Lead Design Researcher

Alliant Credit Union; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 93,000 - 144,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual performance bonus

Work from home up to 3 days a week

Paid parental leave

Employee discount programs

Time off including paid personal and s

11 paid holidays

Job summary

Alliant Credit Union is seeking a seasoned design researcher to lead mixed-methods studies informing product, service, and member experience decisions. You will design and execute quantitative and qualitative research, translate insights into actionable recommendations, and partner with cross‑functional teams to improve member journeys.

Responsibilities include leading planning and execution across descriptive, generative, evaluative, and analytical domains, employing interviews, diary studies,

Qualifications

• Design research across descriptive, generative, evaluative domains.
• Sampling and questionnaire design with data quality standards.
• Translate insights into actionable recommendations for teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning, design, and execution of mixed methods research.
• Use interviews, diary studies, conjoint analysis, MaxDiff, TURF, surveys.
• Communicate findings through storytelling, visuals, and presentations.
• Collaborate with designers and product teams to improve member experiences.
• Facilitate research-driven workshops and align teams around insights.

Skills

Mixed-methods research

Quantitative research

Qualitative research

Human-centered design

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in sociology, HCI, psychology or related

Graduate degree preferred

Job description

Lead and advance mixed‑methods design research that informs product, service, and experience decisions across the credit union. Bring expertise in quantitative research and analytical methods, complemented by qualitative research and human‑centered design practices. Plan and execute research, translate insights into actionable recommendations, and partner with other teams to improve member experiences.

• Lead the planning, design, and execution of mixed methods quantitative and qualitative research across descriptive, generative, evaluative, and analytical research domains
• Utilize methods including in-depth interviews, diary studies, conjoint analysis, MaxDiff, TURF analysis, survey‑based experimentation to inform product, service, and experience decisions.
• Design statistically sound research studies, including sampling approaches, questionnaire design, and data quality standards.
• Communicate research findings through compelling storytelling, visualizations, and presentations tailored to diverse stakeholder groups.
• Apply human‑centered design principles and methods to research planning, synthesis, and insight activation, ensure research is grounded in member needs and business context.
• Collaborate with service designers and design strategists to inform experience orchestration, service concepts, and strategic direction.
• Represent the voice of the member, consumer, and internal customers across initiatives.
• Plan and facilitate research‑driven workshops, synthesis sessions, and stakeholder working sessions to align teams around insights and implications.
• Build trusted partnerships with product, digital, UX, marketing, operations, partnerships, and leadership teams.
• Contribute to the development and maturation of Alliant’s design research practice by elevating research rigor, strengthening evidence‑based decision‑making, and improving standards, tools, templates, and governance.
• Continuously evaluate and improve research approaches, methodologies, and tools.

Education &Years of Experience

• Minimum - 4 Year Bachelors Degree inSociology, Human‑Computer Interaction, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Statistics, or related
• Preferred - Graduate Degree inSociology, Human‑Computer Interaction, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Statistics, or related
• Minimum - 3 Years ofDesign research, user research, or human‑centered research, with demonstrated quantitative and mixed‑methods expertise or related
• Preferred - 5 YearsDesign research, user research, or human‑centered research, with demonstrated quantitative and mixed‑methods expertise or related

In Lieu of Education

• 7 years ofDesign research, user research, or human‑centered research, with demonstrated quantitative and mixed‑methods expertise or related

Typical hiring range:

$92,600.00 to $144,100.00 Annually. Actual compensation will be determined using factors such as experience, skills & knowledge.

Benefits:

Alliant provides a benefits package including health care, vision, dental, and 401k with employer match including:

• Annual performance bonus
• Work from home up to 3 days a week
• Paid parental leave
• Employee discount programs
• Time off including paid personal and sick days
• 11 paid holidays

*Note that eligibility and cost of benefits can vary depending on the number of regularly scheduled hours, and job status such as regular full-time, regular part-time, or temporary employment.

Adhere to and ensure compliance of all business transactions with policy and process of the Bank Secrecy Act. Ensures compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, company procedures and policies. Maintains integrity and ethics in all actions and conversations with or regarding credit union members and their accounts; complies with Privacy Act directives.

The responsibilities listed do not contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this position. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.