Research (Primary — 80%) Plan and execute generative research: user interviews, contextual inquiry, diary studies, and ethnographic observation to uncover unmet needs and opportunity spaces. Design and run evaluative research: usability studies, concept testing, prototype reviews, and survey-based validation at key product milestones. Define research questions collaboratively with product, design, and engineering partners, then own execution from recruitment through synthesis. Develop and maintain a research repository that makes insights discoverable and actionable across teams. Communicate findings clearly to audiences ranging from I - Cs to senior leadership, adapting depth and format to the audience. Advocate for the user in roadmap and prioritization conversations, backed by evidence. Contribute to and evolve team research standards, tools, and practices. Design & Communication (20%) Create clear, well-structured deliverables that translate research into action: journey maps, synthesis artifacts, storyboards, annotated findings decks, and opportunity frameworks. Collaborate closely with product designers to ensure research insights are reflected in design decisions and interaction patterns. Facilitate participatory design activities and co-creation sessions with users and internal stakeholders. Front-End Contribution (Light) Make targeted HTML, CSS, and JavaScript contributions to our design system — primarily to support research prototypes and interactive stimuli for studies. Work within existing component library patterns; you won’t be architecting systems or building production features from scratch. Collaborate with design engineers to ensure research prototypes accurately represent intended interactions. What will you bring? Research Expertise 5 years of UX research experience, with a demonstrated mixed-methods practice spanning both generative and evaluative approaches. Deep fluency in qualitative methods (interviews, contextual inquiry, diary studies) and strong working knowledge of quantitative methods (surveys, behavioral analytics, A/ B test interpretation). Experience recruiting and managing research participants across diverse populations. Proven ability to design research that drives product decisions — not just informs them. Familiarity with research operations: managing vendors, tools, panels, and research repositories. Design Fluency Ability to produce polished, well-structured synthesis artifacts — journey maps, mental model diagrams, opportunity frameworks — that designers and P - Ms can act on directly. Proficiency with Figma or equivalent tools for creating research communication materials and lightweight prototypes. Understanding of interaction design principles sufficient to critically evaluate design decisions and contribute meaningfully to design reviews. Technical Skills Working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript at a level that enables building and modifying interactive prototypes for research purposes. Comfort contributing to an existing component library — reading documentation, following established patterns, and making targeted changes. Familiarity with design systems concepts (tokens, component patterns, variants) is a plus; deep front-end engineering expertise is not required. Collaboration & Communication Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of influencing product direction through research. Experience facilitating workshops, alignment sessions, and research readouts with cross-functional teams. Comfortable operating with ambiguity; able to scope and prioritize research independently in a fast-moving environment. Mentorship experience or genuine interest in developing junior researchers. Nice to Have Experience embedding in or contributing to a design system team. Background in a domain with complex or technical user needs (e.g., enterprise software, developer tools, financial products). Familiarity with accessibility research practices and inclusive design principles. Experience with unmoderated research platforms (UserTesting, Maze, Lyssna) and synthesis tools (Dovetail, Enjoy. HQ, Aurelius). Preferred Qualifications Bachelor’s degree or higher in Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Anthropology, Information Science, or a related field — or equivalent practical experience. Advanced degrees are valued but not required. What This Role Is Not This is not a design engineering or front-end engineering role. Candidates whose primary expertise is in building design systems, writing production code, or UI component development will likely find this role a poor fit. We are looking for someone who leads with research and complements that with design and code skills — not the reverse. What do we offer? Healthcare insurance: We provide medical, dental, and vision insurance, and a flexible spending account that allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible out-of-pocket expenses. Stock options. Personal time off: A healthy work-life balance is critical to your success at the office. Smarsh offers a “take-what-you-need” time off policy as well as flexible work arrangements. 401 K Match: Smarsh provides a 4% 401 K match for which employees are fully vested on day one. Sabbatical: The Smarsh sabbatical programme provides a time to recharge, study or simply do something you are passionate about away from the workplace. Employees are eligible after six years of service. Recognition: We’re big on kudos for a job well done. Our employee-recognition programme enables co-workers to nominate their peers who best embody our core values for recognition. $180,000 - $200,000 a year.