Research Operations Lead

Mercury; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

Mercury is seeking a Research Operations Lead to build and run a scalable research enablement program. You will set strategy, develop the team, and personally lead high‑stakes work while partnering with design, product, and marketing to embed customer evidence into decisions.

You will own the tool stack, vendor relationships, and budget, and advance AI‑driven research workflows with a strong emphasis on privacy and rigorous evidence.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands‑on research operations experience.
• 1–2 years of people management experience.
• Be a thought leader in the space.
• Qualitative research experience and quantitative fluency.
• Thrive in ambiguity where the discipline isn't fully figured out.
• Excellent coach to non‑researchers, building judgment and confidence.
• Use AI in daily work and stay curious about what’s genuinely useful.
• Communicate clearly with practitioners and senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own the strategy, roadmap, and operating model for research at Mercury, enabling Product, Design, and Marketing to run research with autonomy.
• Apply senior research judgment to high‑stakes work, strengthening standards and guidance across Mercury.
• Partner with design managers, designers, and PMs to ensure customer evidence informs decisions from discovery to post-launch analysis.
• Own our research tool stack (Dovetail, Maze, Rally), vendor relationships, budget, and build-vs-buy decisions.
• Own and improve Mercury’s AI-enabled workflows for research planning, conversations, and synthesis with high privacy and human-judgment standards.
• Pilot new ways of getting close to customers, such as rolling research programs and customer events.
• Make customer learning visible across Mercury, surfacing patterns that deepen teams’ understanding of users.
• Manage and coach one direct report, staying hands-on in the work.

Skills

Leadership

Research operations

Qualitative research

Quantitative analysis

AI in workflow

Stakeholder communication

Tools

Dovetail

Maze

Rally

Job description

The best teams don't treat customer understanding as a checkpoint. They build it into the work: learning how customers see the world, carrying that perspective into everyday decisions, and making better products because of it.

At Mercury, research is a democratized practice. Designers and PMs talk directly to customers, and Research Operations builds and runs the system that makes that fast, high quality, and ethical. We're looking for a Research Operations Lead to build and run that program as Mercury scales. You've done this before and have a clear point of view on how it should work. This is a hands‑on leadership role: you’ll set the strategy and priorities for research enablement, develop the team, and personally lead work where senior judgment matters most.

In this role, you will:

• Own the strategy, roadmap, and operating model for research at Mercury, enabling Product, Design, and Marketing to run research with autonomy
• Apply senior research judgment to complex or high-stakes work, using recurring gaps to strengthen the standards and guidance that raise research quality across Mercury.
• Partner closely with design managers, designers, and PMs so customer evidence informs decisions from early discovery through post-launch usability and funnel analysis
• Own our research tool stack (including Dovetail, Maze, and Rally), along with vendor relationships, budget, and build-versus-buy decisions
• Own and improve Mercury’s AI‑enabled workflows for research planning, customer conversations, and synthesis, maintaining high standards for evidence, privacy, and human judgment
• Pilot new ways of getting close to customers, such as rolling research programs and customer events like research dinners
• Make customer learning visible across Mercury, surfacing patterns that deepen teams’ understanding of the people they serve.
• Manage and coach one direct report, setting priorities and supporting their growth while staying hands on in the work

You should:

• Have 8+ years of hands‑on research operations experience and a track record of building or scaling a program with measurable impact
• Have 1-2 years of people management experience
• Be a thought leader in the space
• Have qualitative research experience and quantitative fluency
• Thrive in ambiguity where the discipline isn't fully figured out
• Be an excellent coach to non-researchers, building their judgment and confidence
• Use AI in your daily work and stay curious about what's genuinely useful versus merely new
• Communicate clearly with practitioners and senior stakeholders

*Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC‑insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.

Mercury values diversity & belonging and is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All individuals seeking employment at Mercury are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected characteristic. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process for applicants with disabilities or special needs. If you need assistance, or an accommodation, please let your recruiter know once you are contacted about a role.

Total Rewards

The total rewards package at Mercury includes base salary, equity (stock options/RSUs), and benefits.

Our salary and equity ranges are highly competitive within the SaaS and fintech industry and are updated regularly using the most reliable compensation survey data for our industry. New hire offers are made based on a candidate’s experience, expertise, geographic location, and internal pay equity relative to peers.

Our target new hire base salary ranges for this role are the following:

US employees in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, or the San Francisco Bay Area:

$189,400—$236,700 USD

US employees outside of New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, or the San Francisco Bay Area:

$170,400—$213,000 USD

Canadian employees (any location):

$179,000—$223,700 CAD