Senior UX Researcher

Just like the Junior UX Researcher, the Senior UX Researcher works closely with the Product Design, the Marketing, and Brand Strategy departments in validating new concepts and improving on the existing products for the purpose of enhancing the user experience.

The Senior UX Researcher has to be a person who is an excellent communicator as well a flexible team player that seems to thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic work environment. The Senior UX Researcher are also be comfortable working closely with passionate engineering and product teams that are deeply concerned about the creation of a great consumer experience.

Objectives and Responsibilities of the Senior UX Researcher

Research Objectives: The Senior UX Research independently defines the research objectives and formulates research proposals that are forwarded to the various product departments based on the different departmental needs.

Research: At this capacity, the UX Researcher conducts various studies with the assistance of the Junior UX Researcher, by applying methods such as usability testing, field research, surveys, diary studies, and any other methods that he deems impactful in the formulation of product approaches that improve consumer experience.

In addition, the Senior UX Researcher analyzes and triangulates qualitative and quantitative data in order to generate strategic and tactical insights along with actionable recommendations that drive product design improvements and innovation that will in turn improve the consumer experience.

Also, at this capacity, the Senior UX Researcher leads the product design and product development departments in a hands-on manner through both small scale and large scale user experience researches upon request. The Senior UX Researcher assists these departments in the analysis and interpretation of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological consumer data.

Collaboration: The role of the Senior UX Researcher is one of a collaborative nature and at this capacity; the Senior UX Researcher facilitates the collection of consumer experience metrics in the course of collaboration with different product departments. The most prominent departments that the Senior UX Researcher collaborates with are inclusive of the Development (engineering), Marketing, Sales, Product Management, and Quality Assurance.

The Senior UX Researcher, alongside Junior UX Researchers, also contributes to design expertise by actively participating in various product discussion sessions with the product designers, developers, managers and other collaborative personnel.

Internal Evangelism: The Senior UX Researcher is also tasked with finding compelling and creative ways of evangelizing insights discovered from his research efforts as well as evangelizing the best research methods. Internal evangelism for the Senior UX Researcher is not limited to product management departments but is meant for the whole business. The reason for this is the cultivation a highly informed and effective product organization.

Consumer Interaction: For the effective performance of his duties; in order to understand the consumers’ needs and how to best improve their experiences, the Senior UX researcher takes the initiative to interact with them. At this capacity the Senior UX Researcher, manages consumer expectations, respond to their requests, and communicates feedback to them in a simple, clear, and concise manner.

In his interaction with consumers, the Senior UX Researcher uses approaches such as interviews, competitive analysis, and A/B testing.

Product Launch: The Senior UX Researcher also plays a pivotal role when it comes to the product’s launch by delivering and following through on launch ideas. More importantly the Senior UX researcher conducts analysis on the final product, raising the alarms on any overlooked defects relating to the product’s interface or design as well as the solutions to such errors. This saves the business a lot of time and resources of having to make product modifications post-launch.

In addition, at this capacity, the Senior UX Researcher assists in post launch monitoring and analysis alongside the Junior Research teams.

Mentorship: Having had more experience in the field of UX Research, the Senior UX Researcher is tasked with playing the mentorship role to the Junior UX Researchers and Developers. He is responsible for ensuring that they perform their functions in the most effective of ways and that they are constantly sharpening their professional skills; readying them for taking up the role of Senior UX Researcher in his retirement or absence.

Consultancy: The Senior UX Researcher also play a consultancy role in the business by providing various product departments with advise on the best product usability trends, practices, and other consumer experience standards. He also makes recommendations for the business’s product that will align the product with these trends and practices, which subsequently enhances the consumers’ experience.

Creativity and Innovation: The Senior UX Researcher is also a creative asset of the business who is tasked with finding new and competitive methods of understanding consumer behavior and experiences in relation to the product. New and competitive methods of understanding the consumers will ensure that the business’s product always has a competitive edge and in a position to stay a step ahead in regard to consumer satisfaction and experience.

Required Qualifications of the Senior UX Researcher

Education: A suitable candidate has to have a Master’s degree in Cognitive Science, Statistics, Human- Psychology, Computer Science, Computer Interaction, or any other related field. A working experience of the equivalent is also acceptable for the position.

Experience: A candidate for the position will have to have experience of over 5 years in qualitative and quantitative research methods. He must also have vast experience in usability studies, interviewing, ethnographic observation, and video editing. Also, a suitable candidate will have a proven track record of successful product research within organizations.

He must additionally demonstrate a deep understanding of behavioral analysis and statistical concepts; in essence he must have superior analytical skills in order to perform key researches as well as monitor, refine, and supplement researches conducted by Junior UX Researchers.

Software: Since the position demands regular presentations of visually and verbally engaging content, the Senior UX Researcher must be extremely proficient in UserZoom, Illustrator, Validately, UserTesting, Loop11, Webex, Sketch, Keynote, InDesign, and Photoshop computer softwares that aid in the delivery of high quality presentations to the Head and Director of UX as well as to stakeholders.

Ms Office: The Senior UX Researcher must be proficient in Ms Word and the Ms Excel analytical tools. He must additionally demonstrate expertise in the use of PowerPoint in order to create engaging content for presentations made to the Head and Director of UX as well as to product department personnel.

Communication Skills: The Position of Senior UX Researcher demands the communication of some complex research concepts to product departments and stakeholders who may find it hard to understand if they are not broken down in simpler forms. To be able to do this, a Senior UX Researcher will possess exceptional communication skills that will enable him to relay complex information in a simple, clear, and concise manner to collaborating personnel. These communication skills have to be excellent in both verbal and written form.

People Skills: The position of the Senior UX Researcher is a highly interactive position. The Senior UX Researchers interacts with Junior UX Researchers, Heads of the UX department, product teams, stakeholders, and most importantly the consumer. Possession of good communication skills is not quite sufficient for the facilitation of smooth interactions with other people. Good people skills are necessary for the position in order to ensure proper execution of the role’s duties with minimal conflict and complications between collaborative and cross-functional personnel.

Interpersonal Skills: A candidate for the position of Senior UX Researcher has to possess a number of interpersonal skills for proper execution of his functions. These are; possess a passion for consumer-centered product designs; have a meticulous eye for detail, be able to manage multiple simultaneous projects with ease; a drive to take initiative beyond his normal duties; strong listening, organizational, and analytical skills; and a will and capacity to constantly learn new and developing research methods and analyses.

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