Senior User Researcher [AQ-24485]

Aquent; Hoboken (NJ); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent is seeking a Senior User Researcher to join our Enterprise Product Ventures team onsite in Hoboken, NJ. You will lead generative and discovery-focused research to uncover early-stage product opportunities and new revenue streams, working with product management, engineering, and executives.

The role emphasizes core product research—sizing problems, testing concepts, mapping personas, and guiding what to build next.

Qualifications

• 5–7+ years of experience conducting UX/product research, with enterprise (B2B) focus.
• Experience leading ambiguous discovery initiatives from inception to impact.
• Strong business acumen and ability to map product-market fit with revenue potential.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end generative and discovery research to validate early venture concepts.
• Partner with Product Management and leaders to align roadmaps and sequencing.
• Develop research strategies for complex enterprise environments with limited direct access to users.
• Plan and facilitate learning workshops and co-creation sessions across teams.
• Synthesize insights into clear, commercially grounded recommendations for executives.

Skills

Generative research

Discovery research

UX research

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Creative problem-solving

AI workflows

Tools

AI tools

Job description

Enterprise retailer is hiring a Senior User Researcher to join its new Product Ventures team onsite in Hoboken, NJ. In this role, you will lead generative and discovery-focused research to uncover, evaluate, and de-risk early-stage product opportunities and new revenue streams.

Our team operates in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and scrappy environment. Rather than focusing solely on design usability, your focus will be on core product research: sizing customer problems, testing early product concepts, mapping personas, and helping product partners decide what to build next. You will join an established team of five researchers supporting critical venture areas, working closely with product management, engineering, and executive stakeholders.

This role is onsite in Hoboken, NJ.

What You’ll Do

• Drive Generative & Discovery Research: Lead end-to-end qualitative and mixed-methods research to validate early venture concepts, explore net-new market opportunities, and map customer workflows.
• Partner on Roadmaps & Sequencing: Act as a strategic thought partner to Product Management and Business leaders. Help evaluate, prioritize, and sequence product bets rather than simply testing interfaces.
• Navigate Enterprise Complexity: Devise creative sourcing and research strategies to gather rich user signals in enterprise environments where direct user access can be limited.
• Facilitate Strategic Learning: Plan and facilitate learning workshops, concept testing sessions, and co-creation exercises across cross-functional teams.
• Synthesize & Influence at Executive Levels: Distill complex user insights into clear, commercially minded recommendations that influence strategy and communicate effectively with executive leadership.
• Leverage Modern AI Workflows: Thoughtfully experiment with and utilize AI tools to accelerate qualitative synthesis, research planning, and moderation workflows—bringing a healthy, grounded skepticism to tool adoption.
• Enable Cross-Functional Research: Champion research rigor across the organization by empowering and guiding cross-functional partners to execute light research activities when appropriate.

What You’ll Bring

• Experience: 5–7+ years of experience conducting UX/product research, with a strong focus on enterprise (B2B) software or data-driven platforms.
• Discovery & Generative Expertise: Demonstrated track record of leading ambiguous discovery initiatives from inception to strategic impact, rather than relying strictly on usability or evaluative testing.
• Strategic & Commercial Acumen: High curiosity about business models, product-market fit, and revenue potential, pairing user needs with viable enterprise solutions.
• Executive Presence: Ability to clearly present complex, ambiguous findings to director- and VP-level stakeholders with confidence and actionable clarity.
• Scrappy Problem-Solving: A pragmatic, resourceful mindset that thrives in ambiguity, adapts quickly to changing priorities, and finds creative ways to get answers.
• Perspective on AI: Curiosity about incorporating emerging AI tools into the research process, balanced with critical judgment regarding data quality, synthesis validity, and moderation ethics.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working within new venture incubators, innovation labs, or early-stage 0-to-1 product environments.
• Hands-on experience conducting research around platform interoperability, workflow optimization, or surveying/data analytics tools.
• Experience running research programs with constrained, niche, or difficult-to-recruit B2B participant pools.

Client Description

Enterprise retailer

Other Requirements

MUST be able to work onsite 5x week in Downtown Hoboken, NJ