Senior User Experience Researcher

M&T Bank; Bridgeport (CT); Hybrid; USD 113,000 - 189,000; Full time

Job summary

M&T Bank is seeking a proactive Senior UX Researcher to shape customer- and banker-facing experiences. You will design and execute user research that informs product strategy, collaborates with designers, product managers, and engineers, and translates insights into actionable recommendations.

The role operates in a hybrid model with onsite presence four days a week at multiple offices, including Bridgeport, CT, and requires at least five years of UX research experience in financial services or

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of related UX research experience.
• Experience designing and conducting studies across customer and employee audiences.
• Strong communication and storytelling to influence decision-making.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards and cross‑platform UX.

Responsibilities

• Establish and evolve a consistent research discipline across product teams.
• Design and conduct primary research: surveys, interviews, usability testing.
• Translate insights into actionable recommendations for product and design.
• Mentor others and guide prioritization of research efforts.
• Collaborate with Market Research and analytics to leverage existing insights.
• Communicate findings through storytelling to inform strategy.

Skills

UX Research

Survey design

Usability testing

Interviews

Stakeholder management

Figma

Jira

Miro

Accessibility

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Figma

UserTesting

Miro

Jira

Job description

About the Role

We are seeking a proactive Senior UX Researcher to shape customer- and banker-facing experiences.This person willdeliver actionable research that influences business decisions,drives innovation, and improves user experiences.The ideal candidate has experience researching digital products for both customer and employee audiences.You’llcollaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure our products are intuitive, inclusive, drive business value, and are aligned with real user needs.

Overview:

Creates deep understanding and empathy around user needs across product teams, including designers, product managers, and engineers. Designs and executes primary research to explore user behaviors and motivations throughsurveys, ethnography,in depthinterviews, concept testing, stakeholder interviews, workshop facilitation, usability testing,andheuristic evaluations.Comfortable triangulating data across multiple sources, including voice of the customer, employee feedback, and behavioral data. Translates insights into actionable recommendations that inform the development of new products and features and drive continuous innovation of existing experiences. Delivers clear, compelling written, visual, and in-person presentations to support decision-making at all stages of product development.

Work Model & Office Locations :

This role follows a hybrid work model, requiring onsite presence four days per week at one of M&T Bank’s regional offices. Candidates must reside within a reasonable commuting distance to one of the following locations:

• 345 Main Street, Buffalo, NY
• 115 Federal Street, Boston, MA
• 1 Light Street, Baltimore, MD
• 1350 I Street NW, Washington, DC
• 1100 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE
• 277 Park Avenue, New York, NY
• 850 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT
• 77 Pine Street, Burlington, VT

Primary Responsibilities:

• Establish and evolve a consistent research discipline to generate deep insights into user interactions with modern financial products and strengthen understanding of current and prospective customers.

• Drive definition of user problem statement and alignment around it

• Confidently engages cross-functional teams through research practices, educating them throughout, and ensuring that findings are implemented.

• Apply best practices and method excellence across generative and evaluative mixed-methods research.

• Provide guidance and mentorship to others conducting research and applyappropriaterigor.

• Guide design leads on clear disciplined prioritization decisions, deciding whatresearch totake on vs. defer, with strong judgment on where to say no.

• Employ a range of UX Research methodologies (e.g.surveys, ethnography,in depthinterviews, concept testing, stakeholder interviews, workshop facilitation, usability testing, heuristic evaluations, etc.)

• Perform sophisticated, rigorous analysis of research data with a point of view that shows salient patterns with frameworks and meaningful insights

• Build andmaintaina strong partnership with Market Researchand analytics teamstoleverageexistinginsights, stay aligned across scheduled researcheffortsand inform the Company’s overall understanding of user needs and expectations.

• Communicate research resultsthrough effective storytelling,that drives changes in business or experience strategy and helpdefiniea new vision for the future.

• Understand and adhere to the Company’s risk and regulatory standards,policiesand controlsin accordance withthe Company’s Risk Appetite.Identifyrisk-related issues needing escalation to management.

• Promote an environment that supports belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand.

• Maintain M&T internal control standards, includingtimelyimplementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.

• Complete other related duties as assigned.

Scope of Responsibilities:

At M&T Bank, user experience (UX) is at the forefront of how we create intuitive,innovativeand visually appealing products that people love. The Sr UX Researcher strives to learn and understand our users’ needs, behaviors, and emotions to yield insights that inform product strategy and guide design of the experiences created. You will develop relationships and work closely with leaders in Product Management, Software Engineering, Marketing, and Business to solve complex challenges and craft powerful experiences that highlight our products’ unique capabilities and personalities.

Education and Experience Required:

Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 5 years’ related experience, or in lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 9 years’ higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 5 years’ related experience

Background in the user experience researcher field, designing and conducting user research studies and applying design-thinking methodologies

Prior experience with innovative thinking, the value of research and working with stakeholders to deliver results

Strong understanding of strengths and shortcomings of different research methods, including when and how to apply them during product development processes

Experience dealing with ambiguity andleveragingdesign researchas a means tobring clarity to abstract ideas

Experience with accessibility standards, cross-platform issues, mobile userinterfacesand systems-thinking

Experience using modern design, prototyping and collaboration tools(e.g.Figma,UserTesting, Miro, Jira)

Experience interacting with various multi-disciplinary teams of professionals

Strong time management skills

Strong problem-solving skills

Strong critical thinking skills

Strong verbal and written communication skills

Strong collaboration skills

Education and Experience Preferred:

Minimum of a master’s degree in a related field

Experience in survey design, including working knowledge of statistics and experimental design

Experience in creating use cases, flow diagrams, prototypes,scenariosand wireframes in the context of user research

Proficiencyin industry best practices for desktop, mobile and web applications

Experience working with Product Managers, Product Designers and Product Marketers

Experience working in the financial industry

M&T Bank is committed to fair, competitive, and market-informed pay for our employees. The pay range for this position is $113,300.00 - $188,800.00 Annual (USD). The successful candidate’s particular combination of knowledge, skills, and experience will inform their specific compensation.

Location

Wilmington, Delaware, United States of America