Lead User Researcher, Consumer Innovation

EngineersOfAI; United States; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Instacart is seeking a Staff Researcher on the Consumer team to shape foundational understanding of how people change their food behaviors. You will lead research across generative discovery to product validation, partnering with product, design, data science, marketing, and engineering to ground decisions in human insight.

The role combines early-stage exploratory work with rigorous quantitative validation, and requires mentoring junior researchers while advocating for customer needs across the

Responsibilities

• Own and drive the research roadmap for the consumer innovation workstream, partnering across product, design, data science, and engineering leadership to surface where research can shape strategy
• Lead generative, foundational research to understand how people think about food, nutrition, and health—behaviors, motivations, barriers, and triggers
• Apply behavioral science frameworks to frame research questions and surface insights that drive product and design directions
• Execute and oversee mixed-methods research (qualitative interviews, ethnography, diaries; surveys, data analysis)
• Translate research into actionable narratives to inform decisions from opportunity framing to product launch validation
• Maintain living knowledge bases, personas, and journey maps used by the organization
• Mentor junior researchers and contribute to research culture and standards
• Advocate for the customer by influencing roadmap and strategy through clear insights

Skills

Research leadership

Qualitative research

Quantitative analysis

Mentorship

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

We're transforming the grocery industry

At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Where others see a simple need for grocery delivery, we see exciting complexity and endless opportunity to serve the varied needs of our community. We work to deliver an essential service that customers rely on to get their groceries and household goods, while also offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers.

Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we’re building the team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you’re ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table.

Instacart is a Flex First team

There’s no one-size fits all approach to how we do our best work. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they do their best work—whether it’s from home, an office, or your favorite coffee shop—while staying connected and building community through regular in-person events. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.

OVERVIEW

Every year, people across the world spend nearly one trillion dollars on groceries. But food is more than sustenance — it's identity, ritual, culture, and care. The way we eat shapes our health, our routines, and our relationships. Yet for most people, translating a desire to eat better or live healthier into actual, lasting habit change remains hard.

The Instacart Consumer team is at the forefront of reimagining how people relate to food at home. We're building new product experiences around meals, nutrition, and health that go beyond the transaction — helping people discover what to cook, build routines that stick, and feel confident in the choices they make for themselves and their families.

As a Staff Researcher on the Consumer team, you will shape the foundational understanding of how and why people change (or struggle to change) their food behaviors. You'll lead research that spans the full arc from generative discovery to iterative product testing, partnering closely with product, design, data science, marketing, and engineering to build products grounded in deep human insight. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role for a researcher who is as comfortable in the messiness of early-stage innovation as they are in the rigor of quantitative validation.

ABOUT THE JOB

• Independently own and drive the research roadmap for the consumer innovation workstream, partnering across product, design, data science, and engineering leadership to surface where research can shape strategy, unlock new opportunities, and push innovation
• Lead generative, foundational research to understand how people think about food, nutrition, and health — including mental models, motivations, barriers, and behavioral triggers
• Apply behavioral science frameworks (e.g., habit loops, nudge theory, behavior change models) to frame research questions and surface insights that fuel creative problem-solving and unlock new directions for product and design
• Execute and oversee rigorous mixed-methods research: qualitative studies (in-depth interviews, ethnographic observation, diary studies, co-creation) alongside quantitative approaches (surveys, behavioral data analysis, concept testing at scale)
• Translate research into compelling, actionable narratives that move stakeholders to decisions, from early-stage opportunity framing to product launch validation
• Own and evolve the team's understanding of the consumer, maintaining living knowledge bases, personas, and journey maps that the broader organization draws on
• Mentor junior researchers and contribute to the craft, culture, and standards of the Instacart research organization
• Be a visible advocate for the customer across the organization, influencing roadmap and strategy through the quality and clarity of insights

ABOUT YOU

Minimum Qualifications