Human Factors UX Researcher

J.S. Held LLC; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work flexibility

Flexible Time Off policy

Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

401k Match

Job summary

J.S. Held is seeking an experienced User Experience Research or Human Factors Manager with an independent book of business to join our Human Factors team, focusing on medical device or healthcare.

This role blends entrepreneurial strategy with rigorous empirical research, contributing to growth, client proposals, and project execution across industries. The ideal candidate will manage studies, mentor staff, and potentially support litigation as an expert witness, while delivering actionable

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in a relevant psychology, cognitive science, or human factors field preferred.
• Minimum 5–10 years of industry experience managing client projects.
• Entrepreneurial drive with strong communication skills and ownership of empirical research.

Responsibilities

• Drive a strong business development component.
• Design and conduct advanced UX research studies and analyze results.
• Hire and mentor junior staff and manage multiple concurrent projects.
• Potentially serve as a testifying expert in litigation when applicable.
• Develop client proposals and translate research into actionable outputs.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Empirical research ownership

Inferential statistics & data analysis

Client project management

Entrepreneurial drive

Mentoring junior staff

Education

Ph.D. in Experimental, Developmental, Perceptual, or Cognitive Psychology / Cognitive Science / Human Factors

Master’s Degree in related field + 10 years experience

Job description

Company Description

Are you looking to join an organization that is growing and dynamic? What about a high-energy, collaborative environment that rewards hard work?

J.S. Held is a global consulting firm that combines technical, scientific, financial, and strategic expertise to advise clients seeking to realize value and mitigate risk. Our professionals serve as trusted advisors to organizations facing high stakes matters demanding urgent attention, staunch integrity, proven experience, clear-cut analysis, and an understanding of both tangible and intangible assets.

The firm provides a comprehensive suite of services, products, and data that enable clients to navigate complex, contentious, and often catastrophic situations.

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced User Experience Research or Human Factors Manager with an independent book of business to join our Human Factors team, in particular in the area of medical device or healthcare human factors. This is a unique opportunity for an entrepreneurial, highly driven person with a well-rounded skill set to join the Human Factors team, whose responsibilities extend beyond those of traditional Human Factors professionals. The ideal person for this role will need to have not only strong quantitative and qualitative UX research skills and experience, but also be flexible and a strategic thinker, able to hire and mentor junior staff, contribute to the team’s strategy for growth, develop business, and perform research as an individual contributor on a number of concurrent projects – straight out of the box. This role differs somewhat from the typical UX manager role, in its reduced emphasis on people and project management and its prominent emphasis on business development.

The Human Factors team performs a variety of studies related to product use-related health, safety, usability, and user experience, by bringing to bear methodologies from basic science, such as eye tracking, physiological data recording, or motion capture. You will help in marketing and selling UX research projects, scoping and budgeting such projects, writing the corresponding client proposals, operationalizing client needs as empirical research questions, designing bespoke studies around those research questions, collecting data from participants using a wealth of custom-tailored methodologies, analyzing data in creative ways, and translating the results back into actionable outcomes for our clients. You will also help grow and mentor the team and contribute to its strategic initiatives. Because of the centrality of successful human-machine interaction to the safety of users and other stakeholders, your work may also entail working up litigation matters related to alleged product defects and, eventually, testifying as an expert witness. As a consultant, your experiences will be as varied and diverse as the products and services out there, possibly spanning automotive, medical, pharma, consumer electronics, appliances, heavy machinery, child products, and extended reality products – although the exact nature of your work will be determined in part by your ability to generate work in various industries.

Please submit an academic CV in addition to a more traditional resume.

Job Responsibilities

• This role involves a strong and immediate business development component.
• This role will further entail highly skilled study design, as well as, potentially, study execution, data analysis, and report preparation.
• It will also involve the hiring and mentoring of junior staff.
• It will require managing multiple concurrent projects.
• You may also eventually serve as a testifying expert in litigation, if you do not already serve as a testifier.
• A successful candidate is one who has tenacity, endurance, perseverance, and determination, as well as creativity, ingenuity, and entrepreneurship, and who exhibits a high degree of autonomy and ownership.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Experimental, Developmental, Perceptual, or Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, Human Factors, or a related basic scientific psychology field preferred.
• A minimum of five to ten years of experience in industry and with managing client projects.
• Alternatively, Master’s Degree in Experimental, Developmental, Perceptual, or Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, or Human Factors, plus minimum of ten years experience in industry.
• Existing book of business and strong client relationships.
• Entrepreneurial drive and passion to succeed.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Proven track record of ownership of empirical research (both quantitative and qualitative), from study inception to study design and execution to data analysis and interpretation.
• Excellent inferential statistics and data analytic skills.
• Possible interest in potential litigation support and/or forensic work or, better yet, existing practice as a testifier.

Physical and Mental Job Qualifications

• Ability to travel as needed, depending on project assignments.
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

Additional Information

Some of the Benefits We Have Include

J.S. Held understands all our employees are people and sometimes life needs flexibility. We work to always provide an environment that best supports and suits our team’s needs.

• Our flexible work environment allows employees to work remotely, when needed
• Flexible Time Off policy
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401k Match

A reasonable estimate of the salary range for this role is $150,000 - $175,000.Any offered salary range is based on a wide array of factors including but not limitedto skillset,experience, training, location, scope of role, management responsibility, etc.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you have read the J.S. Held Online Privacy Notice and hereby freely and unambiguously give informed consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of your personal information as required and described therein. California residents can click here to learn more about the personal information we collect and here to learn about additional privacy rights that may be available.

We embrace diversity and our commitment to building a team and environment that fosters professional and personal enrichment is unwavering. We are greater when we are equal!

J.S. Held is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request for a reasonable accommodation, please email [e-mail] and include “Applicant Accommodation” within the subject line with your request and contact information.

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