Lead UX Researcher - Research Platform

Introduction

A career in IBM Software means you'll be part of a team that creates industry-leading solutions that meet our customers' challenges.

We are an infinitely curious team, always seeking new possibilities, and dedicated to creating the world's leading AI-powered, cloud-native software solutions. Our renowned legacy creates endless opportunities for our network of IBMers. We are a team of deep product experts, ensuring exceptional client experiences, with a focus on delivery, excellence, and obsession over customer outcomes.

IBM's product and technology landscape includes Research, Software, and Infrastructure. Entering this domain positions you at the heart of IBM, where growth and innovation thrive. At IBM you will be joining us in serving as a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

Your role and responsibilities

You will be part of the IBM HashiCorp group within IBM Software. We build solutions that simplify and automate enterprise cloud infrastructure, so teams can focus on high-value work instead of repetitive tasks. Our two large product groups each include multiple solutions serving global enterprises.

We believe everyone involved in product definition should be able to conduct meaningful, reliable research. This is how we build deep customer empathy and generate actionable insights.

Our new UX Research team is an enablement-first function:
We empower Product and Design teams with coaching and operational support to meet day-to-day research needs.
We lead cross-team, cross-product, and cross-functional research that informs strategy and benefits multiple stakeholders.

In this role, you will build and own the shared UX Research Platform that supports the entire product organization - including multiple UX researchers, product managers, and designers.

As a Research Platform Owner, you will:

• Own and evolve our target audience system (personas, jobs-to-be-done, user journeys) to reflect how work and roles evolve in the age of AI.
• Create and scale a research playbook, synthesizing best practices and developing reusable templates, guides, and knowledge-sharing practices.
• Lead strategic, quantitative research on product market fit, roadmap prioritization, and audience insights that span products and teams.
• Build and manage sourcing mechanisms that give teams reliable access to customers and prospects.
• Configure and optimize research tools to maximize efficiency and impact.
  
  This role goes beyond traditional UX research. It blends strategic research expertise with operational excellence and a passion for enabling others
  
  This job can be performed from anywhere in the US

Required education

High School Diploma/GED

Preferred education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

• Strategic research leadership: A minimum of 7+ years leading quantitative Product or Marketing research on audience definition, product-market fit, journeys, adoption, or similar.
• Operational excellence: Experience building and scaling playbooks, templates, repositories, and systems that raise research maturity.
• Research innovation: Ability to adapt or invent approaches that meet diverse stakeholder needs and constraints.
• Influence: Proven skill in aligning research with business goals and inspiring stakeholders with clear, persuasive synthesis.
• Enterprise product experience: Background in SaaS, B2B, or complex domains requiring research across diverse user types and stakeholders.

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Make others successful: You anticipate stakeholder needs and design solutions that empower them.
• Balance rigor and efficiency: You know when to optimize and when to go deep, maintaining high standards throughout.
• Be hands-on: You combine strategic vision with the ability to roll up your sleeves, experiment, and improve tools and practices.
• Stay resilient: You manage multiple priorities and help others do the same.
• Inspire through engagement: You believe research should be robust creating "aha" moments that bring teams together.

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Software infuses core business operations with intelligence-from machine learning to generative AI-to help make organizations more responsive, productive, and resilient. IBM Software helps clients put AI into action now to create real value with trust, speed, and confidence across digital labor, IT automation, application modernization, security, and sustainability. Critical to this is the ability to make use of all data, because AI is only as good as the data that fuels it. In most organizations data is spread across multiple clouds, on premises, in private datacenters, and at the edge. IBM's AI and data platform scales and accelerates the impact of AI with trusted data, and provides leading capabilities to train, tune and deploy AI across business. IBM's hybrid cloud platform is one of the most comprehensive and consistent approach to development, security, and operations across hybrid environments-a flexible foundation for leveraging data, wherever it resides, to extend AI deep into a business.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we're also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it's time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

IBM offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits program. Eligible employees may have access to:

• Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well being
• Financial programs such as 401(k), cash balance pension plan, the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long- term disability coverage, and opportunities for performance based salary incentive programs
• Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy, and other Paid Care Leave programs. IBM also offers paid family leave benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law
• Training and educational resources on our personalized, AI-driven learning platform where IBMers can grow skills and obtain industry-recognized certifications to achieve their career goals
• Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.

This position is eligible for participation in an IBM Sales Incentive plan. Actual incentive opportunity will be based on performance and the eligible Target Incentive, as addressed in the applicable plan, all of which is subject to change. The compensation range listed for this position is the IBM Reference Salary that is used when you are not actively participating in a sales plan. Your actual base pay plus incentive opportunity will be determined by the Incentive Plan assigned to you.

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.

IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.

Client-provided location(s): Abilene, TX

Job ID: IBM-57095

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2025-09-05T18:52:10