Lead UX Behavioral Scientist

UKG; Lowell (MA); On-site; USD 146,000 - 209,000; Full time

Job summary

UKG in Lowell, MA is seeking a Lead User Experience Behavioral Scientist to drive the development of AI-powered product experiences. You will manage behavioral data, instrumentation, and analytics, translating insights into actionable product guidance and strategy.

You will lead experiments, mentor team members, and collaborate with Product, Data Science, Engineering, and UX to optimize adoption, trust, and value realization across UKG's AI initiatives.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in behavioral research and analytics driving outcomes in digital products.
• Hands-on expertise with experimentation, predictive modeling, and telemetry analysis.
• Experience delivering AI-enabled or conversational experiences and NLP familiarity.
• Strong SQL skills and comfort with large-scale datasets and dashboards.
• Ability to influence product strategy across cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Model adoption, reliance, intent, and outcomes using telemetry and user sentiment.
• Develop predictive insights and identify drivers of adoption and friction.
• Instrument behavioral telemetry and measurement frameworks across touchpoints.
• Partner with Product, Data Science, and Operations to build scalable data systems.
• Lead causal and experimental research to evaluate features and AI reliance.
• Translate data into actionable insights for time-to-value and confidence-to-action.
• Establish metrics beyond sentiment to quantify adoption and trust.
• Provide thought leadership on AI adoption and influence senior stakeholders.
• Elevate team capabilities in quantitative methods and data science.
• Mentor teammates in applying analytics to product development.

Skills

Behavioral research

Data analytics

Experimental design

Cross-functional collaboration

SQL

Tools

PowerBI

Looker

Tableau

Claude

Job description

Why UKG

At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That's what we do.

Why UKG

At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That's what we do. We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you'll get flexibility that s real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters-and so do you.

Description

At UKG, we are building an AI-first suite that inspires every organization to become a great place to work through HR, pay, workforce management, and culturetechnology built for all. We have a strong people-focused culture and are bringing innovative, AI-enhanced technology to empower the 80,000+ organizations who use our products.

We are looking for a talented and passionate Lead User Experience Behavioral Scientist to drive the development of UKG AI product experiences. You will manage user behavior and sentiment analysis programs, and weave data together to give deeper insights into the UKG experience. You'll play a leadership role in the UX Research team and the larger UX organization and report to the head of UX Research.

Responsibilities

• Conduct quantitative and behavioral research using product telemetry, log data, and user sentiment to model adoption, reliance (follow/verify/override), intent, and outcome patterns that improve how UKG's AI products deliver value to customers and end users.
• Develop predictive and descriptive behavioral insights that identify drivers of adoption, friction, hesitation, and abandonment across user segments and roles.
• Design and operationalize behavioral telemetry and measurement frameworks-instrumenting user interactions, workflows, and touchpoints to generate leading indicators of trust, reliance, and value realization.
• Partner with Product, Data Science, and Product Operations to build scalable systems for behavioral data collection, experimentation, and continuous insight generation.
• Lead causal and experimental research (e.g., A/B tests, quasi-experiments) to evaluate the impact of features, nudges, defaults, and automation levels on user behavior and business outcomes.
• Translate behavioral data into actionable insights and decision frameworks that inform product strategy, including how to optimize time-to-value, confidence-to-action, and appropriate AI reliance.
• Establish and evolve metrics that go beyond sentiment and usability to quantify behavioral outcomes-such as adoption, trust calibration, sustained usage, and intervention effectiveness.
• Provide thought leadership on AI adoption and behavioral science, shaping product direction and influencing senior stakeholders with a clear, evidence-based perspective.
• Elevate the team's capabilities in quantitative, behavioral, and data science methods; mentor others in applying advanced analytics, experimentation, and behavioral frameworks to product development.
• Raise the methodological bar within the User Research team and mentor other team members on quantitative methods and data science methods.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in behavioral research, behavioral analytics, data science, or a related field, driving measurable business and user outcomes in digital product environments.
• Passionate about hands-on behavioral research and analytics, including building research data infrastructure, instrumentation, reporting frameworks, and dashboards within fast-moving AI-first product organizations.
• Demonstrated expertise conducting quantitative and behavioral research at scale using methods such as experimentation/A/B testing, predictive modeling, segmentation and cluster analysis, conjoint modeling, and behavioral telemetry analysis to understand adoption, trust, reliance (follow/verify/override), friction, and outcome patterns.
• Experience delivering AI-assisted and conversational experiences, including ML or NLP familiarity, conversational analytics, and journey or intent modeling.
• Strong proficiency with SQL and experience working with large-scale behavioral and product datasets to generate actionable insights, dashboards, visualizations, and executive-ready narratives. Proficient with tools such as PowerBI (preferred), QuickSight, Looker, Tableau, Claude, and other AI-assisted analytics platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex behavioral and product data into actionable recommendations and partner cross-functionally with Product, Product Operations, Data Science, Engineering, and UX teams to influence product strategy, experimentation, onboarding, and AI experience optimization.
• Experience with enterprise SaaS, workforce technology, HR technology, or AI-enabled productivity platforms strongly preferred.
• Contributes to a collaborative, inclusive team culture through respect, humility, humor, and entrepreneurial spirit. Demonstrates strong curiosity, reasoning and problem-solving skills.

Company Overview

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent, is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry - because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge. Learn more at ukg.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer

UKG is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.

UKG participates in E-Verify. View the E-Verify posters here.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process

For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email [e-mail].

The pay range for this position is $145,600 to $209,300. The actual base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and work location. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible to participate in a performance-based bonus plan and to receive restricted stock unit awards as part of total compensation. Learn more about UKG's benefits and rewards at https://www.ukg.com/about-us/careers/benefits