Senior UX Researcher, YouTube Shorts Ads

Google LLC; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 159,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Google LLC in Mountain View, CA is seeking a User Experience Researcher to join the YouTube Ads UX team. You will lead viewer research across Shorts, shaping ad formats and health of the ad experience while collaborating with cross-functional teams.

You will conduct primary research across field studies, interviews, diary studies, surveys, and usability tests, guiding product decisions and strategy. Competitive salary with bonus and equity is offered.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience in mixed methods research (qualitative and quantitative).
• Experience producing business impact through applied research.

Responsibilities

• Develop a research roadmap addressing product and business questions using varied methods.
• Identify knowledge gaps in how viewers experience ads across content.
• Represent viewer needs to UX, Product Management, and Engineering to inform decisions.
• Navigate product trade-offs using viewer insights to balance ad interruption with business goals.
• Collaborate with YouTube product teams and Ads teams to create cohesive viewer experiences.

Skills

Experience in applied research

Mixed methods research

Business impact through research

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience

Master's degree or PhD in relevant field

Job description

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Mountain View, CA, USA; New York, NY, USA; San Bruno, CA, USA

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 6 years of experience in an applied research setting (e.g., product or academic), or similar.
• Experience in mixed methods research, including qualitative (e.g., in-depth interviews, diary studies) and quantitative (e.g., surveys, log analysis) approaches.
• Experience producing business impact through applied research.

Preferred qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Statistics, Psychology, Anthropology, or related field.
• 5 years of experience conducting UX research on products and working with executive leadership (e.g., Director level and above).
• 3 years of experience managing projects, and working in a large, matrixed organization.
• Experience with advanced statistical modeling (e.g., regression, segmentation, conjoint, or causal inference).
• Experience conducting research for short-form video or advertising products.

About the job

At Google, we "Focus on the user and all else will follow." As a User Experience Researcher (UXR), you make this possible. You will join our multi-disciplinary UX team, collaborating with Engineering and Product Management, to gather insights and create industry-leading products.

You'll play a critical role in helping your team understand user needs and will drive impact at all stages of product development, ensuring products are useful, usable, and helpful. You will explore user behaviors and motivations by conducting primary research, including: field studies, interviews, diary studies, ethnography, surveys, usability testing, and logs analysis. You will also grow within a supportive UXR community offering mentorship, regular meetups, and exclusive internal tools.

As a UX Researcher in YouTube Ads UX, you will lead viewer research across YouTube Shorts. You will be instrumental in defining how we optimize the health and pacing of the Shorts ad experience while shaping new interactive, shoppable, and brand and sponsorship ad formats within the shorts feed.

Google Ads is at the forefront of AI innovation, applying cutting-edge machine learning and Generative AI models like Gemini to power a multi-billion dollar global business.

Our work directly impacts billions of users by protecting users from harm, improving ad quality, and optimizing campaigns for advertiser return-on-investment. We foster a culture of deep collaboration, partnering closely with teams like Google Research and DeepMind to solve complex challenges. Join us to work on state-of-the-art AI, take on problems at an unparalleled scale, and build the next generation of advertising technology.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $159000 - $230000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google .

Responsibilities

• Develop a research roadmap addressing product and business questions using methods such as remote in-depth interviews, diary studies, prototype testing, surveys, and logs analysis.
• Identify critical knowledge gaps in how viewers experience ads across Connected TV and Live content to challenge assumptions and the status quo.
• Represent viewer needs and expectations to UX, Product Management, and Engineering to ensure product decisions support creator and advertiser goals.
• Navigate complex product trade-offs using viewer insights to balance ad interruption and viewer friction with business goals.
• Partner with core YouTube TV product teams, Go-to-Market leads, and horizontal Ads teams to create a cohesive viewer experience.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. See also Google's EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form .