Remote Product Discovery Lead: Customer Research & Strategy

NelNET; Topeka (KS); Remote; USD 140,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

HSA and FSA

401K with employer match

Life insurance & AD&D

Employee assistance program

Employee stock purchase program

Tuition reimbursement

Performance-based incentive pay

Disability insurance (short & long)

Wellness program

Job summary

Nelnet is seeking a Product Discovery Manager to lead customer and market discovery efforts, translating insights into product direction. The role collaborates with product, design, technology, and business teams to reduce risk before investment.

Strong research and prototyping skills are essential. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in product discovery, user research, or related disciplines, with experience turning evidence into actionable recommendations and working across cross-functional

Qualifications

• Required: 5+ years in product discovery, user research, or related field.
• Experience planning and conducting customer discovery and translating findings into recommendations.
• Experience evaluating ambiguous opportunities with evidence-based decisions.
• Experience collaborating across product, design, technology, and business functions.
• Experience with prototyping or concept testing is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead product and customer discovery to understand needs, workflows, pain points, and opportunities.
• Define research questions, audiences, and evidence criteria to evaluate opportunities.
• Recruit customers, users, buyers, and experts for actionable insights.
• Conduct interviews, workflow observations, and concept tests.
• Synthesize evidence into themes, JTBD, opportunities, and requirements.
• Develop and test prototypes to accelerate learning and reduce risk.
• Evaluate findings and advise on whether to advance or pivot.
• Partner with stakeholders to translate insights into strategy and priorities.
• Establish scalable discovery practices and documentation for future work.
• Communicate findings clearly to influence decisions.

Skills

Research & Information Gathering

Feedback Gathering

Critical Thinking

UX/UI Design

Strategic Thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Design, HCI, Psychology, Sociology, Marketing, Research, Product Management, or related field

Advanced degree or relevant professional training in UX research or product fields

Tools

Figma

Adobe XD

Job description

Nelnet is seeking a Product Discovery Manager to lead customer and market discovery efforts, translating insights into product direction. The role collaborates with product, design, technology, and business teams to reduce risk before investment.

Strong research and prototyping skills are essential. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in product discovery, user research, or related disciplines, with experience turning evidence into actionable recommendations and working across cross-functional