Lead UX Researcher

Cox Enterprises; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Cox Enterprises is seeking a Lead User Researcher to set research strategies across multiple products and guide programs portfolio-wide. You will drive standards, partner with Research Ops, and apply agentic AI for scalable insight systems.

The role requires leading large, cross-functional teams, developing personas and journey maps, and shaping long-term product direction while championing ethical research practices and participant safety.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field with 6 years’ experience
• Proven success leading large multi-team research programs
• Ethnography, journey mapping, and synthesis expertise
• Ability to architect insight frameworks and governance models

Responsibilities

• Define portfolio level research strategies with measurable success criteria
• Lead multi-team, multimethod research programs across product lines
• Develop advanced personas, journey architectures, and ecosystem maps
• Apply advanced agentic AI to develop repeatable insight pipelines
• Mentor Senior Researchers and review methods

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

UX research

Ethnography

Synthesis

AI in research

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

PhD beneficial

Tools

Miro

Mural

LLM tooling

Job description

As a Lead User Researcher,you will set research strategies and guide programs across multiple products or portfolio areas. You will demonstrate advanced to emerging mastery across major UXR competencies and serve as a research leader within CAI. You will develop portfolio level research roadmaps, coordinate multiteam initiatives, and shape long-term product direction. You will establish standards, drive methodological consistency, and partner with Research Ops to enable scalable, high-quality research processes. You will also apply advanced agentic AI techniques to build repeatable insight systems, automate synthesis, and support long-term insight durability.

Position Responsibilities:

• Define portfolio level research strategies with measurable success criteria.
• Lead multiteam, multimethod research programs across product lines and identify cross domain insights that influence long-term product direction.
• Develop advanced personas, journey architectures, and ecosystem maps.
• Supervise development of personas, journey architectures, ecosystem maps, and opportunity landscapes used across teams.
• Apply advanced agentic AI to develop repeatable insight pipelines and quality controls.
• Partner with Research Operations on governance, research frameworks, panel strategy, vendor selection, and tooling decisions.
• Facilitate alignment workshops with senior product and UX leaders using collaborative tools (e.g., Miro, Mural)
• Provide expert guidance on method selection for ambiguous or high-risk projects.
• Mentor Senior Researchers and serve as a method-of-record reviewer.
• Oversee repository consistency and long-term insight durability.
• Influence roadmaps by communicating evidence backed opportunity areas.
• Develop capacity plans and guide resource allocation across research programs.
• Champion ethical research practices and participant safety.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in and 6 years’ experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and 4 years’ experience; a Ph.D. and 1 year of experience; or 10 years’ experience in a related field
• Proven success leading large, multi‑team research programs
• Deep command of ethnography, journey mapping, concept testing, and synthesis
• Ability to architect insight frameworks, research operations models, and standards
• Strong influence skills; trusted advisor to Directors, VPs, and senior leadership
• Excellent cross-functional leadership and facilitation skills
• Strong understanding of product strategy and business-level decision frameworks
• Demonstrated ability to manage complexity and ambiguity at scale
• Ability to coach and elevate the performance of multiple senior researchers
• Expertise in data-backed storytelling and strategic communication
• Familiarity with analytics, experimentation, and modeling workflows
• Use of general purpose LLM tools to analyze and synthesize user behavior, identify patterns, and prioritize opportunities
• Use AI to accelerate discovery, experimentation, development, and recommend improvements throughout the product design process
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred
• 6–10 years applied research experience

Additional Information:

May require frequent cross-site travel for portfolio alignment and fieldwork.