Senior Design Researcher - User Science

Canonical Ltd.; Johannesburg; Remote; ZAR 1,493,000 - 2,156,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully remote working environment

Learning and development budget $2,000

Annual compensation review

Recognition rewards

Annual holiday leave

Parental Leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Travel to sprints and events

Job summary

Canonical is hiring a Senior Design Researcher to join the User Science team. The role focuses on conducting diverse user research, championing user needs, and shaping a data-informed culture across product and engineering teams.

Based remotely in the EMEA region, you will influence design strategy through rigorous research methods and compelling storytelling. The position emphasizes building scalable research ops, fostering learning, and contributing to open-source culture within Canonical.

Qualifications

• Proficiency in both qualitative and quantitative user research methodologies.
• Ability to conduct user interviews, usability testing, surveys and data analysis.
• Strong storytelling to communicate research insights to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Conduct user research to develop insights across product areas.
• Share findings with teams through well-structured presentations and documentation.
• Promote a data-informed culture by collaborating with process, product, and engineering teams.

Skills

Qualitative research

Quantitative research

Usability testing

Interviews

Data analysis

Storytelling & collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Design/HCI/Engineering

Job description

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is very widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation and IoT. Our customers include the world's leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with 1200+ colleagues in 75+ countries and very few office based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution.

The company is founder led, profitable and growing.

We are hiring a Senior Design Researcher for our Design Team.

User Science is an evolving design discipline at Canonical. While we have long incorporated diverse research on user needs into our products, the mission of the newly formed User Science team is to expand beyond traditional models of UX research, integrating user needs end-to-end in development processes and quality standards across the company.

This mission requires skillful advocacy as well as organizational learning and change. As process pioneers, we draw insights from others, foster collaborative user research cultures, and constantly innovate with frameworks and standards.

This role sits in the design team reporting to the User Science Manager.

Location: This role will be based remotely in the EMEA region.

The role entails

• Conducting user research: Developing user insights in diverse formats, identifying and championing user needs across product areas.
• Sharing findings concisely and skillfully: Supporting different teams with well-matched research presentations and clear documentation systems.
• Promoting and shaping a data-informed culture: Working closely with process, product, and engineering teams to integrate user research into existing decision-making flows.
• Building research scalability and interoperability: Owning research ops infrastructure, making key methodologies more accessible, actionable, and repeatable.
• Fostering a learning culture: Contributing to the evolving definition of User Science through user-centered training, resource development, and outreach.

What We Are Looking For In You

• Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a related field such as Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Engineering or similar, or a compelling narrative about your alternative chosen path.
• Deep research expertise: Proficiency in both qualitative and quantitative user research methodologies, including user interviews, usability testing, A/B testing, surveys, and data analysis. Exceptional depth in either qualitative or quantitative skills.
• Strong technical curiosity: An alignment with and interest in open-source culture and the ability to engage deeply with technical subjects and stakeholders.
• Proficiency in visual design and/or information design: Capability to translate complex data or ideas into strong, convincing visuals, ensuring that insights are both accessible and memorable.
• A talent for storytelling and collaboration: Outstanding ability to craft narratives that effectively explain research findings and resonate with diverse audiences.
• A knack for turning chaos into clarity: Meticulous organization and archivist skills, with the ability to transform scattered findings or disparate processes into cohesive, structured knowledge systems.
• Portfolio: A robust portfolio showcasing a range of user research and/or design projects that highlight the ability to derive actionable insights from research and directly influence 1) product design and strategy or 2) organizational change.

What We Offer You

Your base pay will depend on various factors including your geographical location, level of experience, knowledge and skills. In addition to the benefits below, certain roles are also eligible for additional benefits and rewards including annual bonuses and sales incentives based on revenue or utilisation. Our compensation philosophy is to ensure equity right across our global workforce.

In addition to a competitive base pay, we provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. Please note that additional benefits may apply depending on the work location and, for more information on these, you can ask in the later stages of the recruitment process.

• Fully remote working environment - we’ve been working remotely since 2004!
• Personal learning and development budget of 2,000USD per annum
• Annual compensation review
• Recognition rewards
• Annual holiday leave
• Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues at ‘sprints’
• Priority Pass for travel and travel upgrades for long haul company events

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm that is at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open source projects and the platform for AI, IoT and the cloud, we are changing the world on a daily basis. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence - in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do.

Canonical has been a remote-first company since its inception in 2004. Work at Canonical is a step into the future, and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game. Canonical provides a unique window into the world of 21st-century digital business.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.