UX Research Lead

Playsimple Games; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Playsimple Games is expanding its Bangalore-based team and seeks a Research Lead to steer market, competitor, and consumer intelligence. You will shape how the studio understands players, identify global opportunities, and ground product decisions in deep insights.

You will collaborate with game directors, product, monetization, and marketing to influence roadmap, positioning, and investments, while building an in-house insights function and ensuring data integration across gameplay metrics and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in market research, consumer insights, or intelligence roles (gaming, tech, entertainment, or digital preferred).
• Deep expertise in both qualitative and quantitative methodologies (IDIs, focus groups, surveys, segmentation).
• Strong understanding of global gaming markets and player behavior.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and execution of global market and consumer intelligence programs.
• Build and institutionalize a structured competitor intelligence framework.
• Translate research findings into actionable strategic recommendations for product and leadership.
• Lead an in-house insights capability with processes, vendors, and data integration.
• Deliver high-impact insight narratives to executives to inform decisions.

Skills

Market research

Consumer insights

Qualitative research

Quantitative research

Executive communication

Team leadership

Job description

We are a Bangalore-based gaming studio building for global markets. As we scale our portfolio and international footprint, we are looking for a Research Lead to lead our market, competitor, and consumer intelligence function. This is a critical leadership role embedded at the heart of the studio. You will shape how we understand players, competitors, and global market opportunities, ensuring that our creative, product, and strategic decisions are grounded in deep, actionable insight.

The core responsibilities for the job include the following:

Market and Consumer Intelligence

• Lead the design and execution of qualitative and quantitative research programs across key global markets (North America, Europe, APAC, etc. ).
• Develop deep player understanding through segmentation, motivations research, user journey mapping, concept testing, and brand tracking.
• Identify global gaming trends, genre shifts, platform opportunities, and white spaces to inform portfolio direction.

Competitive Intelligence

• Build and institutionalize a structured competitor intelligence framework.
• Analyze competitor titles, monetization models, go-to-market strategies, and live-ops performance.
• Deliver ongoing insights on emerging studios, publishers, and ecosystem shifts.

Strategic Partnership with Studio Leadership

• Partner closely with game directors, product, monetization, and marketing teams to inform roadmap, positioning, and investment decisions.
• Translate research findings into clear strategic implications and actionable recommendations.
• Support greenlight decisions, new IP exploration, and market entry strategies.

Team and Capability Building

• Build and lead an in-house insights capability (qualitative and quantitative).
• Establish best-in-class research processes, vendor partnerships, and data integration practices.
• Combine primary research with gameplay data, performance metrics, and external market intelligence.

Executive Communication

• Deliver clear, high-impact insight narratives for leadership decision-making.
• Drive a culture of evidence-based decision-making across the studio.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in market research, consumer insights, or intelligence roles (gaming, tech, entertainment, or digital preferred).
• Deep expertise in both qualitative (IDIs, focus groups, ethnography) and quantitative (survey design, statistical analysis, segmentation) methodologies.
• Strong understanding of global gaming markets and player behavior.
• Experience working closely with product or creative teams.
• Proven ability to build and lead high-performing teams.
• Strong storytelling and executive communication skills.