Lead, Consumer & Player Research and Insights

Skillz; Las Vegas (NV); On-site; USD 136,000 - 184,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

401K matching

Equity incentives

Wellness resources

PTO & holidays

Las Vegas HQ

Job summary

Skillz is seeking a Lead, Consumer & Player Research and Insights to build a deeper understanding of players and translate their needs into critical business decisions. You will lead research across the player experience, turning motivations, pain points, and behaviors into actionable insights for product features, promotions, and LiveOps.

This highly cross‑functional role partners with Product, LiveOps, Analytics, and VIP teams to validate changes before launch, develops a Voice of the Player

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in consumer insights, player research, UX research, market research, or a related discipline.
• Experience building or scaling an insights function, research program, or Voice of the Customer/Player program.
• Demonstrated expertise across quantitative and qualitative methods, including surveys, interviews, segmentation, panels, and behavioral analysis.
• Track record of influencing product, retention, monetization, or customer-experience decisions through research.
• Experience managing and developing researchers or analysts.
• Gaming, mobile consumer technology, digital entertainment, marketplace, or other high-engagement product experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead Skillz’s Consumer and Player Research function, establishing clear intake, prioritization, research standards, and an accessible insights repository.
• Design and execute quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research to uncover player motivations, pain points, churn drivers, and emerging experience risks.
• Establish a recurring Voice of the Player program, including pulse surveys, player panels, targeted outreach, and segmentation across key player groups.
• Partner with Product, LiveOps, Analytics, and VIP teams to validate changes to features, promotions, prize structures, and player economics before launch.
• Translate research findings into clear recommendations that influence roadmaps, player-retention strategies, and business decisions.
• Develop and manage a high-performing research team, setting clear expectations while coaching analysts toward independent execution.

Skills

Consumer insights

Player research

UX research

Mixed-methods

Stakeholder mgmt

Job description

About Skillz

If you want to build, own, and see your impact — join Skillz and level up your career.

Skillz is the competition infrastructure platform that powers real-money, skill-based tournaments inside mobile games. We didn't just enter the competitive gaming market — we invented it. Founded in 2012 by entrepreneur and inventor Andrew Paradise, Skillz built the category from scratch: the patented matchmaking, identity, payments, fraud protection, and developer tools that make fair, real-stakes competition possible at scale.

Skillz hosts billions of casual mobile gaming tournaments for millions of players worldwide and is revolutionizing the gaming industry. By fostering social competition within games, the Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling real-money activity in their games and providing operational support while connecting players through fair, enjoyable, and meaningful competition.

Today, Skillz is part of FIRY — a global holding company operating at the intersection of gaming, AI-powered performance marketing, and developer infrastructure. Alongside RZR, our AI-driven ad network, and Beamable, our backend and LiveOps platform, Skillz sits at the center of a compounding data flywheel that no standalone competitor can replicate. 800,000+ daily tournaments. $7.5 billion in lifetime prizes paid to players. 90 million registered users.

We're a high-conviction team of builders who came from Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Tesla, X, Roblox, Zynga, Samsung, Lyft, EA, Riot, Nexon, Gameskraft, PlayStation, Unity, Scopely, Tinder, Intel, Deloitte, EY, Twitch, DraftKings, Wynn Resorts, and more. We operate like a startup, hold ourselves to high standards, and move fast with purpose. If you want to work on infrastructure that matters — and be part of a team that fights for what it builds — Skillz is the right place.

