dedicated to delivering an unparalleled user experience through our products and services.

At DigitalOcean, we give utmost importance to simplicity and ease of use. The research team significantly contributes to the company, collaborating with the engineering and product divisions to develop frictionless experiences. Maintaining simplicity and seamless user experience becomes progressively significant as the product expands. Our team is committed to fostering each other's growth as user experience researchers and making a potent impact through our design endeavors.

What You’ll Be Doing:

•     Offer strategic guidance to stakeholders for complex problem-solving using research, people-centered design, and Agile methodologies, emphasizing a balance between expediency and precision.
•     Utilize statistical methods to analyze large data sets and interpret results.
•     Collaborate with product and design teams to integrate research findings into product development.
•     Develop and implement usage metrics to understand user behavior and product usage.
•     Utilize various cutting-edge research tools and platforms (e.g., maze, get feedback, usertesting.com, userlytics.com) to enhance research capabilities.
•     Demonstrate proficiency in conducting UX research through various methods, including in-depth user interviews, contextual inquiry, journey mapping, participatory design, and usability testing.
•     Lead research efforts throughout the product development lifecycle, ensuring a customer-centric perspective from discovery to delivery.
•     Utilize exceptional storytelling and communication skills to present research findings effectively in meetings.
•     Manage multiple concurrent projects with ambition, meticulousness, and adeptness, all while building supportive relationships with customers and stakeholders and effectively addressing challenging conversations.

 What We Expect From You

•     Plan, design, and execute comprehensive user research activities involving customers, stakeholders, and external parties, ensuring a deep understanding of user needs and behaviors.
•     Collaborate within multidisciplinary Agile teams to design and deliver people-centered services, leveraging your expertise in user research methodologies.
•     Interpret and analyze research data adeptly, extracting valuable insights and information to drive informed decision-making and product improvements.
•     Demonstrate a proven track record of advocating for user research, user-centered design, and service design methodologies to drive impactful outcomes.
•     Provide line management, mentorship, and professional development support to other user researchers, fostering their growth and skill enhancement.
•     Utilize advanced communication and stakeholder management skills to navigate conflicts, convey challenging messages tactfully, and collaborate seamlessly across diverse teams.
•     Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of Agile roles in design, product, and technology to facilitate effective cross-functional collaboration and alignment.
•     Employ various research methodologies such as In-Depth Interviews, Focus Groups, Concept Testing, and Usability Testing with precision and proficiency.
•     Transform research findings into compelling strategic narratives that drive product development and innovation initiatives.
•     Bachelor’s degree in human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Sociology, Information Science, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
•     3-5 years minimum of professional experience in applied or academic research.
•     Experience collaborating with product roadmaps to plan advanced research, identify gaps in user knowledge, and strategize research initiatives for complex studies.
•     Proficiency in R-Studio (preferred), Python, or Stata, with experience running statistical experiments and analyzing user behavior to derive data-driven recommendations.

Why You’ll Like Working for DigitalOcean:

•     We reward our employees. The salary range for this position is based on relevant years of experience and skills. Employees may qualify for a bonus in addition to base salary; bonus amounts are determined based on company and individual performance. We also provide equity compensation to eligible employees including grants of equity upon hire and the option to participate in our Employee Stock Purchase Program.
•     We value development. You will work with some of the smartest and most interesting people in the industry. We are a high-performance organization that is always challenging our teams and employees to continuously grow. We maintain a growth mindset in everything we do and invest deeply in employee development through formalized mentorship and other internal programs. We provide all employees with reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education.
•     We care about your well-being. In addition to cash and equity compensation, we also offer employees a competitive array of benefits. In the United States, these include health insurance, flexible vacation, retirement benefits, a generous parental leave program, and additional resources to support employees' overall well-being. While the philosophy around our benefits is the same worldwide, specific benefits may vary in other countries due to local regulations and preferences.
•     We value diversity and inclusivity. We are an equal-opportunity employer and we do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

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