UX researcher

UX Researcher

We're hiring a contract UX Researcher to assist with the Discovery phase for our internal web apps. Their job: figure out what users need and turn that into clear direction for product, design, and engineering.

Reports to: Lead UX Designer Partners with: Product Managers, Business Stakeholders, Engineers

Expected Tools and Software Proficiency:

• Figma - Main design tool; must have proficiency
• Adobe Creative Cloud - Optional; may use Illustrator/Photoshop if needed
• Mural - Used for collaboration
• Other UX Research Tools - Open to candidate's preferred methods/tools

Preferred Candidate Skills:

• Strong UX research abilities, including facilitating discovery, journey mapping, and developing lean personas.
• Ability to create wireframes and move from research to wireframe stage.
• Experience with Figma as the main design tool; familiarity with Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, Photoshop) is a plus but not essential.
• Hands-on UI design experience, but with a focus on UX (approximate split: 60-70% UX, 30-40% UI).
• Information architecture background and understanding of layout and composition.
• Ability to collaborate and facilitate workshops with confidence.
• Experience with web-based applications; awareness of responsive development is a bonus.
• No strong requirement for CSS, JavaScript, or front-end development skills.
• Ability to work with large user pools (thousands of users globally).

Role Responsibilities Beyond Tool Proficiency:

• UX Research & Discovery: Leading and facilitating discovery calls, conducting UX research, journey mapping, and developing lean personas to inform design decisions.
• Wireframing & Design Execution: Creating wireframes and collaborating on design concepts, with the main focus on moving from research to wireframes rather than high-fidelity mockups.
• Collaboration: Working closely with internal stakeholders, including tax and audit professionals, and engaging with global teams in the US, Ireland, and India.
• Usability Testing: Supporting usability testing as part of the UX research process, though this is not the primary focus.
• Project Flexibility: Managing multiple projects, sometimes picking up work midstream and carrying it forward as far as possible within contract timelines.
• Methodology Autonomy: Freedom to use preferred research and discovery methodologies, as there is no set process in place.
• Portfolio Expectations: Demonstrating experience in facilitating research, journey mapping, and persona development, with less emphasis on coding or high-fidelity design.

Must-have Qualifications:

• 4–7+ years doing user research on product teams (enterprise or B2B preferred). Comfortable planning and running interviews, observing real work, testing early ideas, and doing quick usability checks.
• Strong at turning raw notes into clear insights and prioritized recommendations.
• Can independently produce personas, journeys, task flows, and low-fidelity wireframes in Figma, Mural, or similar.
• Confident facilitator; good at guiding groups, handling pushback, and driving to clarity.
• Excellent written and verbal communication—exec-friendly and concise.
• Tools you know: Figma, Mural, Office

Nice to Have:

• Design experience and portfolio of enterprise-related work, or similar.
• Experience in complex or regulated spaces (tax, audit, finance, healthcare, public sector).
• Basic survey skills to complement interviews.
• Service design exposure (e.g., mapping processes).
• Light Research Ops (consent, recruiting, templates).
• User testing and feedback gathering
• Design experience with high-fidelity mockup and/or clickable prototypes.