UX Researcher (Growth)

About Tailscale

Tailscale is making safe connection effortless by delivering software that makes it easy to securely interconnect people and their devices, no matter where they are. From hobbyists to multinational corporations, teams of every size use Tailscale each day to protect their networks, share access to internal tools, and more. We're building a future for the Internet that's easy, sensible, and safe, like it used to be. Founded in 2019 and fully distributed, we're backed by Accel, CRV, Insight, Heavybit, and Uncork Capital.

About the Role

This is a dedicated growth research role. You'll run studies — usability testing, survey research, experimental studies — and collaborate on findings with the Product Growth team. The role is specifically focused on growth-related product surfaces, onboarding flows, acquisition and activation funnels, and the questions that emerge from the growth team's experiment pipeline. It is not focused on generative research for new product development; you will be helping tune and refine delivery of value, though you will partner with other researchers to identify and address fundamental product issues that limit product-led growth.

You'll report to the design manager and work most closely with the Growth PM and Growth Designers on a day-to-day basis. The staff UX researcher will be your primary resource for methods and bigger-picture research context. The role is designed to grow from running studies from the team's pipeline and building domain expertise, towards owning the research agenda for growth-related areas with increasing independence.

Key Responsibilities

Research

Run growth research studies. Your core responsibility is conducting research that supports the growth team's experiment pipeline and tactical questions.

• Own the full study lifecycle for growth research: scoping, recruiting, conducting, analyzing, and communicating results.
• Design studies and instruments to conduct evaluation and diagnostic discovery for adoption experiences. This includes:
  • Behavioural research: moderated and unmoderated usability tests for both formative and evaluative goals. You should be comfortable with experimental methods and able to navigate quantitative statistics for user research.
  • Interviews, mixed methods, and longitudinal studies (eg diary studies) with users and representative populations.
  • Standalone surveys and feedback forms (triggered at different parts of the adoption lifecycle)
• Analyse behavioural data available from logs and use that to inform research thinking, validate hypotheses, and triangulate with experimental/unmoderated test data.
• Look through other data (community forums, feedback forms, etc.) to proactively identify research opportunities
• Identify user needs during trial, proof of concept, and adoption phases
• Model and map adoption behaviours, and define personas accordingly
• Over time, work towards surfacing research opportunities independently and managing a research program for the growth team.

Partner with the growth team. You'll work directly with the Growth PM and Growth Designers to translate hypotheses into study designs and bring findings back in actionable formats.

• Help the growth team test and validate designs.
• Identify frictions and problems with product adoption.
• Based on research insights, suggest experiment and design ideas.
• Work in tandem with the growth team's experiment and A/B testing cadence.
• Communicate often and quickly about ongoing work, and involve them deeply in the research process as appropriate

Domain expertise

Build growth domain expertise. The first six months are primarily about learning the product, the growth model, and what the team has already tested and learned.

• Develop expertise and deep knowledge in how users find, try, and adopt Tailscale
• Over time, extend into adjacent revenue-facing areas: pricing and packaging research, billing and SKU questions.
• Collaborate with other researchers to find and address research questions related to the above.

What We Are Looking For

• 5+ years of experience in UX research or related applied research field
• Strong quantitative research skills: survey design, experimental methods, statistical analysis
• Solid usability testing skills across both moderated and unmoderated methods, and expertise using one or more testing platforms
• Fluency with quantitative data analysis: experimental design, survey methodology, and inferential statistics
• Experience independently managing study logistics: recruiting, scheduling, compensation
• Clear, effective communicator who can tailor findings for product and engineering audiences
• Experience working in a SaaS or B2B product environment

You Might Be a Good Fit If

• You've worked in SaaS, B2B, or enterprise product environments and have worked on research that supports product-led growth.
• You have a background in human factors, behavioural psychology, HCI.
• You like running studies end-to-end to solve a UX problem, and find satisfaction in the craft of well-designed research series focused on small details of the experience.
• You're interested in how users find, try, and adopt products: acquisition and activation questions energize you.
• You are comfortable running scrappy, quick research projects but know when to seek greater rigor.
• You're early-mid-career looking for room to grow, and not looking for immediate strategic ownership.

Nice to Have

• Experience with growth or acquisition research specifically
• Experience with advanced quantitative data analysis for user research
• Experience in enterprise SaaS or technical product domains
• Familiarity with A/B testing frameworks and how research supports experimentation programs

As a company, we strive to maintain fair and equitable compensation practices within our team across all roles and all levels. Tailscale's compensation package includes base salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits. The salary range displayed on each job posting represents the target range for a new hire's base salary. Individual offers may vary based on experience and skill set.

US Pay Range

$146,000—$183,000 USD

Frequently cited statistics show that people who identify with historically marginalized groups are likely to apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We encourage you to help us break that statistic!

What We Offer

• An inclusive, flexible environment where you can be your authentic self. We recognize the impact of diverse voices and backgrounds on the growth of our people, product, and company. And that flexibility in how and when you work empowers our team to integrate work and life.
• A competitive total compensation package. This includes a base salary, an equity incentive plan and variable commission (for quota-based roles).
• Comprehensive group benefits with no waiting period. Take advantage of coverage for health, vision, dental, and more for you and your family!
• Remote first company —most of our teams work fully remotely. Enjoy a change of scenery wherever you can get wifi, participate in virtual and in-person social events, and leverage our corporate co-working program to visit WeWork (or other similar spaces near you). Some roles require in-office collaboration depending on team needs, which will be clearly noted in the job description.
• Employer-funded retirement contributions. Tailscale will match your retirement contributions dollar-for-dollar, up to a maximum annual employer contribution equal to 0.75% of your eligible compensation.
• Connect with other Tailscalars IRL. Attend our annual company retreat, participate in team off-sites, and collaborate in person with teammates across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. We support intentional in-person connection through team travel and distributed collaboration.
• Support for your personal and professional development. Grow your career thoughtfully with $1500 USD annually for professional development, or take advantage of mentorship, coaching, and internal promotion opportunities.
• Paid time off and a healthy work-life integration. Our flexible, paid time off program supports you for any situation life throws your way, whether moving homes or travelling the world!
• A build-your-own home office setup. You choose your own company-owned laptop (Mac or PC), receive a monthly home internet reimbursement, and $500 USD to customize your workstation to make it your own.
• Paid parental leave program . We care about your life outside of work and encourage new parents to take advantage of parental leave top-ups (20 weeks for birthing parents, 16 weeks for non-birthing parents).

Tailscale is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive hiring process. If you require an accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process or related to any aspect of this role, please contact your recruiter.

Our hiring process uses AI-assisted tools to help screen and assess candidates. All hiring decisions are made by people.

Please be aware that legitimate emails from Tailscale's talent team will only originate from @tailscale.com, @greenhouse.io, and @interviews.modernloop.io email addresses. For more information about protecting yourself from impersonators and scams, please visit