Lead UX Researcher

This role reports to the UX Research team manager, and requires working with stakeholders across the organization in different timezones. It is expected that the person who will join us in this role will be available for critical meetings and synchronous work between 15:00 to 19:00 UTC. It is further expected that the candidate is open to traveling up to four times per year.

You are responsible for:

• Leading qualitative and quantitative UX research studies that inform product teams in building the right products and features for the right users.
• Proactively identifying, defining, and getting buy-in for strategic research projects.
• Communicating research findings and recommendations to stakeholders in clear and compelling ways.
• Acting as a trusted and strategic thought partner for cross-functional leads in your area of focus, and supporting them in the adoption of research-based human-centered recommendations.
• Informing planning and strategy discussions through research by consolidating, analyzing, and synthesizing what is known about users, products, services and organizational needs.
• Evolving best practices in UX research and driving improvement of team practices and processes
• Mentoring more junior ICs and guiding the work of contractors
• Documenting and communicating the process and results of your research publicly with the Wikimedia community

Skills and Experience:

• 6 or more years experience conducting UX research within a product organization, with a proven track record of leading impactful research projects in fast-paced environments and driving successful organizational outcomes
• Deep expertise with qualitative methods, e.g. interviews, contextual inquiry, diary studies
• Ability to conduct quantitative research end-to-end (in particular: surveys, large-scale unmoderated testing, large-scale diary studies, or quantitative UX benchmarking); expertise with experimental design and ability to do statistical analysis 
• Ability to work collaboratively with product teams to translate insights into actionable recommendations
• Master's or PhD degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Statistics, Behavioral Economics, Linguistics, Psychology, Anthropology, or a related field.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, excellent at asynchronous communication.

Qualities that are important to us:

• Deep resonance with our mission, values, and guiding principles
• Ability to navigate tradeoffs between research velocity and rigor to deliver rigorous insights while meeting project timelines 
• Self-motivated and proactive
• A drive to deliver high quality work that prioritizes real-world impact
• An active listener who communicates responsibly across diverse, multicultural, and multidisciplinary individuals, teams, and communities
• Comfortable with working in the open and public exposure in multicultural and transparent environments
• Invested in the quality and health of our work place beyond the immediate team

Additionally, we’d love it if you have one or more of the following:

• Fluency in languages beyond English
• Experience contributing to Wikimedia projects
• Experience working as a UX researcher for projects that have a global reach (beyond a limited number of languages, cultures, and geographies)
• Experience working with international vendors and contractors
• Experience working with volunteer communities and projects