Senior User Researcher

Gallup; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan with company matching

Employee stock ownership program

Mass transit reimbursement

Employee assistance program

Job summary

Gallup is seeking a Senior User Researcher to drive evidence-based product decisions across the CliftonStrengths platform. The role involves leading research initiatives and collaborating with cross-functional teams.

Ideal candidates will have at least six years of user research experience, strong communication skills, and the ability to leverage AI tools to enhance workflow. The position requires on-site work in San Francisco at least three days per week.

Qualifications

• At least six years of professional experience conducting user research.
• Experience influencing product decisions through data-based recommendations.
• Expertise in qualitative and mixed research methods.

Responsibilities

• Lead research initiatives and collaborate cross-functionally.
• Translate complex inputs into research plans aligned to business priorities.
• Synthesize findings into actionable insights for product teams.

Skills

End-to-end user research

Strategic insights

Influential communication

AI fluency

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Tools

AI tools for research

Job description

Influence the future of CliftonStrengths through research that anchors what we build and why.

As a senior user researcher at Gallup, you’ll drive evidence-based product decisions across the CliftonStrengths ® platform and adjacent digital experiences. You will partner closely with product, design and engineering teams to ensure we are building the right solutions for the right users, informed by deep research, thoughtful synthesis and strategic judgment.

In this role, you will lead research initiatives end to end, orchestrate cross‑functional collaboration, and guide roadmap and design direction at scale.

What You’ll Do

• Partner with product and design leaders to define research questions that meaningfully inform strategy and decision‑making.
• Lead generative and evaluative research using a range of qualitative and mixed methods, including interviews, diary studies, concept testing, usability testing and surveys in partnership with quantitative researchers.
• Translate ambiguous inputs into clear research plans and learning goals aligned to business priorities.
• Synthesize complex findings into crisp, actionable insights and recommendations.
• Contribute to competitive and market understanding through peer scans, messaging and positioning reviews, segmentation analysis, and solution comparisons.
• Connect user research with Gallup’s broader assessment and survey expertise to deepen insight quality and rigor.
• Improve how research is shared and reused by building repositories, templates and lightweight processes that increase accessibility and impact.
• Thoughtfully incorporate AI tools into research workflows, such as synthesis, tagging, transcription, summarization and competitive scanning, to enhance speed, rigor and clarity while maintaining methodological integrity.
• Elevate research standards across teams through coaching, critique and modeling strong research practices.

What Makes You Stand Out

• Strategic insights: You shape product direction by identifying the questions that matter most and translating ambiguity into clarity.
• Influential communication: You confidently and clearly present findings and recommendations that move stakeholders to action, even in complex or ambiguous situations.
• Systems thinking: You see patterns across user behavior, market context and product design, connecting insights to broader strategic opportunities.
• Operational excellence: You independently lead initiatives from planning through synthesis, aligning cross‑functional partners without formal authority.
• AI fluency: You leverage emerging AI tools to enhance research workflows and insight generation while maintaining strong methodological judgment.

What You Need

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• At least six years of professional experience conducting end‑to‑end user research for a technology‑focused company.
• Demonstrated experience driving research strategy in complex digital products.
• Experience influencing product and design decisions through evidence‑based recommendations.
• Expertise across a range of qualitative and mixed research methods and the judgment to know when to use each.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience using AI tools to enhance research workflows and insight generation.
• Experience in B2B SaaS, platform environments or complex product ecosystems (preferred).
• Experience partnering with quantitative researchers, analytics or data science teams (preferred).
• Background in assessment, psychometrics, learning sciences or related research domains (preferred).
• Experience building scalable research operations, such as repositories, templates or shared rituals (preferred).
• A commitment to working on‑site at Gallup’s San Francisco office at least three days per week.

About Gallup

Gallup is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other legally protected basis, in accordance with applicable law.

Gallup offers a robust benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, life and other insurance options; a fully vested 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching; an employee stock ownership program; mass transit reimbursement; family‑building benefits; an employee assistance program; and various reimbursements and activities that enhance our associates’ wellbeing. We also offer an estimated annual salary range of $120,000–$135,000 for this role.