About the Role

Skillz is looking for a Lead, Consumer & Player Research and Insights to build a deeper understanding of our players and bring their perspectives into critical business decisions. You will lead research across the player experience, translating player needs, motivations, and behaviors into actionable insights that inform product features, promotions, prize structures, and LiveOps. This is a highly cross-functional role that will help teams make more confident, player-centered decisions.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead Skillz’s Consumer and Player Research function, establishing clear intake, prioritization, research standards, and an accessible insights repository.
• Design and execute quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research to uncover player motivations, pain points, churn drivers, and emerging experience risks.
• Establish a recurring Voice of the Player program, including pulse surveys, player panels, targeted outreach, and segmentation across key player groups.
• Partner with Product, LiveOps, Analytics, and VIP teams to validate changes to features, promotions, prize structures, and player economics before launch.
• Translate research findings into clear recommendations that influence roadmaps, player-retention strategies, and business decisions.
• Develop and manage a high-performing research team, setting clear expectations while coaching analysts toward independent execution.

Key Competencies

• Expertise in consumer insights, player research, UX research, and mixed-method research design.
• Strong ability to translate player feedback and behavioral data into practical business recommendations.
• Strategic judgment and confidence influencing high-stakes decisions in a fast-moving environment.
• Cross-functional collaboration with Product, LiveOps, Analytics, Marketing, and customer-facing teams.
• Clear executive communication, research storytelling, and stakeholder management.
• Strong people leadership, coaching, prioritization, and operational discipline.

Experience

• 7+ years of experience in consumer insights, player research, UX research, market research, or a related discipline.
• Experience building or scaling an insights function, research program, or Voice of the Customer/Player program.
• Demonstrated expertise across quantitative and qualitative methods, including surveys, interviews, segmentation, panels, and behavioral analysis.
• Track record of influencing product, retention, monetization, or customer-experience decisions through research.
• Experience managing and developing researchers or analysts.
• Gaming, mobile consumer technology, digital entertainment, marketplace, or other high-engagement product experience strongly preferred.

Total Starting Compensation including Base + Bonus + Equity: $160,000

Location: Onsite, Las Vegas, NV

Why Skillz

• You're building infrastructure, not just features. Skillz is the competition layer for mobile gaming — the matchmaking, payments, identity, and fraud systems that make real-stakes competition trustworthy at scale. The work here compounds. Every improvement to the platform makes every tournament on it better.
• Founder-led. Andrew Paradise founded Skillz in 2012 with a single conviction: that fair, real-money skill-based competition should exist at scale. Thirteen years later, he’s taken the company public on the NYSE, built a portfolio of three independent businesses, earned 90+ patents, and won the largest false advertising verdict in U.S. history. He is still here — still the founder, still the CEO, still building. That kind of long-term commitment and alignment is rare in any company. At Skillz, it defines the culture from the top down.
• Part of a compounding ecosystem. Skillz is one of three businesses inside FIRY — alongside RZR, our AI-powered performance ad network, and Beamable, our developer backend platform. Your work spans gaming, ad tech, identity, payments, and ecommerce. The platform you build on gets smarter and more valuable with every player, developer, and advertiser that enters the ecosystem.
• Comprehensive Benefits. 100% coverage for medical, dental, and vision for you and your dependents. 401K matching, equity incentives, pre‑tax benefit options, and more.
• Wellness Support. Meditation and mental health resources, physical fitness coaching and classes, family planning assistance, health and parenting guidance, virtual therapy sessions, and more.
• Time Off. Competitive PTO and company holidays.
• Las Vegas Headquarters. Skillz operates in a five‑day‑a‑week, collaborative office environment at our 36,000+ square foot Las Vegas HQ. Free daily catered lunch, snacks, a full‑size gym with showers, commuter benefits, team events, and more.
• Recognized Success. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, San Francisco Business Times’ Best Places to Work, Forbes’ Next Billion‑Dollar Startups, and the #1 fastest‑growing company in America on the Inc. 5000 list, and many more.

Join Skillz and Let's Redefine the Boundaries of Gaming!

Together, we’ll create a world where skill, passion, and innovation thrive. We look forward to having you on board!

#LI-Onsite #LI-

Skillz embraces diversity and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As part of our commitment to diversifying our workforce, we do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sex, gender, gender identity, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship, veteran status, or disability status, and we operate in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance .