Usability Researcher [AQ-19270]

Aquent; Redmond (WA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Subsidized health, vision, and dental

Paid sick leave

Retirement plan with match

Free online training via Aquent Gym

Inclusive, growth‑oriented culture

Job summary

Aquent Talent partners with a global technology leader to shape user experiences across products and services. You will identify customer needs, map journeys, and translate insights into impactful product decisions for a worldwide audience.

You will collaborate with product, design, and engineering, guiding research plans, synthesizing data, and ensuring privacy and security are integral to development. A strong focus on mentorship and strategic impact drives the role.

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in HCI or related field with 1+ year UX research, or Bachelor’s Degree with 2+ years UX research, or equivalent experience.
• 1+ year domain experience in the technology sector.
• 1+ year experience in research methods impacting product direction and experience design.
• English language proficiency in both speaking and writing for presentations and research reports.
• Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative research methods, QA, UAT, and user scenario creation.
• Strong analytical thinking, data analysis, problem-solving, and insight translation.
• Experience with collaborative innovation, stakeholder management and industry trend distillation.
• Decision-making, visioning, scope management, and outcome-driven innovation.
• Creativity in UX concepts, interaction design, and user-centered design principles.

Responsibilities

• Create and drive research plans and roadmaps aligned with business needs.
• Apply diverse methods to execute studies and guide multi-person research efforts.
• Synthesize data into actionable insights to inform design and engineering.
• Clarify user identities, contexts, needs and journeys to inform strategy.
• Assess user insights across the full journey from awareness to adoption and retention.
• Collaborate with product, design, and engineering while integrating security considerations.
• Produce research insights on industry trends to guide future initiatives.
• Educate and mentor teams on research value, rigor, and methodology.
• Develop recruitment screeners and data collection templates ensuring privacy and security.
• Provide tools for product teams to formulate testable hypotheses and goals.
• Create well-formed UX goals, signals, metrics, and security UX KPIs.
• Apply iterative research processes to ensure quality and continuous improvement.

Skills

Qualitative Research

Quantitative Research

Data Analysis

User Experience Research

English Proficiency

Project Management

Collaboration

Stakeholder Mgmt

Security Awareness

Research Leadership

Education

Master's Degree in HCI / related field

Bachelor's Degree in HCI / related field

Equivalent Experience

Job description

Aquent is proud to partner with a global technology leader renowned for its groundbreaking innovations that shape how millions worldwide connect, work, and live. This company is at the front­ward of developing cutting‑edge products and services that define the digital landscape. Joining this team means contributing to a legacy of excellence and driving the next generation of user experiences.

Are you a passionate advocate for the user, eager to dive deep into understanding human behavior and translate insights into impactful product decisions? We are seeking a talented professional to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of products and services. In this dynamic position, you will be instrumental in identifying customer needs, assessing user journeys, and ensuring that offerings are intuitive, secure, and delightful. You will collaborate with cross‑functional teams, influence product strategy, and directly contribute to creating experiences that resonate with users on a global scale, making a tangible impact on how people interact with technology every day.

What You’ll Do

• Create and drive research plans and roadmaps for various product areas, defining problems and success criteria aligned with business needs.
• Apply diverse research methods to execute studies effectively, guiding multi‑person research efforts for strong product outcomes.
• Synthesize and distill data into actionable insights, communicating findings to activate design and engineering processes.
• Conduct research to clarify customer identities, contexts, needs (e.g., Jobs To Be Done), and journeys to inform product strategy.
• Assess user insights across the entire user journey—from awareness through adoption and retention—leveraging both quantitative and qualitative data.
• Contribute to solution formation by partnering with product management, design, and engineering, integrating security as a fundamental aspect of development.
• Produce research‑driven insights on industry and vertical trends to reduce uncertainty for future initiatives.
• Collaborate with cross‑disciplinary teams, educating and mentoring on research value, rigor, and methodology.
• Develop recruitment screeners and review data collection instruments, ensuring privacy and security compliance.
• Provide effective tools and templates for product makers to capture assumptions and express them as testable hypotheses.
• Collaborate with the team to create well‑formed user experience goals, signals, metrics, and criteria, integrating security UX KPIs.
• Apply experience checkpoints and iterative research processes to ensure product quality and drive continuous improvement.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Human‑Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or a related field AND 1+ year(s) User Experience Research experience; OR
• Bachelor’s Degree in Human‑Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or a related field AND 2+ years User Experience Research experience; OR equivalent experience.
• 1+ year(s) relevant domain experience within the technology sector.
• 1+ year(s) experience in research methods impacting both product direction and detailed experience design.English language proficiency, with clear, accurate, and understandable oral and written communication, presentations, and research writing skills.
• Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative research methods, quality assurance, user acceptance testing, and user scenario creation and application.
• Strong analytical thinking, data analysis, problem‑solving, and translation of insights.
• Experience with collaborative innovation, conflict resolution, distillation of results, industry trends, and stakeholder management.
• Demonstrated decision‑making ability, outcome‑driven innovation, project management, project visioning, and scope management.
• Creativity, interaction design, user experience, user interface design, and user‑centered design principles.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Doctorate in Human‑Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or a related field AND 2+ years user experience research experience; OR
• Master’s Degree in Human‑Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or a related field AND 3+ years user experience research experience; OR
• Bachelor’s Degree in Human‑Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communications, Information Science, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Behavioral Science, Social Sciences, or a related field AND 5+ years user experience research experience; OR equivalent experience.

About Aquent Talent

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world’s biggest brands. Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. We also offer free online training through Aquent Gymnasium. More information on our awesome benefits! Aquent is an equal‑opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We’re about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.

Client Description

Join a global technology leader driving innovation and empowering people and organizations worldwide to achieve more. Here, you’ll collaborate with passionate, diverse teams to create impactful solutions that shape the future. The culture prioritizes growth, inclusion, and purpose-where your ideas are valued, and your work drives real change. Wherever your passion lies and wherever your career is headed you’ll play a role in projects that touch billions of lives. With flexible work options and a supportive environment, you’ll have the tools to thrive both personally and professionally. Be part of something that truly matters.

Why work with AQUENT? Check out our awesome benefits: https://aquent.com/talent/talent-benefits Aquent is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.